Hothouse Flower: The romantic and moving novel from the bestselling author of The Seven Sisters series

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I love these lines from the book: We are sharing a moment in time. Like the universe, there is no beginning or end. We just are. This is an inter-generational drama based at an old estate in England, following the families who live there. Daisy Calloway is eighteen. Finally. With her newfound independence, she can say goodbye to her overbearing mother and continue her modeling career. Next stop, Paris. Fashion Week begins with a bang, and Daisy uncovers the ugly reality of the industry. She wants to prove to her family that she can live on her own, but when everything spirals out of control, she turns to Ryke to keep her secrets. Here is where The Baker's Daughter truly shines. Elsie and her parents run a bakery in Garmisch, Germany, a city where Gestapo soldiers raid houses and residents fear for their lives in the worst days of World War II. McCoy renders the bakery especially well. I could smell, see, and taste the breads and sweet treats. My mouth still waters thinking about them. Goodies aside, the bakers move this part of the story. At seventeen, Elsie is being courted by an SS officer who is closer in age to her father than to her. She does not love him. Rather, Elsie adores Hollywood movies and is more concerned with keeping a secret that could get her and her family killed.

The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley | Goodreads The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley | Goodreads

This is what Kit told Julia when they were at Wharton Park looking at the stars and everything seemed to be perfect for them. Of course, Julia was still grieving for her son and husband, but Kit was helping her. I still really liked this book and would definitely recommend it even with these couple of things that I didn't care for. Man recovers from illness in Thailand, falls in TWOO WUV with 17-year old Thai girl. Bonks her, swears up and down he'll leave his wife for her. Does he? Dun dun duuuuuuun. It is worth noting that Hothouse Flower was republished in 2012 with the title of The Orchid House just so that any confusion with readers thinking it might be a different story, when this is not the case are cleared up straight away. Although the central theme of a family saga set in a country house spanning from the 1930's to the present day is far from an original one, this one is different. It has such a multi layered story to tell us with so many stirring and compelling love stories, secrets and surprises to share I stayed awake far too late at night reading this as I was engrossed. Extremely well written the story flows beautifully, period and locations are credibly described and the characters feel realistic. The situations that they face are ones that we are all able to empathise with from generation to generation. Certainly one of the best family sagas of the genre that I have read recently. Wharton Park holds a special place in the heart of Julia Forrester, a world-renowned concert pianist. As a child, Julia spent time there since her grandparents were long-time employees of the Crawfords and lived in a cottage on the grounds of the manor. Her grandfather grew exotic orchids and made Wharton Park famous for the rare flowers; her grandmother, Elsie, was a lady's maid. Their devotion to the manor parallels that of the servants of Downton Abbey for the Granthams. Julia's summers at the estate were dreamlike: "The tranquility and warmth of the hothouses—sitting snugly in the corner of the kitchen garden, sheltered against the cruel winds that blew in from the North Sea during the winter—stayed in her memory all year."

Mane knyga sudomino dėl pavadinimo, nes pats auginu orchidėjas. Ir knygoje iš tikrųjų buvo kalbama apie jas, nes jos buvo auginamos Vorton Parko šiltnamiuose. Tačiau man labiausiai patiko Olivijos ir Hario istorija, nes ji turi LGBT prieskonio. Nenoriu išduoti kas ir kur, bet mažytis gay vibe‘as yra. McCoy has done meticulous research for The Baker's Daughter. The best example of her diligence is Elsie's older sister, Hazel, a participant in the Lebensborn Program. This was part of Germany experiment to perpetuate the Aryan race by producing blond-haired, blue-eyed German children with high morals, exceptional intelligence, and an unbreakable bond with the state. Hazel, in effect, had babies for Germany and had to give them up. Lebensborn was real, and McCoy accurately portrays this chapter in German history. Modern-day famous pianist barely subsisting and starving her way through recovery from a hinted-at horrible tragedy (which isn't actually told until 1/4 of the way through the book after I had ripped about half the hair off my head in frustration) Language is trite (I literally threw the book down when one character decided "she could not allow herself to love again"); and as though the author doesn't trust that the dialogue between characters conveys the proper ideas, each exchange is followed by a few lines redundantly summarizing what everyone meant and felt. Then she found out that Xavier had done something terrible, and it sent her reeling, causing her to wonder if she and Kit could ever make it together. Then a true miracle happens when she finds a lost ancestor, someone of whom Julia had been unaware of. This ancestor helps Julia understand love and pain.

Hothouse Flower - Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie - Google Books

I do love this author's Seven Sisters series, but I do feel like her older books are not that great. The dialogue is truly awful, and in no way represents how real people speak to each other. I also thought that Harry was a terrible and creepy character, his story was very off putting in general. Daisy Calloway is finally eighteen. With her newfound independence, she can say goodbye to her overbearing mother and continue her modeling career. Next stop: Paris. Fashion Week begins with a bang, and Daisy uncovers the ugly reality of the industry. She wants to prove to her family that she can live on her own, but when everything spirals out of control, she turns to Ryke to keep her secrets.Plot twists range from predictable to absolutely ridiculous. One in particular toward the end was just totally absurd, negating whatever redeeming qualities the novel had maintained up to that point.

HOTHOUSE FLOWER | Lucinda Riley HOTHOUSE FLOWER | Lucinda Riley

As Daisy struggles to make sense of this new world and her freedom, she pushes the limits and fearlessly rides the edge. Ryke knows there’s deep hurt beneath every impulsive action. He must keep up with Daisy, and if he lets her go, her favorite motto—“live as if you’ll die today”—may just come true. Don't miss this alluring story with its captivating characters who have secrets that span 70 years and a family that makes a full circle with Wharton Park being the beginning and the end.There is truth about the old adage, "less is more". I was happily reading along when one extra twist in the story punted it firmly into the realm of melodrama. Unfortunately, there were a couple more twists to come. Lucinda Riley, you were doing just fine until you started to embellish too much. An assignment leads Reba to a German bakery where she wants to interview an elderly woman on Christmas traditions around the world. The old woman, Elsie Meriwether, the owner of Elsie's German Bakery, is uncooperative. With a deadline fast approaching, Reba spends more and more time with Elsie and her daughter, Jane. Soon, though, Reba finds she likes visiting the women. She opens up to them. The feeling is mutual. Elsie opens up to Reba not about German Christmas traditions but about a Christmas in 1944, one that changed everything.