A quick run down on what I liked and didn't liked:
What I Liked
1. The ghost story aspect. Although it is not resolved until the third book, it was the most interesting part of the book.
2. Nora Roberts knows how to write competency porn. The business side of gardening and the hobby/private gardens were described perfectly.
3. The characters of David, Roz, Harper, and Hayley. Side characters were way more interesting than the main couple. For being plot moppets, the kids were alright.
4. Chapter 1. Holy smokes, the feels! I cried a little during the reading. I was not expecting what happened to happen right there in the first chapter. What a way to set up the back story of the heroine. And that prologue might be a trigger for some women (still birth).
What I Did Not Like
1. The main romance. It was so awkward and off-putting that I physically cringed in certain spots (like the first sex scene). I definitely started skimming whenever the couple were together. I completely skipped the sex scenes. Also, the romance took over the entire story so there wasn't really a plot to this book. It was all set up for the other two books and the ghost story.
2. The hero was a big old alpha-hole. The only good thing about him was that he didn't trash his ex-wife; he was honest about why and how his marriage fell apart and didn't do the blame game. He also wasn't really needed in the story; if he was taken out all together, the book would have the exact same plot progression.
3. The heroine, apart from being a couple, was very hard to connect with. She was too anal retentive and over thinking every damn thing. She was also a little too judgmental when she wasn't being as dull as dish water. Everything that made her real in chapter one was gone by chapter three. She read more like 53 than 33 in some spots.
I am willing to continue with the trilogy because book two and three are about characters that are much more to my liking. And I really want the full story on the ghost. 2.5 stars.
5
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