Nora Roberts books are a not-so-guilty pleasure of mine. Sure, she technically writes romance novels, but her books are always so well-researched you feel like you are actually learning something. Blue Dahlia is the first novel in her In the Garden series, and the gardener in me LOVES all the references she weaves into the story.::: In the Garden :::Blue Dahlia is the introduction to the story of three women who all work at a gardening store called (you guessed it) In the Garden. Roz Harper Ashby is the Southern belle who came from an established family, was widowed at an early age, raised her three boys alone, and opened her own gardening business where she works with her eldest son, Harper. Tired of spending so much time on the nuts and bolts of her business, she hires a newcomer to the Memphis area, Stella, recently widowed herself, and raising two young boys. To get a better feel for whether or not she can trust her business to Stella, Roz has her move into the sprawling old home she lives in with her assistant (and Harper's best friend), David.Not long after Stella moves in, a distant cousin, Hailey, shows up pregnant and looking for a job. Roz takes her in as well and gives her a job at In the Garden as well.Soon after being hired, Stella begins to butt heads with Roz's landscaper, Logan Kittredge. Logan is everything Stella is not: abrasive, unorganized, and above all, resistant to change. Of course, you know the two will be attracted to each other; after all, this is a romance novel.Of course, there's more to the story than gardening and romance; Harper House, Roz's family home has a ghost. And the ghost's story is a mystery that the women are going to need to solve.::: Planting the Seed :::Once you get past the extreme set-up, what with the women sharing a house and all, Blue Dahlia is actually one of Roberts' better "first" books. Many times, the first books in her trilogies seem rushed, with too many characters and too much set-up information crowding out the relationship that's supposed to be the central point of the plot.Roberts does a good job balancing things here, introducing the players, yet still giving Stella and Logan enough attention so that you feel like the relationship is actually developing in a normal time frame. They aren't rushed, and their arguments and differences seem very natural in their interaction.Blue Dahlia is a good book on its own, and does an excellent job setting the reader up for the rest of the trilogy, which is one of the better ones.This review originally published on Epinions: http://www.epinions.com/review/Blue_D...
Stella Rothschild's husband suddenly dies and she is left alone with two young sons. Devastated and afraid, Sarah grieves but eventually turns her attention toward the future. She moves from Michigan to start all over again in Memphis, the place where she was born and her father now lives. There she gets a job as a manager of a nursery/garden shop. She quickly becomes friends with Roz, the enigmatic owner of the shop, her new boss and owner of Harper house where Stella lives as a condition of her employment.. She also becomes friend with Hayley, a somehow cousin of Roz's who shows up pregnant on Roz's doorstep. The three women bond, Stella embarks on a romance with a landscaper and there is a ghost haunting the place.You can always count on Nora Roberts putting out one of her JD Robb titles(Visions in Death), a single title (Northern Lights) and trilogy title at least once a year and usually around the same time. I used to be thrilled about this because there is no bigger bummer than a favorite author not being prolific enough to satisfy your need to read their new book(George R.R. Martin, I am speaking to you!). But this time around I am not as satisfied with the results that I normally am. I think "flat" is a very good adjective to describe this book. Stella, Roz, Logan, Hayley even the ghost are all such `meh' creatures that the I had a very hard time getting involved or excited about any of them. The romance between Stella and Logan wasn't very exciting and I can't even get worked up to anticipate the two follow ups. This is a major change from her most recent "Key" trilogy where each book was a page turner and I couldn't wait to see how the story ended. This one, I could barely get to the end of the first book.
What do You think about Blue Dahlia (2004)?
One review said that next to the ghosty atmosphere and romance, this novel also contains lots of gardening tips. I don't really do flowers or nature. I mean, I like green. As, maybe, a wallpaper. Or pullovers when children wear them. We used to have a green bird, too. Sweet thing. Obnoxiously loud. For f-cks sake, I'm probably the only human being, next to Bree's sex-addicted boyfriend in Desperate Housewives, who killed a cactus. In cold blood. I'm a cruel, evil person and I get crazy obsessed when people buy flowers and pretend they like them. Like, if you like them, why let them slowly wither away in your living room? THAT'S NOT LOVE. It's like owning three cats, five dogs, and eating chicken nuggets.At least, I admit that I'm a cactus-murderer. Except that maybe if it's just about gardening.. which isn't exactly flower-murdering, it might not annoy me as much? Although, I also get crazy over people who talk about flowers.. Like I do right now.. Um..Wow.. this was such a deep, philosophical discussion. I'm amazed by my own brilliance and reflectiveness. Update:I now found the perfect example for my problem with flowers and gardens and where it comes from. It was Erica from Celadon City (タマムシシティ or Prismania City)in Pokémon, with all her green little shits. God, how she owned me.. So, now you know it. Dear reader, it was a traumatic experience, but I'm almost sure that no one else'll feel like that and you should definitely give books with flowers in them at least a try, although I won't take it against you if you wouldn't, now that you've heard this dramatic, desperate story of innocent longing, humiliation and loss.
—Patricia
I liked the author's other series about an Inn, 3 brothers, a bookstore, etc. And now found a new favorite. This was a pretty good start. And liked that the ghost character was introduced from the beginning and is mentioned again as the story gets going.The characters you like and get a hint as to what their story will be in the next book. Plus Logan I think is one of my favorites. While he and Stella bicker and try to get along, he's at least honest but at the same time unsure of some things. And same with Stella. I liked that about these two. Made them get together in a way believable. Plus it was just fun, reading their moments and what the other characters thought of them as well.The writing really helped and liked the moments with Stella and co ran the garden nursery, researching more about their ghost, their love for gardening. And that cover is beautiful. Anyway, good start and looking forward to the other two books.
—Nidah (SleepDreamWrite)
I don't actually like romances very much but Nora Roberts has a talent for adding the supernatural into hers which make them great reading for me! This one was actually sufficiently spooky that I did not like to read it in bed at night. So having just finished it in the cold hard light of day I can say that I enjoyed the story, the characters, the haunting and even the romance. The sex scenes reminded me of Eve and Roarke but I guess that is not surprising. Another good book from an amazingly prolific author.
—Phrynne
