Jennifer's Garden [NOOK Book]

Mixed Review

Sometimes a touching story of a mother/daughter relationship. Jennifer's mother is dying and wants to see her daughter happily
married with all the pomp. Jennifer is engaged to a man she thinks is perfect for her, that is until she hires Jackson Montgomery to design a stunning landscape to act as the backdrop for her wedding.
One thing leads to another and you can guess the outcome. A little
slim on plot and too sexually explicit for me. Use descretion which
I wish someone had warned me about.

20 out of 23 people found this review helpful.

Jennifer's Garden

We follow Dr. Jennifer Hamilton in her race against time to get married. Her mother is dying of cancer and wants to see her married in a garden, just like she was. The only problem, Jennifer's landscape leaves much to be desired. So she hires a landscape designer to transform her yard all in time for her wedding. Little does she know that her choice of designer will forever change her life.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this story. From the book excerpt, I thought the premise was very intriguing and had my interest piqued. Dianne Venetta wrote a beautifully descriptive story and during the construction/planting phase of her garden, you felt as if you could see every single plant, fountain, shrub, etc. After reading I want to go home and plant a garden myself, it sounded just that wonderful. The love story was very soft & understated, but that didn't make it any less powerful. What was even more powerful, was the relationship between Jennifer & her mom, Beatrice. The love that they both shared for each other and struggle with Beatrice's illness was so moving. I cried for the loss of such an important & integral part of Jennifer's life.

From the start I didn't like the main character. Jennifer was a confident "I have everything planned out" kind of girl and if anything diverted from those plans she was lost. She knew exactly what she thought she wanted in a man - education, status, occupation, wealth, class, etc. If a man didn't meet that criteria, she didn't even look twice. When introduced to Jackson, she refuses to see past his job title & clothes, to the real person inside and treats him very unfairly. This completely & totally turned me off to her. Throughout the rest of the book, with the help of her friend Sam (whom I loved BTW), we see her realize, confront & change her prejudices, and in the end benefit from that acceptance. However, for me I just never got over that initial dislike. The book was also a little long and I felt that some length could have been shaved off during editing, especially towards the end. Other than those minor things, the book was a wonderful read. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Venetta's work.

7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Okay

The book is okay, but the main chatacter is really not that likeable. I cannot believe a woman with enough chutzpah to become a cardiologist could be so weak and unable to make decisions! The dialogue between her and her fiance is hilarious...every response is basically repeating his final word: Him: "It will be perfect" Her: "Perfect?" You get the idea. Too long and drawn out as the poor little rich girl tries to make up her mind. By the end, I honestly hoped she would choose incorrectly and end up miserable because it would have served her right!

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommend!!

I highly recommend this book even though at first I hated the heroine she does grow on ya though the further you read. Jennifer is very judgmental and doesn't even realize it. Jax is a sweetheart from the get go. Thank goodness for good friends and good advice. This story will take you on an emotional roller coaster well worth the ride.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

An emotional roller-coaster!

Knowing that her mother could die at any moment Jennifer is planning the perfect wedding with a man as handsome and as sophisticated as her father was. The emotional journey she takes with her mother's disease and pre-marital jitters was quite captivating.

This was one of those books that my eyes just couldn't read fast enough! I couldn't decide what was more captivating... Jennifer realizing that her parent's weren't exactly as she remembers or that the life she's planned wasn't exactly what she wanted.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Nice Romance

Jennifer's Garden is a fun to read modern romance. The author, Dianne Venetta has a smooth, easy writing style that is a pleasure to read. Her descriptions really drew me in to the story, especially when writing about the garden and all the wonderful flowers.

This book is more character-driven than story-driven. The story is nice, but it's the characters and their relationships with each other that make this book special. Jennifer is powerful in her career, but vulnerable in her personal relationships. Jax deals with friends in an effortless ease, yet worries how people view him in his career choice. For me, the best relationship was between Jennifer and her best friend, Sam. They laugh and cry together, draw strength from each other, it's the kind of friendship everyone wants.

There were a couple issues I had with the story. Aurelio, the fiance, was too flat of a character. I realize this was done purposefully, but I felt it was done a little too heavy-handed for him to seem real. Also, the book was too long for me. There were a few places that felt like a good ending spot, but it just kept going. I feel it would have been more enjoyable if it had been about a hundred pages shorter.

Overall, the book is well worth the read. Ms. Venetta has a talent for writing engaging characters that should make her popular with readers. If we're lucky, she'll write a romance for Sam!

I received this book from the author, I was not required to write a positive review.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Great story

Very sweet and touching

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Read

I really enjoyed this book. But certain parts just seemed to drag on. Overall great story.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Check out my full review at Kritters Ramblings In a nutshell, t

Check out my full review at Kritters Ramblings

In a nutshell, this book is a romance fiction, but it can not be just defined as a romance. I may be speaking ahead of myself, but sometimes romance gets a bad rap - so I have to say that this piece of romance fiction has a heart and a full story.

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Good

Good writing, very enjoyable.

Great read

My mother was in the 1st class of women admitted to Harvard Med School in 1945 story resonated

Sweet love of family

Did not have to be that long. But it kept me wantingg to read the whole book. I would recommend to all daughters.

Wonderful read.

I laughed, I cried. I really enjoyed this heart warming story and look forward to more book from this author.

great book

really good book, fast read

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A good read

I enjoyed the story for the most part. I wanted to wring the heroine's neck for not telling Jax that she was available! The end (if that's what you want to call it) was so abrupt I was left feeling very unsatisfied. However, I was so touched at the way the author healed the relationship between Jennifer and her mother. I just cried from the time she visited Jennifer's garden on... What an emotional rollercoaster. I haven't done that with a book for few months. Overall, an above average read for me, just not five stars though.

Worth reading

Good story line that keeps you interested.

Five stars

Five stars are what i give this book and rating to author enjoyed story amazing author thank you

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Anonymois

Great book. Can't wait tu read the next book. Thos could use some editing; though.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Bad

Very boring and drawn out. When i started skimming pages i quit. Not worth it.

Storyline. ?

Hey can someone please tell me what this story is abou! Thanks a bunch

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.