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gretareadsromance's review against another edition
5.0
Loving the Bennets!
Luke and Tess' story has its ups and downs, laughter and tears and everything you could ask for. An easy read I didnt want to end and I fell in love with the whole family and their flower shop. I do hope for more Bennet family books!
Luke and Tess' story has its ups and downs, laughter and tears and everything you could ask for. An easy read I didnt want to end and I fell in love with the whole family and their flower shop. I do hope for more Bennet family books!
hijinx_abound's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely delightful. The family is fantastic. The 2nd chance aspect was great. I loved Tess and her spunkiness. Luke is a quintessential “most popular” in high school. He was a flirt and a bit of a ho. But he was young and sought after.
Tess has a pretty tough road. Her father was injured in war and then her mother died. She grew up fast and after a kiss and too much whiskey, Luke’s faulty memory shatters her young heart.
I really enjoyed this book. It is an easy read.
Tess has a pretty tough road. Her father was injured in war and then her mother died. She grew up fast and after a kiss and too much whiskey, Luke’s faulty memory shatters her young heart.
I really enjoyed this book. It is an easy read.
profromance's review against another edition
4.0
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️++
“‘I’m yours,’ I said against her lips before taking them. Forever was written in that kiss.”
Staci Hart is new to me. This is only the second book from her that I have read, the first being Well-Suited, the fourth book of her Red Lipstick Coalition series. With that book, I appreciated her story and loved the characters, but there was something missing for me. Part of it was its voice. It lacked some level of flow for me. However, in the end, I realized how much I appreciated and respected Hart’s storytelling.
When I read the blurb for Hart’s newest book, Coming Up Roses, I was drawn to three things: the enemies-to-lovers trope (LOVE IT!), a playboy-level, seemingly irresponsible hero, and an “inspired by Jane Austen” level story. I was all in after reading those qualities. Add to that a beautiful cover, and this book had to be mine.
And Coming Up Roses did not disappoint in the least. To begin, the voice of this book changed from Well-Suited. From the outset, the words and sentiments on the page flowed, so much so that I could not put this book down. In fact, I read it from front to back in one sitting. It captured me, clobbered me over the head with its humor and sweet story.
It is a bit deceiving in the realm of enemies-to-lovers. There are two main characters, Tess and Luke. Tess sees Luke as an enemy due to a moment in their past. From the outset, Luke recognizes Tess’s virtues, and he’s puzzled by her animosity towards him. As far as he’s concerned, he has never affronted her. We, the readers, know the issue, but Luke is clueless. This story isn’t like a true enemies-to-lovers story wherein the hero and heroine both hold disdain for each other. In this case, it is very one-sided, and it makes for some good story-telling as the “playboy” learns Tess’s truth. It also offers some sweet sensitive moments.
Hart has constructed Luke to be more than just a playboy. This is seemingly so at first glance, but Luke is much more layered in his development. Yes, he loves women, and he connects with them in the way that most men like. However, he is sensitive, thoughtful, caring, and sacrificial. We see this from the start in that he leaves California to come home to care for his family’s business. While there is more to the decision, it still shows that he is more than just a playboy out to bed women. He cares deeply for those he loves. Luke, very quickly in the story, moves from being a lothario to emotionally intelligent. I loved his evolution, and as a reader, fell deeply in love with Hart’s rendering of him.
“He was kind and giving to measures of absolute certainty. He sacrificed himself for others, even when it cost him dearly. He shouldered responsibility for things that were not his to be responsible for. He was steady and sure in ways I never thought he could be, in ways that had brought Wendy across the country strictly to seek safety in him…Even now, even having endured what she’d put him through, I believe he would try to help her, do what he could to ensure her security. And if I gave him the chance, he would do the same for me. More, if I let him. I wanted to let him. And I wanted to give him everything he had given to me.”
Conversely, Tess is your typical cerebral heroine. She thinks before she acts. Her head rules her heart, and she can be annoying to the reader because her internal struggle keeps her away from the hero. However, Tess is any woman who has ever feared jumping first, thinking later. While she is more cerebral than some heroines, her chest holds a deep and caring heart. In fact, she chooses the happiness and care of others over her own. Through Tess, Hart shows her readers the necessity for self-care and living one’s life, not just simply existing in it. Much like reading Luke’s evolution, there is something deeply satisfying in Tess’s changes.
Together, Luke and Tess make a whole. He pushes her towards adventure and spontaneity, while Tess grounds Luke more than even his family. It’s this wholeness that makes this story a beautiful read. There is some angst in the book, but really Luke and Tess’s story is more beautiful than destructive. As they work together to make the flower shop successful, I looked forward to each new change. In each new change, their relationship moved from the physical to the emotional and there inlaid the beauty of the story.
“We went up like a torch in a twist, a tangle of arms, our bodies locked and seeking the other. There was no space — the flame had devoured the distance, the air, her and me. Consumed.”
I think Staci Hart won me over even more with Coming Up Roses, the first in a new series. From the other family members who made me laugh out loud and love them for the ways they loved each other to Tess and Luke’s coupling, this book brought a light to my day. Having read some heavy, angsty romances lately, Staci Hart’s newest book breathed fresh air into my day and my heart.
“But looking at my parents, looking at what I had with Tess, I realized love was more than that. It was equality. Respect. Trust.”
“‘I’m yours,’ I said against her lips before taking them. Forever was written in that kiss.”
Staci Hart is new to me. This is only the second book from her that I have read, the first being Well-Suited, the fourth book of her Red Lipstick Coalition series. With that book, I appreciated her story and loved the characters, but there was something missing for me. Part of it was its voice. It lacked some level of flow for me. However, in the end, I realized how much I appreciated and respected Hart’s storytelling.
When I read the blurb for Hart’s newest book, Coming Up Roses, I was drawn to three things: the enemies-to-lovers trope (LOVE IT!), a playboy-level, seemingly irresponsible hero, and an “inspired by Jane Austen” level story. I was all in after reading those qualities. Add to that a beautiful cover, and this book had to be mine.
And Coming Up Roses did not disappoint in the least. To begin, the voice of this book changed from Well-Suited. From the outset, the words and sentiments on the page flowed, so much so that I could not put this book down. In fact, I read it from front to back in one sitting. It captured me, clobbered me over the head with its humor and sweet story.
It is a bit deceiving in the realm of enemies-to-lovers. There are two main characters, Tess and Luke. Tess sees Luke as an enemy due to a moment in their past. From the outset, Luke recognizes Tess’s virtues, and he’s puzzled by her animosity towards him. As far as he’s concerned, he has never affronted her. We, the readers, know the issue, but Luke is clueless. This story isn’t like a true enemies-to-lovers story wherein the hero and heroine both hold disdain for each other. In this case, it is very one-sided, and it makes for some good story-telling as the “playboy” learns Tess’s truth. It also offers some sweet sensitive moments.
Hart has constructed Luke to be more than just a playboy. This is seemingly so at first glance, but Luke is much more layered in his development. Yes, he loves women, and he connects with them in the way that most men like. However, he is sensitive, thoughtful, caring, and sacrificial. We see this from the start in that he leaves California to come home to care for his family’s business. While there is more to the decision, it still shows that he is more than just a playboy out to bed women. He cares deeply for those he loves. Luke, very quickly in the story, moves from being a lothario to emotionally intelligent. I loved his evolution, and as a reader, fell deeply in love with Hart’s rendering of him.
“He was kind and giving to measures of absolute certainty. He sacrificed himself for others, even when it cost him dearly. He shouldered responsibility for things that were not his to be responsible for. He was steady and sure in ways I never thought he could be, in ways that had brought Wendy across the country strictly to seek safety in him…Even now, even having endured what she’d put him through, I believe he would try to help her, do what he could to ensure her security. And if I gave him the chance, he would do the same for me. More, if I let him. I wanted to let him. And I wanted to give him everything he had given to me.”
Conversely, Tess is your typical cerebral heroine. She thinks before she acts. Her head rules her heart, and she can be annoying to the reader because her internal struggle keeps her away from the hero. However, Tess is any woman who has ever feared jumping first, thinking later. While she is more cerebral than some heroines, her chest holds a deep and caring heart. In fact, she chooses the happiness and care of others over her own. Through Tess, Hart shows her readers the necessity for self-care and living one’s life, not just simply existing in it. Much like reading Luke’s evolution, there is something deeply satisfying in Tess’s changes.
Together, Luke and Tess make a whole. He pushes her towards adventure and spontaneity, while Tess grounds Luke more than even his family. It’s this wholeness that makes this story a beautiful read. There is some angst in the book, but really Luke and Tess’s story is more beautiful than destructive. As they work together to make the flower shop successful, I looked forward to each new change. In each new change, their relationship moved from the physical to the emotional and there inlaid the beauty of the story.
“We went up like a torch in a twist, a tangle of arms, our bodies locked and seeking the other. There was no space — the flame had devoured the distance, the air, her and me. Consumed.”
I think Staci Hart won me over even more with Coming Up Roses, the first in a new series. From the other family members who made me laugh out loud and love them for the ways they loved each other to Tess and Luke’s coupling, this book brought a light to my day. Having read some heavy, angsty romances lately, Staci Hart’s newest book breathed fresh air into my day and my heart.
“But looking at my parents, looking at what I had with Tess, I realized love was more than that. It was equality. Respect. Trust.”
virgo_reader's review
1.0
Oh my god. I am…. so pissed. This book was AWFUL.
First of all, I know Luke is based on Lydia Bennett. But I have to ask… WHY?! In the books Lydia was frivolous and silly and irresponsible, but she was also a teenager. Luke is at least 26 and he’s still acting like a 16 year old. He is the exact kind of hero who I hate - takes no responsibility, does everything for laughs, doesn’t think ahead. He is a giant, irresponsible, inconsiderate man child.
The first time we meet him, he’s back in his family’s flower shop and he sees a girl bent over a storage unit. From the back she looks like a girl he hooked up with five years ago, who he hasn’t talked to in five years. And his first thought is… I’m going to grope her. Yup. And of course it ISN’T the girl he used to hook up with. And even when he knocks over vases filled with water and flowers all over her, he’s smiling and joking and lying to his ridiculous mother to cover up the fact that he’s just a monumental fuck up.
Tess spent 10 years being angry that Luke forgot a kiss. But really why couldn’t she just hate him for literally everything he IS? All the shit I listed above + he can’t hold down a job, he’s a jack of all trades but a master of none, he comes up with plans and doesn’t see them through. It was weird that she’s held onto this grudge for 10 years that she lets go of immediately after there’s even a flicker of sexual tension between them.
The route from frenemies/enemies > hooking up was way too short. Their “fling” was a sped up montage of time spent together.
And maybe most annoying is that Luke-the-Man-Child still allows himself to be manipulated by his ex-wife. Tess nailed in on the head when she said “Wendy will always manipulate you and you will always let her.” WHO would want to be with someone like that, who has that kind of baggage?
Hated the hero. Didn’t care about the heroine. The love story was yuck. The plot was meh.
First of all, I know Luke is based on Lydia Bennett. But I have to ask… WHY?! In the books Lydia was frivolous and silly and irresponsible, but she was also a teenager. Luke is at least 26 and he’s still acting like a 16 year old. He is the exact kind of hero who I hate - takes no responsibility, does everything for laughs, doesn’t think ahead. He is a giant, irresponsible, inconsiderate man child.
The first time we meet him, he’s back in his family’s flower shop and he sees a girl bent over a storage unit. From the back she looks like a girl he hooked up with five years ago, who he hasn’t talked to in five years. And his first thought is… I’m going to grope her. Yup. And of course it ISN’T the girl he used to hook up with. And even when he knocks over vases filled with water and flowers all over her, he’s smiling and joking and lying to his ridiculous mother to cover up the fact that he’s just a monumental fuck up.
Tess spent 10 years being angry that Luke forgot a kiss. But really why couldn’t she just hate him for literally everything he IS? All the shit I listed above + he can’t hold down a job, he’s a jack of all trades but a master of none, he comes up with plans and doesn’t see them through. It was weird that she’s held onto this grudge for 10 years that she lets go of immediately after there’s even a flicker of sexual tension between them.
The route from frenemies/enemies > hooking up was way too short. Their “fling” was a sped up montage of time spent together.
And maybe most annoying is that Luke-the-Man-Child still allows himself to be manipulated by his ex-wife. Tess nailed in on the head when she said “Wendy will always manipulate you and you will always let her.” WHO would want to be with someone like that, who has that kind of baggage?
Spoiler
Yes Wendy did a random 180, which I also didn’t buy, but still.Hated the hero. Didn’t care about the heroine. The love story was yuck. The plot was meh.
lofiultraviolet's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I'm not somebody typically drawn to romcom novels so feel free to take my review with a grain of salt. Note, that there will be very minor spoilers throughout the review.
I was looking for some light-hearted reading and was drawn to this book because of its setting in a flower shop. And reading about the displays, flower designs, and running the business side of things was the most enjoyable part of the novel.
Everything else started off bad and only got marginally better. Our lead man Luke introduces himself to his love interest and the audience with the ugliest meet-ugly, one that made me instantly dislike him. His inner dialogue is annoying and his tendency to objectify the women in his life in the early chapters is insufferable. But when we switch perspectives to Tess, she is equally horny and caught up about something that happened ten years ago when she was a teenager. A handful of chapters in, Luke falls in love with Tess and his entire personality switches. Development is not what I'd call it, everything the author claims he is (a womanizer, fleety and flaky, unable to stick to a plan) turns out to not be true. He is already the perfect partner (and, as Tess will remind us too often, the hottest man alive), so there is no growth to be had, only an arbitrary misunderstanding to overcome. It's no wonder that they start dating in the first third of the novel, and hit no snag until the last handful of chapters (which is also easily resolved). None of the relationships are well-explored, and both protagonists have boring relationships with their parents, which is frustrating since the Bennet family and Tess's father are meant to play relatively significant roles.
The prose is also irksome. I don't mind characters expressing desire, but Tess has a way of doing it that is insufferable. She says Luke has a "pizza bod" with a "sausage" that she wants to get her mouth around. That's not sexy, that's gross! She's down so bad throughout the novel, while Luke switches from an objectifier who checks out every woman's ass to somebody who only fawns about how lovely and beautiful Tess is. Plus, the amount of times characters do *something* around a laugh or chuckle is so weird? They say their dialogue "around, through, between, on" a laugh. Lastly, I'm surprised people were surprised by the presence of smut for how horny this novel was, but the smut was also lackluster. I'm not the biggest fan of unnecessary smut, but like the rest of the novel, the fanservice is hurt by the prose. Plus, there are three orgasms in this novel and each takes only a handful of seconds of intercourse to happen (which is something the author draws a lot of attention to, for some reason).
All in all, while there were some interesting character moments and reflections, Coming Up Roses mostly failed to engage me and mostly just annoyed me.
I was looking for some light-hearted reading and was drawn to this book because of its setting in a flower shop. And reading about the displays, flower designs, and running the business side of things was the most enjoyable part of the novel.
Everything else started off bad and only got marginally better. Our lead man Luke introduces himself to his love interest and the audience with the ugliest meet-ugly, one that made me instantly dislike him. His inner dialogue is annoying and his tendency to objectify the women in his life in the early chapters is insufferable. But when we switch perspectives to Tess, she is equally horny and caught up about something that happened ten years ago when she was a teenager. A handful of chapters in, Luke falls in love with Tess and his entire personality switches. Development is not what I'd call it, everything the author claims he is (a womanizer, fleety and flaky, unable to stick to a plan) turns out to not be true. He is already the perfect partner (and, as Tess will remind us too often, the hottest man alive), so there is no growth to be had, only an arbitrary misunderstanding to overcome. It's no wonder that they start dating in the first third of the novel, and hit no snag until the last handful of chapters (which is also easily resolved). None of the relationships are well-explored, and both protagonists have boring relationships with their parents, which is frustrating since the Bennet family and Tess's father are meant to play relatively significant roles.
The prose is also irksome. I don't mind characters expressing desire, but Tess has a way of doing it that is insufferable. She says Luke has a "pizza bod" with a "sausage" that she wants to get her mouth around. That's not sexy, that's gross! She's down so bad throughout the novel, while Luke switches from an objectifier who checks out every woman's ass to somebody who only fawns about how lovely and beautiful Tess is. Plus, the amount of times characters do *something* around a laugh or chuckle is so weird? They say their dialogue "around, through, between, on" a laugh. Lastly, I'm surprised people were surprised by the presence of smut for how horny this novel was, but the smut was also lackluster. I'm not the biggest fan of unnecessary smut, but like the rest of the novel, the fanservice is hurt by the prose. Plus, there are three orgasms in this novel and each takes only a handful of seconds of intercourse to happen (which is something the author draws a lot of attention to, for some reason).
All in all, while there were some interesting character moments and reflections, Coming Up Roses mostly failed to engage me and mostly just annoyed me.
cassire's review against another edition
5.0
I freaking loved Coming Up Roses. I haven’t loved a Staci Hart book this much since Bad Penny. This is the first book in her new stand-alone series, The Bennet Brothers. I can only hope I enjoy the rest of the series this much. This book is an enemies to lovers romance. It’s flirty, fun, and sexy. Props to you Staci for making me fall in love with so many characters. I felt my heartstrings pulled even for the villain of the book. I just smile when I think of what is to come.
I voluntarily read an early copy.
I voluntarily read an early copy.
readingbelle's review against another edition
This is a fun contemporary romance with a little P&P bend to it. I would love to read more about the Bennet siblings love lives. Read this one when you need a little pallet cleanser between heavier titles.
cupcakes_and_coffee's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I’d pretty much given up on free Amazon books but I had this in my library and wanted something light to read. The cover looked cute. It started out fine, I actually liked the flower shop side-story. But ~50% in I realized the book was really not what I expected. The main love interest is just disgusting. And he doesn’t change so I’m unsure how we’re supposed to get behind his new relationship. The other characters, including the main, aren’t better and the whole plot just goes off the rails in a bad way. Skimmed through a bit bc felt invested after getting so far in. But eventually just gave up because I couldn’t take anymore.
Content Warnings
Explicit sex. Wasn’t expecting from the sweet cover and description so just a heads up.