I gave this book 3 stars. 100% could have been better, but there were definitely things I enjoyed about this book.

I’ve had a copy that I got from Netgalley for over a year and I’ve always felt so guilty over not having read it. Every time I would try it just didn’t feel right and I would put it down again. It just didn’t grab my attention enough in the initial few chapters. Now I’m wondering why I wasn’t reading it this whole time.

I’m really angry about the ending of this book. It was supposed to work out as a stand-alone and instead, I got a cliffhanger. Which by the way, has not been released and considering Wild Poppy came out about two years ago I think it’s safe to say this sequel probably won’t be coming out any time soon.

There were just so many sex scenes in this book, it got to the point where I skipped over them to get to the actual story.

I felt a bit ripped off, there were just so many things that weren’t concluded. I wanted to know more about why Henri did what he did. He was absolutely in love with her and then suddenly he wasn’t anymore? It really makes no sense to me.

The entire story could have just used more expansion. I also felt a bit cheated because we were being led up to this scene at the end, and it just cut off before we could get it. It’s very frustrating.

This topic is no longer of interest to me and I will not be finishing this book.

*3.5 Stars Rounded Up

Vivian Winslow is obviously a very talented author, and I really enjoyed her style of storytelling and the immersive descriptions of Poppy's world. That said, I think I would have liked this story a lot more if I was already familiar with the previous books in the series. It was standalone, but I didn't feel as much of a connection to everything as I would like.

Poppy's whole world goes into upheaval when her father goes to prison for fraud, she loses her family home and has to move, and is no longer seen in the best light by the social elite. Things only get worse for her when her mother chooses to remarry for money in an attempt to be accepted again in high society. Poppy makes some ill-thought decisions that only make her life more complicated and difficult, and the results are a bit heartbreaking.

I think I will try to read the Gilded Flowers and Wildflowers series and have more of an appreciation of this, but I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys Winslow's rich characters.