Book Review: "Bloom" by N.R. Walker

This book was so sweet and romantic, I feel like my heart grew a few sizes while reading it!! It was included on a list of indie queer romances that a friend of mine posts each month, and I’m so grateful to have found this!

Keats owns his own flower shop in Sydney. It was a dream of his for some time, and while things are going well, running a successful business is exhausting, and he’s been able to focus on nothing but that for the last two years. He does wonder what it would be like to have a personal life again.

One day, Linden walks into the store looking for a bouquet of murder flowers to give to his cheating boyfriend. Keats convinces Linden to go for flowers that send a message rather than ones that could cause actual physical pain and suffering. Linden makes a purchase, and both aren’t shy about flirting with each other.

Neither man can get the other out of his mind. Their chemistry is intense, their senses of humor mesh perfectly, and they’re quickly smitten with one another. Given Linden’s recent romantic history, would getting involved with Keats doom him to be the rebound guy? And given that the store has been an impediment to Keats dating, is Linden different?

For me, this book was the perfect mix of flirtatious banter, the giddiness of attraction, and some exceptionally hot steam, along with fun supporting characters. I’ll definitely be looking up the meanings of any flowers I give or get in the future!!

Book Review: "A Love Song for Ricki Wilde" by Tia Williams

I'm a bit of a Tia Williams stan, so when I got a random email from NetGalley offering “Read Now” access to her upcoming book, you bet I jumped on that chance, even in the middle of a work Zoom call.

“Leap years are strange. And because February 29 exists only every four years, it is a rare, charged day. In the old days, back home, folks whispered that it was an enchanted time. When the veil between this world and the other was gossamer thin.”

Ricki Wilde was born into a wealthy Black family in Atlanta, with her father being the famed owner of a nationwide chain of funeral homes. And while her future is laid out for her–following in the footsteps of her three older sisters and taking over her own franchise, not to mention tapping into a trust fund–Ricki isn’t interested in this path. Instead, her creative, impulsive, and rebellious nature causes significant friction between her and her family.

When she announces her dream of opening a flower shop, her ambitions are ridiculed by her family. So she quits her receptionist job at one of the family funeral parlors and decides to make her own way. But a chance encounter with a nonagenarian widow, Ms. Della, opens up an unexpected opportunity.

Ricki takes Ms. Della’s offer to move into the ground-floor apartment of her Harlem brownstone, and opens her floral boutique, Wilde Things, in the storefront portion of the space. Ricki is mesmerized by Harlem, and is fascinated by the history that existed in that neighborhood, particularly during the Harlem Renaissance.

Owning her own shop Is exhausting work, but for the first time in her life, Ricki is following her dreams without her family’s criticism. And in Ms. Della, she finds a surrogate grandmother, who recognizes Ricki’s need for love and encouragement.

One February night, she is drawn by the scent of night-blooming jasmine in a nearby community garden. She knows it is not the season for jasmine to bloom, but she cannot resist. And then she encounters a handsome, mysterious stranger who upends her world.

I’m going to leave the plot description fairly vague, although once you start reading, everything becomes clear fairly quickly. Suffice it to say that Williams imbues her upcoming book not only with steamy romance, but also lots of history of the Harlem Renaissance, and some magical realism.

This wasn’t my favorite Williams book–that honor still goes to Seven Days in June–but I’m always captivated by her storytelling. I felt like the pacing dragged a bit here, but I enjoyed all of the characters except for Ricki’s family, who were fairly one-dimensional. (But Ms. Della was absolutely fascinating.)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this advance copy. The book will publish February 6, 2024.

Book Review: "Yerba Buena" by Nina LaCour

This is an utterly exquisite story of longing, regret, love, and the memories that haunt us.

Nina LaCour has been one of my favorite YA authors for years now, so I was tremendously excited that she was writing her first adult novel. This book is as beautiful and poignant as her YA books, and it filled my heart with emotion.

Sara was 16 when a tragedy forces her to leave home and head for Los Angeles. She makes a life for herself and ultimately becomes a sought-after bartender and mixologist. But her memories are full of a girl she once loved and a disturbing discovery.

Emilie has always been a bit directionless, unsure what she wants. Her academic career reflects her inability to commit to one thing or another. She gets a job arranging floral displays for restaurants, including Yerba Buena, and before she realizes it she falls into an affair with the chef/owner. She meets Sara at Yerba Buena and feels a connection, but neither is ready to take the first step.

As time passes, Sara and Emilie connect and realize the intensity of their feelings for one another, yet the secrets from their past that they cling to always seem to be a roadblock. How do they step beyond the fear, the regret in their lives to capture the longing and embrace their vulnerabilities?

I was drawn in from the very first page of this book. It’s sad and joyous and hopeful and these characters will resonate in my head for a long while.

Book Review: "Lease on Love" by Falon Ballard

No, it wasn’t me getting choked up while reading Lease on Love at like 1:30 a.m.!

Sadie is a hard worker and she’s great at her job. She can’t wait to get promoted so she can finally stop worrying about money and pay off some of her student loans. But when she gets passed up for the promotion, and things go spectacularly awry, she starts to realize how much she’s sacrificed for this job. She needs to find a new place to live, she needs a drink, and she needs a hookup, badly.

A wild night out with her best friends sends her to a dating app, and she sets up a date in her drunken haze. But it turns out she used a roommate-matching app instead, and meets Jack, who happens to own a gorgeous brownstone in Brooklyn that he's looking to find a roommate for. It would be the dream place to live. Despite her behavior at their initial meeting, Jack decides to let Sadie move in, even though he clearly isn’t prepared for her energy, sarcasm, and innuendo.

The amazing living space and the incredibly low rent inspire Sadie to finally pursue her dream of starting a sustainable florist business. Jack is tremendously supportive and generous, and although his quiet, mostly antisocial nature is the complete opposite of Sadie’s, they start to click, and she weaves him into her group of friends.

But Jack is still grieving the death of his parents and is nursing another secret, and Sadie’s toxic, verbally abusive childhood causes her to doubt herself, her friendships, and her ability to sustain a business. Can two people with so much emotional baggage ever have a chance at a relationship? Or will their increasingly intense chemistry blow up everything—their living arrangements, their friendship, and Sadie’s business?

Several Bookstagram friends raved about Lease on Love, so I had to give it a try. It was seriously fantastic—funny, emotional, sexy, and inspiring. Sadie is a wild, larger-than-life character but her emotional issues balance her out, and the chemistry between her and Jack was steamy. I was fully invested in this one from the start!!