Coming up Roses

Country air, cowslips and a charismatic rogue . . . Would-be gardener Daisy can't believe her luck when her parents announce they're off on a midlife-crisis gap year, leaving her in charge of their gorgeous garden. After a turbulent few months, a spell of quiet in the countryside is just what she needs. A shoulder to cry on wouldn't go amiss either - so when Daisy comes across Elaine and Jo, she breathes a sigh of relief. But her new friends are dealing with dramas of their own . . . As Daisy wrestles the garden into something resembling order, her feelings for handsome Irishman George, begin to take root. But Daisy's heart's desire - her parent's garden - is under threat, and she is forced to confront nosey neighbours and fight greedy developers. Village life is turning out to be far from peaceful.

Coming Up Roses is the first book I have read by Rachael Lucas, I am not a fan of gardening so have never been known to pick up a book with this topic until I read Ivy Lane earlier this year and was surprised how much I enjoyed it so I decided to give Coming Up Roses a try too.

Daisy is house sitting for her parents who are off on their travels, this is a dream come true for Daisy who is a keen professional gardener because her parents garden which once was a well-tended beautiful garden has been left to its own devices so she cannot wait to tackle the garden and it soon becomes apparent the local villagers are pleased the garden is finally being given some attention too.

This opportunity has come at a perfect time for Daisy who is nursing a broken heart, with the help of new found friends, community spirit and her passion for gardening can she turn her life around?

This was such a beautifully crafted, charming read that had me engrossed in the storyline right from the first chapter. I found the characters so engaging from our main character Daisy as well as the numerous amount of supporting characters they were all developed so well. The friendships that Daisy had with Thomas was so endearing, and it was great to watch her friendship with Elaine and Jo blossom they seemed like an unlikely trio at first but they soon developed a strong bond and were each other’s shoulders to cry on.

The storyline held my attention the whole way through the book and as I mentioned before I am not a big fan of anything to do with gardening and yet I am a big fan of this book.  If you are looking for pure escapism, with well-rounded characters, friendships and a splash of romance then this fun and uplifting read will be the one for you. I am off to download the authors previous book Sealed with a Kiss now!

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