Hothouse Flower: The romantic and moving novel from the bestselling author of The Seven Sisters series

Product Information

Wharton Park holds a special place in the heart of Julia Forrester, a world-renowned concert pianist. As a child, Julia spent time there since her grandparents were long-time employees of the Crawfords and lived in a cottage on the grounds of the manor. Her grandfather grew exotic orchids and made Wharton Park famous for the rare flowers; her grandmother, Elsie, was a lady's maid. Their devotion to the manor parallels that of the servants of Downton Abbey for the Granthams. Julia's summers at the estate were dreamlike: "The tranquility and warmth of the hothouses—sitting snugly in the corner of the kitchen garden, sheltered against the cruel winds that blew in from the North Sea during the winter—stayed in her memory all year." I loved seeing how the mystery of Julia's family came together. The historical part of the book takes place during World War II in both England and Thailand. I liked how the story was told by Julia's grandmother as sort of an omniscient point of view. The part of the story set in Thailand was definitely my favorite. It's a love story between two people who deeply care for each other and holds the secret to Julia's existence. I love The Baker's Daughter and feel the novel is even better than Sarah's Key. McCoy effectively draws a comparison between anti-Semitism and anti-immigrant (read: anti-Mexican) sentiment. She uses Riki to do this. Rather than being heavy-handed and didactic, it works rather well. Just when I think Julia and Kitt will live in bliss, Riley throws several curveballs. She does this to mix things up. First, we learn that Julia and Kitt are kissing cousins, which I finally decided to go along with. Second, Julia's husband rises from the dead. This is difficult to swallow. I could not wait for Julia to leave the horrible cad.

HOTHOUSE FLOWER | Lucinda Riley HOTHOUSE FLOWER | Lucinda Riley

This is an inter-generational drama based at an old estate in England, following the families who live there. Man recovers from illness in Thailand, falls in TWOO WUV with 17-year old Thai girl. Bonks her, swears up and down he'll leave his wife for her. Does he? Dun dun duuuuuuun.I mean the prologue was kinda great and I thought, OMG, this book has to fantastic. I was SO wrong. After the prologue the whole story goes down the drain and only consists of stupid and blunt characters that are all so very annoying and not likeable at all. Plus, they don't show how they feel nor is the author able to make the reader care at all for them. They are all like puppets on a string. Same with the setting. You have no pictures in mind when Harry is in Bangkok or Julie in France. They are there. The end. WTF? Riley reminds me of Kate Morton, and I also see traces of Downton Abbey. If you are a fan of either, I recommend this novel. It is easy to understand how The Orchid House took Europe by storm. I predict the same will happen in the United States. All in all this book is badly written, with logical errors all the time, absurd dialogues and predictable to no end. I really can't point out all the things that bugged - let me just say, there were a lot. I still can't believe that nobody noticed all the errors when it came to the logical aspects. WTF!

Hothouse Flower by Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie | Waterstones Hothouse Flower by Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie | Waterstones

In Sarah McCoy's The Baker's Daughter, the main character is Reba Adams, a writer who lives in El Paso, Texas. Reba dreams of going to California but has not capitalized on her vision yet: "I thought I'd start here and eventually make my way to California—L.A., Santa Barbara, San Francisco." She has yet to leave Texas, however. As Daisy struggles to make sense of this new world and her freedom, she pushes the limits and fearlessly rides the edge. Ryke knows there’s deep hurt beneath every impulsive action. He must keep up with Daisy, and if he lets her go, her favorite motto—“live as if you’ll die today”—may just come true. I do love this author's Seven Sisters series, but I do feel like her older books are not that great. The dialogue is truly awful, and in no way represents how real people speak to each other. I also thought that Harry was a terrible and creepy character, his story was very off putting in general. On the whole, I really liked this book. I questioned a couple things (I'll get into that) but as a whole, I really liked this historical fiction book. I still really liked this book and would definitely recommend it even with these couple of things that I didn't care for.

Daisy Calloway is finally eighteen. With her newfound independence, she can say goodbye to her overbearing mother and continue her modeling career. Next stop: Paris. Fashion Week begins with a bang, and Daisy uncovers the ugly reality of the industry. She wants to prove to her family that she can live on her own, but when everything spirals out of control, she turns to Ryke to keep her secrets. This was so much crap! Bullshit at its best, to be precise. Seriously, I expected so much from this book, like a great family saga, with some romance and some interesting plot. And in the end, I didn't get anything but crap!

Hothouse Flower by Lucinda Riley | Waterstones Hothouse Flower by Lucinda Riley | Waterstones

McCoy has done meticulous research for The Baker's Daughter. The best example of her diligence is Elsie's older sister, Hazel, a participant in the Lebensborn Program. This was part of Germany experiment to perpetuate the Aryan race by producing blond-haired, blue-eyed German children with high morals, exceptional intelligence, and an unbreakable bond with the state. Hazel, in effect, had babies for Germany and had to give them up. Lebensborn was real, and McCoy accurately portrays this chapter in German history. Then she found out that Xavier had done something terrible, and it sent her reeling, causing her to wonder if she and Kit could ever make it together. Then a true miracle happens when she finds a lost ancestor, someone of whom Julia had been unaware of. This ancestor helps Julia understand love and pain. No explanation about the set of adult bones by the accident so the reader believes her husband truly dead.

In this case, I regret wasting my time. I feel like a fool because I kept slogging on until the end, despite early and plentiful signs that it wasn't going to be what I hoped; I admit I was interested enough in the plot to just read a little further... a little further... But it just could have been so much better. Burgeoning romantic relationship with modern-day rake with a heart who also happens to be an aristocrat with a beautiful ancestral home Lucinda Riley can truly spin a tale and frankly, after reading Kate Morton's novels, which are essentially tragedies, it's refreshing to read a story told in the same vein but with a more uplifting ending. Julia, the protagonist has just had her world thrown upside down. Devastated and mostly catatonic, she stumbles upon a mystery of the noble house she grew up by. So at this point, the story takes off. We're introduced to a bevy of characters, including Harry, Lord Crawford. Oh man, was this guy unlikeable or what? He marries this largely affable girl, Olivia, whom he hurts repeatedly. One second, he's possibly gay and is found kissing one of her male friends. No harm, no foul. It turns out he was confused and professes to Olivia that he loves her and wants to do right by her. She gives him a second chance and the reader is treated to a few paragraphs where the couple are basking in their new love. Then he goes off to war and falls in love with a 17 year old in Thailand, then makes plans to be with her and leave his wife because apparently, he never loved her. I'm sorry. He was an selfish asshole. Anyway, it turns out that Julia, remember our modern-day protagonist, is his granddaughter. Turns out, he unknowingly left the 17 year old pregnant. I think this book would have been better had Harry been more likable. An assignment leads Reba to a German bakery where she wants to interview an elderly woman on Christmas traditions around the world. The old woman, Elsie Meriwether, the owner of Elsie's German Bakery, is uncooperative. With a deadline fast approaching, Reba spends more and more time with Elsie and her daughter, Jane. Soon, though, Reba finds she likes visiting the women. She opens up to them. The feeling is mutual. Elsie opens up to Reba not about German Christmas traditions but about a Christmas in 1944, one that changed everything.