Reading Debbie Macomber is like disappearing for a bit from the every day and filling your time with family, friends, inspiration and love! Debbie has the ability to engage the reader, keep the story lines fresh and make the reader want more! This title had everything the reader could want (except maybe another title from the same author!)
Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this title prior to publication--I loved each and every word!!!

Must love flowers by Debbie Macomber

This is a great book by Debbie. How is love her books always
Highly recommend

When I need a break from mysteries and thrillers a Debbie Macomber book is perfect! Her books always feel like wrapping yourself in a warm cozy blanket. This was no exception, a heartwarming story with characters that by the end felt like friends. I do love flowers and I did love this story. I hope Debbie decides against retirement and continues to writes these heartwarming stories!

Must Love Flowers by Debbie Macomber is a breath of fresh air. I mostly read fantasy, but I love a good Debbie Macomber when I want something light-hearted, with friendships and a cute puppy or guy. Must Love Flowers ticked all the boxes for what I was looking for then. Sometimes, you must be emotionally in the right place for a book. Must Love Flowers deals with the loss of loved ones, emotional parental abuse, and moving on from the death of a loved one. Our main character lost her husband four years ago and shortly before the pandemic, so like a lot of us, she is recovering from the death of her husband but also from being forced to stay at home, which has caused a lot of people to become isolated. But events transpire to pull her out of her isolation and grief, and doors are opened to so much more than she could have ever expected. Debbie Macomber's books are stories that pull at your heartstrings and usually bring you out smiling on the other side.

MUST LOVE FLOWERS is a beautiful story of living life after the death of a loved one. Something that seems to have the power to stop life altogether. This dark time of life was written in the most loving and beautiful way and offers the reader hope. What better gift is there than that?

Book Review: Must Love Flowers
Stars: 4 X 5
Author: Debbie Macomber @debbiemacomber
Publisher: Ballantine Book from Penguin Random House
@penguinrandomhouse
Thank you @netgalley for the ARC

Joan Samples life has not been what she expected. She is now an empty nester who also happens now to be a widow. It has been few years since her husband passed and Joan has been unable to deal with her grief. She has become a recluse.
Her two son’s lives are busy and they forget things like her birthday which she ends up spending alone. After talking with her sister she finally decides to take her life back. Her house and her yard need a lot of TLC. She hires a Gardner for the yard and joins a grief support group.

Since she is an empty nester and she is alone in the house she decides to rent a room out. Along comes Maggie a nursing student who works as a Barista when not in school. Slowly as Maggie and Joan begin to know each other they become friends. Joan learns she can open her heart again. Maggie herself has family problems and finds life can be somewhat abnormal. Maggie and Joan find strength in each other. The both discover as life starts to normalize that they can open their heart to the possibility of love again.
Will these second chances be successful or not?


Debbie Macomber has always been on of my favorite authors. The topic in this book are different as the characters deal with grief, alcoholism, and depression to name a few but Debbie Macomber writes it all with a heart warming and uplifting way. After reading his story, I need to remember that not all family is blood related, family is who and what you want it to be. This book was a wonderful read and I am so happy that Debbie Macomber came out of retirement (after four months) to write it. This is a novel of self discovery, healing and found happiness.

I have been reading Debbie Macomber books for years because she never disappoints! Must Love Flowers was a wonderful read full of important messages about hope, grief, love and the family you pick along the way. Joan has been widowed for four years and has become a bit of a recluse. After encouragement from her sister and a letter from her HOA, she goes to a grief counselor, takes in a boarder, and hires a lawn care company. With those decisions, she finds new friends and new purpose to rejoin the living (much to her two sons' relief). Maggie is the boarder she rents a room to, a college student working towards a nursing degree with a troubled home life. Together, these two women move forward on new paths. This is a quick read that will leave your heart full.

Thank you to Debbie Macomber, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have always loved Debbie Macomber books.
I must say, her books just get better with each one.

This one was, absolutely perfect and the name of this book was spot on.
The Characters Were perfect for this story.

It's all begin when Joan's husband passed away, time went by, soon Joan receives a letter from the H.O. A . Things just Progress from there..

When you hire someone. Always make sure they love Flowers 💐 it's so important.

Maggie Herbert
Has taken all she can, living with her dad.
Time to do something different.

Each Character in the story is absolutely perfect...


I must say this book deserves 10 stars.
But were only allowed 5 so will leave there.
Debbie Macomber writes the best books.

Must Love Flowers by Debbie Macomber is a breath of fresh air. I mostly read fantasy, but I love a good Debbie Macomber when I want something light-hearted, with friendships and a cute puppy or guy. Must Love Flowers ticked all the boxes for what I was looking for then. Sometimes, you must be emotionally in the right place for a book. Must Love Flowers deals with the loss of loved ones, emotional parental abuse, and moving on from the death of a loved one. Our main character lost her husband four years ago and shortly before the pandemic, so like a lot of us, she is recovering from the death of her husband but also from being forced to stay at home, which has caused a lot of people to become isolated. But events transpire to pull her out of her isolation and grief, and doors are opened to so much more than she could have ever expected. Debbie Macomber's books are stories that pull at your heartstrings and usually bring you out smiling on the other side.

Joan lost her husband a year ago and has become a recluse in her grief. Her sons have busy lives and after spending her birthday alone, she finally takes her sister's advice and takes control of her life. She hires a gardener to take care of the overgrown yard and joins a grief support group. She also rents out a spare bedroom to a Maggie, a nursing student who works as a barista. Together the two women change their lives and in true Debbie Macomber fashion find love and happiness. A cute sweet read.

A great beach read! Debbie Macomber’s characters are so relatable and believable. This story deal with grieving, alcoholism, and finances Joan is a widow who realizes that she’s been grieving for her husband too long after four years. She rents a room to a young lady whose father has alcoholism. The story follows their journey to love

Debbie Macomber has written some of my favorite books, Must Love Flowers was a hard read for me. it tells the story loosing someone you loved and how difficult it is too move on after that loss. While her book was a great life lesson, it may have been too heavy of a read for me at this time since my loss of spouse is too recent ( 2 years)

Another great book from Debbie Macomber. The main character is Joan. She is widower. She realizes that she has been mourning her husband for four years. She starts to take baby steps to get her life back. She is realizing that she needs to change parts of her life. It helps that she has lots of people that love her.

In the typical Debbie Macomber fashion, as in all romantic fiction, boy meets girl, boy loses girl and then boy gets girl again. The premise is the same but the backstories and backgrounds all change with each new story. In “MUST LOVE FLOWERS” Debbie Macomber is as she always is: a writer writing about believable people in believable situations, looking for someone to spend the rest of their days with: someone they can love and cherish. This time, however, there is a twist and it’s a sweet and lovely deviation from her norm. There are two love stories being played in tandem in MUST LOVE FLOWERS, and I became so engrossed, while reading it on my e-reader that I was shocked when it ended, but it left me feeling happy and satisfied. A good read for a rainy day or a day at the beach. Highly recommend this book. Very Highly.

One of the things I love about Debbie Macomber is that she doesn't shy away from the realities of life. We deal with hard things. She writes beautiful love stories, but at the same time, the characters are grieving and growing and changing. Yes, they are falling in love. But they are also growing their relationship with the Lord.

Must Love Flowers is a beautiful story of life in the midst of grief.

This story covers many life issues such as grief, depression, alcoholism, and financial. Joan’s journey out of her depression back to living was nicely written in this story. The romance between Nick and Maggie I didn’t enjoy as Maggie was such a pleasant person and Nick was annoying and really unkind to his mother. Fans of Macomber will probably enjoy this one too. 3.5 stars

Must Love Flowers was another great read by Debbie Macomber. Joan Sample is now a widow and empty nester. She has become a recluse. After another birthday alone, she finally decided to listen to her sister and get back out in the world. She decides to hire someone to tame her overgrown garden, joined a grief support group, and even decided to rent out a room to a local college student. Maggie Herbert works mornings as a barista while attending nursing classes. She has lived with her alcoholic father and they struggle to pay the household bills. She decides to find a room for rent in Joan's home. I loved reading this book and cant wait to read more by the author.

I wanted to love this book, but ultimately it was just too predictable. I don't know if I have outgrown this genre of writing or of Ms. Macomber is losing her touch. I was disappointed with this book after looking forward to it for so long.

As a woman in her 50’s, I like reading books with characters 10+/- my age, as there can be more that is relatable. Must Love Flowers is no exception! Joan, the main character is a middle-aged widow, figuring out how to live and love again. The book picks up four years after her husband’s unexpected death, with Joan and her adult sons negotiating their relationships, especially with one another.

Additionally, we meet Maggie, a 20 something, in school and working full time, while helping support her alcoholic father. The two intersect when Joan takes Maggie in as a border. Caring for and about one another gives them then strength to move forward, make good decisions, and re build their lives.

A sweet story, I recommend for all ages!

I received a copy of the book from NetGalley and have written an objective review.

Must Love Flowers follows a predictable path, as all of Debbie Macomber books are similar. They feature good characters who live in a nice community setting, all searching for something.

Joan Sample is stuck, not knowing how to live her life after being abruptly widowed. When she meets Maggie Herbert, a young woman down on her luck and Phil, a landscaper, can Joan embrace her life and move forward?

The one part of this book that really bothered me surrounded Joan's sons and their reaction to their mother in her time of grief. The author presented them as loving sons, but they basically abandoned her because they do not know how to help. The dichotomy was not believable, but did make for good plot points. Maggie was presented as a smart young woman, but she did a few things regarding her father and his health decisions that seemed only there for plot. Overall, the parts about grief and not being able to move on were well described and the support group that helped Joan was a good part of the story.

Readers who like Debbie Macomber will take to this book like a well worn pair of slippers, but those new to the author might want to try one of her early works.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to read and review this book was entirely my own.