bella_and_the_bookstack's review against another edition
3.0
3.4 out of 5 stars
Fashion meets gardening in this cutesy YA romance. Author Faron Heron created a fast-paced romance that manages to bring the world of style into a tiny garden town in the middle of nowhere.
Tahira is a brown Muslim girl who dreams of becoming an influential fashion designer. She loves designing clothes and hopes that her hard work will pay off. But when a dream internship falls through the cracks, her whole summer Plan gets derailed. Instead, she finds herself in nowhere Bakewell working at her aunt’s boutique. She’s up to her ears in flowers. And to make matters worse? The boy next door hates her, and she a little bit hates him too.
Will Tahira wilt under the pressure, or will she find that Bakewell and a certain neighbor holds more than meets the eye?
~~
This book was super cute! I’m such a big plant and flower person. I couldn’t help but love this book! This was my first book by Farrah Heron, but it certainly won’t be my last.
Fashion meets gardening in this cutesy YA romance. Author Faron Heron created a fast-paced romance that manages to bring the world of style into a tiny garden town in the middle of nowhere.
Tahira is a brown Muslim girl who dreams of becoming an influential fashion designer. She loves designing clothes and hopes that her hard work will pay off. But when a dream internship falls through the cracks, her whole summer Plan gets derailed. Instead, she finds herself in nowhere Bakewell working at her aunt’s boutique. She’s up to her ears in flowers. And to make matters worse? The boy next door hates her, and she a little bit hates him too.
Will Tahira wilt under the pressure, or will she find that Bakewell and a certain neighbor holds more than meets the eye?
~~
This book was super cute! I’m such a big plant and flower person. I couldn’t help but love this book! This was my first book by Farrah Heron, but it certainly won’t be my last.
msvenner's review against another edition
3.0
Lovely YA/middle grade read. I get asked for Romance books all he time and this one has heart, strength and personality. I’ll definitely be buying this one for my libraries.
jnvreads's review against another edition
3.0
Tahira in Bloom by Farah Heron - Rating: 3.5/5⭐️
.
.
When Tahira's dream for fashion is derailed a little, she's sent to help her aunt in a small town. Where she learns to achieve her dreams in a way that she didn't initially sign up for.
.
.
LIKES:
• I was so glad to not see the cliche of parents (especially brown ones - although mostly true) be unsupported of a "nontraditional" job. Tahira's parents being so invested in her career was refreshing.
• Great characters. Finally a love interest that isn't white or the same race. I feel like there are so many brown romance books that either don't go out of their race. I felt for Juniper so much. She reminds me a lot of my younger self. As a person who was regularly teased for my love for books, her story brought up a lot for me.
• Very important discussions going on. With the main characters being Muslim and black, there were heavy topics handled with care and truthfulness that I respected from the author.
• The development between Rowan and Tahira was adorable. A grumpy-sunshine, almost enemies to lovers kind of story.
• Diversity. Between the characters races and LGBTQ+ inclusion.
.
.
DISLIKES:
• I would've liked to see more Indian influence within the characters and story line. Going to the masjid like twice with no info twice. And I think it would have added a great view on them other than just the racism. Something to give the readers something to love and learn from their cultures.
• Gia wasn't my favorite person. I usually love side characters in books. Especially the best friends. But Gia rubbed me the wrong way.
• There were a lot of moments that the connection between Tahira and Rowan wasnt there.
• All the influencer stuff got repetitive.
• I kind of wish that she didn't even have a relationship at the beginning. Because it didn't really add to any of the story. And, with it being a YA book, I don't want a younger girl to read this and feel that they need a relationship to achieve their dreams. Or boys in general.
.
.
Overall, I usually don't like fashion-based books. But this one was a good one with some hard to address discussions and inclusion.
.
.
When Tahira's dream for fashion is derailed a little, she's sent to help her aunt in a small town. Where she learns to achieve her dreams in a way that she didn't initially sign up for.
.
.
LIKES:
• I was so glad to not see the cliche of parents (especially brown ones - although mostly true) be unsupported of a "nontraditional" job. Tahira's parents being so invested in her career was refreshing.
• Great characters. Finally a love interest that isn't white or the same race. I feel like there are so many brown romance books that either don't go out of their race. I felt for Juniper so much. She reminds me a lot of my younger self. As a person who was regularly teased for my love for books, her story brought up a lot for me.
• Very important discussions going on. With the main characters being Muslim and black, there were heavy topics handled with care and truthfulness that I respected from the author.
• The development between Rowan and Tahira was adorable. A grumpy-sunshine, almost enemies to lovers kind of story.
• Diversity. Between the characters races and LGBTQ+ inclusion.
.
.
DISLIKES:
• I would've liked to see more Indian influence within the characters and story line. Going to the masjid like twice with no info twice. And I think it would have added a great view on them other than just the racism. Something to give the readers something to love and learn from their cultures.
• Gia wasn't my favorite person. I usually love side characters in books. Especially the best friends. But Gia rubbed me the wrong way.
• There were a lot of moments that the connection between Tahira and Rowan wasnt there.
• All the influencer stuff got repetitive.
• I kind of wish that she didn't even have a relationship at the beginning. Because it didn't really add to any of the story. And, with it being a YA book, I don't want a younger girl to read this and feel that they need a relationship to achieve their dreams. Or boys in general.
.
.
Overall, I usually don't like fashion-based books. But this one was a good one with some hard to address discussions and inclusion.
peyton_'s review against another edition
3.0
This was a cute and fun read. I really liked how it delved into the world of fashion, florals, and rabbits. I did find the characters a little bland and one-dimensional. It seemed that the people in Tahira's life were separated into city people and rural people and by the end of the book all city people were bad and all rural people were good. I would have liked more from the characters. The plot was alright, but did not bring anything new to the genre. I would say that the best thing going for this book were the descriptions of fashion and florals. It would have been cool to have images of what Tahira and Rowan created with fabrics and flowers. I also wish that Tahira had done more designs while she was with her aunt. I understand why that didn't happen, but I feel like she missed a creative opportunity there.
machapma's review
3.0
Just a little too much about teenagers and internet influencers for me as a senior citizen. But I did enjoy a view into that life.
girlreading's review
4.0
There is something so satisfying when the contents of a book is as gorgeous as its cover and this book happily falls into that category.
Not only is it a brilliantly written enemies-to-lovers romance with depth, it's also got flowers, character growth in each of its multilayered and loveable characters, casual bi and pan rep, discussions on racial prejudice in the fashion industry and society in general (specifically towards South Asian and Black communities) and so much more. This was just a really, really great YA contemporary read.
TW: discussion of racism
Not only is it a brilliantly written enemies-to-lovers romance with depth, it's also got flowers, character growth in each of its multilayered and loveable characters, casual bi and pan rep, discussions on racial prejudice in the fashion industry and society in general (specifically towards South Asian and Black communities) and so much more. This was just a really, really great YA contemporary read.
TW: discussion of racism
testingmywilltolive's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
lydiag's review against another edition
1.0
ok i'm dnf-ing this at 25%. the premise and idea for this book is SO CUTE. like, a cute lil designer from canada moving to the "countryside" of canada to her aunt's cutesy lil cottage in a big gardening town to help her redesign her boutique. adorable right? well, let me tell you, the mc (tahira) is soooo baaaad. first off, she's very intent on making sure you know that she is an "oppressed brown girl". the author is sure to push the idea of pronouns and teenagers embracing their gay-ness if you will, which she's canadian so how did i not see that coming lol. not only that, because normally i can look around that and move on, but tahira had THE WORST personality. she hates the countryside of canada, which is hardly the country compared to west tennessee hahaha, acting very condescending towards the people, even though im pretty sure she's only a few hours away from her home in toronto. at first, she gets in the way of a gardening store to take a stupid selfie, and ends up spilling a massive bag of manure on herself and the ground, AND PROCEEDS TO BLAME IT ON THE STORE/MANURE, not her big brain telling her to kick around some poop to take a picture. without asking. she thinks she deserves everything (probably since she's not white), and whenever she tries to make her aunt's boutique more "hip", her aunt says "no" very kindly, and THIS GIRL CRIES. SHE CRIES. SHE IS 17 YEARS OLD DADGUMIT!!!! it was that incident that made me just close the book and shake my head. i was looking for a cute summer romance, and this most certainly did NOT deliver. as it turns out, her best friend is straight, white, single (oh yeah, thats the other thing, tahira has a great boyfriend and must end up making a fiasco out of that bc the romance is between her and this gardener she "hates"), and very fun and nice, and i think the book would've been 1,000,000 times better if she was the mc. wouldn't recommend unless you like "oppressed", spoiled brats. and canada
gossamerchild's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
boozybook's review
4.0
Honestly, this book is something I have been looking for all year.
First of, I would like to thank the author and Skyscape for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful novel!
I was so excited to read this book because of the desi and color representation. There was also some muslim representation which made me even more intrigued!
This book follows the life of an aspiring fashion designer who visits a small town called Bakewell so she gets all the experience she needs for her college application. Not only did she have to deal with the towns flower obsession, but she also needed Tod deal with her stubborn, cranky neighbor, Rowan, who was a handsome garden-nerd.
Love flourishes, flowers bloom, and Tahira's allergies take toll, but she won't led that stop her from learning about floral designs and fashion design.
This book was a quick, fluffy read filled with cute banter and annoying neighbors that will keep you swooning on your feet! I also loved that we got a view of how hard Tahira's life is, and how difficult it is to juggle her workload!
You can also see - throughout the book - the character development. Tahira changed into a whole new, better person. She was not self-centered like "other" influencers and it was very nice to see her change and go on that blissful adventure with her!
I really enjoyed this book and I hope you do as well!
First of, I would like to thank the author and Skyscape for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful novel!
I was so excited to read this book because of the desi and color representation. There was also some muslim representation which made me even more intrigued!
This book follows the life of an aspiring fashion designer who visits a small town called Bakewell so she gets all the experience she needs for her college application. Not only did she have to deal with the towns flower obsession, but she also needed Tod deal with her stubborn, cranky neighbor, Rowan, who was a handsome garden-nerd.
Love flourishes, flowers bloom, and Tahira's allergies take toll, but she won't led that stop her from learning about floral designs and fashion design.
This book was a quick, fluffy read filled with cute banter and annoying neighbors that will keep you swooning on your feet! I also loved that we got a view of how hard Tahira's life is, and how difficult it is to juggle her workload!
You can also see - throughout the book - the character development. Tahira changed into a whole new, better person. She was not self-centered like "other" influencers and it was very nice to see her change and go on that blissful adventure with her!
I really enjoyed this book and I hope you do as well!