How 'Bout Them Reads: Black Rose

Black Rose is the second book of three in 'In the Garden' series by Nora Roberts. And I know that this will come as a great surprise to many of you, but I couldn't put it down and loved the book. I know, I'm a constant surprise. And all this comes as more of a surprise to you because I finished book two of my Reading Challenge and it's only the sixth day of the new year. Wait, what? Me read - never! So truth here, does sarcasm come across as well on paper/screen or is it all in my head?

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Black Rose follows the story of Roz, like Blue Dahlia followed the story of Stella. Roz is a strong woman. Partially because she was born that way and partially because she has had to be that way. Her husband, whom she fell in love with at the age of fourteen and married young, died when she was in her early twenties with three sons. Although she comes from a prominent family, she has craved the way for herself by opening In the Garden. In the Garden is what initially brought the three women together; Stella, Hayley, and Roz.

Roz has lived in the Harper House her whole life and has become comfortable and used to have the Harper Bride around. It's an old family ghost, that her father deemed the Harper Bride, but nobody really talked about her and knew where she came from. After the scare with Stella and her boys, the women decide it's time to start looking into the bride and maybe give her peace. Roz had hired a genealogist to look into her family history and discover who the bride is. The only problem is that there is nobody named Amelia (which the ghost revealed to Stella in the last book that her name was Amelia) in her family. They figure that she is somehow related but how is unknown to them.

The search for who she is becomes more frantic and more important when the bride starts lashing out at Roz over her growing relationship with Mitch, the genealogist. The bride has always been passive towards Roz until she comes to terms with how she really feels about Mitch.

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Don't worry I didn't give away anything too important. I just adore Nora Roberts and her stories and characters. They are always so interesting. I honestly have felt split about Roz when I started reading this book. Part of me thinks she is just stubborn and rude. But there's another side of me that sees her as kind and caring and working hard to bring and keep a family together. She doesn't pretend to be anyone else and continues to stay true to herself even if it is not always right. You have to admire that in a person - or character.

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