Love in Bloom

Sheila Roberts reminds me a lot of Debbie Macomber. Like Macomber's books, this one is set in Washington near Seattle. She also allows you to really get to know the characters and empathize with them. This book follows three women who are linked through gardening patches at the local park. Millie is a seventy-seven-year-old grandmother who is helping out her newly divorced daughter with her household and two children. Amber is a young mother with an out-of-work husband and a flailing marriage. Hope is a thirty-year-old breast cancer survivor who is still afraid of living. Each learns from the others and grows in her relationships with others and herself. Even though the interactions between the women were limited, they were poignant and really brought the story together. Each individual story was strong and well-developed. I found myself liking all of the women and rooting for them. What I really enjoy about her books are the messages of hope and life. Things may not always be perfect, but there are always good things and those that are bad can be made better--we all make choices. I read this book in one day and finished feeling happy--that makes it a perfect book for me. I will continue to look forward to new books from Roberts.

I love this book! It was a fun read with a lot of heart. I didn't want it to end!

Love in Bloom is the story of three women at very different points in their lives, dealing with real life issues - cancer recovery, widowhood, loneliness, economic woes, marital problems, and scary new relationships. Yet somehow Sheila Roberts makes her book as warm and cozy as a soft quilt. Each character comes alive and the book brings the three women together in a celebration of the friendships all women desire. The setting, Heart Lake, comes fully alive. I want to move there! I loved following Hope, Millie, and Amber as they learn to embrace life with humor and courage. There were many times I laughed out loud, always a plus, and more than a few times I reached for a tissue. I was thoroughly engaged throughout and sorry when I read the last page. I can't wait for the next book by this fabulous author.

Watch out Debbie Macomber, we have another author of heartwarming, charming stories set in the Pacific Northwest who is going to be soon be sharing your readers. Her name is Sheila Roberts and this is a name to remember because if her future books are as outstanding as LOVE IN BLOOM she should become a household name soon. Heart Lake is a small, tight-knit community in western Washington. Its beauty and charm has attracted newcomers and keeps many native residents. Flower shop owner Hope has recently recovered from breast cancer. Although she had reconstruction, she is very self-conscious as the surgery left her with scars, as many emotional as physical. She feels that she is never going to be attractive to men again. When the very attractive Jason enters her shop, both she and her sister Bobbi are instantly attracted to him, but feeling about herself as she does, she helps Bobbi try to snag "Mr. Right" even though she would love to get to know the handsome contractor better. It isn't long before Jason takes the bait and begins to date the fun-loving Bobbi, who, to try to make herself more attractive to him, tells him little white lies regarding her life and the activities she enjoys. Will he ever find out that he really has more in common with Hope? Seventy-seven year old Millie is new to town. A widow, she has moved in with her busy divorced daughter Debra to help her care for her grandchildren. But Debra is quick to take advantage of Millie's generosity leaving very little time for Millie to have a life of her own. An avid gardener, Millie soon finds out about the community garden and doesn't waste anytime staking out her own plot. Soon a flower-delivering mishap changes her life in a way she could have never imagined. Also new to town is young wife and mother Amber whose chef husband lost their restaurant business. They had to sell their home to pay off their loans, and now husband Ty is more often a couch potato then a job applicant which causes friction between the two. They have found a cozy cabin in Heart Lake but to help make ends meet, Amber and her young son Seth stake out a plot in the community garden next to Millie's. Millie and Amber become fast friends. Millie finds Amber more appreciative of her than her own daughter does. Millie shares some cookie recipes with Amber and soon she is selling the delicious lavender and carrot cookies to help with household expenses. This book as it all - romance, women's friendship, poignancy, and characters the reader can't help but love. Sheila Roberts has written a heartwarming novel that is difficult to put down once started. It's a great read for the springtime and gardening time where not only flowers but love is in bloom. Highly recommended.

Thirty years old Hope Walker physically survived breast cancer, but mentally the mastectomy has left her doubting she is a complete woman; consequently Hope no longer dates. Instead, she hides in the Changing Seasons Floral shop she owns; enhancing her lovely flower arrangements with beautiful written poetry. When contractor Jason Wells enters the florist, Hope realizes he is the first man she has found interesting since the operation. However, she knows she has no chance after he meets her whole sister Bobbi. Septuagenarian widow Millie Baldwin moved to Heart Lake to move on with her life and assist her acrimonious recently divorced daughter Debra and two grandchildren. Also newly arrived in town is Amber Howell seeking to start over at a time when she feels she has nothing. These newcomers and Hope meet at a community garden plot project and becomes friends nurturing one another as they struggle to start over. Bobbi is attracted to Jason's friend Duke whom she meets after she starts dating Jason. Millie meets the younger Altheus and encouraged by her two garden buds over the objections of her offspring, decides to see him. Amber struggles with her depressed husband Ty, whose feelings of failure after their restaurant went bankrupt leaves her alone to raise their son and bring in income while he wallows his life way. This is a profound character study of three females at different points in their respective lives summed up nicely by Millie who poignantly realizes that strangers make her feel needed and wanted more than her family does. The ensemble cast is fully developed so everyone matters. With plenty of metaphors between gardening and living, fans will relish the adventures of the three amigas as all kinds of relationships blossom when LOVE IN BLOOM is flourishing. Harriet Klausner