 First edition | |
| Author | Nora Roberts |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Bride Quartet |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Berkley Books |
Publication date | 2009 |
| ISBN | 978-0-425-23007-7 |
| Preceded by | Vision in White |
| Followed by | Savor the Moment |
Bed of Roses is the second book of the Bride Quartet series, written by Nora Roberts. It focuses around the character of florist Emmaline "Emma" Grant.
Nora Roberts is a prolific author of romance and futuristic suspense novels. [1] From 1979 through 2008, almost 200 of her novels were published. On average, she completes a book every 45 days. She does not outline the novels in advance or create character biographies, preferring to develop the plot as she goes. [2]
According to Publishers Weekly, three of the top-ten bestselling mass market paperbacks of 2008 were Roberts novels. [2] Her new releases focused primarily on paranormal and fantasy romance. In 2009, Roberts returned to the traditional contemporary romance subgenre with Vision in White . [3] The novel was the first in her Bride Quartet, of which Bed of Roses was the second. Later sequels were Savor the Moment , and Happy Ever After . [4] Each novel in the series focuses on the love story of a different founder of Vows, a fictional wedding planning business. [1]
Bed of Roses was released by Berkeley on October 27, 2009, [5] one of ten Roberts books released that year. Five of the releases were paperback reprints of books previously issued. Three were new hardcovers, including two published under the pseudonym J.D. Robb. Vision in White and Bed of Roses, were released in trade paperback. [6] To help readers differentiate the new releases from the reprints, the covers of the two trade paperbacks included a medallion with the initials NR. [6] The story was also made in England
The novel follows the relationship of florist Emmaline "Emma" Grant and architect Jackson "Jack" Cooke. Emma, along with her childhood friends Parker, Mackenzie, and Laurel are the founders of Vows, a fictional wedding planning company in Connecticut. Jack is the childhood friend of Parker's brother. Bound by deep bonds of friendship, the six of them consider themselves family.
Emma and Jack have long been attracted to each other, but refrained from acting on those urges for fear of disrupting their friendship and that of the group in general. When they finally share their first kiss, it is obvious to both of them that they will no longer be able to fight the attraction. They agree to a fling and promise to remain friends when it has run its course.
As the story progresses, Emma falls in love and begins to take on more of a "girlfriend" role. Jack, always more wary of commitment, resists her overtures and wants to keep their relationship less serious. They eventually work through their conflict and Jack admits that he wants a future with Emma.
The four novels of the Bride Quartet share a strong emphasis on sisterhood. The heroines of the books bonded as children and have become sisters by choice. Throughout the series, they provide mutual support and acceptance of each other's quirks. The emphasis on their careers and building their business means the heroines have little time for outside relationships, and they rely heavily on each other for comfort, help, and distractions. [7] A similar theme is seen in several of Roberts' other works; her In Death series, written as J.D. Robb, has a heroine who has created a family from female friends and colleagues. [8]
Reviewer Jill M. Smith noted that the series allows Roberts to delve into how relationships can change over time. [5]
A review in Publishers Weekly described the plot as fairly predictable, but praised Roberts' "effortless wit". [9] In Romantic Times , reviewer Jill Smith gave the novel 4 stars and also highlighted Roberts' humor. [5]
By February 2010, Vision In White and Bed of Roses had sold a combined 1 million print copies. [10]
The first novel of the series, Vision in White, had been the inspiration for a downloadable casual-play computer game.< [11] Computer gaming company I-Play had planned a sequel to the game, using Bed of Roses as the inspiration. According to Roberts' website, game sales did not match the developer's expectations, and plans for sequels to the game were cancelled. [12]
Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy, placing supernatural elements in an approximation of a contemporary urban setting. The combination provides the writer with a platform for classic fantasy tropes, quixotic plot-elements, and unusual characters—without demanding the creation of an entire imaginary world.
Romantic fantasy or Romantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction combining fantasy and romance, describing a fantasy story using many of the elements and conventions of the chivalric romance genre. One of the key features of romantic fantasy involves the focus on relationships, social, political, and romantic.
Nora Roberts is an American author of over 225 romance novels. She writes as J. D. Robb, Jill March, and Sarah Hardesty.
Emma Rose Roberts is an American actress, singer and producer. Known for her performances spanning multiple genres of film and television, her work in the horror and thriller genres have established her as a scream queen. Roberts has received various accolades, including a Young Artist Award, an MTV Movie & TV Award, and a ShoWest Award.
Iris Johansen is an American writer of crime fiction, suspense fiction, and romance novels.
Heather Graham Pozzessere is an American writer, who writes primarily romance novels. She also writes under her maiden name Heather Graham as well as the pen name Shannon Drake. She has written over 150 novels and novellas, has been published in approximately 25 languages, and has had over 75 million copies printed.
Tess Gerritsen is the pseudonym of Terry Gerritsen, an American novelist and retired general physician.
Emma Darcy is the pseudonym used by the Australian husband–wife writing team of Wendy Brennan and Frank Brennan, they wrote in collaboration over 45 romance novels. In 1993, for the Emma Darcy pseudonym's 10th anniversary, they created the "Emma Darcy Award Contest" to encourage authors to finish their manuscripts. After the death of Frank Brennan in 1995, Wendy wrote on her own. She lived in New South Wales, Australia.
Susan Kyle, née Susan Eloise Spaeth is an American writer who was known as Diana Palmer and has published romantic novels since 1979. She has also written romances as Diana Blayne, Katy Currie, and under her married name Susan Kyle and a science fiction novel as Susan S. Kyle.
Janet Anne Haradon Dailey was an American author of numerous romance novels as Janet Dailey. Her novels have been translated into nineteen languages and have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. Dailey was both an author and entrepreneur.
Mary Jo Putney is an American author of over twenty-five historical and contemporary romance novels. She has also published romantic fantasy novels as M.J. Putney. Her books are known for their unusual subject matter, including alcoholism, death, and domestic abuse.
Carole Mortimer is a popular British writer of over 150 romance novels since 1978. She was one of Mills & Boon's youngest authors, and now is one of their most popular and prolific authors.
Liz Fielding is an awarded British writer of over 60 romance novels published by Mills & Boon since 1992.
The list of works by Nora Roberts includes all of the novels and novellas published by author Nora Roberts. The list is in order by year, and within each year it is in alphabetical order. It includes books published under the names Nora Roberts, J.D. Robb, and Jill March. The complete listing of J.D. Robb novels, in series order, can also be found at in Death.
The RITA Award, presented by the Romance Writers of America (RWA) from 1990 to 2019, was the most prominent award for English-language romance fiction. It was named for the RWA's first president, Rita Clay Estrada. After not being awarded in 2020, it was replaced by the Vivian Award, which was awarded once in 2021.
Vampire Academy is a series of six young adult paranormal romance novels by American author Richelle Mead. It tells the story of Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway, a dhampir girl, who is training to be a guardian of her moroi best friend, Vasilisa "Lissa" Dragomir. In the process of learning how to defeat strigoi in St. Vladimir's Academy, Rose finds herself caught in a forbidden romance with her instructor, Dimitri Belikov, while having an unbreakable psychic bond with Lissa.
Megan Crane is an American novelist who also writes as Caitlin Crews.
Irish Thoroughbred is American author Nora Roberts's debut novel, originally published by Silhouette in January 1981 as a category romance. Like other category romances, the novel was less than 200 pages and was intended to be on sale for only one month. It proved so popular that it was repackaged as a stand-alone romance and reprinted multiple times. Roberts wrote two sequels, Irish Rebel and Irish Rose.
Vision in White is the first book of the Bride Quartet series of romance novels, written by Nora Roberts. It spent two weeks atop the New York Times Bestseller List and reached number 3 on the USA Today bestseller list, marking the first time one of Roberts' books had become a bestseller in trade paperback format. A downloadable casual-play computer game based on the book was introduced by I-Play in 2010.
Linda Sole is an awarded and prolific British writer of romance and suspense novels since 1980, she also writes under the pseudonyms of Lynn Granville, Anne Herries, Emma Quincey, Cathy Sharp, Rosie Clarke, and Juliana Linden. In 2004, her novel A Damnable Rogue won the Love Story of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.