Lavender Secrets [Kindle Edition]

The story starts with the somewhat unusual situation of ex-lovers now happily co-existing as just roommates. Somehow they managed to maintain their friendships. Some people may find that unrealistic, but I lived it for two years, so I know it can happen.

The main character, Emma, has an unrequited love for her English Professor, Nicole. She manages to catch the attention of the professor, but is surprised to learn that her gaydar didn't work right because Nicole is engaged and trying to deal with her future mother-in-law who wants full say in the wedding.

Through her mother's work as a professional wedding planner, Emma is also experienced as a wedding planner. Without realizing the consequences, Emma offers to be Nicole's paid wedding planner. This allows her the bitter-sweet opportunity to spend time with Nicole.

I loved the dialog. It is crisp, sharp and completely natural. The main characters are well developed and realistic. While the story is primarily a love story, every time I started to feel complacent, Sandra threw another curve into the story.

This story is filled with interesting twists and turns involving the secondary characters. Sandra managed to create fully developed secondary characters, something I find too often missing in stories by debut authors.

My only complaint about this story is that I felt one of the darker elements in the story was too easily overcome. However, that was a minor distraction and it is highly possibly that my life experiences made me more aware of the ramifications of the situation than most people.

If you're looking for an enjoyable love story that doesn't always follow tried and true paths, I highly recommend this book and look forward to seeing more from this author.

It seems that lately I've been reading a lot of novels by first-time authors. I have enjoyed almost all of them and `Lavender Secrets' is no exception. The author delivers an addictive roller-coaster ride between the front and back cover. Once I picked up this book, I couldn't put it down.

Emma LeVanteur is so down on love it's pathetic. She lives with her ex-girlfriend who is also her current best friend. Said friend takes it upon herself to spice up Emma's love life, but is hugely unsuccessful. At the same time, she makes fun of Emma's unrequited crush on her English Literature professor. Emma first heard the Professor Nicole Davis' voice at the campus bookstore. Although she was working on a graduate degree in math, Emma decided to audit the woman's class. After being a quiet student, Emma eventually catches Nicole's eye and they feel a connection. Little does Emma know she's about to be asked to help plan Nicole's wedding.

Nicole is engaged to one of the most eligible bachelors from one of the best connected families in town. He's everything a woman could want - successful, cultured, and well-bred - but Nicole feels something is missing. Could that something be Emma and the love of a woman? Will she have the gumption to find out? The reader doesn't know until the last 10 pages or so and the tension is well worth the wait.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is well written, shows the maturity of the author, and keeps the attention of the reader. Emma, Nicole, and the supporting cast are interesting and believable. What a great start to a promising literary career.

Relationships are complex. They can be nurturing and supportive or the most destructive aspect in a person's life. They shape how a person thinks and reacts to situations and other people. Learning how to deal with them, especially if the relationship isn't positive, can be the most difficult part of living.

Lavender Secrets is about relationships. Emma Levanteur has a number of issues to cope with. She comes from a working class background and aspires to be more, so she is in graduate school working on a degree in mathematics. Emma shares an apartment with a former girlfriend and has to adjust to the new and dangerous relationship that the ex-girlfriend is involved in. How far should she or does she have the right to involve herself in the situation to protect an old love? She also must deal with the bitter emotions that she and her mother share over the fact that Emma's father deserted them years before. To complicate matters further, there's Nicole Davis, an attractive, captivating and straight professor of English literature who has Emma's emotions in turmoil. When Emma is hired to be the consultant for Nicole's wedding, the women find themselves being drawn to each other, which confuses Nicole and the plans she has made for her future. Can a lesbian and a straight woman truly just be friends when one of them knows she is in love with the other? What type of relationship does Nicole have with her future husband and his family? Does she really want to spend her life with these pompous, self-important people or could there be happiness in a new kind of relationship with Emma? Emma can't escape questions either when her father suddenly reappears with a new family. How does she establish a relationship with him while not destroying the one she has with her mother? Life is usually complex and it certainly is in this book.

At first, Lavender Secrets appears to be another romance, but, as the story unfolds, it is clear that much more is developing. These people are trying to learn how they fit into each other's lives. They are also struggling to understand what they want from those lives and the people who are involved in them. It is about making connections, altering some connections and learning to sever others. The book is about learning how to put the pieces of your puzzle together so that you get the best fit possible between all of your relationships to create the most satisfying life that you can. And the bonus in this book is that everything takes place in what is a plain good story. Lavender Secrets is well worth the time you will spend reading it.