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My cheeks are still damp from my tears as I'm writing this review. Oh my heart, this was such a beautiful story!
It's been a while since I read Nora Roberts's contemporary romance novel, and Bed of Roses didn't disappoint. I knew I would love this book, and I was right. Yes, I did love it! Everything about it. This was exactly what I want from my read!
I loved NR's excellent writing.
I loved this very simple yet well-knit plot.
I loved both main and secondary characters.
I loved the rom
My cheeks are still damp from my tears as I'm writing this review. Oh my heart, this was such a beautiful story!
It's been a while since I read Nora Roberts's contemporary romance novel, and Bed of Roses didn't disappoint. I knew I would love this book, and I was right. Yes, I did love it! Everything about it. This was exactly what I want from my read!
I loved NR's excellent writing.
I loved this very simple yet well-knit plot.
I loved both main and secondary characters.
I loved the romance between Jack and Emma.
I loved the true friendship between these four women.
I loved the drama and the groveling.
I loved the ending… very, very beautiful!
What surprised me the most about this book was how wonderful Emma is! As a character, she won me over completely. If I were a man, I would undoubtedly marry this woman. She's beautiful inside and out, so loving, thoughtful, caring, kind, reasonable, open-hearted, hard-working, clever, and reliable. She comes from a warm and loving family. She used to be a co-captain of girls' soccer team. She is also a good cook. What more can a man ask for?!
Bed of Roses is the second installment in Bride Quartet series. You can read it as a standalone, but it would be better to read the books in order they were written.
All in all, this was a very beautiful, heartwarming, and breathtakingly romantic story which you will definitely enjoy. A great read, indeed!
Loved it!
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"The little things, Emma. The gestures, the moments. And the big. I let him see my heart. I gave it to him, even when I believed he couldn't or wouldn't take it. I gave it anyway—a gift. Even if he broke it. I was very brave. Love is very brave."
"I'm dancing with you." He brought the hand he held to his lips. "In the garden, in the moonlight."
Her heart shuddered, swelled. And all the cracks filled.
I would have given this a higher rating if it wasn't for the last 2 chapters of this book. But besides the crappy shit that happens near the end there were some other red flags that bugged me.
First I wasn't enthralled with this as I was with Mac's story. Everything about Mac and Carter came off natural and organic even with their ups and downs. Here everything seemed incredibly forced and overdone. It took me a good 100 pages to even get into the story. Jack and Emma share
ETA: Rating 2.5 starsI would have given this a higher rating if it wasn't for the last 2 chapters of this book. But besides the crappy shit that happens near the end there were some other red flags that bugged me.
First I wasn't enthralled with this as I was with Mac's story. Everything about Mac and Carter came off natural and organic even with their ups and downs. Here everything seemed incredibly forced and overdone. It took me a good 100 pages to even get into the story. Jack and Emma share 2 sporadic kisses before jumping into bed. I just wasn't feeling it. The chemistry came off forced and rushed in first half of the book with ZERO build up. Before jumping into bed these two spend very little time together, in fact the only scenes they share are the 2 aforementioned kisses nothing else. And you seriously expect me to believe these two have sizzling explosive chemistry Roberts? Try again. Their moments are few and far in between with all the wedding business taking up a whole lot of real estate in the book. The amount of page time spent on Emma's flower preparations (flower names of which I was not familiar with and sounded like a foreign language to me so I struggled even picturing them) countless business meetings, wedding preparations and endless code names MOB, MOG, BMO, RB, etc., got really tedious to read through and annoying at some points. It just all became a big uninteresting blur and I was very tempted to skip those parts. Also same thing I noticed in some of Roberts other work managed to sneak it's way into here and became distracting because it was so overdone: overly perfect cliche characters. Emma is endlessly propped, cooed, fawned over for being a perfect, gorgeous, amazing woman with a perfect family, perfect job, perfect sex life which her friends are in awe of her ability to have men flocking to her in hoards. Seriously? RME *sigh* Is there anything Emma can't do or doesn't have? I found it annoying rather than charming because it was heaped on and emphasized way too much. We get it. She's perfect. But I will say I found Emma's parents' love story really sweet and romantic, it had me wishing Lucia and Phillip had their own book, I really loved their story.
I also found Parker-know-it-all Brown's super woman abilities to be too much.
She's the definition of a Mary Sue. This annoying micro-managing vapid character seems to always know how her best friends are feeling without any of them saying a word and can solve everyone's problems with the snap of her fingers. Honestly she belongs in a Hallmark movie with how cookie cutter she is and how she saves the day with unrealistic abilities. I mean let's not forget the fact that she happened to find Mac's wedding dress on sight without Mac being there and bought it for her knowing it would be perfect for Mac (of course it was).
Can I gag now? Seriously?? WHO THE HELL DOES THAT? I'm sorry but my ass would not be happy or thankful if my best friend went out and bought my wedding dress for me without my knowledge or consent. Get. fucking. real. lady.
And can I just say kissing guys on the lips who you either used to be involved with or happen to be your best friend's fiance is extremely inappropriate? Like...who the fuck are you? Emma kissing Carter on the lips while Mac watched I found really annoying and unrealistic. I had to re-read that scene a few times because it kept throwing me off and didn't make sense. I don't care how close you are to your friends, lips OFF the fiance. I don't care how close and lovey dovey you are with your BFFs and it's considered a "plutonic" friendly gesture.
RESPECT BOUNDARIES dammit. She does the same thing again with a former boyfriend who is married with a baby and Jack sees it, yet she acts like it was no big deal. Um...yes it is, especially if you are dating someone. I mean who kisses their married ex on the lips in greeting? <_< Del, Parker's brother does the same thing, he greets her friends by giving them overly-affectionate smacking kisses on the lips. Just...no. Such silly nonsense. I found it kinda weird and distracting considering he sees them as his own sisters and plays the brotherly protective role. You kiss women who you are involved with like that, not friends, especially ones you think of as sisters. The whole dynamic between these characters I find bizarre and again unrealistic.Anyways, back to Jack and Emma. Their romance picks up steam in the middle of the story and we do get sweet romantic sexy moments between them. But of course everything comes to a screeching halt when the couple have their one and only fight. Emma has her demonic WTH? moment when she flips out over Jack not giving her the keys to his place. She catches him on a bad day (which he warns her repeatedly but it seems to sail right over her head) she ambushes him by pouring her heart out telling him she loves him and wants everything in return, when she doesn't get the response or reaction she wants she shuts him out and runs off. Naturally Jack being a typical guy is too stunned and tries to process what she's telling him and instead of giving him the chance to actually TALK, she takes his stunned reaction and runs with it like a woman scorned. She draws the conclusion that he doesn't love her and never will. Oh Good lord. She gave Mac's psychotic narcissistic mother Linda a run for her money in the melodramatic drama queen department. She runs straight to the Quartet ladies for comfort with shaking hands and endless sobs included. How could he do this to meeee?! I was really hoping here was when her friends would step in and talk some sense into her, especially Parker, the most level headed out of all. But what do they do instead? They coddle her with 'there there, hush hush' and act horrified and crucify Jack for what he did and didn't say. "How daaaaare he! The jackass! How can he be so cruel?!"
Um....are you kidding me??!
Parker had me rolling my eyes the most with her overprotective smothering routine. Her exceedingly patronizing speech to Jack when he comes by to check up on Emma was ridiculous and unnecessary 'We all love you Jack. I'll give you this. I'll forgive you...in time' Oh please. Give it a damn rest. The man had a RIGHT to be stunned, these ladies acted like he left Emma at the altar or cheated on her. I seriously felt like I was missing something here with their soap opera reactions. Just because he pockets the keys in front of her and doesn't have words he's deemed the biggest asshole? I call bullshit. May I point out they were only DATING FOR 3 MONTHS. Not even. But no he broke poor sweet-hearted perfect Emma's heart so he deserves to be drawn and quartered and banished from the Brown mansion. He's not allowed to see or talk to or even explain to Emma until she's fully healed and once Parker thinks it's 'okay'. Seriously? What kind of elementary fuckery is this? RME.
Over dramatic much Roberts?
None of this is normal behavior and it's this kind of trash nonsense that gives women and CR & chic-lit a bad rep. #YesISaidIt
What was even more eye-roll inducing was Emma holing herself up in a dark room the very next day, drapes drawn, unable to move or get out of bed or eat (ala Carrie when Big leaves her at the altar in Sex and the City). She needs time to heal after her "emotional upheaval" (her words not mine). Mama bear Parker is there to fuss and coo over her like the heartbroken child she is. *cue the violins* Emma can't bring herself to face the world or even think of Jack! This was cringe-worthy and embarrassing to sit through. Overblown to the extreme. What was even more ridiculous was her contemplating moving to Jamaica and starting over because she can't bear to face Jack ever again, it hurts too much. Girl, stop it. This all could have been avoided if you gave him the opportunity to actually speak instead of running off because you didn't hear what you wanted. Jack of course has to beg and crawl to even be permitted to see Emma again and apologize profusely (more than necessary IMO) over what a jerk he was. He romances her and asks her to marry him all with Mama Bear Parker's stamp of approval. Yup. Tell me again how this is romantic?
As someone who wants love and the whole package too, I was with Emma, empathized with her until she took a veering turn into MoronVille. Her whole meltdown after the fight was just silly, unnecessary, extremely overblown and childish. Having the poor guy crawl and beg because he made a careless mistake is ridiculous and extreme in this case. While his words were sweet and sincere during his ILY declaration it lost all poignancy for me considering the lengths he had to go through and how he was skinned alive over something so small. It ruined the HEA moment completely and lost all flavor for me as the reader. It came off like a parent supplicating a 2 year old after throwing a tantrum and giving them what they want in the end. Not very flattering and just silly. Guys have their stupid moments, just like us ladies do too. No one was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and somewhere in all this juvenile overblown mess I was hoping one of the girls would point out to Emma 'don't you think you are overreacting? Cut the guy some slack' but no. Poor Jack:
Oh no, instead poor sainted perfect Emma had her heart ripped to shreds because she didn't hear what she wanted so Jack is the bad evil jackass. Shame on him!
Give me a fucking break.
I really hope Laurel's book isn't filled with silliness like this.
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Nora Roberts is definitely hitting the ball inside of the park in this series.
It's just so meh.
Maybe I just have to keep reading to find the hero and heroine that I like better. Yeah, that's what I'll do.
No. No. It's just a flesh wound. It will get better.
I have a good feeling about the next book. Really.
Nora Roberts is definitely hitting the ball inside of the park in this series.
It's just so meh.
Maybe I just have to keep reading to find the hero and heroine that I like better. Yeah, that's what I'll do.
No. No. It's just a flesh wound. It will get better.
I have a good feeling about the next book. Really.
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Here's a perfect example of what NOT to do if you want to have a lasting relationship with a man. No matter what Nora Roberts says, no man worth his salt would have a woman acting like this heroine and then believe it was his fault. He would instead thank his lucky stars he got rid of a maniac and move on.
The bigger issue with this book was that there was no conflict. For hundreds of pages ev
This book's rating went down to 2 stars in the last 50 pages because of the heroine's childish behavior.Here's a perfect example of what NOT to do if you want to have a lasting relationship with a man. No matter what Nora Roberts says, no man worth his salt would have a woman acting like this heroine and then believe it was his fault. He would instead thank his lucky stars he got rid of a maniac and move on.
The bigger issue with this book was that there was no conflict. For hundreds of pages everybody is cruising along: perfect weddings, perfect friends, perfect dates, perfect family, perfect looks, perfect everything, so to create a conflict in the last part of the book, the author just had the heroine acting like an immature baby. But this happened so close to the end that the most expedient way to solve the issue was for the hero to take the blame for the heroine's crazy expectations and have everybody agree that he was a moron, which was not the case.
So what was this horrible thing the hero did that sent the heroine into paroxysms of despair? (Brace yourself because you won't believe it). He didn't give her a key to his apartment and wasn't nice to her after he had a bad day. (No, I'm not making it up.) And it wasn't as if she asked him for the key and he denied her. He just never thought of giving her one and to her that meant he would never love her and be the man she needed.
I only have two words to tell this heroine: GROW UP.
You cannot expect a man who has issues with commitment to declare himself after 3 months. You cannot expect a man to read your mind and know what you want or need. You cannot assume that he doesn't care for you because he doesn't see certain gestures in the same light as you. If you really loved him, you would tell him what you need and then give him the chance to prove himself and not go wail because he's human and needs his space!
After all this stupidity happening at the last minute, the ending was very rushed. It felt as if the hero was backed in a corner and gave in because he didn't want to lose everybody's friendship. This, as you can imagine, was the antithesis of romantic.
Angela Dawe, the narrator, did a very good job. All voices of the ladies were distinct but still pleasant. The male voices weren't great but at least they weren't annoying. When I'm ready to continue the series, I'll definitely listen to the audiobooks.
Overall, I don't think this book added much to the series so if you are really are interested what happen to the rest of the gals, feel free to skip this one.
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After finding Vision in White a good but slightly disappointing read, I "knew" - as far as anyone can know such thing - that I'd enjoy Bed of Roses better. Something to do with this 2nd book being better received by most readers and my having lower expectations, I guess. No matter why, I did find Bed of Roses highly entertaining.
Emma was the main reason this book worked for me, with her utterly romantic nature. She was also the reason this book lost 1/2 star in the end, when she attac
4 1/2 starsAfter finding Vision in White a good but slightly disappointing read, I "knew" - as far as anyone can know such thing - that I'd enjoy Bed of Roses better. Something to do with this 2nd book being better received by most readers and my having lower expectations, I guess. No matter why, I did find Bed of Roses highly entertaining.
Emma was the main reason this book worked for me, with her utterly romantic nature. She was also the reason this book lost 1/2 star in the end, when she attacked Jack for no reason at all (IMHO). Worse, she refused to listen to him and just cut him loose. Argh!
Anyway, besides that small bump in the road, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Emma and Jack's friendship develop and grow into love. And dancing in the moonlight? Which woman could resist that? *sighs*
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Great book. Do not miss this romantic tale, even if you're not normally attracted to the ever prolific (and sometime skeptical thinking in how does she "write all those so quickly") thinkiing of Nora Roberts books. Just go for this one!
K.
Emma is the wedding florist for her and her friend's wedding business. Emma is looking for Mr. Right. She wants to be in a relationship, get married, and have kids. Of course she has a crush on Jack who wants none of those things.
Jack has a thing for Emma, but also has a thing for not committing to anyone. So of course this will totally be okay with Emma even though she knows before she gets involved with Jack, he is not looking for anyone to settle down with.
Honestly the chemistry between these two was meh. I actually think that Mac and Carter had better chemistry. And the whole book just felt off to me. I just hated that I was reading about a woman who was doing everything she could to make a guy catch feelings for her. And I hated how everyone was encouraging Emma in her nonsense.
The four friends were all kind of annoying in this one. I was just done with the whole group and their chosen freaking dudes in this one.
The wedding details (still boring). The endless discussion about the flower arranging that Emma was doing (good Lord make it stop). I just found myself bored for most of the book and did end up skimming a fair bit. I honestly thought that Roberts "In the Garden" series did a better job of discussing flowers/plants/etc. and making it organic to the overall story. This book just made everything about wedding planning sound tedious as hell.
But I really did get ticked towards the end when all of the so-called friends freeze Jack out after Emma seriously acted like a freaking child. Team Jack all the way and I wish he had thought more about being friends with people who would dispose of him so easily.
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It's a real shame the author didn't write Bed of Roses as the first book in her Bride Quartet series. There is more insight into the characters. The emotions are stronger. The dialogue is so much better. This story is straight romance with sprinkles of light humor and funny banter. No suspense or mystery involved.
The relationship between the four friends is the cornerstone of th
Gosh did I ever enjoy this story! If you're a fan of the friends-turned-lovers theme, then this is the book for you. :)It's a real shame the author didn't write Bed of Roses as the first book in her Bride Quartet series. There is more insight into the characters. The emotions are stronger. The dialogue is so much better. This story is straight romance with sprinkles of light humor and funny banter. No suspense or mystery involved.
The relationship between the four friends is the cornerstone of the series and Bed of Roses is Emmaline Grant's story. Emma is the florist at Vows, the wedding planning business that she co-owns with her three best friends, Parker, Mac and Laurel. Emma is a true romantic to the core who adores candlelight dinners, flowers and foreplay music. She is a serial dater. A social butterfly. She dreams of being swept off her feet and dancing in the moonlight with her one true love. How could you possibly hate a girl like this?! She often ends up pairing up her dates with unsuspecting friends. Because she is such a cheerful optimist, you can't help but think that Emma is the type of girl that you would want to be your best friend. I liked the fact that she had no emotional baggage and came from a loving family with parents who were happily married to each other.
Jack Cooke is a long-time friend of the quartet as well as best friend to Parker's brother, Del. He is best described as a beta male, an architect, very manly, commitment phobic and *gasp* a little bit of a Player. (There's no disputing that this man works as hard as he plays!) I got a kick out of the testosterone-centric moments in this book - poker, beer, and male bonding at its' best!
Jack and Emma have been friends for several years, but are in denial about their mutual attraction to each other. After a really hawt back rub and amazing first kiss, Jack and Emma are able to admit that there is more to their friendship. These two definitely have chemistry. Probably more so than Mac and Carter did in the first book.
The only minor gripe I had about this book is about the conflict. Emma over-steps a boundary only two months into her relationship with Jack. You can see a mile away that Jack will get cold feet because of it. He unintentionally breaks her heart. Emma runs to her friends as expected. However, these friends have also been friends with Jack for decades and they shut him out cold. In essence, they all gang up on him to protect Emma after vowing NOT to get involved and ruin friendships. It all seemed so bitchy and contrived. Emma's actions seemed almost immature. But it all led to an apology and a happily ever after ending like it should have.
SPOILER: I have to say that I wasn't looking forward to Parker's story until I met Mal. Parker seems so uptight and off-key that I can barely tolerate her, but Mal ... the man is bad-boy to the core. Very yummy! I'm looking forward to Parker's fall. :)
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Watching Emma and Jack navigate the slippery slope between romance and long-term friendship was sweet and fun and made me teary in a few places, if I'm being honest. Emma is a bombshell, graced with phenomenal genes from her Latin goddess of a mother. But what makes her so special is her sweetness. Here is a woman who will always stop to not only smell the roses, but to pick one and bring it to a friend in need of cheering. She is good to her core, and can always find a silver lining to every cloud. Jack is an architect, funny and bold and movie-star gorgeous. They make a killer couple.
And, like all Nora novels, they get their happy ending. There might be bumps along the road, but there are always great friends to pick you up and dust you off and help you find your rainbow's end.
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Long Review: Nora Roberts can write. That is so not in dispute. She has legions of fans for a good reason. Am I a fan? You betcha! Do I buy all of her books? Pretty much. Am I biased? Not so much. Unlike her alter ego, J.D. Robb who writes the In Death series, (this series is like crack cocaine, I can't get enough and rush to buy every new book and have re-read every single one) the books she writes under Nora Roberts I always read on a case by case, or book by book basis. I know, strange huh? But let's just say I'm more of a coca cola gal then a diet coke gal and leave it at that. So now you now where I'm coming from and you can read my review a bit more enlightened.
For me Nora Roberts' books always, and I do mean always (no equivocation), have fully developed characters that you want to sit down and have dinner with. Even her paranormal trilogies have characters you want as your best friends. She is in a class many aspire to and few attain when it comes to fleshing out and developing characters and writing dialogue. Bed of Roses is no exception. This quartet of books features four different women, best friends, Parker, Laurel, Emma and Mac, who own and run a 'premier wedding planning company' called Vows. Each woman is responsible for a different aspect of the business. All four women are people you want to get to know. Ms. Roberts is at her best here in regards to the tenor, tone and timbre of these four women. You either want to be them, see a bit of yourself in them, or want to befriend them.
The same holds true for the men in this series. Not that you want to be them (unless of course you do, because I'm thinking most of my readers are women – but I could be wrong), but you certainly want to get to know them. As per usual, Ms. Roberts is amazing at writing her male characters. She gets it right every time. She's one of the best and I love her books for that alone; her ability to write the 'male voice'.
Bed of Roses focuses on Emma Grant, a talented florist who is responsible for that particular aspect of Vows. She loves her work and making some one's dreams come true when it comes to their wedding and all the hoopla that surrounds it gives her joy. Emma is beautiful, smart, funny, and dates — a lot. Jack Cooke, an architect, has been friends with Emma and the woman of Vows for many years. So yes, this is a "friends to lovers" romance, certainly one of my favorite scenarios. Basically the book is about Emma and Jack and how they begin to see each other in a different light, act upon their feelings, and then deal with the consequences. Becoming lovers after being friends for a long time is not an easy feat; particularly when there are other friends involved. The particular dynamic that lovers have invariably changes the dynamic for the whole group, and of course if the couple breaks up there is the question of who gets custody of the friends.
In both Vision in White and Bed of Roses, Roberts takes great care to give us a glimpse into the wedding planning business as seen through the eyes of these four friends. The anecdotes and peripheral characters she introduces are fun. The way each woman deals with her aspect of the business is drawn in loving detail. The relationships between the women are crafted with exceptionally well written dialogue. And… however, the tension that I so long for is a bit lacking here. Bed of Roses is a sweet romance with strong characters and a simple plot. After all my whining about how much angst I've been reading in my books lately you think I'd be happy with a plot that runs true to course. A plot where there isn't much angst but rather some normal and relatable internal struggles. Truth be told, I should be happy. I enjoyed reading this one and I'm going to read the next book in the series (I must find out what happens to Laurel). Perhaps that is the understated beauty of this series. It doesn't hit you right between the eyes like a sledgehammer, but rather gently warms your heart.
So, if you like a 'friends to lovers' romance, with strong dialogue, fully developed and relatable characters and you like it simple and sweet, might I suggest Bed of Roses.
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Ever felt left out? I felt that way when I tried reading Vision in White back in May of this year, and I felt that way again trying to read its successor, Bed of Roses. I attempted to read this about two months ago after having finished and disliked the first book in this series. Normally I would drop a series after disliking the first installment to the degree that I did with Vision in White, but since I own the first, second, and fourth installments in this series I thought I'd give it another
Ever felt left out? I felt that way when I tried reading Vision in White back in May of this year, and I felt that way again trying to read its successor, Bed of Roses. I attempted to read this about two months ago after having finished and disliked the first book in this series. Normally I would drop a series after disliking the first installment to the degree that I did with Vision in White, but since I own the first, second, and fourth installments in this series I thought I'd give it another go. Plus I felt left out. Many women love Nora Roberts, and after having fallen for her In Death series that she writes under the pseudonym J.D. Robb at the end of last year, I figured, why not try her other works? How different could they be? At the very least, shouldn't the characterization be as good? That was my reasoning . . . but that just isn't the case IMO.
For me, this series is very flat and fluffy; the characters are cookie-cutter, the plots seem to be slight variations of one another, and because of the uninteresting characters there's not much to say about the sexy factor. I think what makes a series and/or its characters sexy is having good character development and good chemistry between the MCs - but I'm just not seeing that with this series.
And I'm sorry to all NR fans out there, but I honestly can't imagine her other works being any more suitable to my reading tastes, either. I shall stick with her alter ego, J.D. Robb, where I know I'm in for a treat.
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I really liked Emma. She's kind and loving and has such a big heart. Jack is a little set in his ways, stand-off ish, and really a giant marshmallow (even if he doesn't know it.) I loved reading their relationship blossom.
Plot wise, it was nearly all fluff and I was living for it. I will say that the reason this is a 4 instead of a 5 star review is that I was slightly irritated at how the conflict played out and was resolved
After Mac's book, I think Emma was the person I was most excited for.I really liked Emma. She's kind and loving and has such a big heart. Jack is a little set in his ways, stand-off ish, and really a giant marshmallow (even if he doesn't know it.) I loved reading their relationship blossom.
Plot wise, it was nearly all fluff and I was living for it. I will say that the reason this is a 4 instead of a 5 star review is that I was slightly irritated at how the conflict played out and was resolved in about a chapter. Emma's reaction to Jack's reaction felt weird after she spent the entire book acknowledging his skittishness.
Of course it was lovely to see the other women and how they supported each other. And with the set ups for Laurel and Parker, I can't wait to get started.
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So a man has a horrible, stressful day. Comes home to his own house, with a splitting headache, with his own expectations and runs smack into her--in his house, uninvited, with HER EXPECTATIONS.......and of course, it's all his fault. And her friends, who are supposedly
If Emma was in the room with me I'd throw her out the window. "The big fight" was so, so, so, so stupid, stupid, stupid. I can't believe Nora Roberts wrote such twaddle. And it wasn't even just Emma. Her friends were just as bad.So a man has a horrible, stressful day. Comes home to his own house, with a splitting headache, with his own expectations and runs smack into her--in his house, uninvited, with HER EXPECTATIONS.......and of course, it's all his fault. And her friends, who are supposedly his friends as well, wrap the blubbering idiot in the bosom of their affections, and leave Jack out in the cold without even being able to get a word said. He was willing to admit that he had blown it (even though I think that she should be the one saying those words) and they won't even listen to ONE WORD. Friends like that.....who needs them.
I've been listening to this on a digital download---mindless stuff to listen to while working in the kitchen. And I want to throw my computer out the window. And I'm down to the last 10 minutes. And I don't even know if I can listen to them.
She's finally deigned to forgive him for all his sins against her, and he's going to do the big grovel. And I'm going to puke. I wish someone could tell me if somewhere in the last ten minutes she actually has a brain transplant or learns how to allow for him what she expects for herself. I just don't want to listen to this last ten minutes if somehow she isn't going to redeem herself.
If it was a book, I'd have skipped to the very last page a long time ago, just to read the "happily ever after".
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There's zero suspense. Zero. I knew from book two who all four would end up with (over what, a period of a year?) To get the smexing in, they hook up pretty soon in the book, then of course there's a misunderstanding...I'm just about to start book three but I imagine it'll be the same.
This book. Oh boy. Lost all respect for Emma when she had a major melt
I have all four of this series on my Kobo from the library and I'm going to finish them but I'm feeling suffocated in fondant and flower petals.There's zero suspense. Zero. I knew from book two who all four would end up with (over what, a period of a year?) To get the smexing in, they hook up pretty soon in the book, then of course there's a misunderstanding...I'm just about to start book three but I imagine it'll be the same.
This book. Oh boy. Lost all respect for Emma when she had a major meltdown because the man she'd been dating for two months hadn't declared his love, asked her to marry him, given her a key, and let her tart the place up with girly flowers.
Well, duh. Two months. Okay, he had Issues, but you'd have thought he'd killed kittens the way everyone reacted. And don't get me started on the fight between him and Del over Emma as if she was some kind of possession who couldn't choose her own date.
I wanted some fun wedding problems, but they're few and far between and always handled so perfectly.
Everything's perfect. Though from the amount of wine and champagne they're always drinking, maybe not their livers.
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Because with Bed of Roses she once again succeeded. This series is more than a contemporary romance, there's a little of chick-lit in it as well, but especially it's an ode to female friendship. One of those strong, resilient friendships that last a lifetime. Mac, Emma, Laurel
As I said in my review for Vision in White, Nora Roberts never fails to entertain me. What, does she have a special gene or something? Is she a writing mutant? What's with her novels that always deliver where I'm concerned?Because with Bed of Roses she once again succeeded. This series is more than a contemporary romance, there's a little of chick-lit in it as well, but especially it's an ode to female friendship. One of those strong, resilient friendships that last a lifetime. Mac, Emma, Laurel and Parker are such friends and it's always a pleasure and a hoot to read about them and their bond.
An added plus, we didn't get to read only about female friendship, but male friendship as well, and discovered how different they are. As NR mentioned in one conversation between Jack and Emma, girls like to eat chocolate when upset, while men punch each other in the face. "It's the nature of the beasts." I loved the interaction between Del and Jack, and now that Carter's firmly in the picture, I was glad to see him come out of his shell and open up a little more around these two (and the girls).
That said, this was also a romance. And what a romance. It's always difficult to start considering one of your friends for a potential lover, and we all know the whys of that. Would you be able to get back to where you were if (when) the relationship implodes? How will others around you react, especially if you both come from a tight circle of close friends? Could it even work? Should you give it a try? Are you brave enough to give it a try and fight for what you want?
These are all questions rolling around Emma and Jack's minds at the beginning of this book. Sure, once the passion is upon you, you throw caution to the wind, and hope you get lucky. And that's what these two did. And it worked. Sort of. Despite Emma's über-romantic nature (which started to grate after a while, I'll admit) and Jack's reservations (which were rather plausible and believable, making me root for him throughout the story).
(view spoiler)[And I rooted for him in the end as well, when Ms. Roberts made her female lead pull a stunt that utterly annoyed me. She knew what Jack was like, they've been going out for months, a little longer and he'd mellow, I'm sure. Yet she—deliberately, might I add—crossed the boundaries of their relationship, despite knowing (and seeing the mood he was in), so she could throw a completely childish tantrum, storm off, and vow never to see him again, without giving him a chance to talk to her, reason with her. And what does the guy do? He has a chat with his best friend, that doesn't punch him in the face, but gives him pretty sound advice, he has a chat with his "undercover agent" a.k.a. Carter, then makes up his mind about the depth of his feelings (which he knew pretty much from the get-go, but didn't dare put a name to them), and goes on a crawl-and-grovel campaign. Which I didn't like, because of what I listed in the previous paragraph, but that's just me. (hide spoiler)]
And what did her friends do? They sided with her. What?! For all the maturity they exhibited in their business, there wasn't one of them ballsy enough to sit Emma down, look her in the eye, and tell her she overreacted? Because she did, and she knew it the morning after, once she thought it through. But did the "girlfriends" try to reason with her? Nope. They let her mope, they let her rage, they barred Jack's entrance to their property "until Emma was ready". Sheesh. Talk about drama queens.
Sexy, sweet, romantic, with a few LOL moments, a lot of female bonding, and some more insight into the wedding-planning business, this was yet another keeper in this four-book series.
I loved the few sneak peeks into the relationships of the next two books, but while I'm really looking forward to Laurel and Del's story, it's Mal and Parker's book that's keeping me on the edge of my seat. Really apropos to make it the last one.
I'm not going to do a full synopsis, but I have to say this one was definitely better than Vision in White, and while th
4 stars; from just sheer enjoyment, I would have given this 4 1/2, but I deducted half a star for two reasons: (a) the heroine is the personality twin of the heroine in Convincing Alex of the Stanislaskis series; and (b) TOO MUCH WEDDING DETAIL!!!! I know it's a book about wedding planners, but come on! there was more wedding information than scenes written from the hero's POV.I'm not going to do a full synopsis, but I have to say this one was definitely better than Vision in White, and while there was shameless sequel-bait, I'm really ooking forward to Laurel's & Parker's books. Jack was the typical commitment-phobe modern guy, and Emma was a sweet and almost-naive, but not in an annoying way, foil to him. And it was fun watching them turn from friends to lovers, and trying to deal with all of the changes it causes, not just between them, but among their whole group. I have to say that I am sort of concerned by the level of codependency among the four women: they practically live together, work together, spend almost every waking moment together. When the plot hits the conflict and all of the women group together to protect Emma, all I could think was that was really insulting to Emma, and really immature of her to hide behind them. I can't compute that at all - that is so completely the opposite of how I expect grown women to act. But other than that, an enjoyable read. B
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This series doesn't have quite as much strife in it as some, as the something happening to mess it up is more like an argument and a misunderstanding than s
Nora Roberts has a formula in her romance series that really works for me. Woman meets man, woman falls for man, man and woman are happy together, something happens to mess that up, but man and woman become happy again by the end of the book. It's a winning theme that carries across many of her books, and it is one of which I will NEVER tire.This series doesn't have quite as much strife in it as some, as the something happening to mess it up is more like an argument and a misunderstanding than something like a not-so-friendly ghost coming back from the grave to drive the lovers apart, causing them to be in mortal danger. However, the first two books have still been wonderful stories about likable characters that you can't help but root for. The wedding business that the four main characters share serves as an enjoyable backdrop for all the drama. As someone who LOVED her own wedding (and especially the details like the flowers, the cake, and the photos), it's so fun to read about the wedding planning business and experience the over-the-top affairs these women plan.
My only criticism is that we will have to wait so long for the next book! As with any of the Nora Roberts series I have read, I want to continue with the story now! However, I know it will be worth the wait...it always is.
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Emma is the florist in her quarter of Vows, the wedd
I think Bed of Roses should have been the first book in the Bride Quartet series. I felt like the players were much fleshed out then in the first, Vision in White. I got to know them and what their feelings and wants are. I felt that lacked in VIW. In BOR, we get Emma and Jack's story. I loved every minute of it! They've been like siblings since they were twelve, and in the past few years and have started noticing each other in a different way.Emma is the florist in her quarter of Vows, the wedding planning business she owns with her 3 best friends. I really enjoyed all the flower work and descriptions in this one. As any Nora fan will tell you, once she decides on a theme for her book she goes at it 'full research ahead'.
Jack is a mostly beta architect that steals Emma's heart--and mine too, I might add. He's always been a commitment-phoebe, until he meets her. The story line is defiantly not a new one, but it works for me.
There is a lot of banter between everyone. It seems like all of the women have a snappy come back for whatever any one says. Sometimes that bothers me. However I am so glad I liked this one. I was contemplating jumping off Nora's wagon after the last few books.
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To be honest, I feel as if Emma basically showed Jack that it was either a marriage or a break-up in their future and wow, way to push a guy to ask you to marry him. True love, ladies and gentlemen. After a full three months (if that) of dating. *sarcastic applause*
I'm sad that it all went to hell right before the end. Even though I'm used to Nora Roberts' characters being very stereotypical (Carter is the quiet, nerdy type; Jack and Del are the 'scared-of-serious-commitment-like-to-taste-as-many-fish-in-the-sea' type and I'm pretty sure Malcolm will be the former bad boy turned good. It doesn't bother me much, but I hate that I keep noticing it while reading.
The constant abbreviations for various wedding guests were also a little bit much here, and I don't think Roberts truly understands the game of soccer, because the way she wrote that brief scene with Parker and Emma just made me roll my eyes because of its inaccuracy.
However, I'm still very much looking forward to the next two books. One can only hope things will be handled a little more to my liking there.
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Besides flowers, Emma is also the heart of Vows. She truly cares about everybody and often plays the role of peacemaker among her friends. It w
This book does, indeed, feature another partner in the Vows partnership. Emma does flowers. She loves them even when they don't love her back and she ends up using Neosporin like hand cream. I really wasn't expecting the emotional payoff at the end of this book and found myself crying in the middle of the night as I finished it. The good kind of crying...Besides flowers, Emma is also the heart of Vows. She truly cares about everybody and often plays the role of peacemaker among her friends. It would be really easy for Roberts to write Emma as emotionally weak as an aspect of this trait, but she takes the harder route, here. Emma is strong and perceptive and uses that inner strength in the kindest ways she can devise. It is characteristic of her that she doesn't so much "dump" boyfriends as she introduces them to their next romantic possibility.
Emma is also smart enough to know before they even begin that a relationship with Del's friend Jack could spell lots and lots of pain for them and all their friends. Jack has been friends with Del forever and all four of the ladies at Vows know him pretty well. And one thing they know is that he doesn't take relationships with women very seriously. Emma is up front about both her attraction and trepidation before, with some misgiving, they start dating.
The talent of Nora Roberts is, again, manifest with this story. Jack and Emma are great compliments to each other—well-matched in their strengths and shoring up each other's' weaknesses. Jack can join in Emma's sense of adventure and fun without becoming lost in the wildness and she steadies his fundamental distrust of emotional commitment. Naturally, all is not smooth along the way.
My favorite aspect of the novel, though, is how much of it revolves around friendship. Not just the partners at Vows, though that's surely center-stage, but Del and Jack's friendship is beautifully depicted and faithfully explored by Roberts. These are friendships that are at the core of who they are ("they" being the characters involved) and when romance and sex enter those circles, it can be, and is, incredibly disruptive.
I couldn't help but love Emma and accompanying her and Jack on their emotional ride was enthralling. It's a bumpy ride, but one well-worth the price of admission.
A note on Steamy: While there's the standard two (were there three? I knew I should have written this review days ago) and they're relatively short ones at that, this novel is actually a good bit steamier than the other Nora Roberts books I've read so far. That's mostly because about a quarter of the book is Jack and Emma flirting and, boy-howdy, can those two flirt. If flirting were an Olympic event, they'd both be gold medal contenders. There was one scene where I nearly pulled the car over for a cool-down (I listened to this one) as it was getting dangerous to continue driving...
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But that's really a super minor quibble compared to how much happiness this book gave me. THAT SETTING!!! The found family was a hundred times better than in the first book since we knew everyone already. I loved the glimpses of Carter and Mac being the happiest ever. I loved the home gym and the home cooking. I loved Del being a protective big (almost) brother and being pissed off at Jack and punching him, and I adored him checking out Laurel's legs without realising it (third book!!!).
So much delightful dialogue, too. This Mac and Jack bit:
"Plus," she realized, "our names rhyme."
"You're right. Let's go have sex."
AND THE ENTIRE SCENE WITH THE MISUNDERSTANDING OF MAC AND THE EX RULE. I mean it starts with Emma kissing Carter and joking about wanting to steal him away and Carter getting all flustered and "this is a really nice start to my day".
And then basically all of Mac's dialogue, which will not be well-rendered in this review because I am too lazy to retype the whole scene, but this is mostly for me so who cares:
"I demand to know why I'm mad at you so I can put some effort into it. You bitch."
"You slut." Face stern, Mac folded her arms over her chest. "You almost had sex with a man I never had sex with. What kind of a friend are you?"
(After it's revealed that Parker also kissed Jack way back) "I think it's disgusting," Mac muttered. "Yet another best pal moving on my imaginary ex."
THESE PEOPLE AND HOW THEY ARE SUCH FRIENDS.
Also I read most of this in the ER (I am fine!) and it was the perfect comfort read. I am very happy we live in a world where I can just put big-ass books in my tiny iPod and read them anywhere. Also very happy that I'm enjoying these books so much, after my other lackluster Nora Roberts experiences. Basically these books make me happy despite the crutches, so good job there. (And sorry this review is so all over the place.)
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As for the romance itself, I was sailing a
I loved so much about the friendship of the four women (and Mrs. Grady!) in this book. I always feel a little reluctant to claim that one of my favorite things about Nora Roberts's books is the strong friendships between strong women, because these books are clearly romance (not to mention clearly romantic). But I can't deny that my very favorite scene in this book was when the five women were discussing prior kisses (or prior lacks of kisses) from Jack.As for the romance itself, I was sailing along, no strong feelings but getting mild enjoyment from it, until requisite the big fight, and then I was just kind of gaping at how Jack was made into the bad guy. I could have dealt with Emma's refusal to communicate or to let Jack communicate and with the hissy fit she throws, but when her friends joined in to baby her and to leave Jack (their friend, too) out in the cold, I lost my taste for this book. Three months. They'd been dating for three months and, yes, they'd been friends forever, but Emma throws a fit when he never gave her a key to his house, when she never actually asked him for one? When he takes back the spare key kept at his office (that his secretary lent Emma) so he could, oh I don't know, return them to where they belong and where he might need them in the future? And Emma explodes and doesn't even want to talk like an adult about it? On a day when she knows he's, literally, sick and tired? That makes Jack the bad guy who needs to grovel?
Yeeeeah.
Not very romantic to me. I can just see a painful future for both of them if Emma gets to throw fits and refuse to communicate and then gets painted as the victim for it.
So I like the characters, I love the wedding stuff, but I wasn't into the narrative's castigation of Jack and babying of Emma.
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WTF happened at Jack's house? Emma acted like a total drama queen and a brat. And her friends (supposedly Jack's friends as well) all acted like it was his freaking fault. Ridiculous scene that ruined the whole book for me.
Why should he give her keys if he's not comfortable doing it? Why is it humiliating for her to have to ask for permission or keys to his house? They have just started dating, for Pete's sake. Emma come
Originally read many years ago. Re-read now and completely changed my mind.WTF happened at Jack's house? Emma acted like a total drama queen and a brat. And her friends (supposedly Jack's friends as well) all acted like it was his freaking fault. Ridiculous scene that ruined the whole book for me.
Why should he give her keys if he's not comfortable doing it? Why is it humiliating for her to have to ask for permission or keys to his house? They have just started dating, for Pete's sake. Emma comes off as fatal-attraction obsessed.
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Firstly, complete competency pawn. I love a heroine, who is confident in herself, is completely in love with what she does, her job, and we see a window into the joy, as she does it. I have learnt so much about being a florist, for an events company, through her eyes. I am in awe with Emma.
Then there is Jack, an architect, and I loved being reminded of his world, as I was once a designer in my old world before babies. A reminder o
This was so lovely! So many things that I loved, tied up in a bow.Firstly, complete competency pawn. I love a heroine, who is confident in herself, is completely in love with what she does, her job, and we see a window into the joy, as she does it. I have learnt so much about being a florist, for an events company, through her eyes. I am in awe with Emma.
Then there is Jack, an architect, and I loved being reminded of his world, as I was once a designer in my old world before babies. A reminder of difficult clients, Haha, but the satisfaction in solutions.
This is book two in a quartet, and we've got to know, and love, a group of characters. I love how our best friends love and support each-other, the banter and the teasing, the loving. And the guys bromance thing growing, supporting each other and their ladies. I love that all characters love what they are doing in their careers, and know the direction they are going in: all the way upwards. What these books tackle, is how these strong and successful women, let someone else into their busy and successful lives - and that is so refreshing!!
As for Emma and Jack together: I felt initially, they got together too easily, too fast, borderline insta-lust. I, as a reader, didn't get to feel their initial connection, when it happened quite quickly. But, I caught up with them as time went along. I got caught up in their romance. I loved their banter, their chemistry, their long conversations, he supporting her as she worked tirelessly, designing, building floral fantasies for events each week. The 'event' dramas with little fires to put out.
I found I loved the world that Nora Roberts created for this series, the characters she's created, entirely fascinating. Great friendships and banter and affection, some sizzle, and the lightness is exactly perfect for quarantine reading. These are short reads, and perhaps an extra 100 pages would have built up more of the chemistry and depth I craved for this couple - yet I still loved it, and look forward to more.
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There are two problems with this story. First, the MCs are flat and boring. Emma is perfect in every way, everyone says so. She's gorgeous and
Though it's not my normal genre, I really enjoyed the first book in this series, mainly because I thought the hero was awesome. I mean awesome in a realistic, caring, intelligent way, not an "I'm tougher than everybody else" way. Because I liked the first one so much I've been looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately it was pretty disappointing.There are two problems with this story. First, the MCs are flat and boring. Emma is perfect in every way, everyone says so. She's gorgeous and rich and loves every detail of her job. She instantly attracts all men and understands them so well that even when she breaks up with them they still like her. Jack is - well, I don't know. He's a successful architect and an old friend, but otherwise he has no personality at all. Because the MCs don't work for me their relationship doesn't work, either. It's like moving a couple of paper dolls around - no substance or meaning.
Second, there's No Plot to this story. Which puzzled me because Roberts can definitely plot. Very mild spoilers ahead. But a third of this book is taken up with Emma not wanting to kiss Jack because she thinks he once slept with her girlfriend. They get that straightened out - the girlfriend didn't care anyway - and then Jack's best friend is upset that no one told him they were together. This a problem? This is tension, suspense, anything to worry about? Big deal. Get over yourself, Del. At the end Emma suddenly goes ballistic to Jack and I thought, "Where did that come from?" It seemed to not fit the rest of the book or the characters at all. And ultimately it was just a fight. Newsflash - people in love fight. Then they cool off and talk. It's not actually a crisis.
I needed a lot more plot and fewer details about weddings. I love flowers, but how many different color schemes and bouquets can you read about before you feel like you're studying for an exam in Floral Arranging 201? On the other hand, if you're planning a wedding and need lots of ideas, this book might help you out. lol
I really didn't get this book or the characters. My reaction may be in part because I rarely read romances about the trust fund set. I went to college with lots of rich kids and they didn't impress me as being more special than the rest of us, just more concerned about money. And better dressed. But who cares? Ultimately that's how I felt about this book, too.
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