The book was a slow burn kind og plot that never lived up to any tension it built up. It wasn’t what I was expecting and didn’t hold my interest. It took me afar too many days to get through it. It was a nice little book for what it was, it just wasn’t what was advertised.

I surprised myself and really enjoyed this book. I loved the mystery. I loved learning about the secret language of flowers. I must admit I fell in love with most of the ghosts and the haunted house.
Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

**Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the eARC of this title**

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because I did enjoy this book, it's just not what I was expecting. While being pitched as what seemed like a horror novel, I was surprised to find that Her Little Flowers was more of a thriller with cutesy supernatural elements.

This book would be perfect for spooky season/fall for people that DON'T like horror. There are some creepy parts, but nothing that I would consider remotely scary. For the right audience I feel like this book will be a 5 star read, it just missed the mark for me.

I have complaints with the timeline as well. Francine, the main character, is stuck in the past and that is perfectly fine. BUT the language used felt disjointed from the time line that the reader is supposed to believe the book is taking place in.

Check this book out if you like mysteries or supernatural elements!

This is actually kind of wholesome. The ghosts are cute. I loved the setting. No idea how someone could keep it all up herself but our girl does. Good for her!
Lovely book.

This book is described as a horror, but I beg to differ. I actually looked up the definition of what horror is as it relates to fiction. According to Wikipedia, horror fiction is a form of fiction that “provokes an emotional, psychological, or physical response within readers that causes them to react with fear.” This book does none of that. It doesn’t produce either an emotional, psychological, or physical response to fear. This isn't to say that there weren’t frightening moments in the book. There were several of those, but it just didn’t produce a feeling of fear. When reading this book, I felt more concern than fear. I only point this out because I feel that mislabeling a book can sometimes mislead a reader into projecting what they think the book will be about.

That is exactly what happened to me while reading “Her Little Flowers.” I was expecting horror-filled scenes of blood and gore, or psychological warfare. This book, however, is a mix of paranormal scenes in a gothic atmosphere. It is a late coming-of-age story surrounded by a deep dark family secret. Or is it secrets?

The story centers around the life of Francine Thwaite in the city of Hawkshead in the county of Cumbria, England. Francine is a 55 year-old woman who has yet to live her life because everything she has ever needed has been available to her in the form of her family home, Thwaite Manor. She has a large home with a garden for produce, bees for honey, and a cow for milk. She only goes to town for the things she can’t find already at home. She lives in the twenty-first century but doesn’t own a mobile phone, have a landline, or really understand what the internet is. She spends most of her time keeping her space clean, tending her garden, producing herbs and using them to make protection spells around her house and her person. Basically, she’s a cottage witch, and I love her with all my heart. She is the witch I long to be.

The flip side of Francine’s life is that she has cut herself off from everyone else including her younger sister Madeleine. Francine and Madeleine have a frayed and icy relationship. This being due to Francine’s close relationship to their mother and Madeleine feeling like a third wheel. Or is it a fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth wheel? Madeleine comes home one day to reveal a family secret to Francine, and it is a secret that rocks Francine’s isolated world. It forces Francine to confront her decades long fears to fully develop into the person she probably would have developed into had it not been for the tumultuous family secret(s) she discovers.

While reading the book, it’s very difficult not to find Francine lovable. As a reader, you want to put your arms around her through every piece of information she finds out that threatens to devastate her. You wish to protect her at all costs even if protecting her is not what’s best for her in the end. You root for her. You want her to uncover the mystery surrounding her family. You also want her relationship with Madeleine to heal and flourish. You wish to see her make it through to the end. She’s a very well put-together and developed character. Francine is very unique. Her characteristics really shine through. She is the heart of this novel.

In fact, she is such a central part of this novel that I find it difficult to really speak about the other great parts of this novel. There are many great characters including Madeleine, Eleanor, and Bree. The writing is entertaining with great depictions of scenery especially Thwaite Manor and the Lonehowe Wood. The author does an amazing job of invoking a very gothic and haunted atmosphere. Even the town of Hawkshead seems haunted by its past. The pacing of the novel was synergistic with the story-telling. It never felt off balance. But, ultimately Francine was the best part of this novel.

It’s amazing that this is a debut novel. While reading I had the sense that the author has written several books. Maybe they weren’t published. However, the writing is very sophisticated, and it gives the impression of experience. It was a great book. My only negative about the book would be the character of Todd Constable and his relationship with Francine. Todd comes off as a perfect person with the patience of a saint because he puts up with the eccentricities of Francine far too quickly for far too long. Their relationship also has a little bit of the forced proximity romance trope. I am not a romance fan. (Let me throw that out there.) So, it’s a little too "Rom-Com” for my tastes. Other than that, this is a solid novel.

2.5 stars for this atmospheric, gothic tale of ghosts and family secrets.

Shannon Morgan's writing is heavily descriptive, which suited the heavy themes and emotions within the story, but occasionally felt overwrought. I wish I had connected more to the characters, especially Francine, who I found unlikeable and overly rude. I think Madeleine's POV should have been included in the present timeline along with Francine's. I enjoyed Bree's chapters in the past that unraveled the family mystery, and was able to overlook my gripes with the present day characters in order to reach the conclusion of the story.

I enjoyed this one. The characters are middle aged. You have the rigid, shy older sister and the younger more outgoing sister. Both were likeable.
Loved the plot of the story. What happens when you find out that you could have more brothers and sisters? Well you do not stop until you find the truth.
Add in some ghosts and you have an entertaining read.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Kensington for the chance to read and review this one.

Thank you so much to Net Galley, the publisher, and author for providing this amazing book for my review. I can’t believe this is a debut book! Wow! This author put so much work and research into writing this book. I am so impressed. This is a gothic horror book full of suspense, secrets, a 500 year old manor, a family tragedy, sibling drama, and ghosts. If you are unsure about the horror genre or even paranormal aspects, this is a great place to start. This is actually a cozy gothic horror read and a great place to start with this genre. It was such a wonderful read. I love how the chapters alternate between the past and present and I am so beyond impressed with the pacing. Everyone should read this! Thank you again.

**Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Books, for sending me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.**

As someone who loves gothic mystery/thrillers, I was immediately intrigued by this novel's premise. The main character, Francine, is a middle-aged loner who has shunned most people her entire life. She lives alone in her Elizabethan-era manor, except for occasional tenants she rents out one of the manor's wings to, and... the ghosts.

Francine is rather crotchety, and I can understand if other readers don't warm to her. But I ended up liking her, and most of the other characters, quite a bit. And although part of this novel's plot is that she can't remember her early childhood, once she does start to remember, her personality and behaviour make sense.

This novel has a lot of twists and turns, and I didn't find anything too predictable — I was kept guessing until most of the reveals. And some of those reveals are pretty heavy... But this novel is kept balanced by some lovely wordplay and interspersed with humour. Her Little Flowers is definitely worth reading.

This was such an amazing read, absolutely full of the things I love! It was so great to read a book where the antagonist was middle aged, I don't often find books where women my age are reflected in a good light. And I adore a loveable curmudgeon. Coupled with a Gothic tale of a haunted manor, family secrets, and an enduring mystery this book kept me engaged and curious through the conclusion.

Her Little Flowers by Shannon Morgan is a ghost story with a difference, here the author does not set out to thrill or terrify, but rather to move the reader , and certainly succeeds in doing so.
The story certainly has gothic vibes despite its modern day setting, and is a really atmospheric read with a crumbling Elizabethan house and a garden filled with plants both beautiful and deadly. Francine Thwaite lives alone in the family ancestral home, at least alone as long as you don't count the ghosts who keep her company, most notably Bree, the spirit of a young girl who has been her companion since childhood. It is a quiet and simple life , but Francine is content and the last thing she expects or wants is to have her world turned upside down and everything that she thought she knew about her family torn asunder. When her estranged sister Maddie returns, apparently bringing with her the spirit of their abusive father and the shocking news that a tragedy in the family past was much darker than either of them knew growing up , Francine's peaceful existence is shattered and she is forced to uncover what really happened all those years ago and her own role in what happened.
I am deliberately being obtuse about what happened to Francine and her family, as to reveal too much too soon would really spoil this book for the reader., it is the slow reveal of what happened that really provides all the drama and tension of the book, along with the heart break. This is a book that packs a real emotional punch , I found myself almost dreading what the final revelations would be , but at the same time desperately needing to know what happened. The author makes excellent use of flashback chapters scattered throughout the book to reveal the truth behind the mystery. While Francine is not the most likeable of characters , with a very prickly nature , as I learned more about her upbringing and what happened all those years before ,I came to understand her a lot better. An aspect of the book that I found interesting was the correlation of flowers with personality traits and meaning , it is something that I always enjoy when I see it cropping up in a book, and it is used very effectively in this one.
Overall an excellent slow burn mystery with a hint of the paranormal that could easily have the reader in tears by the end.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensigton Books for the eARC of this novel. I really liked the premise of the novel bit it did not really work for me. The reader understood the basic outline of what must have happened about 40% of the way through. Maybe I am not the biggest fan of Gothic prose because it just felt really overwrought. I would have appreciated more perspectives other than Francine's. I think that would have made the novel more interesting.

A poignant, compelling and well plotted mix of mystery, ghost story with some gothic elements.
I loved it as it's so unusual and well plotted. GReat characters and setting, excellent storytelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Francine has lived a small life in her family's home while her sister Madeline was off marrying, divorcing and burying husbands. Now that her seventh is history, she's back with Francine and opening up old wounds. The house is filled with ghosts, most of them kindly, but it's the ghosts of their past- the trauma- that Francine and Madeline find themselves exploring. It's a gothic with good characters and nice atmospherics. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Not so much spooky as thoughtful.

An excellent gothic mystery with a middle-aged protagonist (what joy!), a child ghost, a crumbling manor, a family obsession with the language of flowers....all the really good stuff! Much gratitude to NetGalley and Kensington for the opportunity to read Her Little Flowers.

Her Little Flowers by Shannon Morgan is a ghost story with a difference, here the author does not set out to thrill or terrify, but rather to move the reader , and certainly succeeds in doing so.
The story certainly has gothic vibes despite its modern day setting, and is a really atmospheric read with a crumbling Elizabethan house and a garden filled with plants both beautiful and deadly. Francine Thwaite lives alone in the family ancestral home, at least alone as long as you don't count the ghosts who keep her company, most notably Bree, the spirit of a young girl who has been her companion since childhood. It is a quiet and simple life , but Francine is content and the last thing she expects or wants is to have her world turned upside down and everything that she thought she knew about her family torn asunder. When her estranged sister Maddie returns, apparently bringing with her the spirit of their abusive father and the shocking news that a tragedy in the family past was much darker than either of them knew growing up , Francine's peaceful existence is shattered and she is forced to uncover what really happened all those years ago and her own role in what happened.
I am deliberately being obtuse about what happened to Francine and her family, as to reveal too much too soon would really spoil this book for the reader., it is the slow reveal of what happened that really provides all the drama and tension of the book, along with the heart break. This is a book that packs a real emotional punch , I found myself almost dreading what the final revelations would be , but at the same time desperately needing to know what happened. The author makes excellent use of flashback chapters scattered throughout the book to reveal the truth behind the mystery. While Francine is not the most likeable of characters , with a very prickly nature , as I learned more about her upbringing and what happened all those years before ,I came to understand her a lot better. An aspect of the book that I found interesting was the correlation of flowers with personality traits and meaning , it is something that I always enjoy when I see it cropping up in a book, and it is used very effectively in this one.
Overall an excellent slow burn mystery with a hint of the paranormal that could easily have the reader in tears by the end.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

A middle-aged woman named Francine lives in her childhood home that is also occupied by ghosts including a little girl named Bree. Francine uses her flowers from the garden to ward off evil spirits. However, all that changes when her estranged sister, Madeleine, comes back to visit and bad things start happening. With the help of her sister and lodgers she is hosting, they start to unravel the hidden mystery of their family past.

This was just okay. It is a slow burn mystery but I didn't find it to be creepy other than at times a little unsettling. I couldn't connect with the characters and I started to lose interest in the plot. 3 stars

Thank you to Net Gallery and Kensington Books for this ARC.

Prickly middle-aged loner Francine lives with her occasional lodgers and her full-time ghosts in the relative isolation of her family's crumbling estate. She spends her days tending her garden, immersing herself in herbal lore and the language of flowers, and silently communing with the various spirits on her property. Francine's sister Madeline comes home to stay for a spell after the death of her 7th (!!) husband, and with Madeline's arrival--which happens to coincide with the arrival of a handsome new lodger-- there is no small amount of sudden and terrifying upheaval. Francine's small world, kept so quiet and well-guarded, explodes around her in a whirlwind of long-kept secrets, terrible tragedies, and ghostly heartbreak. I found this story to initially be a bit meandering, but it picked up near the final chapters and near the end I was weeping uncontrollably.

Shannon Morgan’s Her Little Flowers is an emotionally gripping novel that pulls the reader into the hidden past of the Thwaite family. The story centers around Francine Thwaite, an aging woman who has lived her entire life in her family’s ancestral home in England’s Lake District. She shares her home with ghosts, with the most special one being Bree, her mischievous ghost friend.

As the novel progresses, we learn that Francine’s estranged sister, Madeleine, has returned to the manor after being away for years. This brings with her a dark tale that shakes Francine’s beliefs. The novel delves into the family’s disturbing history, unraveling tales of cruelty, terror, heartache, and despair.

What makes this novel interesting is how it moves between the present and the past. Morgan highlights the interconnectedness of events that shape the current state of the Thwaite family. The focus on family secrets adds to the tension that builds up as the story unfolds.

The characters in this story are fleshed out to reveal complex personalities and emotions. The imagery in this novel is also commendable, allowing the reader to fully immerse themselves in the story.

Overall, Her Little Flowers is an absorbing and haunting story filled with grief, forgiveness, love, and regret. It is a novel that grips the reader from start to finish, and Shannon Morgan has done an excellent job of weaving emotions, plot narratives, and characters to create a moving and memorable story.

This book was unique, a woman who has ghosts in her home and uses plants and flowers to ward off bad juju. What made this story so different is the fact that the heroine is middle-aged and has a love interest then when her sister comes to visit her quaint life comes crashing down around her. The house she lives in is five-hundred years old so the book had definite gothic vibes I loved that the ghosts, the house and the plants were all characters as well. But, this is not just a story about ghosts, it is a story about a family tragedy and when the past and present collide hearts are shattered and the big secrets that are eventually revealed are genuinely surprising.

The story is told in past and present chapters and explores how the sisters are dealing with their newfound knowledge of the past. Every day they learn something new as they do the investigation themselves…And what they reveal broke my heart. This was such an intricately woven storyline and a very sad read that eventually left me feeling hopeful for the two main characters in the end. There is a lot going on in the story, sibling conflict, buried memories, a house with secrets not to mention an old asylum on the premises, but the author manages to keep the reader captivated and wanting to find out more.

I felt emotionally invested in the characters, I cared what happened to them and was hoping they’d find the answers they were looking for. I was also hoping the sisters would learn to trust each other again and become closer. The book is ultimately about family bonds, loss, and forgiveness and we are given an inside look at what abuse can do to an entire family. The research about the plants was impeccable, I was really impressed with that. What an exceptional debut.