Scan barcode
theavidreaderandbibliophile's review
3.0
Sierra Ravenswood is busy running the Flower House, a floral shop and preparing for the opening of the new café. The café will serve food with edible flowers and plants. Raven is surprised when a van pulls up outside the shop. Professor Lowry and a few of his students invade the shop for a tour of the orchid greenhouse which had been arranged with Felix before his departure (and he failed to tell Sierra). The group is quite rowdy and wreaks havoc in the shop. When things calm down, Sierra finds Professor Lowry dead in the storeroom. There is no shortage of suspects including Calvin, Sierra’s employee and potential romantic partner. With the police focused on Calvin, Sierra dons her sleuthing cap once again. She works on questioning suspects and digging up clues. Someone, though, is not happy with her sleuthing and attempts to stop her. Can Sierra expose the killer before Calvin gets arrested or she becomes the next victim? Petals and Poison by Jess Dylan is the 2nd A Flower House Mystery. Petals and Poison can be read as a standalone if you have not indulged in Death in Bloom. Petals and Poison contains good writing and developed characters. Sierra, Denna, Calvin, Granny, Rocky, and Sierra’s parents are some of the residents in this southern town. I like Sierra’s upbeat attitude and her plans for the business. Granny is a fun character with her superstitions and folklore. There are a couple of quirky characters included which is natural in any small southern town. I like the setting of Aerieville, Tennessee. It is the type of town where you can relax on your front porch with a glass of sweet tea and chat with your neighbors as they go by. The mystery was well-plotted with a variety of suspects and good clues. I like that Sierra actively investigated with help from her friends. I was able to identify the guilty party early in the story, but I did not know why. I thought the why was unique for a cozy mystery and it tied in nicely with the theme of the series. The café with edible flowers and plants was a clever idea. It was interesting learning more about edible plants. I could have done with less romance in the book. Sierra is interested in Calvin, and I thought it took up too much of the book. Denna and Rocky have a budding relationship as well. I do not mind some romance as long as the focus is on the mystery. Petals and Poison is a lighthearted Southern cozy mystery with edible eats, a perished professor, sweet tea, cavorting college students, puzzling poppies, and romantic endeavors.
smfreed's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
katreader's review
4.0
PETALS AND POISON by Jess Dylan
The Second Flower House Mystery
Sierra Ravenswood is finally feeling at home managing the Flower House and she wants to make it succeed. To that end she's adding a cafe and creating a window display filled with plants that bring good luck and abundance. When a van full of college kids pulls up, instead of lots of paying customers, Sierra gets nothing but trouble. The college professor in charge is haughty and her delivery driver is not the only one giving him looks that could kill. However, it wasn't looks, but rather blunt force trauma that killed the man, leaving him in Sierra's storeroom. When the police start looking closely at Calvin, Sierra knows she has to find the real killer.
I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to the Flower House and intend to go back and read the first book in the series while waiting to enjoy the third. Sierra is a fine protagonist with a great outlook on life. I especially love Granny and look forward to learn more folklore from her. The relationship between Sierra and her family is honest and funny, as well as loving. All of the characters are multi-dimensional, with tons of backstory that is slowly revealed. The set up had me invested in both the characters and the shop. If I lived in Aerieville I'd be looking for reasons to go to the Flower House!
I found the mystery intriguing and had an inkling for the motive behind the killing by one clue; a unique and fascinating reason. I appreciate the way Sierra looked into the crime and her desire to help her friend. Here's hoping that her friendship with Calvin will develop into something more.
PETALS AND POISON brings in the laws of attraction and Appalachian wisdom to enhance a clever mystery.
The Second Flower House Mystery
Sierra Ravenswood is finally feeling at home managing the Flower House and she wants to make it succeed. To that end she's adding a cafe and creating a window display filled with plants that bring good luck and abundance. When a van full of college kids pulls up, instead of lots of paying customers, Sierra gets nothing but trouble. The college professor in charge is haughty and her delivery driver is not the only one giving him looks that could kill. However, it wasn't looks, but rather blunt force trauma that killed the man, leaving him in Sierra's storeroom. When the police start looking closely at Calvin, Sierra knows she has to find the real killer.
I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to the Flower House and intend to go back and read the first book in the series while waiting to enjoy the third. Sierra is a fine protagonist with a great outlook on life. I especially love Granny and look forward to learn more folklore from her. The relationship between Sierra and her family is honest and funny, as well as loving. All of the characters are multi-dimensional, with tons of backstory that is slowly revealed. The set up had me invested in both the characters and the shop. If I lived in Aerieville I'd be looking for reasons to go to the Flower House!
I found the mystery intriguing and had an inkling for the motive behind the killing by one clue; a unique and fascinating reason. I appreciate the way Sierra looked into the crime and her desire to help her friend. Here's hoping that her friendship with Calvin will develop into something more.
PETALS AND POISON brings in the laws of attraction and Appalachian wisdom to enhance a clever mystery.
rhythmically's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
marilanoire's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
3.75
I liked this book better than the first one, maybe because I got to like the characters by now. I enjoyed the story and the next book is on my list.
whatkreads's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
see_sadie_read's review
3.0
I made a joke to my husband while reading Petals and Poisons that I'm quite capable of cozying up to a mystery now and again, but I really wish a ghost (or something) would show up. I am much more a fantasy reader than a cozy mystery reader. But I entered into Petals and Poisons with optimism. There's a dog in it, after all.
In the end, I thought it was cute. I couldn't guess, between the suspects, which would turn out to be the killer. And I liked the budding romantic subplot. However, I also found it odd that Sierra and crew were able to go about investigating, as they did, with no push-back from the actual police for interfering. I also thought the ending felt rush. It wrapped up so fast, once the killer was revealed. Further, I feel like Dylan allowed the reader to care about them, there at the end, and then just abandoned them to their fate. I wanted to know what happened to them and to hope there was a somewhat happy ending for them in the future. (I've actually written one in my head for them.)
All in all, I enjoyed it well enough for being outside my normal genre comfort zone. But hey, I maybe got my wish. There were some maybe ghosts.
In the end, I thought it was cute. I couldn't guess, between the suspects, which would turn out to be the killer. And I liked the budding romantic subplot. However, I also found it odd that Sierra and crew were able to go about investigating, as they did, with no push-back from the actual police for interfering. I also thought the ending felt rush. It wrapped up so fast, once the killer was revealed. Further, I feel like Dylan allowed the reader to care about them, there at the end, and then just abandoned them to their fate. I wanted to know what happened to them and to hope there was a somewhat happy ending for them in the future. (I've actually written one in my head for them.)
All in all, I enjoyed it well enough for being outside my normal genre comfort zone. But hey, I maybe got my wish. There were some maybe ghosts.
hannah_monson's review
3.0
Overall, I enjoyed this second book of a new series. The secondary cast is lovable (and I always love a corgi puppy), but I do find Sierra to be somewhat annoying with her attempts to “The Secret” her own good fortune. The mystery was compelling with enough suspects and motives, but the reveal was anticlimactic (with the murderer being one of the most obvious suspects). The ending was rushed and left some threads hanging, which were ultimately unsatisfying.
mystereity's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It's May, which means the Cozy Mystery book club has moved on to the second book in the Flower House series, Petals and Poison. Sierra is finally assimilating to her new role as the owner of The Flower House and is making it her own by designing a lucky plant display in the front window and a cheerful new cafe. Business is still slow, so the excitement when a van full of college kids and their professor pulls up quickly turns to dismay when the professor is found dead in the storeroom and Sierra and her employees are thrust into the middle of a new investigation.
There was the main plot of the dead professor (who was up to no good, so there were plenty of suspects...well, there was a pool of people suspected, but I only had 2 suspects.) The side plot concerning Wanda's behavior I did enjoy, I felt like I got to know Wanda better than the other characters.
While I enjoyed the plot and I love Sierra and her friends, this one had a slower pace, and in some places, fumbled along blindly until the ending that wrapped everything up a bit too quickly and not entirely satisfactorily, in my opinion. As this is only the second book written by the author, I'm willing to overlook it as a new author perfecting their craft, but I'm hoping to see the plots get tighter and more character development going forward, especially if it's used to further the plot in place of the many misery porn events in the first 2 books. Oh dear, Sierra got locked in a closet again? That's the third time this week *yawn* Sierra, get it together girl.
Rating this one is a bit tricky for me; on one hand, the characters (especially Gus the Corgi) is definitely worth 4 stars, the plot 3 stars and the character 3.5 stars, so I'll round it all up to 4 overall, but this would easily be a 5 star read with a little finagling.
There was the main plot of the dead professor (who was up to no good, so there were plenty of suspects...well, there was a pool of people suspected, but I only had 2 suspects.) The side plot concerning Wanda's behavior I did enjoy, I felt like I got to know Wanda better than the other characters.
While I enjoyed the plot and I love Sierra and her friends, this one had a slower pace, and in some places, fumbled along blindly until the ending that wrapped everything up a bit too quickly and not entirely satisfactorily, in my opinion. As this is only the second book written by the author, I'm willing to overlook it as a new author perfecting their craft, but I'm hoping to see the plots get tighter and more character development going forward, especially if it's used to further the plot in place of the many misery porn events in the first 2 books. Oh dear, Sierra got locked in a closet again? That's the third time this week *yawn* Sierra, get it together girl.
Rating this one is a bit tricky for me; on one hand, the characters (especially Gus the Corgi) is definitely worth 4 stars, the plot 3 stars and the character 3.5 stars, so I'll round it all up to 4 overall, but this would easily be a 5 star read with a little finagling.
morchels's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It was a fine little mystery but not as exciting as the last one. It felt slower and the side stuff with Wanda didn't make much sense to me. And I thought the ending was too simply wrapped up. But it was a fine story.