Wildflowers by Debbie Howells

Life would be simple, if it went according to plan...

Frankie Valentine has a dream – of becoming the next celebrity florist, but between her close friends, her love life and the brides that flock to her small flower shop, nothing goes quite as she plans.

Then one busy summer with her dream about to come true, Frankie meets Lulubelle, whose small son has a terminal illness. And drawn into their world, everything changes.

A million miles from the exclusive weddings she’s used to, Frankie’s drawn into a whole new world where each day is precious, where nothing is taken for granted. One where she keeps bumping into Alex, who keeps getting her wrong. 

And as the pressure mounts in the midst of her busiest wedding season yet, she edges closer to a future she could never have imagined

Review:

This is one of those books that you can just pick up and get into instantly. I really enjoyed this light-hearted, if a little sad at times novel.

I absolutely loved Frankie! She is funny and down to earth; even if a certain someone doesn't think so at first! Things never seem to go quite right for Frankie, especially in the men department! And she does get incredibly stressed about the slightest thing. But to me, this was completely believable as I am also a highly stressed person over the tiniest thing. So to me Frankie was very relatable; even if I haven't worked as a florist before.

I loved the way Debbie Howells writes. It's so easy to follow and not once did I struggle or get bored. I just kept wanting to immerse myself in Frankie's world.

This is the second story that I have read lately with fantastic character development. There were lots of secondary characters in this, but they each had their own stories to tell and I felt like I got to know them really well. Even the fairly fleeting wedding customers with their demands and stresses of their own. One character I must mention is Mrs Orange; because of her taking a chance on Frankie that is partly how Frankie ends up working with flowers. I liked Mrs Orange's wisdom and I enjoyed her random appearances in Frankie's life and she was very rarely ever wrong.

I loved learning about all the different flowers and the meanings behind them and I think there was some magic at work in this. It really made the novel extra special and gave it a uniqueness for me.

A lot of things happen in this, but it is just like real life, nothing is ever stress free or straight forward (although I'm sure we wish it was!). There are some great and some sad twists in this and I was riveted right until the very end.

I really really hope there is a second book after this as I want to read more about Frankie's life and where it's going to go from where it was left off. A fantastic read from Debbie Howells and I definitely want to read more!

8.5/10