Typical Nora Roberts. This is the first of a new series. Just o.k. Fluff. ( )

OK, but reminded me of the books she wrote when she was doing a lot of category romance. This is the first of a planned quartet and I suspect that the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts. This particular novel deals with Mac's romance and is very heavy on the details of planning elaborate weddings.

Before I start I have to admit that I am sad to have to give this such a low rating because normally Nora Robert's books give me hours of pleasure. In all fairness though I couldn't give this more than two stars for quality, largely down to the lack of plot. Vision in White has all the usual Nora trademarks as it deals with women, their friendships and bonds, and the main character looking for her place in life and hopefully meeting a sexy man to spend that life with. Mackensie and her three friends Parker (the smart type A business women), Laurel (the sarcastic baker), and Emma (the sexy heartbreaker with a heart of gold) run a multi strand wedding planning company with Mackensie as the wedding photographer.

Firstly, the one thing that I can always rely on a Nora Roberts book for was happily present; the four women are all strong and individual characters whose friendship leaps off the page. The best scenes for me are when the four friends are together to hash out problems or the scenes where they reminisce about their shared childhood. Unfortunately for Mac her childhood aside from strong friendships was less than idyllic with a weak and selfish mother and a distant and emotionally unavailable father having left her ironically cynical about the longevity of marriage and unable to form good relationships. Enter the frankly adorable Carter Maguire the Yale educated professor who decides to put down roots in his hometown and teach high school english.

The relationship between Carter and Mac is fantastic and they appear to be well matched and there is an easy chemistry in their dialogue. I loved their first meeting particularly Mac's retelling of it to the girls as a 'sexy breakfast story!' and I adored Carter's colleague Bob who tries to give Carter well meaning love advice which had me laughing my head off at times. The characterisation and dialogue are generally top notch but the real problem with Vision in White is the plot- namely there isn't one.

We meander through the relatively smooth romantic main plot with the only issues being on Mac's side with her mother's emotional blackmail and train wreck relationships leading her to believe that there is no such thing as happy ever after. Subsequently, the only real source of conflict in the plot is Mac trying to stand up to her mother and overcome her commitment phobia. I felt the novel and the romance for that matter needed far more conflict than was shown - aside from a very brief (all too brief) challenge from Carter's ex-fiancee there is little strife to the relationship at all. One thing Nora Roberts normally excels at in her romances is in showing equal input from the male of the relationship but sadly this deft touch is absent in this one. I would have liked to have had more about Carter and his frustrations in trying to reassure Mac that he is the real deal as it stood he was adorable but quite one dimensional.

Overall though the plot was just incredibly weak given that Nora Roberts has earned the mantle of Queen of Romantic Suspense both under her own name as a writer of Romantic thrillers and as the grittier JD Robb I was very disappointed by how little happens in the novel. I kept waiting for a stalker to come into the picture or a sabeteur or just anything to give the plot more weight! It's because of the lack of plot that I felt I had to give it two stars particularly as the cover price for this is on average £11.99 in shops and when I'd finished I really felt as though I didn't get my money's worth.

Take my advice and loan from a friend or the library until a cheaper edition comes ( )

People like to mention, with every review of a book by Nora Roberts, that the author uses the same plot devices time and time again. And they're right - she does. The thing is, it works!

VISION IN WHITE might be formulaic, in that Ms. Roberts once again uses a group of friends who are as close as family who will all inevitably end up in love with another group of friends (or acquaintances), but I enjoyed the story so much and read it in one sitting.

Ms. Roberts has the unique ability that with every single book she writes (including those written as J.D. Robb), I end up crying at least once. This one is no different - I thought the story of Mac having to deal with her mother was very well-written.

I enjoyed the new "background" of this first book in the quartet, in that it centers around four friends who own a business that covers each and every detail of having a wedding. This book's main character, Mac, is a photographer, and I truly enjoyed reading about her job and how she came to love what she does.

The secondary characters - Parker, Emma, Laurel - were all well-rounded, and I'm highly looking forward to reading each of their stories.

So, okay, it's another typical Nora Roberts read. But I couldn't be happier about that. ( )

I am one of the last people to read Nora Roberts. My soon-to-be mother-in-law loves her (as do many other people whose book taste I agree with), and I've been intending to read her for quite some time. When I heard about her wedding quartet series, I knew it would be the perfect introduction to her work. I've shied away from actual wedding planning books, but I have enjoyed many novels about wedding planning. The premise of the series is great: four lifelong friends have a wedding planning business. One is a photographer, one is a florist, one a pastry chef and one is the actual planner. Each book will be from a different point of view.

Vision in White features Mac, the photographer. Photography is one career I think I would love but will never actually do, and I immediately connected with Mac. She does some annoying things throughout the book (seriously, she's a strong woman the entire novel, but she can't stand up to her mother, an annoyingly caricatured character) that make it hard to root for her at some points. There was too a little too much drama for my taste, but overall, I enjoyed the book. I didn't necessarily Roberts' prose, but once I got to know the characters, I focused on the story rather than the writing and read the book quite quickly.

I'm looking forward to the second book in the series, Bed of Roses, which features the florist, naturally, and comes out October 27, 2009. I'm most curious to see how it will to see Mac as a minor character and if the other three transform into strong narrators over the quartet. ( )