Review: Red Lily

Title: Red Lily
Author: Nora Roberts
Pages: 351
Challenges: Women's Challenge; Mount TBR, Color Coded
Rating: 4/5

Summary from Goodreads:

A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis. And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night...

Hayley Phillips came to Memphis hoping for a new start, for herself and her unborn child. She wasn't looking for a handout from her distant cousin Roz, just a job at her thriving In the Garden nursery. What she found was a home surrounded by beauty and the best friends she's ever had--including Roz's son Harper. To Hayley's delight, her new daughter Lily has really taken to him. To Hayley's chagrin, she has begun to dream about Harper--as much more than a friend...

If Hayley gives in to her desire, she's afraid the foundation she's built with Harper will come tumbling down. Especially since she's begun to suspect that her feelings are no longer completely her own. Flashes of the past and erratic behavior make Hayley believe that the Harper Bride has found a way inside of her mind and body. It's time to put the Bride to rest once and for all, so Hayley can know her own heart again--and whether she's willing to risk it...

Oh Nora, I hope you haven't already spoiled me for the year!

I can't say enough good things about this trilogy!  I absolutely loved and adored each and every one of the three novels.  There wasn't a single character that I didn't completely fall in love with, and Red Lily tells the story of my two favorites Harper and Hayley.

Harper and Hayley made a great romantic match.  From their very first meeting, they made me smile, and I loved that we got to see them grow throughout the first two books of the trilogy, and that we knew they were in love with each other long before they did.  It made their union that much sweeter.  Plus, Harper is my new book crush for the year 2013.  He was adoringly sweet to Hayley and I loved the fact that he was so in love with her daughter Lily.  Since becoming a mother myself, and seeing my husband with our child, there's just something that makes me all mushy and gushy inside when it comes to a doting daddy.

However, the best part of this whole book was the conclusion of the Harper Bride.  It was jaw dropping, and I didn't see it coming from a mile away.  Perhaps I'm naive, but Roberts really threw me for a loop on this one, and I loved it!  It was all so shocking and scary and absolutely perfect.  I just couldn't get enough of it.

Red Lily, and the entire In the Garden series will definitely be books that I'll turn to when I need to read something that I know I love.  These books were a great way to start out 2013!