Search - Red Lily (In the Garden, Bk 3)

I always hate when trilogies end, and the "In the Garden" trilogy (BLUE DAHLIA, BLACK ROSE, and now RED LILY) is no exception. You get to know the characters so completely, and feel such a connection with them, that they become almost real--and you just want to keep on reading about their lives!

RED LILY is the story of Harper Ashby, oldest son of Rosalind (BLACK ROSE), and Hayley Phillips. Hayley had come to Harper House the previous year, pregnant and alone, to beseech Roz, a distant cousin through marriage, for a job. Unwed, with her baby's father out of the picture, Hayley wasn't looking for a handout, but for a chance to start over. What Roz offered her was so much more--a job, a place to stay at the renowned Harper House, and a family.

Now she has her daughter Lily, a great job, and a roof over her head, but lately she's been thinking of Harper, the man whose been her friend through it all, in a brand-new light--that of a love interest. Afraid to ruin their friendship by telling him how she feels, she keeps quiet. Harper, on the other hand, has wanted Hayley in a more than friendly fashion ever since he laid eyes upon her--pregnant and all--more than a year ago. But he's sure that she doesn't think of him in the same way, and he's leary of messing up the friendship that means to much to him.

As these two friends--both wanting to be so much more--fight their attraction to each other, the resident ghost of the house, the Harper Bride, kicks into high gear. She's always been loving and kind to the children in the house, singing them lullabies in the night, but she seems to hate men, and she's become especially violent now that Hayley is entertaining thoughts of romance.

As the whole crew--Roz and her new husband Mitch, a geneologist trying his hardest to discover who the Harper Bride really is; Stella and Logan, both employees of Roz's In the Garden shop; and Hayley and Harper, who live on Harper/Ashby land--try to figure out the Bride's agenda, their lives are in danger, and their hearts and passions intertwine with that of the ghost's.

I loved this entire trilogy, and read RED LILY in one day. It was a perfect conclusion to this powerful family saga, and I was especially happy to finally learn the answers to who the Harper Bride was, and what happened to her.

I will admit that there was one surprise twist to the storyline that I didn't see coming, and wasn't really thrilled with, but since Ms. Roberts wrote it and I didn't, I can't complain! Overall, the story was still great, and in time I learned to live with what I thought was an unnecessary plot device.

Pick up this trilogy today--you won't be disappointed!

Awesome book, awesome series!! This is the best one of the three, I just wish there were MORE! How about a follow up when David finds love????

The final in the garden trilogy. I was sad this series ended. It was a fascinating look at the world of the dead and their relationship to those of us still left here.

I'm not a flower/garden person so I read over these references. But even with that annoyance, I loved this series! It was great to reconnect with Stella and Roz and even though Hayley was the "star" of this installment, they both played a prominent role. The biggest star was the vengeful ghost Amelia. The team (Stella, Mitch, Roz, Logan, Hayley and Harper) spent a good portion of their time investigating Amelia and trying to find a way to get rid of her. Amelia popped up whenever Hayley got emotional about Harper. For most of the book she actually possessed Hayley - hell even when they were having sex...ewww creepy. The team used this possession to get Amelia to tell them about herself and her situation and then promptly used it against her.

I really liked Harper as he was a truly good man and terribly romantic and of course, thoroughly in love with Hayley and her daughter Lily. Hayley was a little to insecure for my tastes but knowing where she came from helped get past that. I don't remember it saying her age but she was young and she came into her own eventually. Which I guess she had to once she'd been possessed again and again by evil. A rather satisfying conclusion to the In The Garden series. Another brilliant series from Nora Roberts.

I hate for this trilogy to end. What a fun book!

great ghost story