Title

The title is different, creative I'd say, because you're playing around with the words and there's a deeper meaning behind it. Obviously, the character's head is not full of flowers so the flowers could literally be anything such as thoughts, questions or even emotions.

Cover

The cover is good. You've got a clear image of a young girl in the middle who I'm assuming is the main character. You have flowers coming out on the cover, some are newly bloomed and others are dying. From this, I'm assuming there is going to be death involved in the book somewhere. It's not a very bright cover due to the colours used. However, I can clearly see you've got the theme of young and old in it.

Blurb

The blurb is really good; you've got short, snappy introductions to both of the main characters which gives the reader some information but not too much. This does make me want to read more as I sense a lot of mystery and secrets being hidden. I'm curious to figure them out and find out what they are. Overall, your blurb does the job of interesting and attracting the readers.

First Chapter

Well I think it is safe to say that I was right about death occuring because the first chapter opens up with a funeral happening and the scene is very realistic as you have the immediate family along with those who barely knew the deceased who turn up anyways.

The beginning of the chapter makes the reader want to continue to read because it isn't known who has actually died until we read further. By that point, the main characters are mentioned but not introduced, so as a reader, we're still figuring them out and left wondering. I do feel like the first chapter is quite long, though, so you could consider shortening it or splitting it into two parts.

Plot / Theme

The plot was very interesting for me and moved at a reasonable pace, it seems like you've clearly planned the plot and constructed each chapter with effort. I was certainly shocked at finding out that Meredith had passed away, only two hours after spending time with Arabella.

I feel like you have done a great job with setting the scenes in each chapter and keeping it very realistic at the same time. I think I was more shocked when I found that she shot herself and ended her life. So many questions are running through my mind as I want to know, what is Meredith hiding and why would she take her own life?

I definitely didn't like how Stew lashed out at Arabella and started making her feel guilty about the death. I understand he's upset and has to deal with it but it's not really fair taking it out on her. Also, can I just say that Cindy and Ryan are the worst friends? The fact that Ryan, her boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend and they didn't feel any guilt that she caught them at it.

Writing

Your writing style is interesting and makes me enjoy reading the book without getting bored. You include descriptive language consistently throughout all the chapters and each chapter is well-constructed. I can clearly see that effort has been put into your work, and it has paid off because I like the book. One small area of improvement would be to check your spelling and grammar as all writers tend to make mistakes and typos.

Characters

I have to say that Meredith is a very odd character. She sees almost everything differently to how someone else would see it. Maybe this is because she is older and wiser, I'm not really sure. Her character is a bit of a mystery as it seems as though she has a strained relationship between her husband. The fact that she threw the flowers he brought her in the bin right in front of his face tells me she really doesn't care much and she seems stubborn as well.

Arabella seems to have a nice relationship with Meredith, seeing as she is her grandma. However, I do find it odd that she addresses her by her name and not Grandma. I felt very sorry for Arabella when she found out Meredith had passed because it literally broke her. This shows how close and important the relationship was between them. I also feel like Arabella doesn't have much of a relationship with her own mother; Meredith kind of played the maternal role for her instead.

Overall Impression

Overall, I very much enjoyed reading this book and will be adding this to my library. I am hoping to discover more hidden secrets throughout the book, and I'm curious to see how the plot will develop as well as the friendship between Arabella and Olivia because that's something new. Your writing style, characters, and plot development made this book a very good read, and I hope to continue reading this once you update it again.

Reviewed by: Pixie