The Unfinished Garden

September 1, 2012
Although she has been a widow for a number of years, British expat Tilly still suffers survivor's guilt concerning the circumstances of her husband's death. So she immerses herself in the establishment of a stunning perennial nursery in the Carolina Piedmont to compensate. When James, a formidable and forbiddingly sexy dot-com millionaire offers her an outrageous fortune to create a garden for his new home, Tilly turns him down. Design is not her thing, and James is a tad too insistent. Luckily, she has an ironclad out when a family emergency summons her home to England. Once there, however, Tilly must confront her feelings toward an old lover and towards James, who has pursued her to her family's estate. Suffering from OCD, James is quite literally obsessed with Tilly and the idea of a garden and won't rest until he has both. Exhibiting sensitive and gentle understanding, White's transoceanic love story deftly explores the challenges of conquering fears and relinquishing the past.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)