Tahira in Bloom
Summary:
Life is full of surprises in a winning novel about a girl dreaming big during one unexpected small-town summer.
When seventeen-year-old aspiring designer Tahira Janmohammad’s coveted fashion internship falls through, her parents have a Plan B. Tahira will work in her aunt’s boutique in the small town of Bakewell, the flower capital of Ontario. It’s only for the summer, and she’ll get the experience she needs for her college application. Plus her best friend is coming along. It won’t be that bad.
But she just can’t deal with Rowan Johnston, the rude, totally obsessive garden-nerd next door with frayed cutoffs and terrible shoes. Not to mention his sharp jawline, smoldering eyes, and soft lips. So irritating. Rowan is also just the plant-boy Tahira needs to help win the Bakewell flower-arranging contest—an event that carries clout in New York City, of all places. And with designers, of all people. Connections that she needs!
No one is more surprised than Tahira to learn that floral design is almost as great as fashion design. And Rowan? Turns out he’s more than ironic shirts and soil under the fingernails. Tahira’s about to find out what she’s really made of—and made for. Because here in the middle of nowhere, Tahira is just beginning to bloom. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
This was a very fun one that reminded me as if it were The Big Flower Fight reality show meets Next in Fashion. Tahira is a coming-of-age character looking for her future. She thinks she had the dream setup, but when it falls through going to the countryside is not going to help her change the world of fashion. Of course, we need a counterpart to Tahira (and her sass) and that’s where Rowan comes into play. While not quite enemies, Rowan and Tahira do not start off on the right foot and initially becoming friends looks like a stretch.
As the summer progresses, we have both good, and bad, friendships evolve and Heron does a fantastic job picking up some lighter and heavier levels of conflict that gave this story a bit of extra depth (hooray representation!). Honestly, the flower arranging contest was fascinating and if this was a show, I’d watch it in a second.
Rating: 5 stars!
Who should read it? Anyone looking for a cozy romance with a touch of a contemporary enemies to lover.