Bride in Bloom by JB Hartnett

There is one thing that can be said for a JB Hartnett book –there is never a dull moment and in this we are given a first-hand glimpse into the lives of both Cameron Muir and Victoria Harper – two people who you would be please to call a friend and who you know deserve only the best that life can give them, and therein lies the rub because you also know that if you have read any of the authors other books, it is not going to be that easy.

Cameron has been taken for the ultimate ride by the one person that he considered would love him forever. His ex-wife was beyond reprehension – and the damage that she did to this kind hearted, romantic man was soul destroying – he is such a nice guy that had I got my hands on her I think I would have strung her up.

I have to say that while I appreciate a man that is good with his hands, I liked the fact that Cameron had more than that in his locker, he was the whole package- Creative, clever, handsome and caring, I mean what is there not to like, through chuck in a little bit of naughtiness in the bedroom and his attraction has just put him top of the pile in my book boyfriend list.

But through everything that has happened to him I loved him for none of those reasons – I loved him because his kindness and sensitivity shone through.

He caught sight of the emotionally vulnerable Victoria when she was at her weakest and knew then that he could to be the person to help her see that life is there to be lived, not cowered away from, to make sure that she could accept herself for the woman that she is and not for the shell that her circumstances could easy see her become.

Close family and friends are all party to the true Victoria but she lives each day internally struggling with the “could have” moments in life, you know the ones – the times that either make or break you, the ones that leave you blindsided because you just didn’t see it coming or the ones that leave you heartbroken because you laid yourself bare.

Victoria fell foul of a situation that in my respects still has her running scared but Cameron isn’t going to be discouraged, she can see that he is keen on her and initially she is reluctant to acknowledge any interest but this glorious man keeps plugging away and eventually she gets with the program and the winds of change start to blow.

As they start out on their path together I have to say that some of the subjects that came up where far from easy to assimilate, but with the abundance of friends and family around them they evolve and work through the issues.

I admire JB Hartnett and her ability to create both incredible depth and character, Cameron and Victoria have so much to give, I was just so please that I got the opportunity to watch as they learnt to love each other.

I enjoyed the humour that ebbed throughout the book, the ability to laugh at not only each other but with their plethora of amazing friends stood them in good stead, because no matter what they had going on and how seriously they perceived it to be, they were guaranteed to have someone around them that was more than able to lighten the mood.

Good friends are hard to come by but both Victoria and Cameron has some of the best. I couldn’t help but let a chuckle escape at some point on most pages.

The author deployed some clever tactics when pulling me along with the story – I loved catching up with some of the characters for her previous works – it was a smart move putting familiarity into the story, even in a small way.

But what I found holding me was the attention to details, the depth that not only Cameron and Victoria show us but also that the peripheral characters were given, the love and support that is shown to both Cameron and Victoria made me smile, in fact I think I smiled most of the way through the book – it was just that sort of read.  By the way – Cameron’s mum is a hoot!!!