Roz Harper has lived with the Harper Bride for as long as she can remember. As a child, she remembers the Bride singing to her. As an adult, she remembers the Bride showing herself right before she discovered she was pregnant. As Roz's family has grown, with Hayley Phillips and her daughter Lily, along with Stella and her boys, the Bride has become less of a benign presence and more of a threat. When Stella made her decision to marry Logan and the Bride objected, the family made a decision to bring in a genealogist to find out more about the person they now know is named Amelia. The last thing Roz expected was to be attracted to the absentminded professor-like Dr. Mitchell Carnagie .

Mitch Carnagie doesn't believe in ghosts. When Roz Harper came to him asking him to research her family history so they could exorcise a ghost, he was incredulous to say the least. When he first visited Harper House, he got more than he expected when Amelia tried to keep Stella away from her boys. Fascinated despite himself, Mitch agrees to help the Harper family as soon as he's finished with his current project.

After ruining his marriage and missing out on the first 6 years of his son's life, Mitch has learned a lot. In the 15 years since then, he has learned to hold onto whatever happiness he can find. One thing he is happy with is being with Roz. When he realizes the attraction is mutual, he is determined not to let it slip by. All he has to do is talk Roz into taking a third chance and somehow make the Bride, Amelia, realize that she can't interfere.

The second installment of the IN THE GARDEN trilogy is fabulous. The love story of Mitch and Roz is heartwarming. Losing the love of her life at a young age, Roz raised 3 boys and never expected to love again. Marrying again, Roz soon realized that she married not only a gold-digger, but a cheating bastard. When Mitch won't go away, Roz realizes that she has to grab her chance at love one more time. Add a ghost and the lying-cheating ex into the mix and you have a definite winner.

In her first book of the trilogy, Blue Dahlia, Roberts shows us how passionate she is about gardening. I genuinely enjoyed the way she used gardening metaphors to define her characters' philosophical views. I had high hopes for the second book, Black Rose, since the main characters are using genealogical research--one of my passions--to discover the mysterious past of a ghost who plays havoc in Harper House. Sadly, I was disappointed with this book. More than anything, the story and characters just seemed rather lifeless and even the ghost seemed a melodramatic device.

I find Nora Roberts to be an amazing writer. I admire her style of writing, her character development, the witty banter, and the way she uses metaphors (whether it's wine making, fire fighting, archeology or gardening) for backdrops of her stories. But the story here just seemed flat. As much as I wanted to enjoy the storyline between the middle aged couple, Roz and Mitch, their attraction seems forced. And the ghost's antics were over the top. I'm giving the book a 3-star rating, because even though it's not one of my favorites, an average Roberts book is better than most of the mediocre and mindless romances published nowadays.

I was hooked on this trilogy after reading the first of the series. I found the second book a bit forced, but really enjoyed the third and final installment. I hate to say goodbye to these characters and their enchanting home of Harper House. I was glad to learn the final resting place of Amelia and really enjoyed the ghost/haunting aspect of this romantic series.

Nora's "In The Garden" Trilogy was great, but I must say not her best. Her characters are so life-like and you actually feel like you're part of the story. She's a phenomenal author and I have not come across anything of hers that I have not thoroughly enjoyed.
I also highly recommend "The Three Sisters Island Trilogy." By far my favorite.

Happy Reading!!