DNF Details

How far did I get? I listened to an hour or two of the audiobook before switching over to the ebook and then ultimately skimming.

Why did I stop? I was not feeling the story at all, unfortunately. That cover is absolutely adorable and I've heard good things about Eden's writing, but it was clear from the start that this wasn't going to be a win for me. The heroine has a long-term boyfriend when the book begins, yet she's lusting over the hero almost immediately. There are over 200 mentions of her boyfriend throughout the book, so it's not like she dumps him at the beginning and then connects with the hero - the OM drama is present throughout. Definitely not my personal preference to just keep hearing about a past relationship while I'm trying to connect with the new one. The cover gives off such sweet and swoony vibes, I wasn't expecting to encounter that much drama.

Was I enjoying it initially? No, the red flags popped up pretty quickly, and there was no going back after that. Technically speaking, this should be a fun, fish out of water romance, with our city girl heroine re-evaluating her life after inheriting a farm. I was excited to get to that part of the story, but it took a LOT of stops and starts for me to get that far - every time I would try to pick it back up, something would pull me right out again.

Would I finish this? I would not. Looking at other reviews, very few people have rated it as 5 stars, so I'm okay with leaving it unfinished.

Who would I recommend this to? Fans of fish out of water romances who don't mind some OM drama.

I appreciated that the leads were characters of color and that the plot was different. The female lead was annoying. The male lead was bland. I didn't care about their story.

Love in Bloom is a sweet, steamy rom com set in a small town. Emma is a successful PR exec whose life gets flipped upside down after her grandparents leave her their farm, she makes a huge mistake that costs her job, and her seemingly picture perfect relationship ends.

Life on the farm is an entirely different pace. She meets Dan (in a pretty hilarious manner) the farm manager who takes care of the plants and flowers, and is keeping a secret about what lies behind a locked door. The folks in the town seem to harbour a grudge against Emma, and she yearns to unearth more about why.

I liked a lot of the charm and quirks of this rom com. I wish the chapters had been a bit shorter and that the tipping point of the conflict had been less frustrating. For someone who was such a helper in her soul and prolific in her PR career, it was tough to believe everything came crashing down so quickly. I liked that the story had grit, and the spice was spicy! 3.5 rounded up to 4.

Big thanks to Netgalley and Forever for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is definitely a romance but I think it's equally about Emma's journey as a person. Emma learning how she fits into the town and falling in love with it was fun to read. I feel like this is a pretty unique take a girl inheriting her family's farm and I liked it. Dan was such a good guy who was in love with Emma from the moment he met her.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I stopped reading after the big reveal at 35%. Just no.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received.

3.5 stars! This book is about a woman who’s down on her luck and moves to a small-town farm willed to her by her late grandparents. I don’t want to harp on the romance too much here because I felt like the romance was secondary to the main character’s growth. The romance aspect was fine, albeit almost instant love, but the more interesting part of this story lies with the found-family and character growth. I enjoyed how the town grew to be a place where she felt at home. She built relationships that are really strong. I also really enjoyed the cultural representation!

There’s a moral dilemma in this book that I struggled with. I, personally, don’t take issue with the actual dilemma in the book, but the fact that there is one to begin with makes this story a little less enticing for me. It could have been any moral dilemma and I’d still feel the same way.

That said, if you enjoy books that take place in small towns, found-family, and sweet love, this book is a great read. It’s fast, easy and enjoyable.

3.5 stars

Emma comes into an unexpected inheritance from her estranged grandparents - their beloved farm. She has to contend with this surprise, and Dan, the farm manager. She doesn’t know why she inherited it or what her plans are, but Dan and the community await anxiously. All this comes at a pivotal time in her life when she has to decide if she’ll be happy as a trophy wife to her fiancé, an ambitious politician, while she gives up her own ambitions and happiness.

This jumpstarts Emma’s journey to self-discovery, and also to uncovering family secrets. She and Dan get off to a rocky start. I realized during this part that I don’t particularly like this sub trope of a potential love interest being openly hostile to the other when the other has no clue why. And then they start to fall for each other, and I’m still back here simmering in the hostility that the story built up 🤷🏽‍♀️ Anyway, once I caught up I enjoyed their growing romance. Dan’s a surprising hero. I also liked getting to know the various townsfolk and their stories. What Emma learns as she gets to know them better is definitely life changing.

Highlights:
🐓 Adversaries-to-lovers, spicy, open door
🐓 Family drama/secrets
🐓 Small town, tight community
🐓 Strong FMC
🐓 BIPOC rep (Black & South Asian)

Be aware of: miscommunication trope, mention of illness, smarmy ex

Overall a pleasant and enjoyable read that respectfully brings up a topical issue. Lucy Eden is a new-to-me author and I’d be interested in reading more from her.

Thanks to @readforeverpub for my ALC in exchange for an honest review. 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗺 is available November 12th.

Love in Bloom is a small-town romance following Emma, a well known publicist, whose life is turned upside down after she is fired and inherits her grandparents' farm all in the same week. With her relationship on the rocks and no job to keep her in the city, Emma flees to the farm in the hopes of discovering more about herself and her family. When she is met with Dan, the farm's subsequent manager, Emma is forced to decide if she is willing to push aside her previous beliefs about small-town living and her new role all while falling for the charming horticulturist.

This was a very cute and simple read! The small town was full of busy bodies and I thought it was so sweet how everybody was concerned for Emma, Dan, and the farm. I absolutely loved the relationship between the two, they were so understanding of one another, Dan was such a gentleman but always willing to call Emma out on herself. While I did enjoy the romance, I wish there was more plot and something to liven up the writing. I found the book to be a little boring and just wish it had an extra element to keep me engaged the whole way through. While this may not be my favorite read, I think it will work for a lot of people and lovers of cozy romances with low stakes and medium heat!

Love in Bloom by Lucy Eden starts with a lot of charm—a city girl thrown into small-town chaos, complete with an unexpected farm inheritance and a gruff, skeptical farm manager named Dan, who initially resents Emma's presence but gradually warms up to her. Emma's misadventures immediately drew me in as she tried to adjust to her new life, fumbling through rural life with plenty of humour. The quirky townsfolk and their collective mystery added a nice layer, hinting that there was more to Green Acres than met the eye.

But I hit a lull in the middle, and the story just seemed to stall. Emma's struggles felt repetitive, and while the town's mystery, a series of unexplained events that seemed to be connected to Emma's inheritance, lingered, the pacing slowed down so much that it started to lose some of its spark. It was a bit of a slog to get through, and I found myself hoping for something—anything—to shake things up.

Luckily, the last section was delivered. The stakes ramped up, and Emma finally had to take charge, bringing the story back to life. The finale was enjoyable, especially seeing Emma's growth and how she understood and cared for the community around her. Ultimately, it was a pleasant read, but the mid-book slowdown held it back for me.

I was really enjoying this book until she discovered the pot growing operation in the greenhouse. I probably would have continued reading if the story took place where growing pot was legal but it’s not legal in Georgia and I’m not interested in reading about criminals.

This one be SPICY and I was totally here for it. I loved the small town vibes, the medical marijuana farm storyline and the diverse main character leads. Lucy Eden was a new to me author and I thoroughly enjoyed her excellent blend of humor, heat and heart in this well written story about finding your place and taking charge of your life. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review. The audio narration by Wesleigh Siobhan was extremely well done considering she tackles both a British male voice and an American female voice. Highly recommended for fans of authors like Talia Hibbert and Denise Williams.

Love in Bloom is a journey of self-discovery for Emma. She’s spent her whole life preparing to be the perfect society wife but a twist of fate helps her understand her true desires. And she accepts these changes without a lot of fuss, working to find happiness in her new town and on the farm.

Emma also learns some hard lessons like learning to ask for and accept help from others. Learning to listen to what others what and need and not what she thinks they need. It takes time, and Emma nearly ruins her new life and the town she’s promised to protect, but in the end she shines.

Her romance with Dan is simple and easy, which is an eye opener. She’s never had someone meet her as an equal partner or offer to take care of her and insist she take care of herself. The pair grows close quickly after an immediate connection and attraction.

The big secret on the farm is pretty obvious and revealed fairly quickly. I have questions about why things are done the way they are and why it’s such a forbidden secret in today’s day and age, but it works for the story. I was also a bit confused on how much time was passing because it seems contradictory at times, but again, it doesn’t impact the enjoyment of the story.

Love in Bloom is a lovely small town romance between two individuals finding their perfect other half. It’s a quick, enjoyable read.

My Rating: B

The loss of one star is due to my own preferences. The "f" word was used frequently. Lots of intimate scenes which I always skip over. Despite that I continued reading as I was thoroughly engaged in the characters. The small town and the farm were also interesting factors. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

I really wanted to like this book! Unfortunately, I found myself quite bored for most of the story, and hoping for something else to happen to keep me engaged.

The only time I found myself rooting for this couple was within the first two chapters. I would have loved if there was a little bit more pushback from Emma against Dan wanting to take care of her. For someone who was so independent, it would have been a realistic plot point if Dan was desperate to take care of her and she was a little bit more resistant. They fell much too quickly for my liking, and once they were together, the intimate scenes were way too often. There was often three or more different scenes in one chapter, just to fit in two or more sex scenes into a chapter. It felt like overkill, and none of the intimate scenes ended up having much purpose other than to fill space on the page.

I think the story was well written, but it was far too long and had far too little plot. The overuse of nicknames by Dan drove me a little crazy as well. The dialogue between them seemed unrealistic and like they were performing with each other, not being real.

None of the side characters were overly unique and they often blended all together for me. I wasn't overly invested in any of them either.

aThe whole plot point about the farm seemed pretty out of pocket, and I didn't find it exciting or interesting. I think it could have been done a lot better, but there were such low stakes throughout almost the entire book that it almost seemed like it didn't matter.

Overall, I would have liked to enjoy this book a lot more than I did but I think it still absolutely has an audience that will like it!

If you let go of your disbeliefs to enjoy that a whole town can keep a secret of this magnitude, then you'll enjoy this romance. Sweet, low stakes love story.

Thank you, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever

After the surprising loss of her estranged grandparents, Emma inherits the family farm. While her life is in Atlanta, hours away from the small town, her mind drifts back to the space and the secrets that lie within it. When her circumstances change, she drives back and takes on the role as “farm owner”, trying to learn about her family’s past and the role it plays in the community. She’s met with weary glances, tough chores, and a handsome horticulturist, She slowly pieces together the secret of the farm and is caught in a dilEMMA of what to do with it. This story and the conflicts were unique! I had a fun time meeting the townspeople and watching the love story develop. I was hoping for a reunion at the end! Was a fun read!

Yes it's trope-y what with the insta-love thing (which gets steamy) but this has an unusual big heart at its center. Emma's world blows apart just as she inherits a farm from the grandparents she didn't really know. She also inherits Dan, the farm manager, and the hopes and reliance of most of the town of Green Acres. Dan, the hot Brit horticulturalist has a bit of unfair darkness in his past but he's aces for the farm and for Emma. No spoilers from me about the secret of the farm or Dan. Emma's ex is truly awful but the people in town are truly nice, and you will find yourself rooting for Emma and friends. I liked the diversity. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good storytelling made for a very good read.

3.5★

I really enjoyed how Lucy Eden set up this city fmc x small town farm life mmc. I think that there was some great moments of fun small-town moments that made it easy to see how someone to come to love the town. I wish that there was some more development in regards to Emma and her family, it felt super rushed and after finishing it feels like there is something missing there. Dan and Emma together was fun, very cute and I enjoyed seeing their relationship blossom. I left the book feeling like I wanted to read some more in regards to Dan as a character, he felt a little flat at times if he were to stand on his own but the way that him and Emma worked together was very cutsey and they had me melting at times so it made up for it in my opinion. A good small town read if you are looking for one!!

This was SO cute, and I am glad I had the chance to read it! I think it would be a perfect March or April read.

This was so cute!! I’ve read a couple of Lucy Eden’s other books over the summer, so when I saw this was her first traditionally published book! I was so excited to get to read it! The perfect small town romance!! I loved Emma and Dan so much! And this quirky small town with a little secret was filled with so many wonderful people, I loved getting to meet them all!

It was REFRESHING that Emma was so willing to try and learn about the farm before she made any decisions. And listen I LOVE enemies to lovers!! And I love when a woman comes back to her hometown just to sell whatever property she’s been left and the guy has some special attachment to it so he puts up a real fight - I LOVE IT. But this was like the opposite?? Like yes Emma was coming back to help her family business and Dan did have a strong emotional attachment to the farm… But Emma was sweet!? And Dan was SWEET! And they got along SO well!! And he helped her find people who could answer questions about her family and let her help on the farm even though he knew it was going to be a disaster! It was WHOLESOME from the start?? And it was SO GOOD!

They were PERFECT! They’re just two people who ran away to the farm and never looked back. I loved watching Emma figure out where she was going. Her life kind of fell apart at the beginning of the book, but it also was just the start! She had so many choices to make and so many options open to her! And watching her figure it out, and figure it out with Dan!!! It was so much fun!

Thank you so much to Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!