Title: Bed of Roses
Author: Nora Roberts
Genre: Romance, Chick Lit
Publisher: Berkley Books
Source: Purchased
Parental Warning: sexuality

“Friends were friends, lovers were lovers.  You could make a friend out of a lover, but you were on boggy ground when you made a lover out of a friend.”

Summary (from the publisher):
Since she was a little girl, Emma Grant has always loved romance.  So it’s really no surprise that she has found her calling as a wedding florist.  She gets to play with flowers every day and work with her three best friends in the process.  She couldn’t ask for a better job.

And on the surface, Emma’s love life seems to be thriving.  Slim and sultry, she brings color into every room she enters, just like the arrangements she creates.  Men swarm around her, yet she still hasn’t found Mr. Right.  And the last place she’s looking is right under her nose.

But that’s just where Jack Cooke is.  He’s been best friends with Parker’s brother for years, which makes him practically family.  The architect has begun to admit to himself that his feelings for Emma have developed into much more than friendship.  And when Emma returns his passion — kiss for blistering kiss — things start to get complicated at Vows.

Jack has never been big on commitment.  Emma yearns for a lifelong love affair.  If the two are to find common ground, they must trust in their history — and in their hearts.

Opinion:
The second in her “Bride Quartet” series Roberts didn’t fail in providing me the escape I was looking for.  A quick and easy read we follow Emma, a florist in her partners wedding business, as she overcomes her single girl ways to catch the man of her dreams.  It just so happens that this man is also an old friend of her extended family at Vows.

The lighter and more entertaining tone of this story is an improvement over the first book’s more somber focus.  For this reason I found myself enjoying Emma’s story much more than Mac’s.  Filled with fun and sass Bed of Roses still carries a very strong Sex and the City vibe. I would certainly recommend it to any reader who enjoys strong friendships and decent (if not a little predictable) romance.

As I read the book I quickly came to the conclusion that the most appealing aspect of the story is still the tight bond the four main characters embrace.  Even as their circle of friends and family grows around them, these ladies are a strong foundation on which they can all build and rely.  Roberts has done a fine job of creating four distinct women, with great individuality.  There is a bit of mob mentality when defending their own but even that is somewhat light-hearted in nature.   Furthermore, the romantic pairings created were equally enjoyable as the mix of male personalities and dynamics of circumstance added to the diversity of emotion.

Roberts is straight forward in her dialogue, she doesn’t feel the need to write copious amounts of flowery prose.  I appreciate a story that gets right to the point and Roberts’ ability to do so made Bed of Roses all that more pleasurable for me.  As a reader one of the more enjoyable parts of the story were those in which she focuses on the quick witted banter all four ladies are capable of.  It was entertaining, humorous and made me long for the days when I was surrounded by the people who know me so well they could finish my sentences.

I admit, there wasn’t much in the way of earth shattering innovation with this story.  It was exactly what I expected filled with secret longing, relationship phobia, a few obstacles to overcome and then some not so stunning revelations on all parties parts.  I fall just short of saying it’s formulaic as there were certainly differences between how Robert’s approached the first book in the series as compared to the second.  But, at times I did find find myself able to predict what was coming down the pike.

Regardless of that, Bed of Roses was an engaging and witty read I didn’t want to put it down. In fact I finished it in one sitting.