Blue Dahlia (In the Garden, Book 1)

Rating:
Summary: I flew right through it!
Review: Well, being the Nora Roberts fan I am, I picked this book up right away and I really enjoyed it. Stella has just moved to Tennesse to be by her father and stepmother, after losing her husband a few years before in a tragic accident. She takes a job at the local nursery as a manager and meets Logan, the landscape designer for the company. The two have a definate sizzle together and it was fun reading as they continously butted heads about everything. This book was really great because there was a little less fairy tale and a bit more, you annoy me. Which, lets face it, if you've every been in love it can be highly annoying a lot of the time.
And of course there is the ghost which has decided that she doesn't like the romance between Stella and Logan. Anyways, this book definetly leaves you with some questions that all good first trilogy books do. I for one can not wait for the next book to come out. I you like Nora Roberts or contemporary romance novels, check this one out.

Rating:
Summary: Nora's done it again, magnificently.
Review: A long time Nora Roberts fan I am the one customer who is at the bookstore bright and early on the day her books come out. Blue Dahlia, the first in her new In The Graden trilogy was wonderful, as always. Always the brilliant technician, Nora has introduced us to a widowed mother of two adorable children and an irascible but undeniably sexy landscaper where sparks begin to fly before they even meet. Throw in a dangerously depressed and angry ghost known as the Harper Bride, a young single prenant woman, an older woman utterly betrayed by her former husband and a delightfully absentminded genealogist and you've got a typical Nora Roberts story. While Blue Dahlia does not have the extra spark of her Key Trilogy, it's a little tough to compete with Celtic Gods and the ability to throw reason and logic to the wind. I loved the Blue Dahlia and anxiously await the second in the series, Black Rose, coming out late May or early June. Technically, structurally and lyrically the best writer of our generation. Thanks, Nora. You did it again.

Rating:
Summary: ... Is Roberts in a rut, or what?
Review: Blue Dahlia started off okay, I suppose, when the death of Stella's husband, Kevin, left her a young widow alone in Michigan with two young sons to raise. After making her way to Memphis to start over, she luckily lands a job working as a manager for Roz Harper, owner of a flourishing garden and landscaping business. Roz wants Stella to bring her sons and live on the premises, which ends up being a wonderful idea. However, Roz didn't bother to tell Stella about the ghost in Harper House that's been there for years. Stella finds out about the visiting ghost on her own. In the meantime, she meets up with the handsome hunk, Logan Kitridge, who just happens to work as Roz's main man in the landscape designing end of the business. The relationship gets off to a rough start between Stella and Luke, but he finally asks her to go to Graceland with him, and their relationship takes on a new meaning from there. In the meantime, a long-distant relative, Haley, arrives on the scene. The girl is pregnant, unmarried, and alone after the death of her father. Roz takes Haley in and gives her a job too. The story just sort of fizzled out at the end, or else I was expecting a lot more than what I got. This isn't one of the best romance novels that has Nora Roberts stamped all over it, but it's a sweet and fast read, even though I felt like the vast description of all the flowers was a little too much, but then again, to each their own when it comes to writing a novel. The characters were strong, but that's about it for me. This is the first book of IN THE GARDEN trilogy. The book was a holiday gift to me for which I'm always thankful to be remembered this way, and I'm glad I read it but I wouldn't brag about this book to anyone else. Hope the second book is better than the first.


Rating:
Summary: Blue Dahlia
Review: I 'read' this book with an unabridged audio tape. It is one of the best Nora Roberts books I have read - and I have read just about all of her books. Not the J D Robb books, but I'm not into detective books. The story was fascinating from the very beginning. In some of Ms. Roberts' books, I find myself paging through descriptions but this one kept my attention through all 8 tapes. The story of Stella and Logan is totally enjoyable. And, I must admit, I am looking forward to Hailey and Harper's story as well as Roz and Mitchell's story. I hope I don't have to wait too long.

Rating:
Summary: A Blooming Hit!
Review: I just adored this book. It was very refreshing, fun and had just the right amount of romance and suspense. If you love gardening and beautiful old houses, babies, dogs and good romantic relationships you will really enjoy this story. I am not sure it needed the ghost and am hoping it "fades out fast" It presented some interesting scenes in the story but also some weirdness that made me a bit uncomfortable. The Blue Dahlia trilogy is sure to be a hit for Ms. Roberts.

Rating:
Summary: Right on Par
Review: I LOVED this book and was surprised to read reviews suggesting the novel wasn't up to usual NR standards. The characters were extremely interesting and there is room to expand upon both characters and story lines with books 2 and 3. The background of the nursery and the woman-owned business was nice and the mysterious ghost is a nice touch too. My only complaint is that NR could have expanded on these topics - but then again this is only the first of the trilogy. It was a fast read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable
Review: I really like this book. I always like strong female characters and this book is filled with them. This is just the beginning and I'm already hooked. The only part a really didn't like was the Harper ghost but a good story. Red Lily is the one I can't wait for. I know I'm going to enjoy that one because I love Hayley's character and Harper is going to be a great character to dive into!

Rating:
Summary: Best dialogue of any Nora book
Review: Of all the Nora trilogies I have read, this one had the snappiest dialogue. Nora's characters always have distinctive dialogue, but I thought this book had the most interesting conversations. The little boys and stepmother Jolene are so charming!

Great story and characters. I would only ask that Nora put more descriptive detail in. The Key trilogy was very lacking in this regard, which made the story harder to read, although I imagine this was done to make the story easier to read. For the right amount of descriptive detail, I like Nora's Irish trilogies. It gives the story more "oomph".

Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: This book had me from the get go, fast paced,I couldn't put it down. I can't wait for the next one!!!

Rating:
Summary: Can't wait for the next one!
Review: This is one of my favorite NR so far. The characters are appealing even if they are a little flat. I love the ghost aspect. I even liked the gardening stuff. It makes me want to run out and plant a garden- too bad it's the middle of winter!