A review by rebroxannape
Sunshine Over Wildflower Cottage by Milly Johnson

5.0

Geraldine seemed entranced by the moths, their wings flittering against the hot glass, drawn by the brightness which would burn them, yet they came back for more. ‘Look, they’re being hurt and can’t pull away. Pain becomes their oxygen.’

I really enjoyed the story of Viv and the mystery of why she was at Wildflower Cottage very much. The story is split between young Viv's life and her friends at the small animal shelter, and her Mother, Stel, at home. There are also the stories of Stel's friends, "The Spice Girls," Caro, Lynn, Iris, and Gaynor.
Stel is the designated dumb doormat in this one. Although a wonderful mother and generous, warm hearted person, She is needy and babyish when it comes to her daughter and especially men. Her entanglement with an evil abuser is totally avoidable every step of the way, so I didn't have much sympathy for her.

‘My mum is lovely,’ said Viv. ‘But where men are concerned, she has no sense at all. Luckily, she isn’t quite at the stage where she’s writing to serial killers in prison, though.’ She smiled and Geraldine chuckled softly. ‘She wants to be loved so much and so she believes everything men tell her, but she couldn’t spot a nice man if he had “nice man” tattooed on his face.’

Because of that though, her story did not frustrate or cause me anxiety (much.) Gaynor was a bitter mean person pretty much all the way through, but I loved Lynn and Iris's cheer-worthy tale, and Caro was awesome. It wasn't one of Milly's more hilarious novels, but I loved what humor there was. It kept me engaged and turning the pages eagerly anticipating the happy endings. **4 1/2**