Vision in White by Nora Roberts

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Book 1 in the Bride Quartet
Published: April 2009
Pages: 352

Nora cordially invites readers to meet childhood friends Parker, Emma, Laurel, and Mac--founders of Vows, one of Connecticut's premier wedding planning companies.
Wedding photographer Mackensie "Mac" Elliot is most at home behind the camera, but her focus is shattered moments before an important wedding rehearsal when she bumps into the bride-to-be's brother . . . an encounter that has them both seeing stars. A stable, safe English teacher, Carter Maguire is definitely not Mac's type. But a casual fling might be just what she needs to take her mind off bridezillas. Of course, casual flings can turn into something more when you least expect it. And Mac will have to turn to her three best friends--and business partners--to see her way to her own happy ending. www.noraroberts.com

I adored this book, read half of it with a goofy grin on my face and spent the other on a 'feel-good' high, right up there on cloud 9. Vision in White is Mackensie's story but it's so much more than that. All the elements in this story truly captivated me; the unique relationship between childhood friends and business partners, Parker, Emma, Laurel and Mac, the blossoming romance between Mackenzie and Carter, the minute details that make a 'Vows' wedding and all the special moments captured forever by a lens. I really did relate to, and love it all, & for me this quote embodies not just the special friendship that exists between these four women but also what friendship means to me.

"We hang out at the big house a lot, but we all have our separate spaces." "You've been friends a long time?" "Forever." "That's family, isn't it? The kind without suckatude?"

Mackenzie and Carter, as a couple, could have taken a backseat in this story but I think the author does a brilliant job, entwining their love story with all the other elements that make this story so enjoyable. Just as 'Vows' brings couples' dreams to life, making their wedding day perfect, Nora Roberts blends everything beautifully to make Vision in White perfect.

Youth and age, she thought. Beginnings and endings, connections and constancy. And, love. She snapped the embrace, but that wasn't it. She snapped the glitter of tears, and still, no. Then Alison lowered her forehead to her grandmother's, and even as her lips curved, a single tear slid down her cheek while the dress glowed and glittered behind them. Perfect. The blue butterfly.

Read Vision in White if you'd like to be submerged in a cup of hot chocolate, mmm ... with marshmallows, it really is that good. Next up in the Bride Quartet is, Bed of Roses due for release October 27th - Can't wait!

Visit Nora Roberts website for news, excerpts, and book lists galore

This month on The Eclectic Reader you could win Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong OR The White Queen by Philippa Gregory OR Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink. Check this blog post for details. International entrants welcome.