I really enjoyed getting to know Sierra, Granny and friends. Deena and Sierra made for an unlikely friend/sleuth duo, but the worked out pretty well. I liked that just because they didn't hang out in high school, they were still able to be friends as adults. Granny was cool--for some reason I always like the granny or quirky aunt characters, lol.

The murder was almost a closed door type, since it happened during a flower arranging class. The author did a great job of making me suspect nearly everyone. Just about everyone at the class had a motive, but Sierra and Deena were determined to find out who offed the most despised man in town. As a side story, Sierra's boss left, and she was trying to solve that little mystery as well as wonder if the cute new tenant Calvin who rented the apartment upstairs from the flower shop was to be trusted.

The showdown was a really good one, and several people and a super cute dog got to have a hand in catching the killer. I'm really eager to read the next book now!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the author via NetGalley, an my opinions are my own.

This was such a nail biter of a page turner. A great read. I loved the book. .This was from a new to me and great author. I really enjoyed the book. Will definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC of this book.

For lovers of a cozy mystery, this book is for you! The first in the new series called "Flower Shop Mysteries," Death in Bloom is a strong beginning of the story of Jess Dylan and the flower shop where she works. During her first flower-arranging workshop, someone suddenly dies, and as all cozy mysteries go, Jess needs to figure out who killed the victim and why. There is good characterization of the main characters, with some red herrings, and I especially like that Jess is a sympathetic character. She's sweet and positive, and readers will quickly get behind her in her sleuthing. Oh, and there's a dog, of course! Highly recommend to lovers of the genre!

This is a really solid start to a new series. I really enjoyed all of the characters, especially Sierra who was relatable, likeable and very well written. I also really enjoyed her grandmother and hope that she will show up in more books in the future. I also thought the mystery was well done. It was intriguing enough to keep me guessing and reading and I honestly couldn't figure out the mystery until the end. Overall it was a good read and a great start and I look forward to reading more books in this series.

small-business, small-town, family-dynamics, friendship, vandalism, amateur-sleuth, Tennessee, cozy-mystery, corgi, murder, murder-investigation*****

The publisher's blurb is a good hook for this new series. The characters are well drawn and believable (even if not all are what they seem), there's even a character who excels in the pun department. The sleuthing is pretty good for an inexperienced amateur sleuth with little backup. Good plot twists and sneaky red herrings made it a good read. Loved it!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thanks!

A good series starter, with a charming, quaint setting. The town and some of its inhabitants are established well, an interesting plot line is established to carry the series through the books, and the mystery is interesting with plenty of suspects and amateur detecting done by Sierra and her friends. This one had all that I'm looking for in a cozy series beginning.

After a failed singing career in Nashville, Sierra Ravenswood returns to her hometown of Aerieville, Tennessee. Sierra is now working part-time in the Flower House and her boss unexpectedly leaves her in charge of the flower shop. Sierra is nervous, but excited, to lead the shop’s very first class in bouquet arranging. The workshop starts out well, but turns tragic when one of the participants dies during a snack break. When local police determine Abe Ranker’s death to be murder, Sierra decides to conduct her own investigation to find the killer.

This book has an interesting setting, both the small town in Tennessee and the flower shop. Sierra is a quirky character who likes helping people. The breezy way the story is told reflects her offbeat personality. Sierra can be fun, but I couldn’t quite connect with her. There are a lot of side characters in the book and many of them weren’t really fleshed out enough for me to feel I had gotten to know them. The large cast of characters has the benefit of providing plenty of suspects and red herrings as to the identity of Abe’s murderer. I was surprised when the killer was revealed.

The best part of the book is the way SIerra, her friend Deena, and new friend Cal work together to get information to try solving the murder. They work well together and I enjoyed those scenes. It appears Cal is being set up as a future love interest for Sierra, but I see camaraderie and not much chemistry yet. The pace is somewhat slow, but that could pick up in future installments since the groundwork for the setting and characters has now been set. Although this wasn’t my favorite, there are some cute elements to the book that could result in a fun, new cozy series.

~ Christine

Death in Bloom is the first in the new Flower House mystery series by Jess Dylan. It was released yesterday (May 25th) from St. Martin’s Press. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for giving me access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it.

Death in Bloom follows Sierra Ravenswood as she tries to settle into small town life after her dreams of being a singer in Nashville fall through. She returns to her hometown of Aerieville determined to build a better life for herself with the help of positive vibes and good thoughts. Unfortunately for her, her flaky boss skips town on some adventure and leaves her to run the flower shop on her own. Her first evening by herself is filled with a flower arranging class that she isn’t prepared to lead. Throw in a suspicious death during the class and things can’t get any worse, right? Wrong. Can Sierra solve a murder, find the person who keeps breaking into the Flower House, and take care of a new pup all at once? With the help of new friends and positive energy, anything is possible. She hopes.

The plot is pretty standard. Except the bestie is a rekindling of an old acquaintanceship from high school (they weren’t close back then, but why not now?) and the potential love interest is some sketchy dude who randomly shows up and asks way too many questions about the absent boss. Otherwise, there are plenty of obvious clues to lead you in the wrong direction all the way through. I admit that I doubted my murderer guess a couple of times, but stuck with it and was right in the end. It was twisty and turny enough to be a fun ride.

As far as the characters go, I liked them well enough. Sierra was a little wishy-washy when it came to the Flower House even though her choice was obvious. That was annoying. But her general personality and her familial interactions were all great. Deena is a little on the flat side, but there’s potential for some good development with her in later books. Calvin is super suspicious and with everything going on, I found it really hard to believe that Sierra just took the dude at his word. At least do some research on him. A quick google of the faculty website at the school he supposedly teaches at. Anything. But, no. It takes her more than half the book to realize he’s sketchy. It’s improbable. At least Gus is cute. He’s the corgi puppy she adopts when it becomes apparent her boss isn’t coming back for him.

The writing is nice. Everything flows pretty smoothly and keeps the story hopping along at a quick pace. There were some sections that felt redundant as they rehashed the case, but that happens in all cozies I’ve found.

Ultimately, Death in Bloom was enjoyable and pretty fluffy. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for future books in this series. I might even check out the other series that Jess Dylan wrote using the name Jennifer David Hesse.

Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. If you like cozy mysteries with a weirdly positive lead woman and cute puppers, it’s certainly worth a look.

I think this series has a lot of potential. The small town it is set in is interesting with a nice amount of quirk without being too crazy. I really loved the focus on flowers and find all their different meanings intriguing. As well the friends Sierra makes make for an interesting team and I can't forget about Gus! I can never resist a book with a puppy!

My main issue with the book is most likely a first book issue. There's a lot of setup - who Sierra is, why she's moved back to her home town, her general attitude towards life, etc. This slowed the book down and at times seemed to crowd out the mystery. I'm hoping this will not be an issue in future books as this was a first book in the series. Other then that I did have a few issues with Sierra. She just seems so immature at times and while she is an adult it's sometimes hard to remember that she is one. Because of that her mentions of "signs" and that kind of thing were a little difficult to take seriously.

Overall, this wasn't a favorite but it is the start of a series that I do have hope for. I like the premise and the side characters. I'm not sure this is a series I would recommend yet but definitely one I'll keep an eye on.

Death in Bloom is the first book in Jess Dylan's Flower House Mystery series. Set in the rural town of Aerieville, Tennessee, our protagonist Sierra Ravenswood has returned to her hometown, after failing to make it as a singer in Nashville. Not one to focus on the negative, Sierra has taken a part-time job at the local flower shop and is optimistic about the future. However, she is completely taken aback when her boss Felix up and disappears on a geocaching trip and leaves her in charge just before the first flower arranging class. When the town bully Abe is murdered during the class, Sierra becomes determined to uncover the truth, especially when it becomes clear that someone is targeting the flower shop.

This was a terrific start to a new series. I enjoyed the characters, the flower shop setting, and the storyline. Sierra is a likable and well-written character. I can't wait to see what's in store for her, both with her new business and the new friendships in her life. I hope we'll see more of her grandmother as well. She was a very interesting character, and I would love to see her herbs and superstitions play a role in future storylines.

As for the mystery, I thought it was well-plotted. When I got to the 85% mark on my kindle I still couldn't say with absolute certainty who the killer was. My guess turned out to be correct but props to the author, she did a great job of making me second guess my pick numerous times throughout the story.
All in all, this was a very enjoyable and engaging read. I will be back for another visit with Sierra and the community of Aerieville.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sierra Ravenswood gets a big surprise when Felix, her boss and owner of the Flower House floral shop in Aerieville, Tennessee, lets her know that he is leaving town for an extended time for a geocaching trip and she is in charge of the shop beginning with a flower arranging workshop that night. And she has his dog, Gus, to look after as well. It was a crazy workshop with one obnoxious attendee, Abe, taunting another attendee and he suddenly falls to the floor dead of what is determined to be poisoning. Everyone at the workshop is a suspect of putting poison on the snack that Abe ate and they all appear suspicious to me. A friend from high school, Deena Lee, attended the workshop as well and Sierra feels that she is trustworthy since she just returned to town. Then a surprise person shows up at the house saying that Felix rented the upstairs apartment out to him while he is writing a book. Calvin comes across as a nerdy klutz, although he is a little cute. Things get really crazy as someone breaks into the shop twice and vandalizes it as well as the greenhouse. Other things have been going on with other attendees, including blackmail, death threats, black roses left, and suspicious acting behavior, leaving one unsure of who is behind everything. Sierra's Granny Mae tries to help advise and protect Sierra with her potions and recommendations. It all left my head spinning with all the strange behavior. This is a fun read with some risk taking while investigating on Sierra and Deena's part in a small town setting full of fast moving gossip, quirky characters, and mystery.
I received a complimentary ARC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed are mine only.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Soo sweet and the setting was fabulous. A new spin for sure.

Sierra Ravenswood is back at home in Aerieville, Tennessee after her music career in Nashville suffered some set-backs. She's working part-time at the Flower House and planning her future using lots of positive affirmations.

Things go terribly wrong when her boss Felix takes off on a geocaching trip leaving her in charge just before the first flower arranging class. She certainly didn't expect that one of the attendees, garden shop owner Abe Ranker, would drop dead during their snack break. He is an abrasive person commonly known as Dishonest Abe, and many of the other attendees had motives for wanting him dead.

Flo and Richard run the bakery café next door to the Flower Shop and have had run-ins with him. So has Valerie who runs the local dance studio. Sierra's friend Richard who's the local handyman while also working at the bank has had issues with him too. So has Letty Maron who is a shy, local elementary school teacher. The only one who lacks a connection to Abe is Deena who was also a classmate of Sierra's and who has just returned to town.

Between Abe's death and Felix's disappearance leaving his puppy Gus behind, Sierra is finding it hard to conjure serenity despite her affirmations. Add in Calvin Foxheart who arrives the next day saying that Felix had agreed to rent him the apartment above the Flower Shop, and who is a sort of suspicious character in his own right. She also has to deal with her family who want her to dump the Flower Shop and come back to work at Dumbbells which is their fitness center, and who love her but don't understand her.

Sierra, Deena, and sometimes Calvin begin trying to discover who killed Abe. They uncover lots of secrets and resentments along the way. Sierra also discovers her future with friends and a canine companion.

This was a fun story. I liked positive-thinking, but sort of naïve, Sierra. Gus was a great canine character. Her new friends - once she cleared them of suspicion - were interesting people.

Talk about being dumped in at the deep end. Sierra has returned home after her hopes to make it big as a singer in Nashville fizzle and die when her boyfriend turns out to be a cheat and a major jerk. Her family welcomes her home and she goes to work part time in a charming flower shop owned by Felix. She enjoys the work but has no plans to make this her career. So much for plans. Those plans are turned upside down when Felix does a runner to parts unknown leaving her with the shop, a new tenant in the apartment over the shop and the Corgi puppy, Gus, recently adopted by Felix. Oh and the dead man who was poisoned during her first flower arranging class.
Time to sink or swim and with the help of Calvin upstairs and her friend Deena. Together they investigate the murder and find the list of people who really didn't like the victim, Abe, is plenty long. Besides the adorable Corgi, Gus my favorite human member of the group is her Granny Mae who is a very wise woman and expert in herbs and cures. The mystery is satisfying with a great ending and the groundwork laid out for the next in the series, Petals and Poisons which is due out November 30, 2021. If you like this new series you should check out Jess Dylan's other series, The Wiccan wheel mysteries written as Jennifer David Hesse.
My thanks to the publisher St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Good first book by a new-to-me author. Now that a lot of the background is out of the way, I think the second book will be even better. This was a good read, just a little slow for me at times. Got tired of her mom pressuring her to close and do other things. Loved the ending.

A charming and delightful new series. A quick and engaging read. A nice variety of characters. A cute dog and a flower shop. Clever mystery that kept me guessing. I look forward to reading the next one. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.

A Great start to a new cozy series even if it does take place in a flower. I wouldn't want to work in one as I feel like it would non stop sneezing for me with my allergies but I did enjoy reading about it. The mystery aspect kept me on my toes.

Fun read with great characters and an engaging story line. Well plotted mystery that draws in the reader and holds their attention.

After a failed singing career in Nashville, Sierra Ravenswood returns to her hometown of Aerieville, Tennessee. Sierra is now working part-time in the Flower House and her boss unexpectedly leaves her in charge of the flower shop. Sierra is nervous, but excited, to lead the shop’s very first class in bouquet arranging. The workshop starts out well, but turns tragic when one of the participants dies during a snack break. When local police determine Abe Ranker’s death to be murder, Sierra decides to conduct her own investigation to find the killer.

This book has an interesting setting, both the small town in Tennessee and the flower shop. Sierra is a quirky character who likes helping people. The breezy way the story is told reflects her offbeat personality. Sierra can be fun, but I couldn’t quite connect with her. There are a lot of side characters in the book and many of them weren’t really fleshed out enough for me to feel I had gotten to know them. The large cast of characters has the benefit of providing plenty of suspects and red herrings as to the identity of Abe’s murderer. I was surprised when the killer was revealed.

The best part of the book is the way Sierra, her friend Deena, and new friend Cal work together to get information to try solving the murder. They work well together and I enjoyed those scenes. It appears Cal is being set up as a future love interest for Sierra, but I see camaraderie and not much chemistry yet. The pace is somewhat slow, but that could pick up in future installments since the groundwork for the setting and characters has now been set. Although this wasn’t my favorite, there are some cute elements to the book that could result in a fun, new cozy series.

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of St. Martin's Press. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

Sierra Ravenswood loves her job and loves her town of Aerieville, Tennessee. Yes her life is not where she expected it to be but she is trying her best to thinking positively about her future. Her life take a drastic change when her boss Felix leaves unexpectedly and puts her in charge of his business the Flower House. To top it all off her flower arranging workshop goes not according to plan and ends with a murder. Sierra, with the help of a couple friends and some words of wisdom from her Granny, is determined to figure out who is the killer.

This was such a fun book! I loved the main character Sierra. It was very surprising to read a cozy mystery with a character who is the same age as me. It made her so much easier to relate to (minus the murder mystery haha). Also we oddly have the same color cars which made me crack up when I read that. I like ll the other characters in the book. Really enjoyed seeing the friendship between Deena and Sierra grow. I love love love that there is a dog in this book....forever a crazy dog lady haha. The relationship between Sierra and her Granny is super sweet!

The murder happens in the first 30 pages of the book which is a little change of pace from most cozy mysteries I read. I honestly was guessing till the end who did it but the story seemed a little bit dragged out at some points. But overall I really enjoyed it and I look forward to seeing where this series goes!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC book!

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*