The Art of Arranging Flowers by Lynne Branard

 I absolutely devoured The Art of Arranging Flowers by Lynne Branard.  I feel like this book will immediately be a hit with all book clubs as it is beautifully written, has lots of layers to the story, and will touch people's hearts.  If you loved "The Language of Flowers", you will probably love this book also!

I loved slowly getting to know our main character Ruby. We first meet Ruby in her florist shop in the small town of Creekwood helping a customer with his annual anniversary gift to his wife - yellow roses.  Ruby keeps track of her customer's anniversaries, birthdays, and other floral needs and will add special flowers or herbs to help their situations.  Not only is Ruby arranging flowers, but she is "someone so artful at arranging the hearts of others".  Flowers have been Ruby's salvation in dealing with her difficult past and her beloved sister's death.

I felt like I needed to slow down as I read this book to take in all the interesting characters - the astronaut, Cooper the floral supplier, Clementine Ruby's dog, her helper Nora, Jimmy the delivery man, the new veterinarian, the boy William, and all the different customers who come into the shop.  As we learn about how the flower's bloom, we also see Ruby's heart open and slowly become to bloom.

This is my favorite book that I've read this year and of course I highly recommend it!  5+ stars! Book clubs will love it.  I was lucky to get an advance copy of this book and was not paid to review this wonderful book!

From Amazon:

A moving and eloquent novel about love, grief, renewal—and the powerful language of flowers.

Ruby Jewell knows flowers. In her twenty years as a florist she has stood behind the counter at the Flower Shoppe with her faithful dog, Clementine, resting at her feet. A customer can walk in, and with just a glance or a few words, Ruby can throw together the perfect arrangement for any occasion.

Whether intended to rekindle a romance, mark a celebration, offer sympathy, or heal a broken heart, her expressive floral designs mark the moments and milestones in the lives of her neighbors. It’s as though she knows just what they want to say, just what they need.

Yet Ruby’s own heart’s desires have gone ignored since the death of her beloved sister. It will take an invitation from a man who’s flown to the moon, the arrival of a unique little boy, and concern from a charming veterinarian to reawaken her wounded spirit. Any life can be derailed, but the healing power of community can put it right again.

The One and Only by Emily Giffin

I will have to preface this review by telling you that I'm from Texas, am a huge college football fan and I have loved Emily Giffin's past novels!  So when I read the promotions & blurbs about this new novel, The One and Only by Emily Giffin - I couldn't wait to get my hands on it!

(I feel like Emily Giffin could be a friend so I'm going to call her Emily) Emily does a great job in developing our main character -  Shea Rigsby.  Shea is thirty-three and never married, very devoted to her best friend Lucy, obsessed with Walker football and worships Walker's head coach and Lucy's father Coach Carr.  When Lucy's mother dies, Shea starts to question the direction her life is going with her job, her loser boyfriend, and how there may be some "gray" areas in life.  Shea's beloved college program Walker becomes under the investigation of NCAA about recruiting violations.

My new best friend (in my dreams) & author Emily takes us on lots of hilarious twists and some uncomfortable turns with this story in the background of high stakes Texas college football.  I  kept checking the author page to see if Emily was from Texas as she did a great job of describing the  football atmosphere and Dallas!  (One thing I think Emily did get wrong - there is no way a Dallas Cowboy quarterback could date anybody without the press finding out - but other than that - I felt it was pretty accurate!)

I don't think this is the typical chick lit novel - the main plot line is a little uncomfortable but life can be uncomfortable sometimes, right?  This novel made me think and if my book club could get past all the football in this book (as not all my fellow readers all football fans), it could make a great discussion book.  I'd give The One & Only 4 1/2 stars - not 5 cause I don't think some fans will like all the football   references in the book.  I loved & devoured this book! Great summer beach read!


From Amazon:
Emily Giffin, the beloved author of such New York Times bestselling novels as Something Borrowed and Where We Belong, returns with an extraordinary story of love and loyalty—and an unconventional heroine struggling to reconcile both.
 
Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade.
 
But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.
 
Thoughtful, funny, and brilliantly observed, The One & Only is a luminous novel about finding your passion, following your heart, and, most of all, believing in something bigger than yourself . . . the one and only thing that truly makes life worth living.