This is the second of Roberts' 'In the Garden' trilogy which follows on from Blue Dahlia I read last month. I lent it to a friend who loved it so much (and who is far more impatient than me!) that she went on Amazon that very day and bought the remaining two books in the series so she could follow on the story asap - and which now means I can follow it on too!
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After finishing Blue Dahlia I wanted to read Black Rose as soon as possible coz I wanted to see how Stella and Logan's relationship continued and also find out more about the Harper Bride. Black Rose however, focuses predominantly on Roz's character and how the Harper Bride affects her. Stella and Logan's relationship hardly gets a mention throughout this book and I thought I would be really disappointed at that, but to be honest Roberts does such a great job of bringing Roz's character to life that you pretty much forget how involved you were in Stella because you get so invested in Roz. Oh how fickle us readers are! We do get to hear about Stella and Logan's wedding but even this is brief as during that part of the story something a whole lot more interesting happens to Roz... (you'll need one of those giant foam rubber fingers they have at sports events for this part I guarantee you!)
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So, to the story. It opens in the same way as the previous book with a chapter relaying part of the Harper bride's life and how ill-treated she was and thus you begin to get a bit more of an idea as to why she acts the way she does around the characters, before moving to the present and beginning Roz's story. Roz has realised now that she loves having her house full again (what with Hayley and Stella et al moving in during the last book) but with Stella's impending wedding the numbers will begin to diminish. Fortunately she has met Dr Mitch Carnegie, the genealogist she has hired to research the family tree and, fingers crossed, identify the Harper Bride in the process, who she begins to develop a relationship with. There are times when Roz questions whether she should be embarking on this relationship, especially when it moves to more serious ground, but Roberts is an expert at not making this self-doubt an irritating, annoying girly interlude in Roz's character. As with everything, she has her reasons, but she's not silly about them. As Roz and Mitch get closer the Harper Bride makes her disapproval known. But Roz being Roz is sure as Hell not going to let a ghost run her life or influence her decisions, no sir!
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I love Roz's character in this book. We got a hint of it in Blue Dahlia, but it's in this story that we really begin to get underneath her skin. She is one of the gutsiest and independent characters I've ever some across and she just kicks ass - but in a glamorous and sophisticated way! There are some awesome scenes in this book where she gets one up on those who deserve it - whilst always maintaining her poise and elegance since she hates public scenes. You'll be sitting there shouting in your head "C'mon Roz - kick their butts, kick it with style" - and boy, does she deliver! And at the end of the book you'll be really chuffed for her. I didn't find this one ended as abruptly as the other either. I'm not sure whether that was because I was more prepared for it - or because I had the third book on standby and therefore as soon as I finished Black Rose I picked up Red Lily and followed the story straight on, lol. I advise everyone to do that by the way... make sure you have the next installment ready to pick up! We also get to see a bit more of David's character too since he and Roz are close, and he just comes out with some of the greatest lines. And there is also the character of cousin 'Rissy' who can best be described as a shrivelled-up, cantankerous, evil-minded old witch (being polite) from whom Roz has to recover her ancestors journals in order to help piece together the Bride's identity. Its is safe to say that Black Rose definitely keeps you entertained the whole way through.
