I have been obsessed with all things Titanic for almost as long as I can remember. When I was a child my grandparents got me a subscription to National Geographic and when they discovered the Titanic shipwreck I got a book about it from this subscription and I was *obsessed* with it and it's never really gone away.

I should have been obsessed with The Secrets of Flowers. It has everything I generally love about books - a current/past timeline, something I'm interested in for both eras (flowers and Titanic) and strong women characters. However, for me, this book was a slog to get through and I just ended up skimming until the end because I just really didn't care all that much.

I wasn't expecting some parts of this story and I don't know - I just didn't love it. However, the vibe seems to be that most people *do* love this book so I am definitely the outlier.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for a copy of my novel in exchange for my honest review!

Enjoyable read that weaves present day with early 1900s/Titanic timeline using flowers as the connector. Emma is a researcher who (seems to) abruptly leave her lab job and finds a part-time position with a small family garden center. Enter Betty (Betsy?) and Les who step in as employers and surrogate parents; each in their own way propel Emma through a tough time and out the other side. Interwoven is a quasi-mystery relating to florists who might have worked on the Titanic along with the healing/soothing nature of flowers and scents.

Page delivers a powerful tale of grief, healing, forgiveness and personal growth with The Secrets of Flowers. Emma was such an interesting character to me. Even though her educational background is impressive, that doesn’t translate to her self-confidence. And I loved the secondary characters who helped her come out of her shell.

While the pacing was slow to begin with, it picks up once Emma begins her project. Plus, flower enthusiasts will love how the author incorporated specific species into each chapter. While some readers might be able to connect the dots early on, the big mystery wasn’t solved until the very end. And it was a good one.

Do you enjoy going back in time to find out the answers which seem unimportant to others? This is such a beautifully written story which was captivating from page 1, with detailed descriptions of the environments leaving you feel as if you’re there in person living this life. The story develops with two storylines running alternately through the chapter’s, Emma - a new widow trying to find her new life giving up her job and going to work in a garden centre owned by a lovely couple called Les & Betty whilst trying to find out who done the flowers on the Titanic, and the story of a young lady who works on big ocean liners who survives 3 shipwreck accidents.
Why is this lady familiar to Emma you ask, all will be revealed.

Thank you Sally Page and NetGalley

The Page clan has two excellent authors in it. I first got to know them by reading Libby Page’s books. Her first, Mornings with Rosemary or The Lido (depending on where a person lives) became a real favorite. It was after Libby was a published author that her mother Sally began her career as a novelist.

Sally Page’s two earlier novels, The Keeper of Stories, and The Book of Beginnings, were warm hearted and good reads. Now, she offers us The Secret of Flowers.

Fun fact: this author has a lot of experience with floristry so what better than a new novel with lots about flowers.

The story’s protagonist is Emma. She has been widowed and has turned in on herself. She decides to go to a lecture about the Titanic with a friend. This sparks her curiosity about the flowers on the ship and the story takes off from there.

Anyone who enjoys women’s fiction will, I think, want to take a look at this one and the other novels by the author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

Emma struggles in her life after the death of her husband, Will. She begins working as a florist in a local garden center. She fills her days with flowers. After watching a documentary on the Titanic, Emma develops an interest in the person who might have been responsible for the floral demands of the Titanic. Who was the florist?. Her obsession with finding the ship’s florist has her traveling and encounters that show her world and the revelation of truths pertinent to her life.

The story is told alternately in chapters from Emma’s point of view and also that of a young girl named Violet. Emma becomes almost obsessed with finding out more about the flowers on the ship. The author writes how Emma discovers the lost story of the girl and the Titanic. I found this to be a fascinating part of the novel. Perhaps “the secrets of the flowers” will heal your heart too. It’s a lovely tale of loss and grief, friendship, healing and flowers. It is a well written novel.

Blackstone eARC
This was a grief filled novel told in dual timelines, which ended up working for me. Emma lost her husband and decided to quit her job to become a florist, but she ended up gaining so much more. I love a found family element to a book, and it’s so sweet and patient here. Emma’s never pushed away even when she knows she’s not doing her best. She’s deeply flawed and so human, and I loved this aspect of her character. The cover of this had me thinking there’d be more Titanic than what’s in it, but I liked the historical aspect after adjusting my expectations. Overall, it was a deeply feeling book that reminded the reader of how powerful flowers can be.

In a nutshell, Emma is in the grieving process from her husband’s death a year earlier when she gets fixated on finding out who the florist was on the titanic. (She’s a big fan of flowers.)
For the most part this book was just okay. I think if you really enjoy flowers and searching for someone specific on the titanic you might enjoy this book. It was just strange. It did give a good element of scientific research- asking all the questions. There’s some historical fiction mixed in the dual timeline which was neat but the story didn’t feel completely smooth and at times it was a bit tricky to follow. I did like the hundreds of quotes and phrases used . I thought that was a unique aspect to the book.

This is a story about Emma and Violet. Emma is struggling with life after her husband passes away unexpectedly, making life changing decisions, she leaves her career and ends up with a lovely couple that hire her as a worker in their floral shop. Emma has always had an interest in flowers due to her father whom she loved immensely. Violet is the second timeline character, and she is a young stewardess working on multiple ships and ends up on the Titanic.

This is an enjoyable read and I felt for Emma, I despised her mother, of which I’m sure we were supposed to. I wish we could have dived a bit deeper into Violet though. The bulk of the story is Emma’s search for who fixed the flowers on the Titanic. This has a bit of a love story, a mystery, a coming of age and handling grief while moving on. My favorite thing of all was the naming of all the different flowers, each time she mentions them, you can picture their blooms, and it was a beautiful added touch. Comes in with 5 stars and I highly recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Editor’s note: This review and roundup appears in several Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia newspapers and magazines, including at https://cullmantimes.com/2025/03/11/review-a-sip-of-spring-fiction-with-a-bit-of-history-for-flavor/

A sip of spring fiction, with a bit of history for flavor

By Tom Mayer

On the cusp of the 80th anniversary of the atrocities ending with World War II’s VJ Day, comes an important reminder in the form of cinematic storytelling from the pen of best-selling author Robert Dugoni, assisted by fellow academic researchers Chris Crabtree and Jeff Langholz.

Five hundred-page novels that contain more than a hundred pages of afterword and notes aren’t typical fare for the type of thrillers Dugoni writes; and if cinema is used as an adjective for such tomes it generally implies “best documentary” rather than “best picture.” But this fictionalized re-telling of the end of the war is anything but documental, especially with its final 150 pages moving full steam ahead, filled with submarines, warships and Clancyesque code breaking.

“Hold Strong” (Lake Union) tells the story of Sam Carlson and Sarah Haber, young sweethearts from Eagle Grove, Minnesota. It’s the end of the Great Depression and looking for a way out of his and his parents’ misfortunes — the family farm has been repossessed — Sam joins the war effort. Finding that the Army life suits him, he rises through the ranks. In 1942, he’s taken prisoner by the Japanese and survives the worst that that experience can offer, including the Bataan Death March in the Philippines and captivity in the hold of a Japanese “hell ship,” the Arisan Maru.

Through this, Sarah, and Sam’s family, receive no word about him, and the Army records him as missing in action. Though the couple made a promise to each other but never cemented an engagement before he left, Sarah especially is left in limbo, loving a man who she knows could be dead.

But Sarah’s strong, independent character is coupled with a brilliant mathematical mind, and she’s recruited out of college by the Navy to become a code breaker in the service of the WAVES — Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service — helping to turn the tide of the war, and possibly even unknowingly, Sam’s fate. The upshot is that no one, not even their families, can know what the women are doing, even to the point of telling others if asked that they are nothing more than secretaries in the service of Uncle Sam.

The story of Sam and Sarah is just that, a story, but Dugoni and company get it right, opening new and little-known chapters on the hells of that war — and the critical roles of female recruits — with startling and stark reality.

“Hold Strong” works well as a novel, and its secondary characters, such as Father Tom with his unflappable faith and Grace Moretti with her unbounded optimism, are extraordinarily well-developed. But this is one book bound for the big screen, and with its historic foundation underpinning a captivating wartime love story, one that is sure to become the sleeper read of the year.

Another novel of potential sleeper status comes to us as a dream in the charming coming-of-age “The Rainfall Market” (Ace). Written by a young South Korean novelist, You Yeong-Gwang (whose own dream as a young author is this story), and translated by Slin Jung, this magical novel tells the story of the impoverished teenager Serin and an abandoned house on the outskirts of Rainbow Town.

The legend says that if you send an essay explaining your misfortunes to that address, you could receive a ticket in return, and one that not only allows entrance to the Market beyond the house’s front door, but the offer to swap your life for another.

The odds are long but Serin sends off her letter and gets in return a ticket and an invitation to visit the Market for the duration of the rainy season — those who overstay the welcome are destined to never leave — with the total of its enchantments, including a magical cat companion named Issha.

Travels and travails follow Serin and Issha as they are plagued by Dokkaebi — goblin-like creatures taken from the pages of Korean folklore — who run the individual shops in the market, each offering a “happier story in our stock.”

With help from Issha and others that she befriends, Serin traverses the market’s allegorical landmines, comparing one life’s outcome with another until she comes to the end of her visit in this predictable but rewarding fairytale.

Other notable titles out this spring and worth the price of admission — no essay required — range from the fantastical to the feral with a number of big-hitting authors submitting some of their best work, including sequels:

“Witchcraft for Wayward Girls” (Berkley) by Grady Hendrix: 15-year-old Fern arrives alone and scared and pregnant at the Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida — as are all the young woman and girls living at the home. Life is strictly regulated under the tyrannical control of the adults until Fern is gifted a book about witchcraft — and the power it contains to both create and destroy.

“The Ends of Things” (Blackstone) by Sandra Chwialkowska: A romantic lovers’ paradise is anything but idyllic for Laura Phillips and her boyfriend as shea becomes involved in the disappearance of the lone traveler befriended on the beach. An exotic getaway soon itself gets away from Laura as garnished cocktails and sumptuous suites turn into a murder investigation — and a fight for her innocence.

“Somewhere Toward Freedom” (Simon & Schuster) by Bennett Parten: Parten, a Georgia-native university professor with an expertise in the Civil War period, shines with storytelling as his reporting illuminates new, and unconventional, light on one of the most well-documented and well-known war episodes in our nation’s history — Sherman’s march to the sea. Subtitled “Sherman’s March and Story of America’s Largest Emancipation,” Parten re-tills well-trodden ground, telling the story of the thousands of enslaved people who followed Sherman and his army, turning a march of destruction into the launch of liberation in this meticulously researched book.

“Cupid on the Loose” (Blackstone) by John J. Jacobson: This timely novel that slipped into best-selling list early in February is nonetheless a timely tale for the ages, and especially for those who love a love story in the vein of Nicholas Sparks, and the romantic mayhem of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” — an author who incidentally plays a prominent role of his own in this fun read. Centered on a “kindred kind of romance” that needs a bit of tender to set it ablaze, enter a meddling grandmother whose intentions are as well-conceived as they are misguided.

“Destiny’s Way” (Berkley) by Jack Campbell: In this sequel to Campbell’s “In Our Stars,” the time traveling part-human, part-alien-DNA Selene Genji is thrust 30 years into the past, before the Universal Way destroyed the world, in an attempt to save Earth — excedpt those alive who want her dead after being declared a traitor by the Earth Guard. Assisted by at least one friend from the first part of the “Doomed Earth Duology,” Selene must find a way to save a prejudicial mankind that wants this independent and strong woman dead.

“The Secrets of Flowers” (Blackstone) by Sally Page: A story floating from the depths of the Titanic — and we never get tired of those — Page crafts a unique, heart-healing tale of Emma, who is bereft following her husband’s death. Told through the language of flowers, Emma discovers the lost story of a girl from the ship, one told in the arrangements of the flowers on board during the maiden, and final, voyage, that might just blossom into the healing of her own grief.

“The Memory Ward” (Blackstone) by Jon Bassoff: A seemingly Elysian small town is the scene of bizarre oddities, and postal worker Hank Davies isn’t the first to notice — he comes to realize he’s delivering mail filled with blank pages — but he’s the one whose willing to cry foul. A secreted story discovered beneath the walls of Hank’s bedroom touches off pages of alternate reality as Bassoff delivers a tale of trauma and altered identity, and one questioning the concept of humanity itself.

“American Fever” (Arcade) by Dur e Aziz Amna: This engaging and humorous novel centers on a Pakistani exchange student in rural Oregon who finds herself between worlds — and entrenched in the navigation of first love, racism, Islamophobia and homesickness. When she finds herself quarantined after a diagnosis of tuberculosis, her world shrinks further as themes of religion, family and national identity take on increasingly larger proportions.

“Protecting Jess” (Arcade Crimewise) by Karna Small Bodman: A White House economist and rising star, Jessica Tanner, has both brains and beauty. Sent to Brazil to speak at an international conference on behalf of her boss, a planned exotic dream assignment descends into a dangerous and foreboding nightmare.

“Don’t Tell Me How to Die” (Blackstone) by Marshall Karp: Marshall Karp, of NYPD Red series (aka, co-conspirator of James Patterson) fame, offers a taut, sharp and on-target psychological thriller in “Don’t Tell Me How To Die” (Blackstone). Told in parts, past and present, Karp crafts a evolving storyline centered on 43-year-old Maggie, a woman who is not only diagnosed with the same deadly disease that claimed her mother but vows to not recreate the adolescent hell she endured because of the passing. Seeing firsthand her dying mother’s warning that, once she died, women would flock to 17-year-old Maggie and her sister’s father “like stray cats to an overturned milk truck” and that it would be up to girls to protect him. Which they do, admirably — until one slips through their gatekeeping. … Determined that the same thing won’t happen to her own family, Maggie devises a plan to find a perfect match as wife and mother … before she dies. If this were all to the plot, the storyline would be worth an afternoon, but in succeeding parts of the novel, Karp continuously turns everything upside down, projecting surprise after surprise in a trope-laden, over-blown style that works perfectly for a main course instead of the appetizer it would have been coming from a lesser pen. Karp is a veteran in keeping the cinematic action going and the shocks coming — both of which are abundantly on display in his latest.

“Cold Iron Task” (Berkley) by James J. Butcher: In this Book 3 of 3 in Butcher’s “The Unorthodox Chronicles,” Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby — one of the most notable names in literary history — has solved at least one case, but he’s still a beginner in Boston’s Department of Unorthodox Affairs. As he joins an unlikely partner in the heist of of an otherworldly vault, Grimsby touches off past and closely guarded secrets, freeing demons and monsters, Usual and Unorthodox, that could be his demise in this series finisher.

“The Gate of the Feral Gods” (Ace Hardcovers) by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl series): Welcome, Crawler, to the fifth floor of the dungeon in Book 4 of Dinniman’s quest series, and one filled with warrior gnomes, malfunctioning machines and a deadly, haunted crypt. On the eve of utter failure, Carl and his team find they must rely on the untrustworthy crawlers trapped in the bubble with them.

“The Summer Guests” (Thomas & Mercer) by Tess Gerritsen: In Book 2 of The Martini Club, retired covert agent Maggie Bird has “retired” to the seaside. In Purity, life is quiet, but it’s not without murder as a friendly neighbor of Maggies becomes embroiled in double homicide charges. It’s up to the Martini Club, a circle of ex-CIA friends book club, to find the truth behind the secrets that portend more murder on the horizon.

“Gothictown” (Kensington) by Emily Carpenter: What if you could purchase a Victorian home for $100 in a small Georgia town eager to spur its pandemic-riddled economy? So begins this story of Billie Hope’s dream of fleeing cramped and crimped New York City with her husband and daughter. Dreams, as they often do in the offerings from Carpenter — a Birmingham, Alabama, native now living in Georgia — descend from opportunities to devilish bargains, and “Gothictown” is part and parcel of the oeuvre. More than genteel charms lurks beneath the facade of Southern hospitality in this town. View a free 66-page teaser of the novel (“Gothictown: A Sneak Peek”) at online booksellers.

“Home Is Where the Bodies Are” (Blackstone) by Jeneva Rose: Questions and secrets arise when three estranged siblings begin to sort their mother’s estate — and discover a VHS recording of their blood-soaked father involved in a death of which none of them have any recollection. Revive the past or leave it buried with their mother? That becomes the question … with no easy, or safe, answers.

Reach Tom Mayer at tmayer@cullmantimes.com.

I found the story a bit slow paced. It was a struggle to read to the end.
That doesn’t mean I didn’t find the story interesting…most of the story was quite informative and intriguing. Which is why I did finish reading the book.
With that said, I quite enjoyed the historical aspect of the story.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I read this book closely on the heels of rereading The Language of Flowers and now I have spring fever! Emma is grieving the loss of her husband compounded by the discovery of a secret. When one suffers a great loss you are forever changed and no longer the same person. Emma needs a change and a distraction. The story is set in dual timelines with Emma- present and Violet-past. Although this is a current day story, it has roots in the past based on true events and seamlessly ties historical fiction with present day events. The combination of past and present, historical fiction and women's fiction, romance and mystery, and flowers makes this a winning combination! Can Emma leave behind the person she once was and embrace the person she is now meant to be? Can she find the answers she's looking for and the peace she's so desperately needs? I enjoyed the story from beginning to end and loved the way it all came together. Read the prologue and the after notes, it's fascinating!

I loved her previous title The Keeper. So I was so excited to have received her newest title.
This book is beautifully written with vivid descriptions and stunning surroundings I was absolutely captivated throughout.
The characters are fantastic and all of the supporting characters are well-rounded and their stories are enveloped in so much warmth, depth, and humour that it's impossible not to be engaged with them and the story.

First and foremost, this is not my typical style of fiction that I read and I thank Netgalley and Sally Page for the advance copy. The secret of flowers is the joint stories of Emma, a 40 year old widow who leaves her career as a university research scientist in an effort to deal with her husband's recent death, and Violet. a young woman living in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The stories are interwoven and it was the hook that allowed me to continue reading through to the end.

The book begins with Emma deciding to change her career and she begins working part-time in a garden center for Les and Betsey. Les has a fascination with the Titanic and Emma, who is learning the trade of becoming the florist, begins to wonder who the florist was on the Titanic. Using her background as a researcher, Emma begins the journey into finding out who the florist was on the infamous unsinkable ship.

Violet's story begins when she is a sick child in Argentina. She struggles through her illness with the memory of her love of flowers and thoughts of her beloved deceased father. Violet recovers from her illness, and her mother moves her and her siblings to England. As Violet becomes a young adult, she is sent to be a steward on ocean liners, eventually leading her to work on the Titanic.

The story has many layers in it. Emma forges a strong bond with Les, Betsey, and the jovial flower delivery man, Tamas. As she struggles with her own sadness over the loss of her husband, and learning that he had an affair, she also learns of her new friends' own tragedies. Emma also embarks on new journeys and friendships as she expands her research on the florist of the Titanic. Also interwoven into the plot of the story is the connection Emma feels to Violet, Titanic stewardess, when she sees her photo in her research.

The connection between Emma and Violet's stories, kept my going as I read the book. I was dying to see how the two characters stories were interwoven, and I finally did at the end. The book was long at times, and parts were confusing and I wasn't sure of the relevance to the overall pot of the story; particularly the relationship between Emma and her mother.

What I enjoyed the most was learning more about the history of the Titanic. Sally Page did a good job weaving just enough history into her storyline. I am sure that this will be a great read for many, but for me it was just not my bag.

Emma has given up her scientific research job after losing her husband a while ago. She sees an ad in the local paper for a florist at a garden centre “no experience necessary”. She loves flowers and wants a change of pace and people and this suits her fine. She gets invited to a talk on the Titanic at the garden centre but bottles out at the last minute, however this gets her thinking. Who arranged the flowers on board? There is no mention of a florist despite numerous other occupations being listed and being a luxury liner there would most certainly be flowers around.. Alternate chapters are by “Violet”, someone we know little about to begin with.
I read this straight after finishing “ The Book of Beginnings” which I adored (and inspired me to buy a fountain pen again- thank you Sally) so you know I love this author, her style and craft. Sally carries the reader into the heart of the story so very easily, whisking you away to another world (just how I like my books). It's sculpted, enchanting and magical. And some wonderful life phrases that made me stop and think. One stunning read I most certainly won’t forget.

For more reviews please follow me on X (formerly Twitter) @nickisbookblog
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This was a really interesting dual timeline story about the mysterious, undocumented woman who arranged flowers on board the Titanic and one widow's determination in the present to discover her identity. If you like good historical fiction, characters with depth and learning more about true facts about the Titanic, this one is definitely one to read. It was also good on audio narrated by Karen Cass. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

TW: infertility and infidelity

Thank you Netgalley & Blackstone Publishing for an eARC ❤️

As I turned the pages of this breathtaking book, I felt my heart swell with emotion.❤️‍🩹 Emma's story is one of profound grief, of a pain so intense it threatens to consume her. But it's also a story of hope, of resilience, and of the human spirit's capacity to heal.
When Emma leaves her university research job to become a florist, I felt a pang of recognition. Who hasn't, at some point, felt the need to escape, to start anew? And as she navigates this fresh start, I found myself rooting for her, willing her to find her way again.♥️
The author's writing is nothing short of enchanting. Sally Page has a way of crafting sentences that are both poetic and poignant, drawing you into Emma's world with ease. And the way she weaves together Emma's story with that of Violet, a stewardess on the Titanic, is nothing short of masterful.
But what truly sets this book apart is its emotional depth. The author tackles themes of grief, loss, and trauma with sensitivity and nuance, never shying away from the complexity of human emotions. And yet, despite the heaviness of these themes, the book never feels oppressive. Instead, it's a testament to the human spirit's capacity to persevere, to heal, and to find beauty in the darkest of places.
As I closed the book, I felt a sense of peace settle over me. It's a feeling that's hard to describe, but it's one of hope, of renewal, and of the knowledge that, no matter what life throws our way, we always have the capacity to heal, to grow, and to find our way again.♥️

I enjoyed this book - love learning more about the Titanic and the characters were very lovable (aside from Emma’s dreadful mother). I was more caught up in the present timeline story than the past, but chapters are very short making the whole book very readable.

I loved everything about this novel. Emma is trying to start her life over after the death of her husband. She starts a new job at a local garden place. Her boss has an event where he talks about the Titanic.

The Titanic has always fascinated me and I love flowers, so this novel was a win-win for me. I love how each chapter opened with the name of a flower and the chapter revolved around the flower.

Charming, inspiring and enchanting. Thank you for the Harper Collins for the eARC

Such an interesting premise but the story dragged on and never quite delivered. I love stories about the Titanic so I thought this would be a new one to enjoy but that was not the case at all. This was more about dealing with grief than it was about the Titanic in the beginning, then as the story progresses, Emma decides she’s writing a book about the florist on the Titanic, jumps to a lot of assumptions about said florist, and, all the while, not quite doing anything. I found her difficult to connect with. This, unfortunately, didn’t hold my interest.