I was excited to read a novel where one of the themes was grief because that is rarely done well. Unfortunately, there were some plot points in this particular book that weren't believable to me. I had a difficult time keeping my attention on this. The story was okay, but not one that I'd want to read again. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

For some reason this took me forever to get into. I didn't love the character, Joan, and I really struggled to connect with her. It had all the features I would usually enjoy in womens fiction, but it just didn't grab me the way I hoped it would.

Such a fun read!
“What are the chances that a super bloom would be erupting right now and that I just so happened to turn on the radio at the exact moment to hear about it?
The seeds are so patient. They know, without a doubt they have greatness inside that they’re waiting to release.” P264

Massage therapist Joan Johnson is heartbroken after a loss a couple of years ago and she may or may not take it out on her clients. Her manager isn’t impressed with her bc of customer complaints, so her boss requires a good review by a difficult patron, who is a famous romance writer. They end up making a deal, which propels the rest of the book.

I loved the romance writer and a book within a book, and a main character who has always loved writing but never tried to write her own book before meeting this author. If you like bookish books, this one is a great quick read when you want one!

Thank you to the author Megan Tady, publisher Zibby Books, and as always NetGalley, for an advance digital copy of SUPER BLOOM.

Joan is a massage therapist who used to be an artist before she enexpectedly lost her fiancé to a horrible car wreck. And if that wasn't bad enough, his entire family forgot about her in the immediate aftermath and during the grieving period, so she never did properly heal. Now she's said and confrontational all the time, and <i>nobody</i> wants to make space for her anymore-- not her friends, or coworkers, for sure not her boss. But everything changes when a brilliant and successful writer lays down on Joan's massage table. She's burnt out and uninspired, and couldn't Joan just help write her next bestseller? What could go wrong, right Joan?

I really enjoy the character work in this book. I adore Joan. I love how grumpy she is and honest about her emotions, and that she tries so hard to take care of the people around her. That no one enjoys being around her, I see as largely a "them" flaw and not a "her" flaw. I'm not sure the narrative communicates this well enough; Joan experiences a great deal of pressure to be more positive for everyone else's benefit. I like her because she changes and grows, but remains authentic, which allows for the surprising ending between two very complex characters.

To be perfectly frank though, I had trouble connecting to the narrative here. I found a few of the plot points a stretch for my disbelief, so I kept dropping the thread of the story. I really don't like when unrealistic scenarios make my eyes roll; that's not the feeling I'm after when I read realistic fiction. Bafflement is what scifi is for!

Rating: 💆‍♂️💆‍♂️💆‍♂️ / 5 face massages
Recommend? Sure, it wasn't bad
Finished: May 7 2023
Format: Digital, NetGalley
Read this if you like:
🧖‍♀️ Workplace drama
🌄 Redemption stories
👭🏽 Friend stories
😥 Grief recovery

A wonderful take on coming back from grief. I loved the snarky, real character in Joan. I appreciated her character. It was so refreshing to read someone so real, with a fantastic story as well.

A massage therapist grieving the unexpected and sudden loss of her boyfriend gets tangled up in a scheme with a romance author who has writer's block. This was a compelling debut book with a very relatable and sympathetic FMC who is feeling lost and finds herself and a new chance at life and love by agreeing to ghost write a romance book for a struggling author.

Good on audio, this was just an okay read. I was expecting a bit more if I'm honest and wasn't as wowed as I was hoping to be. That said I am still looking forward to what this author will write next. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is a fun summer read. I really enjoyed it and had fun interviewing Megan for my podcast. Great for a vacation read.

This story was so fun and light to read, entertaining and inspiring and all that even though it centers around grief, the grief of a love taken too soon, before there was any „recognized“ name for Joan or a recognized role for her as a griever. This largely unrecognized grief over a love that had so much potential has dragged Joan down, add to it barely scraping by on the money she makes as a massage therapist at a Vermont luxury resort, while enduring managements endless new schemes to make more money making her feel like a snake oil salesman. With this book we meet Joan when things need to turn around - she is getting a last chance with a notoriously difficult client, she needs to somehow figure out whether her childhood friendship is salvageable and she needs to find something to live for instead of just staying alive. Trust me, with these intense themes this book was fun too read - reflective enough but with hilarious moments. Vermont has a special place in my heart so a Vermont setting is always a winner for me - but here even the resort selling maple-y stuff was just so well portrayed. Megan Tady’s characters were well fleshed out down to the sidekicks. This is an enjoyable, uplifting and fun read - that I definitely recommend!

Super Bloom by Megan Tady is a super fun read! Joan is a massage therapist who does not really want to be a massage therapist. Nothing seems to be going right in her life, and she feels let down by everyone. She is struggling through a grief she just can't seem to get past. Then a celebrity client comes to the upscale spa where she works and Joan's life is turned upside down. Through a secret "project" that she is working on with this celebrity client Joan finally for the first time in many years looks outside of herself. In doing so she learns that there are supports there for her, and people who care about her. She also finally tackles her grief head on, and is able to find herself again.
This is a story of love and loss, and finding your true self. It is also a story about friendship and how we all need to find our people in this world to feel truly complete. Megan Tady's character development is wonderful. Her characters are real people with flaws. Her writing is witty and clever. This page turner will pull you in immediately and at times have you laughing out loud, The story is also heartwarming, and will have you rooting for the characters up until the very last page. These are people you wish were your friends too.

thank you Zibby books for another great book! I admit, the first line of this book about losing it at work really resonated with me and I loved the lead character Joan, and her self growth throughout the story. I also liked the different themes explored, particularly for me the one about her relationship with her best friend. Adult female friendships, even ones or maybe specifically ones that are long lasting from childhood... well they are messy as people change and grow and find out adulting isn't a linear path. Super Bloom captures that nicely. I also liked that as Joan handled her work and personal challenges that she also saw ways to help not just herself but her co-workers as well and that she also at times stood up for her grief, her sorrow as I think that matters, all too often people are expected to shake things off to make other people feel more comfortable and Joan owned her feelings.
The little quirky vibes of Vermont small town spa resort life also resonated as did bigger themes about grief, self fulfillment, adult relationships, and just figuring things out.
The only note I have.. there were so many woven together themes and secondary characters, such as Quinn and Deli, who felt underdeveloped. I wanted more of each character and would love to see them examined more in future books.

Super Bloom by Megan Tady explores how we measure and judge grief. Set in a Vermont Spa, Joan is a young woman woman who finds her soulmate, starts making plans for a life together, and is cheated of that future life and happiness by his death. Family, friends, and co-workers have long lost patience with Joan, expecting her to move forward and get over it. After several missteps, as a last ditch effort Joan’s boss hands her a notoriously difficult client, Carmen. Expectedly it’s a disaster, but a bargain is reached. Carmen will offer a glowing review if Joan agrees to ghost write her upcoming novel set in a spa. As Joan has been journaling for stress, this seems doable. What could go wrong?

This is a story of happens when grieving doesn’t align with societal expectations. The proportionality of how close, the length of the relationship, versus how impacted someone is by its loss. Tady uses conflict and connection between Joan and Carmen exceptionally well to explore the nuances of grief. I appreciated the use of flashbacks to fill in blanks. The book is heartfelt and while it appears lighthearted grief is central to Joan’s life and this book. It may be too much for some readers.

I think this is a fantastic Spring/Summer Bookclub pick with so much to discuss. It’s my favorite release by Zibbybooks so far, and the one I highly suggest if you haven’t read any yet.

Thank you to @Zibbybooks, @MegTady and @Netgalley for the early review copy.

The first sentence of Super Bloom might become as famous as Moby Dick's ;)

Joan is a massage therapist (NOT a masseuse) at a swanky hotel in Vermont, entrenched in grief and hating her job. She meets a light in the form of Carmen Bronze, famous romance writer. Through working with Carmen, Joan slowly sheds her layers and we learn more about her lost love. This book is funny, sarcastic, and a beautiful study of grief and relationships.

This took me a while to finish. I had a hard time really getting into it. Joan was such a Debbie downer, always negative. I understand why, but it was kind of exhausting. Then about 75% in, I was like ok, feeling better about it, then at 90% I’m like seriously? It’s a little too clean of an ending. Too perfect.

This was a really wonderful read ,Megan Tandy writes beautifully .Joan’s story was really touching and also made me laugh out loud.will be recommending this entertaining novel.#netgalley #zippybooks

Talk about perfect timing to read/publish a book…I love that a big piece in this book, a superbloom, we are actually experiencing right now in California.

This book was exactly what I needed to read - the perfect mix of humor and passion that left me wanting to be friends with Joan. I feel like the characters in this book, or rather the Rescue Squad, were all somewhat misfits, but their little quirks, personalities and stories made them so likeable.

I think this is the first book I’ve read where it’s included a book inside of a book, if that make sense, and I actually enjoyed it. I loved getting to see how all the pieces of this story fell into place, that allowed Joan to find her way back to writing. I do wish we got a wee bit more of the “past” to show more of Samuel & Joan’s story, outside of her short story, Snow Globe.

This book was written so well, I was actually shocked to hear this was Megan’s debut novel. It was most definitely laugh out loud funny, but at the same time touched so well on grief, finding oneself, new beginnings and the transformative power of reading/writing.

4⭐️

Thank you Megan Tady, NetGalley and Zibby Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ℙ𝕦𝕓 𝔻𝕒𝕪 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨! 🥒

I Can Never Un-Hear Earthy Crunchy Lite - Thank You @megtady

★★★★

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤: Super Bloom
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: @megtady
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Contemporary Fiction
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: @zibbybooks

This is a great book about finding yourself, following your passions and healing from loss. I did not know what to expect when I met our protagonist (Joan) and her new massage client (Carmen) BUT I instantly found them both comical in different ways. Their dynamic had me LOL.

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙄𝙛 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚:
Humor
Overcoming Grief
Massages 💆🏼‍♀️ and Spa Days 🧖🏼‍♀️
Unlikely Friendships
Work Family

Happy Publication Day to Megan Tady for Super Bloom! Oh, friends. This book is an absolute DELIGHT, and I truly adored it! I applaud Tady’s charming storytelling, and her ability to blend heavy subject matter with plenty of laughter, warmth, and grace. Joan Johnston, the main character in Super Bloom is going through a bit of a rough patch. She’s grieving her boyfriend after his accidental death, she’s unhappy with her current occupation, and she’s trying to ease the tension building up with her best friend. Tady finds humor in it all, and crafts an entertaining tale that will have you smiling with every flip of the page.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Gorgeous Vermont setting
- Witty & hilarious banter
- Laugh-out-loud moments
- Friendship fiction
- The writing process/author inspiration
- A book within a book
- Navigating loss/grief/healing
- Unexpected romance
- Character-driven novels
- Workplace drama
- Behind-the-scenes at a spa

If you need a good laugh after an unsettling read, or just craving something light and fun, this book is definitely it. It will brighten your day, I can guarantee that. I can’t wait to read whatever Megan Tady comes up with next. I love her style! 4/5 stars for Super Bloom! Grab your copy TODAY!

Stuck in a life she never intended to live, working as a massage therapist and grieving the sudden and unexpected loss of her boyfriend, Joan reconnects with her passion for writing and slowly rediscovers the joy of telling her own stories and the value of her voice. Luxury resort setting with a luscious Vermont backdrop, the book is both emotionally touching and laugh out loud hilarious.

This debut novel is delightful. I loved the humor and fun banter of this novel between the characters.
Joan Johnston is working in a luxurious Vermont Spa. She is a hot mess after the death of her boyfriend.

One of her clients is Carmen Bronze, who is a best-selling romance novelist. She offers her an interesting proposition to help Joan pay her bills. Writing proves to be good for her soul and awakens passion in Joan. Can writing heal Joan and open her up to the possibility of a new love? Carmen does not make it easy as she is controlling and demanding, often times threatening.

A fabulous and fun debut which is perfect for a getaway. Thank you Zibby books for the advanced copy that was donated to a Little Free Library as part of their LFL drop. I look forward to more books by Tady! This cover has me wanting a spa getaway with friends.

Megan Tady manages to write a book about heavy topics with such a light upbeat attitude that it didn't sink in how heavy it felt until the end. This second chance novel will grab you from the start and make you feel invested in Joan and her story.

Thank you Zibby Books for giving me access to this ARC.