I absolutely loved this book. It hooked me and kept me turning pages until I was done. Finished it in two days! The character development was strong, and the premise was unique enough that it didn't feel like anything else I've read.

I really, REALLY wanted to love this. Anything that is inspired by Little Women, or described as 'a love letter to Little Women', is generally on my radar. While 'When Jasmine Blooms' does clearly borrow heavily from my beloved March women, I couldn't connect here.

I think there were three main issues for me.

1. The "wife' trope. I hate it. I hate the focus of 'wife' being part of the identity. When looking at Marmie in comparison to Celine, its like looking at an iron beam and a wet spaghetti noodle. Celine is, quite frankly, annoying in the 'first life' and overall, kind of pathetic. Marmie--with a husband off to war, four growing daughters, and little to no money, was able to give back to others and continue to provide an example of independence and strength to her daughters.

2. Grief. The focus on the grief. OVER AND OVER. There was no...movement. A parallel world, where LIbby was still alive, could almost be seen as if Celine was disassociating from reality away from her grief.

3. The actual storyline. What is the point? There was no real....crux or climax to this story. It just kind of....ended.

I think that it's an interesting concept, to modernize a classic and take if from an angle that is rarely told, but when people change who the actual heart of that person is, who the soul of that story is.....it ruins everything.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Celine lost her adult daughter Libby unexpectedly two years ago. She throws herself into her work in the hopes it will help alleviate her grief. When her family does an intervention, Celine's grief makes her wonder what her life would have been like had she chosen her first love instead. The next day she wakes up and her what-if becomes her new reality and she's in a parallel universe in which she stayed with her first love. 
This story really does a great job exploring how grief impacts a person especially after an unexpected loss. I think anyone who loses someone unexpectedly has spent time wondering if they had done something differently that the outcome would be different. I could feel Celine's pain as I read and I appreciated how her character grew throughout the story.  One thing that kind of bothered me in this story is that her family was still there but they weren't her daughters. They looked the same and had the same personality. While this was needed in order for her to grow and learn, especially with Libby's character, it still felt a little weird.  Overall this was a pretty good read but it didn't make me as emotional as I thought it would (it definitely made me tear up in the beginning). I would have liked more chapters in her real timeline/world.

The beautiful cover of this book and the fact that I have read and enjoyed an earlier novel by this author is part of the reason I decided to read this book. I was surprised and disappointed to find this book rather dull. Dealing with grief is not my favorite topic to read about and this book failed to hold my interest. Thanks to author Tif Marcelo, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I liked the premise of the book. And the connection to little women was an added attraction when I started the book. However I must say I didn’t really understand or enjoy the connection between the two books. Celine is a mother who has lost her child Libby and was unable to grieve in the conventional ways. Instead she threw herself into her work. A twist of fate leaves her in another life which would have happened based on her decisions 30 years back. It was interesting to see Celine is this other life. One of the things I struggled with this book is that I didn't find the actual Celine likable. I thought the beginning was too long . I did like the alternate universe version of her though and felt that that helped me get to know the real Celine. But the ending was a little rushed and I was not entirely happy with the pacing at the end. It was an ok book but it definitely had more potential in terms of Celines character.

Celine is a mother who hasn’t dealt with the loss of her daughter, Libby. Instead of grieving she has put all of her energy and focus into her work on her newest self-help book, and subsequent book tour. Everyone grieves differently, but Celine’s family calls her out for seemingly not processing or grieving at all. As a result, they’ve offered her an ultimatum.

Faced with the shock of their comments, Celine finds herself in a time-warp scenario where she experiences her life if she’d made a different relationship choice about 30 years prior. She works through “other” Celine’s life situations and learns that the people important to her in her regular life are just as important in her other life, but her new perspective allows her to see and understand the barriers of ignoring her grief and how it’s negatively impacted her family’s healing.

I enjoyed reading this book. Though the topic is sad, with the sudden death of a young woman, it’s still sweet in its core message of the importance of family, but another message I read was that in times of trouble and grief, not processing does not keep those who are lost closer, but it can potentially push those we still have away.

The author tries to pull in a tie between this story and Little Women, but shame on me for having never read LW, so that was lost on me. I don’t think it detracted from the story, though.

When Jasmine Blooms is the first book I have read by Tif Marcelo. I rated it 4 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Adult contemporary fiction
- Engaging storyline
- Great Characters
- Second chances
- Bereavement

The first pages I read instantly got my attention. It has a profound introduction of the characters. You learn about Celine Lakad and her family, a mother of 4 daughters, her relationship with her husband Quinn, it is a story of family and hope. There is grief in this novel, so have tissues ready!!

One of my favorite parts of the novel was the food. Lugaw and Ensaymada bread is one of my favorite Filipino foods. I was very happy to read about it. As a Filipina reader, the foods mentioned in this book reminded me of being home in the Philippines and my mom’s cooking.

I loved this novel and highly recommend!!
Coming April 11, 2023 ❤️

A love letter to Little Women and a healing journey through grief, wrapped into one: Tif Marcelo's WHEN JASMINE BLOOMS reads like a comforting, warm hug.

This was an excellent exploration of grief, but the story somehow felt unfinished. Our main character was very frustrating to follow and felt like she was neglecting her life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Celine is a mother of four, a military wife, and a motivational speaker and author. Two years after the death of her daughter Libby, she is struggling to uphold a facade that everything is okay. After a disastrous intervention by her family, she's transported to a different reality, but can she find her way back to what's real when she isn't sure what to believe anymore?

I have mixed feelings about this book. I found Celine to be incredibly frustrating at times. One example is her relationship with Anne, a character in this book. She seems to dislike Anne for doing a lot of the same things she does. A lot of Celine's problems stem, I think, from her issues with her own mother. I felt this book is mostly about what being a mother means and learning when to let go a little. It's a lesson Celine can't seem to learn, or is unwilling to learn, and it's the one thing that causes the most damage in her life. Yet, at the same time, she thwarts any advice others give because she thinks she knows better.

I also think the ties to Litte Women are too tenuous. If you are going to mention that this is tied in some way to that book, then it has to feel like that tie makes sense. It doesn't here. Either strengthen that comparison or leave it out completely. Throwing it in here and there isn't enough. How does she see herself in Marmee, besides the obvious: that they are both mothers of four girls, military wives, and suffer through an unimaginable loss? What else ties them together? If the author can't answer that, then don't mention it at all, because it feels like a cheap grab. i waited for the whole book to see if Little Women, something mentioned specifically in the synopsis, would make a bigger meaning, but it never did. I just can't see the inspiration.

One other thing that annoyed me about this book is that Celine stays in the other world/alternate version of her world until 90% of the book is done. Without giving too much away, the ending felt rushed and thrown together in bits and pieces of time-lapse. It feels too easy and too simple for a complex issue like dealing with grief and learning to let go.. I just didn't buy it.

Overwall, this is more like a 2.5 out of 3 for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Publication: April 11, 2023

This is my second book that I've attempted by Marcelo and I think that it's safe to say that I'm not the right reader for her books.

I chose this book because I thought that it would focus on Marmee from "Little Women" (which is still one of my favorite classics). Instead we get a couple of references while a mother deals with grief. I tried multiple times trying to get into this story but I found that I put it down more than I picked it up.

I received a digital ARC from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.

I absolutely loved this story. I connected with each and every character. It is a story of family, and of hope. Saying much more than that will lead to spoilers. I highly, highly recommend this novel.

While I am a huge fan of Little Women and wanted to read this book specifically because of the Marmee references, I just couldn’t connect with the story at all.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

I was looking forward to reading my first book by Tif Marcelo. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy for the purpose of this review.

Tif’s writing is carefree and it flows easily from page to page. I was not able to really get into the story even though it is a take on Little Women which is one of my classic faves!

I’m not sure if it was my mood or the story but it did not connect completely for me this time.

3.25/5 stars! I have enjoyed other books by this author, so I was excited to check out "When Jasmine Blooms." I read that this book was a modern take on Little Women so my expectations were high. I think the book is successful as a simple read for journeying through grief to healing. It was less successful in making its characters 3-dimensional and selling a true connection between them. I liked Celine but at times didn't really believe in her as a character.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Celine is a fan of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women; in fact her life parallels it in some ways. She is married to a military veteran (who was often deployed), and she has four daughters, one of whom passed away. As a middle-aged "influencer" with her own following based on her self-help books, Celine is shocked when her family and personal assistant stage an intervention to encourage her to deal with the grief of her daughter's passing. Celine is so distraught after the intervention that she trips and falls...and ends up in a world where she isn't married but can reconnect with her deceased daughter.

I enjoyed reading When Jasmine Blooms by Tif Marcelo, but I wouldn't say it was a huge favorite of mine. The writing was engaging, and the main characters were likeable, but I have to admit that the middle part of the book really dragged for me. I have read other books that relate to/have Little Women tie-ins, and they have done a better job of it.

When Jasmine Blooms tells the story of Celine, a successful life coach, wife to Quinn, and mother of four daughters whose third daughter, Libby, has died, leaving her struggling to cope with her mother's guilt and loss. After a hit on the head, she wakes up in an alternate universe where she is still a busy life coach but unmarried, childless, and living for decades with her first love, Rex, rather than Quinn. She takes a much-needed break from her career and travels to her home in Boston where she meets Elizabeth, her deceased daughter Libby, who is not her daughter in this life but just renting an apartment from her; her other three daughters also appear in this life but as part of her PR team. When she and Rex break up, she reconnects with Quinn and they both take Elizabeth under their wing. Celine relishes the time she spends with Elizabeth but will she be stuck in this alternate universe or able to return to her previous life and share all she has learned about letting go and enjoying each moment with her loved ones? No spoilers but I enjoyed this novel and recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I love Tif! Her books are amazing and she is such an amazing writer who captivates you as soon as you open the book up! I highly suggest getting this book and reading it! It won’t disappoint!

“When Jasmine Blooms” is the first book I have read and reviewed by Tif Marcelo.

At some time or another, we have all wondered “what if?” What if I did not take this job or marry so and so? Celine is a happy mom to four daughters and wife to Quinn. Then she loses her daughter, Libby, and begins to blame herself. After two years of struggling with grief and refusing counseling, her family and friends intervene. Yet, Celine wonders an alternative to the life she now leads—what if hadn’t married her husband, Quinn, then would Libby still be alive? This brings the reader into a parallel universe where such a reality for Celine exists.

The description notes that this book is a tribute to “Little Women” and though there were four engaging young women, I did not quite see the connection. I liked Tif Marcelo’s writing—her descriptive passages really pulled me into her story. Yet, I felt a bit of a disconnect with Celine, even though I understood her sadness.

Three out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.