What a wonderful blog tour that Brook Cottage Books have instore for you lovely readers. Not only do you get to read reviews of a fabulous book, you can also read an excerpt and enter a giveaway to win your very own signed paperback copy (UK only). You don't want to miss this one!
Genre:
Commercial Romantic Fiction
Release
Date: 2nd
June 2016
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 younger
woman, it’s not just Jessie’s heart that is broken, her ability
to trust is shattered too.
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.
When fate
brings handsome flower seller Owen Phillips into her life, Jessie
believes he may be the one but is her fragile trust about to be
shattered all over again?
The
Flower Seller is a warm, engaging read about love, deceit,
betrayal and hope.
EXCERPT
It had been her daughter Hannah’s idea to put an advert in the
Abbeyleigh Gazette. ‘It’s time to take yourself out of
your comfort zone, Mum. Why don’t you get Anne to give you a hand
with the ad?’
Sucked into the vortex of her daughter’s enthusiasm, Jessie had
agreed before she could talk herself out of it.
‘So, what have you got so far?’ Anne had asked over margaritas in
Spike’s Bar.
‘Newly single brunette, slim, attractive, early forties,
non-smoker, good sense of humour, would like to meet man
thirties/forties for friendship and maybe more,’ Jessie read aloud.
Anne pretended to fall asleep and Jessie slapped her arm.
‘Bit dull, sweetie!’ Anne said with a smile. ‘For starters, you
should put early thirties. Everyone knocks a few years off. And do
you really want to say slim? It’s practically shorthand for
flat-chested and you’re not. How about “great figure” instead?’
‘That’s a bit conceited, isn’t it?’
Anne threw her a look. ‘It’s an advert, Jessie. You’re meant to
be selling yourself.’
‘Blimey! I’ll just get some fishnets and a red light, shall I?’
‘You know what I mean. You should put something in there about
being outgoing. That usually leads to some interesting propositions.’
‘But I’m not outgoing,’ Jessie said.
‘For goodness’ sake, outgoing just means you’re up for a bit of
fun. I’m not suggesting for a moment that you put “open-minded”.
Now that would lead to some replies that would make your hair stand
on end. And obviously your WLTM has to be a man in his late twenties
or early thirties.’
‘Has to be? This is my advert, remember? Not yours!’
Anne smirked. ‘So you’d prefer “Recently dumped flat-chested
brunette, early forties, lives life with the handbrake on, would like
to meet man forties/fifties for visits to the library”?’
‘I’d prefer not to be doing it at all.’
Anne squeezed her hand. ‘I know, sweetie. And you can stick another
pin in your effigy of William when you get home but right now we need
to get you back out there before life passes you by.’
ABOUT
ELLIE HOLMES
Ellie
Holmes writes commercial women’s fiction and romantic suspense. She
takes her inspiration from the beautiful Essex countryside and the
sublime Cornish coast. The Flower Seller is Ellie’s first
full-length novel. Ellie is a member of the Alliance of Independent
Authors and the Romantic Novelists’ Association. To find out more
please visit www.ellieholmesauthor.com
AUTHOR
LINKS
There was something so very appealing about this book - the colours of the cover are so very striking and the lonely lady on the front suggests a story of love and loss. So if books were made of metal and I was a bookmagnet, I would be so pleased to be attracted to The Flower Seller.
Jessie finds herself newly single after finding out that her husband has been cheating on her with a younger woman. As they go through the pain of a divorce and try to split assets, tempers fray and ornaments are thrown. It's alright for William, he has a new life now with his young lady friend so he'd be quite happy to see Jessie living out her remaining days as a single lady. So when Jessie meets Owen, it takes her a while to trust him as he is younger than her, and William doesn't take it well at all. Is Owen too good to be true? William certainly thinks that Owen is not as perfect as he seems, so he does a bit of digging...just what will he uncover and by doing this does it mean that he still loves Jessie?
My heart went out to Jessie as her marriage fell apart and she struggled to get back in the dating game. Jessie is a lot stronger than she thinks, both personally and professionally; she takes her work very seriously and is clearly very good at her job. She certainly has morals which are often lacking in many people today.
It's hard to believe this is a debut novel; the writing flows so easily and I was completely drawn into the story after only a few pages. I really liked Jessie and, to be honest, I wasn't sure which man I would prefer to see her end up with. William has hurt her deeply and I wasn't sure if she would ever be able to forgive and forget, whereas Owen seemed lovely but he was very guarded and appeared to be hiding something, so I doubted whether Jessie could truly love him if she didn't really know him. Of course, there are always two sides to every story...
The Flower Seller is an impressive debut novel; Ellie Holmes has managed to weave many emotions into this raw examination of the hurt caused by a marriage breakdown and the hope of a new relationship. Heartfelt and emotive, you don't want to miss The Flower Seller.
Jessie finds herself newly single after finding out that her husband has been cheating on her with a younger woman. As they go through the pain of a divorce and try to split assets, tempers fray and ornaments are thrown. It's alright for William, he has a new life now with his young lady friend so he'd be quite happy to see Jessie living out her remaining days as a single lady. So when Jessie meets Owen, it takes her a while to trust him as he is younger than her, and William doesn't take it well at all. Is Owen too good to be true? William certainly thinks that Owen is not as perfect as he seems, so he does a bit of digging...just what will he uncover and by doing this does it mean that he still loves Jessie?
My heart went out to Jessie as her marriage fell apart and she struggled to get back in the dating game. Jessie is a lot stronger than she thinks, both personally and professionally; she takes her work very seriously and is clearly very good at her job. She certainly has morals which are often lacking in many people today.
It's hard to believe this is a debut novel; the writing flows so easily and I was completely drawn into the story after only a few pages. I really liked Jessie and, to be honest, I wasn't sure which man I would prefer to see her end up with. William has hurt her deeply and I wasn't sure if she would ever be able to forgive and forget, whereas Owen seemed lovely but he was very guarded and appeared to be hiding something, so I doubted whether Jessie could truly love him if she didn't really know him. Of course, there are always two sides to every story...
The Flower Seller is an impressive debut novel; Ellie Holmes has managed to weave many emotions into this raw examination of the hurt caused by a marriage breakdown and the hope of a new relationship. Heartfelt and emotive, you don't want to miss The Flower Seller.
I received this e-book from Brook Cottage Books in exchange for an honest review.
My rating:
Thank you Michelle for taking the time and trouble to read and review The Flower Seller. Thank you also for your kind comments. What a lovely way to start my day :)
ReplyDeleteLovely review :-)
ReplyDelete