New Love takes the cake in the third novel in Nora Roberts's new Bride Quartet-in a stunning French flap editionWedding baker Laurel McBane is surrounded by romance working at Vows wedding planning company with her best friends Parker, Emma, and Mac. But she's too low-key to appreciate all the luxuries that their clients seem to long for. What she does appreciate is a strong, intelligent man, a man just like Parker's older brother Delaney, on whom she's had a mega-crush since childhood.
But some infatuations last longer than others, and Laurel is convinced that the Ivy League lawyer is still out of her reach. Plus, Del is too protective of Laurel to ever cross the line with her-or so she thinks. When Laurel's quicksilver moods get the better of her-leading to an angry, hot, all-together mind-blowing kiss with Del-she'll have to quiet the doubts in her mind to turn a moment of passion into forever...
I'm so excited to be able to say that this series is starting to pick up for me. I'm going to say upfront that I have higher standards for Nora Roberts- she is one of the queens of romance authors and I just feel that with all of the great books that she has written that mediocre releases don't cut it. Vision in White was mediocre. It just was. It didn't have the spark, the emotional tug, that most of Roberts books have. It certainly didn't have the type of reader engagement that a series starter should have to keep the audience buying - especially when the quartet is going to be released in trade paper.
I bought (and kept) it more as a lark, as something that was automatic because of who Roberts' is. Luckily that first book wasn't a true indicator of the series and as each successive book has come out, the romances have become more believable and the stories more enjoyable. Laurel and Del are a wonderful to read about and have a fantastic chemistry. Instead of feeling like I had to force myself to finish, I found myself worried that the big 'conflict' that they had to get over was going to be too big! I wanted them to have their happy ending NOW and not one moment later! At this point I highly recommend the books to others, though the first is more background than anything else and I still wish the books had been released in mass market.
Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. This series is improving with age and really starting to distinguish itself as one of Roberts' most memorable.
Series - 1) Vision in White 2) Bed of Roses 3) Savor the Moment 4) Happy Ever After (November 2010)
