I received this book from the author as as a member of #RBRT in return for a fair review.

I gave The Flower Seller 4 * out of 5 *

The Blurb: (Oh, does it reveal far too much!!)

An impressive début novel from Ellie Holmes, The Flower Seller is an engaging and romantic tale of love, deceit, betrayal and hope.

Jessie Martin believes that when it comes to love there are three types of people: the skimmers, the bottom dwellers and the ones who dive for pearls. Jessie is a pearl diver. She had thought her husband William was a pearl diver too. But when William leaves her for a much younger woman, it’s not just Jessie’s heart that is broken, her ability to trust is shattered too. All Jessie wanted was a love she could believe in. Was that so much to ask? Loyalty it seems has gone out of fashion.

Refusing to retire from the battlefield of life, Jessie resolves to put her heartache behind her. She doesn’t want to be that woman who was too scared to love again. There has to be another pearl diver out there; all she has to do is find him.

Urged on by her sassy best friend, Anne and her daughter Hannah, Jessie makes three New Year’s resolutions: get a divorce, get a promotion, get a life. Enthusiastically embracing her new start, Jessie sets about making all her resolutions come true.

When fate brings handsome flower seller Owen Phillips into her life, will Jessie have the courage of her convictions? Can she take her heart in her hands and give it away again? Hope springs eternal they say but a bruised heart needs to time to heal. Will Owen have the patience to understand? Will Jessie be brave enough to take that leap of faith?

By the time summer holds her firmly in it’s warm embrace, Jessie’s monochrome world of heartache has been transformed into one full of colour, romance and love.

Jessie can hardly believe her luck. Can Owen really be the one?

All things seem possible and even husband William’s attempts to bully Jessie into a less than fair divorce settlement don’t have the power to upset her as they once might have. Supported by Owen, Jessie stands her ground. Putting William’s deceit and betrayal firmly in the rear view mirror of her life, Jessie is full of hope for the future. Perhaps loyalty and true love haven’t gone out of fashion after all.

When autumn’s burnished hues colour the world around her, Jessie looks forward to cosy nights by log fires with her handsome flower seller. But is Owen really the pearl diver Jessie had hoped for? Or is Jessie’s fragile trust about to be shattered all over again?
The Flower Seller is an engaging and page-turning read full of love, deceit, betrayal and hope.

This romantic tale follows Jessie from the depths of winter, to the excitement of spring through a hot and passionate summer to the turmoil and drama of a stormy autumn.
As a second winter approaches and her world is once more turned upside down, will Jessie ever find a love she can believe in with a man she can trust?

My Review:

When I read the blurb  I thought the would be an easy romance to read. It was, but it isn’t only a romance; there are many twists to this story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ellie Holmes has a lovely writing style that blends in the romance of the book with the darker side of the characters

All the characters  were well drawn into believable  rounded characters.

The story is told mostly from the perspective of Jessie Martin, the protagonist, in first person point of view. There are other perspectives; William, sometimes the omniscient narrator but these often came into the middle of the point of view of the protagonist (what an author friend of mine call ” Head Hopping”)  and it interrupted the flow of the narrative.

The dialogue is well written and easily differentiates the characters.

There are some wonderful descriptions of the settings which give a real sense of place of the market town of Abbeyleigh and the  close-knit community. And the dynamics of the lawyers’ firm that Jessie works for, and the cut and thrust of the business was interestin to read

The plot is almost given away by the blurb. I would have much preferred to have known less to begin with.

I have to say I found the title a bit…er… twee, Considering the content.

And I’m sorry but it really think that blurb is too long and actually doesn’t do the book any favours. Needs to be more ambiguous,

And the types of people? !the  skimmers, the bottom dwellers and the ones who dive for pearls.”? this classification would have put me off if I was a reader casually looking for a Romance to read.  But, there again, this  is probably just me.

Ultimately I have to say again, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to readers who like Romance with a touch of darkness to it.

Buying Links:

Amazon.co.uk:

http://amzn.to/1UfteDz

 Amazon.com:

http://amzn.to/22w8k9H