Elly in Bloom

Elly in Bloom                                        Colleen Oakes
Posted: June 19,2013

What would you do if you had to design your lover's wedding?

Surrounded by lush flowers and neurotic brides, chubby 32-year old Elly Jordan has carved out a sweet little life for herself as the owner of Posies, a boutique wedding florist in St. Louis. It’s not bad for a woman who drove away from her entire life just two years ago when she found her husband entwined with a red-headed artist.

Sure, Elly has an embarrassingly beautiful best friend, a terribly behaved sheepdog and a sarcastic assistant who she simply calls “Snarky Teenager”, but overall her days are pleasantly uneventful. As a bonus, her new next door neighbor just happens to be an unnervingly handsome musician who has an eye for curvy Elly.

Just when she feels that she is finally moving on from her past, she discovers that an extravagant wedding contract, one that could change her financial future, is more than she bargained for.

With the help of her friends, staff and the occasional well-made sandwich, Elly bravely agrees to take on the event that threatens to merge her painful history with her bright new life, and finds herself blooming in a direction she never imagined.

Elly’s voice, both charming and hilarious, will appeal to those readers who have been looking for a new voice in chick-lit, and will give women of all sizes the realistic heroine they’ve been waiting for.

My Review:

This was surprisingly a superb story of a Big Beautiful Young 32 year old young woman. Who kept falling for the wrong gorgeous men. She finds that after her mother has passed & she is finally coming out of her tail spin & she feels confident that her new marriage is back on level ground. That all is well, she surprises her artist husband by coming home for lunch to find him in their bed with a younger much thinner red head. Her world goes spinning out of control. She kicks him out then she decides she can't stay in the house where he betrayed her. So, she packs up all that means anything to her & starts driving. She ends up in St. Louis in a coffee shop with a stranger who befriends her & she starts life over. Can she do it? Does she really want to without him? What will she do with no job, no place to live & no friends/family? Is she strong enough to trust & love again? This was sweet at times, funny at others & just gut wrench too. But her friends & employees stood by her side & lifted her up when needed. She does find men that turn her hear & she turns a few herself. For her beauty comes from within as well as out. Very good book.