Garden of Hope

A very lovely book with characters you really grow to love. I'm not normally keen on books that describe actions told as though the main character is doing audio description, i.e. I ran my hands through the soil etc, as I find it ruins the flow of the reading, however I persevered and am so glad I did as the story was realistic and well told and it was nice to see an ending which actually carried on a bit instead of just in effect saying and they all lived happily ever after as soon authors have a habit of doing. I would heartedly recommend this book

First book by this author.
First in a series so I recommend starting with this sweet romance.
This story has likeable hero and heroine, Lily and Henry. The secondary characters are good, but wanted to smack them a few times.
This is a clean, sweet, historical romance. Don't let it deter you, it's a great read.

Both Lily and Henry are “damaged” in the eyes of society. His imperfections are physical in nature but hers are less obvious and they both feel unworthy of the other. This is a very unusual tale of life in the Regency/Victorian eras. While Henry’s injuries were off putting to many young ladies, he was still acceptable to society. I imagine a young woman like Lily would have been hidden away by most families. I found this to be a sweet romance between two endearing individuals.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author through NetGalley and was under no obligation to leave a favorable review. All opinions are my own.

Dear Daphne Bloom, what a lovely little novel you have written ,how clever of u to introduce Lilly and her quirky ness ..a young women in historical times finds love ,family strife and overcomes all things she believed she could not .. bravo

SPOILER:

Right off the bat, I wondered about the supposed quirks of the female protagonist. Turns out the author confirms it after the story finishes by sharing a tidbit from her family's life.

I am not a fan of 1st person point of view stories. The strength of the plot was enough to keep me reading this one. It switched back and forth between the two main characters and the flow felt slightly broken.

The love and redemption of two "broken" people is what redeemed it for me. I cannot imagine what it would be like in those times when marriage was like a sale not a relationship. Having anything imperfect about you ended your chances and certain societal positions would require a certain level of appropriate spouse.

*spoiler*
My fave part of the story is how the author writes the quirks of autism. She explains later that her own child is autistic. She understands it better than most. It is because of her personal experiences that her writing shines so brightly.

I would recommend this story if you want a story of overcoming challenges. Some people will live the 1st person point of view, even if it isn't my personal fave.

I received an ARC via Netgalley but I freely give my honest review.

Absolutely the most beautiful romance! I loved the compassion for Lily and that Lily had for others. It does not take long to realize she is on the spectrum, making for a beautiful heroine! Her family knew what to do for her and how to help her. I loved that Ms. Bloom included those moments when Lily’s family ‘lost it’ keeping it real. More than anything Lily’s family loved, accepted her and protected her.

I, also, loved how very accepting Henry was of Lily. Henry had his own issues with his physical disability, which seemed to give him more compassion for Lily. He realized she saw him as a man, not as a man needing a cane. He, also, had to ‘fight’ his family to be allowed to make his own decisions.

Both Lily and Henry had hidden strengths that came out when needed most. Such a beautiful couple who belong together! The alternating of Lily and Henry added another dimension allowing us to really see into their thoughts without a lot of unnecessary dialogue and adding to Lily’s disability. I appreciate how Henry, very politely, stood up to Albert.

Albert – I still question Lily’s father’s sudden death following Lily’s conversation with Albert. Yes, Lily’s father may have helped there in the end.

An utterly sweet love story.

I loved how the heroine is a different story of woman. Socially awkward and shy. This novel is very inclusive of suchlike people and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The storytelling was masterful and the salvation of good over evil was brilliant.

An awesome read.

Very nice book! Sweet with a great heroine who I adored! She loved nature and animals, which definitely appealed to me as an animal lover myself. This wasn’t by no means the perfect book, in my opinion, but it was still quite wonderful!

This is a delightful story. Lily would rather spend her time gardening than engaged in the genteel pursuits of a noble young lady. She is indifferent to marriage, but her parents are determined to see her well settled.

Henry suffered an injury in India that may get progressively worse. His parents are eager for him to marry and secure the family line right away, in case that becomes impossible in the coming years. However, he has no desire to marry for money, nor to saddle a loving wife with an invalid husband and childless existence.

The storytelling is vibrant and immersed me immediately. The use of first person, present tense is unusual for historical romance, but that didn't harm the story in my opinion. The characters' predicaments touched my heart, and I really rooted for them to find the life they wanted, rather than the one that others expected of them.

I'm grateful to have received an ARC of this book from Netgalley, because I likely wouldn't have discovered it otherwise. This is my honest review.

This was a refreshing historical story!!!!! First by this author for me & I loved it!!!! Daphne & her story will stay with me for for a long time.

Lily was a shy peculiar girl at the beginning of the novel and it was fun to see her bloom like her flowers as the novel went on. This was a fun read but it took awhile for me to adjust to the first person view. I prefer my novels in third person omniscient. Other than that it was delightful.

A beautifully written romance. Lily and Henry are deemed flawed by society but are determined to follow their own paths to happiness instead of meekly following everyone else's agenda.
I couldn't help but feel for Lily, A sweet girl on the spectrum who finds peace and solitude in her garden. To find herself being thrust into the social demands of the season could only have been torturous, not to mention the added indignity of gossip and the impression people had of her that she was an oddity and bit of a loon. It was obvious from the beginning that she and Henry would be perfect for one another and I couldn't help but hope that things would work out for them. They both have their insecurities but they had a few sweet scenes. In the garden during the ball springs to mind and when Lily sent Henry a thoughtful gift at the same time he was sending one to her. I thought it was adorable the way his servants gave him encouragement.
This was a quick and very enjoyable read and certainly put a smile on my face.
I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series. I'm also wondering if Lord Astley will make an appearance in one of the future titles.

I received a complimentary copy of this book and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

This was a charming story about two people who must marry. They are basically social outcast of the peerage though so it was enchanting to see how these two imperfect protagonists could possibly overcome and find their HEA.

Henry Pembroke is the second son of an Earl. His older brother has a son to inherit the title but Henry's father himself was a second son that inherited when his older brother and family were lost at sea. Henry is being forced to marry to secure the family lineage on the off-chance of some tragedy happening again like that. Henry though was injured while in service to the Crown in India. He is in constant pain and agony. No lady of the peer wants anything to do with Henry as his is considered "cripple". Henry meets Lady Lily Derby, she is different from most ladies of the peer. She is shy, has a wonderful talent for gardening but speaks her mind, she lacks social graces and has problems with learning the "proper ways of a lady". She is the youngest daughter of an Earl and has not attended a Season in several years. She is well on her way to being a spinster, which makes her happy but her father's will states that if she isn't married, her dowry will go back to the estate and she will be penniless. She will be forced to live with one of her married sisters and be at the mercy of the husband. Most consider her peculiar and not marriageable as she may pass her peculiarity to any of her children.

Reading about these two from both of their POV was so wonderful. That chance to really get to know them and understand them better really brought them to life. I was totally enthralled to see how they could possibly come together as they were always being thrown a curve.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves historical romances especially if it involves imperfect protagonists!

This was a very enjoyable story to read. Take one unique heroine and one wounded hero. Mix them together to get a sweet, clean and engrossing romance. I will definitely recommend this book.
Thank you Daphne Bloom, BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

Lily’s parents and siblings, were pretentious, prejudice, and too controlling. Although she had her strange ways, she and Henry were the only two people who were not biased and presumptuous. They had their differences, but together they complemented each other. This story showed that love knew no boundaries, and Lily and Henry were no exception to its machinations. A tender, loving, caring, and romantic read.

I enjoyed this historical romance story with the two main that were Lady Lily Derby and Henry Pembroke. And also the rest of the characters to.

Lady Lily Derby is very shy and also has a wonderful talent for gardening. She is quite different that most ladies of the ton. She would rather play in her family garden then do things that other lady's do. So when her father falls critically ill she is suddenly face with the possibility of becoming very penniless. So her sisters take her to London for her fifth Season in hope that she can find a husband.

Henry Pembroke is the second son of an earl. His father want him to look for a wife this season to secure the family future. But he not sure that any lady of the ton will marry him because of his cripple ness. He had an accident while he was in India.

This story was fun to read. It had a lot of different types of emotion through out it that I was feeling. It was neat how the author had a squirrel as a pet for Henry.

I received a complimentary copy via Booksprout. This is my honest unbiased opinion.