Rating: 5/5 (More if I could!)

Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris is an exquisite and emotional novel that left a deep impression on me. From the opening pages, I was hooked. The story follows Leigh, the last of the Wildes, as she wrestles with loss, guilt, and the instinct to survive. After a prison transport accident leaves her the sole survivor, Leigh escapes into hiding and finds an unexpected refuge on a flower farm in rural Alabama.

This book does so many things well. The writing is immersive and vivid. The characters are beautifully developed, especially Leigh and Jackson. Their growing connection is tender and believable, and the surrounding cast provides just the right amount of support and tension. I appreciated how the novel balanced emotional depth with moments of lightness, and how it never shied away from hard questions.

Even when I thought I could predict the story, the author delivered twists that added emotional nuance instead of relying on shock. This book made me think, feel, and reflect. Leigh’s journey is one of the most memorable I have read this year.

Highly recommended for readers who love stories about redemption, found family, and the quiet strength it takes to start again.

Terah Shelton Harris does it again with this riveting tale that will keep readers intrigued and engrossed in the life of Leigh, the main character. From birth, her plight has been marred by unfortunate circumstances which lead to even more unfortunate circumstances. Sadly, most of these scenarios are a result of her parents and unconventional upbringing.

As Leigh navigates yet another tragic situation, the reader is privy to her character and how she processes the situations that she encounters. This is when her heart is exposed and we see who she really is. Her entire story is unveiled brilliantly by the author in such a heart-wrenching way as we learn of her past and congenital lack.

As Leigh continues down the path she’s walking, she learns who she is opposed to how the world has defined her. Most of all, she learns to love herself and accept love from others.

This book left me almost speechless. The author truly researched difficult topics and presented them so eloquently. The struggles of the disenfranchised people weighs heavy in this story. In addition, I feel like I’ve now visited areas in the Deep South and the little known geographical areas mentioned in the book. Lastly, the details presented as it relates to floristry were depicted masterfully and beautifully. I HIGHLY recommend this book and am so thankful to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the e-ARC.

This is a book about Leigh'a journey to healing and finding herself. She was never in a space where she could focus on just living. From
Their beginning of her life she was subjected to so much and all she could do was survive. Survive her parents, their choices, and the life that she was given. She focused on keeping her sister safe and surviving to see the next day.

Witnessing her heal and find a place and people that help her let go of the past and find herself was heartwarming. Reading this was like coming home from a hard day and being wrapped in a warm blanket. A much needed book during these times.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for this arc!

If I could give this more stars I would!!

One of the most STUNNING books I have ever read!!

From the very beginning my heart was in my throat and I think it stayed there throughout the majority of this book.

The descriptive writing was just beautiful - truly. Most of the book is set on a Wildflower Farm in a small town of Alabama. I mean, need I say more? The knowledge that has gone into this book is next level. I was so impressed with every small detail.

The romance is nice - although being completely honest, a little sappy at times. But I was also not expecting the HOTNESS that went downnn between Leigh & Jack! 🤭

Speaking of our MCs - I loved them both. Two gentle souls who have been wronged by the world show that our scars and past do not define us. Leigh has got to be one of the bravest FMCs I've ever come across, and when I got towards what I thought was their ending, I sobbed. Full on SOBBED.

Notice how i said their ending? Yeah, dry your tears and keep reading, because once the epilogue hits, every single ounce of pain and heartbreak will fall away. It was so clever how Terah ended this on a HEA because I was ready to crawl under my covers and stay there in devastation 😭 THANK YOU for healing my heart.

I feel privileged to have received an early copy of this and I'm already ready to rave to everyone go and read this once it's released into the wild!

Wow. The FMC in this book is the kind of strong and resilient female that we all need in our lives to look up to and become. A brilliantly written survival story, this book is an absolute hit!

If you liked Sue Monk Kidd’s “The Secret Life of Bees” and Delia Owens’ “Where the Crawdads Sing,” you’ll love “Where the Wildflowers Grow.” As in the other two books, the main character is a strong, resilient woman trying to survive in difficult circumstances. The details of her past are slowly shared over the course of the story as she comes to terms with her trauma and learns to love and trust her chosen family.

The writing here is outstanding and not surprising once you discover that Harris is a former librarian. I highlighted many passages that I will return to in the future. It does get wordy toward the end when the characters start getting philosophical and all of us readers just want to know what happened! It is worth it though because the ending is perfect.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

There are just never enough stars for a Terah Shelton Harris book.

Have you ever thought of what shame really feels like? How you carry it on your back? How it permeates your soul and shows up in every aspect of your life? And how someone can LIVE with shame survive. That is what this story is about to me.

I'm sure this is a fantastic book, I just couldn't get into it. I put it down a few times and don't find myself striving to finish it. I imagine others would like it more than I do.

This was amazing! Leandra's story was harsh and helped carve a narrative about how resilient she had become through so much trauma. It was a story heavy with grief and hope. There were a few sentences that came off redundant and choppy but it never took away from the story.

This book drew me in from the very beginning. It was extremely effective to tell this multilayered survival story from the main character’s point of view. This was her story from the very beginning and I was with her all the way.

In some ways, it reminded me of Delia Owen’s Where the Crawdad Sings, not in the story per se but the magical backdrop of the marshes of North Carolina for Kya in that book and Leandra/Leigh in South Carolina and ultimately Alabama. The similarities between them is of a young girl abandoned without having any of the tools needed to connect to the world. Leandra/Leigh, our main character here is just that young woman and by her telling us her story as she sees it, we are in the world of someone raised off the grid by a schizophrenic father and abused mother. She is expected to protect her younger sister from the evil of the larger world. Leigh is the lone survivor of that family. We don’t know why or how until much later.

At the book opens, Leandra is a prisoner being transported from one prison to another. We don’t know why she is in prison but overtime the reader can start filling in some of the blanks. The prison bus speeds off the road and plunges into a river. Leandra, having been taught to breathe underwater for long periods of time, is the sole survivor. She takes money from the dead prison guards and walks into the woods to hide. When she gets as far as she can on foot, she takes a bus far away from the accident scene. The bus, however, breaks down and Leandra stays, first as a housekeeper at a campgrounds and then is hired at a wildflower farm on a nearby island. This is where the story takes off.

Leandra, now Leigh, is drawn to the owner Jackson, who has a big dream for his farm. Jackson has a personal history that makes him perceptive and empathic. Leigh makes a family with Jackson and his two workers, Luke and Caleb among the flower gardens her sister loved. It is on the farm that she is able to process her grief, accept the past, relinquish some of her guilt, and face the demons that consume her.

She is a fully developed character as is Jackson who tenderly helps her in her journey. The writing is lyrical and in some cases mesmerizing, although I think overwritten in parts. Leigh is a character that will remain with me. With help and the loving guidance of the characters on the wildflower farm, she finds enough peace within herself to do the hardest thing of all.

I highly recommend this novel. It is a beautiful read and shows us that even in the deepest despair, redemption is possible when the circumstances are right. I plan to read this writer's other books. She is a gifted storyteller.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks (Landmark) for the opportunity to read this advanced reading copy and provide an honest review.

Where the Wildflowers Grow is one of those quietly powerful novels that sits with you long after the final page. It’s a story about loss, healing, and the winding, unexpected paths that love can take to find us—even when we think we're not ready.

The story follows the journey of a woman trying to put the pieces of her life back together after profound trauma. What unfolds is a beautifully written narrative about rediscovering self-worth, making peace with the past, and allowing yourself to be vulnerable again. The writing is tender without being overly sentimental, and Terah Shelton Harris has this rare ability to make the emotional weight of her characters feel both deeply personal and universally human.

At its heart, this is a love story—but not just romantic love. It’s about loving yourself after you've been broken, learning to trust again, and realizing that sometimes, the person who sees you most clearly—the one you were meant to find—appears when you least expect it. There's a soul-deep connection between the main characters that feels earned, not rushed. It’s a reminder that love doesn’t always come in fireworks; sometimes it comes in steady warmth, in growth, in the quiet blooming of wildflowers.

If you enjoy stories with emotional depth, strong character development, and a focus on healing and second chances, this book is a must-read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Flowers aren't that different than people. They need a little love, a little attention."
This is a book about survival, heartbreak, love, friendship and so much more!
How does a young woman survive so many terrible, life changing happenings and yet learns through people she has met among wildflowers that "life does go on" once you learn to open up within your mind.

I opened up the book and was immediately caught in Leigh's journey.
I needed to go with her to see how her life would evolve and it was incredible!

I highly recommend this story to anyone. It is inspiring and definitely heartfelt!
Thank you to @NetGalley and to @SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for this wonderful ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.

Like her previous two novels, this one by Harris is one of those wonderfully delicious books that begs you to read immediately! Leigh is on a prison bus when it crashes and everyone drowns except for her, Walking a long distance, she arrives at a flower farm where Jack, the owner, takes her in and gives her a job cleaning cabins. Terrified of someone discovering who she is, she does what she's told, keeps her head down, and never accepts a compliment as she is used to hard work. Things unfold slowly but it's such a lyrical, lovely novel that I cried often as Leigh realizes that your scars are "a reminder of what happened or proof that you survived."
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Oh my gosh, this book was so emotionally intense, but in the best way. Watch Leigh work through her trauma and grief was so heart-wrenching, but the outcome was so beautiful to read. The characters in this book were well written and getting to hear parts of their past helped understand them better. I love reading about found families, brings me so much joy. Now there were some things I don't prefer reading about, but I understand how important it was for Leigh's journey.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
I enjoyed every part of this story. Such a sweet story of survival, finding yourself and finding love along the way.

WHERE THE WILDFLOWERS GROW is a love story! Harris unveils the complexities of love of family, community, romance, and self in a picturesque Alabama town. Although Leigh is a convicted murderer, you are rooting for her and Jackson to find a way to their "Happily Ever After".

Praises for Harris for such a well-written piece.! WHERE THE WILDFLOWERS GROW is a book to be savored and not rushed! The characters are believable and the imagery allows the reader to smell the flowers on the Flower Farm.

Where the Wildflowers Grow is a breathtaking meditation on survival—not just of the body, but of the heart, the spirit, and one’s sense of self after unimaginable loss.

Leigh’s story is not a light one—how could it be, when it begins in the wreckage of a prison bus crash? But what Terah Shelton Harris does so brilliantly is to offer light through the cracks. With prose that’s both raw and deeply compassionate, Harris invites us to walk beside a woman who has forgotten what it means to live, and watch as she begins to remember—through the rhythm of the earth, the quiet kindness of strangers, and the persistence of things that bloom in spite of everything.

The flower farm setting is more than just atmospheric—it becomes a metaphor for slow, organic healing. There’s something quietly radical about the way this book frames redemption not as a dramatic turnaround, but as a series of small, brave choices: to stay, to trust, to let someone in. And in Jackson—flawed, gentle, and real—we find not just a love interest, but a symbol of the kind of steady presence that trauma survivors are rarely granted in fiction.

But perhaps the most powerful element here is the exploration of identity and memory. Leigh is not simply running from the law—she’s fleeing the ruins of a life she never had the power to build in the first place. Watching her rediscover herself, not through grand epiphanies but in quiet routines and acts of care, is profoundly moving.

This isn’t a story about flowers and romance on the surface—though it delivers both with grace—it’s a story about how we piece ourselves back together, how we learn to trust the soil we once thought too barren to grow anything. It’s tender, atmospheric, grounded, and at times heart-wrenching, but never without hope.

Deepest thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for sharing this remarkable and emotional women’s fiction digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This story takes us into the world of Leandra, whose life we follow through challenges and transformation. It is a tale of healing, survival, and the strength one can find when faced with life at its most difficult. Leandra’s journey is serious and often harsh, but it stands as a powerful testament to human resilience and hope.

I loved this book, I was not sure where everything was going with the writing style at first and the striking imagery. It really settled into a flow and I was hooked as we uncovered Leigh’s story.

If you love a good love story and you have a love for flowers, definitely, definitely grab this book when it hits shelves February 17th of 2026. Those two things alone were enough to draw me in...those plus the success I knew Terah Shelton Harris had enjoyed as an author with Summer in Savannah and Long After We Are Gone; but, this book is about so much more than romance and flowers.

Let's talk about abuse, about fleeing, about almost giving up, about confronting grief, about finding love, about survival.

We first meet our protagonist, Leigh/Leandra, as she survives a bus crash, careening off of a ravine into a river, as a prison transport. Whoa...as if that doesn't grab our attention, Harris expertly places her in Alabama, specifically in the rural Alabama Black Belt. Harris utilizes her setting so exquisitely as Leigh ends up in Wilcox County, AL, in Gee's Bend, an actual settlement (pop. 208) known for their heirloom quilts and their Airing of the Quilts Festival as well as their Annual Cahaba Lily Festival. Masterfully, both of these actual festivals play into the storyline. The setting so beautifully enhances the love story and the quest for survival as Harris teaches her reader of such rural communities' challenges and especially of their limited economic opportunities and then also their attempt of overcoming their gradual loss of population.

Little by little Leigh's past is disclosed as the story progresses - living off the grid with a depressed, abusive, alcoholic, gambling addicted father and a mother who was starved for attention. She thinks of her younger sister, Lila, often; however, it's not until the end that we learn Leigh's (Leandra's) entire story.

Leigh eventually winds up at Jackson Flower Farm where her past is kept secretive for a good part of a year. Yes, a romance ensues, but there's so much more to this story.

I was so excited to receive a copy of this ARC from NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark. I highly recommend it. It's a read that's good for the soul. 4.5 stars