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May Day Flowers
A tree falls in the forest — listen.
Ainsley is a dryad — a spirit of the woods and leader for the local magical community — whose yearly hibernation is turning into decades-long periods of sleep. She fears the worst for her earth-walking body and dares not think of next winter.
Fate has different plans, and it waits for none.
Priscilla — human, chronic daydreamer, and eternal sunshine — leads a relatively peaceful life after leaving an abusive past behind. She battles the scars of that time still, fighting random episodes of maladaptive daydreaming — yet always choosing to face them with a smile.
A simple misunderstanding lands Priscilla being roped into working as Ainsley’s event decorator for her best (and perhaps last) May Day Festival — despite the magical and mundane being kept separate for their safety.
Two people, two stories, two scars kept close to their hearts, two kindred souls finding each other in this silent forest.
Ainsley is a dryad — a spirit of the woods and leader for the local magical community — whose yearly hibernation is turning into decades-long periods of sleep. She fears the worst for her earth-walking body and dares not think of next winter.
Fate has different plans, and it waits for none.
Priscilla — human, chronic daydreamer, and eternal sunshine — leads a relatively peaceful life after leaving an abusive past behind. She battles the scars of that time still, fighting random episodes of maladaptive daydreaming — yet always choosing to face them with a smile.
A simple misunderstanding lands Priscilla being roped into working as Ainsley’s event decorator for her best (and perhaps last) May Day Festival — despite the magical and mundane being kept separate for their safety.
Two people, two stories, two scars kept close to their hearts, two kindred souls finding each other in this silent forest.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 8, 2024
29 people are currently reading
803 people want to read
About the author
Faeri Sami
1 book22 followersSami (they/them), self proclaimed fae royalty and hopeless romantic, is a queer Brazilian artist now residing in Scotland. Having worked in 2D animation, dabbled and published in comics, now they find their first writing challenge by doing what they love most: making their OCs kiss.
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April 24, 2024thank you for the ARC!
3,5/5
i loved the cottage-core/nature vibes, seeing the creations of priscilla as a decorator (a career path i once considered of following), the dynamic of the characters (one daydreaming of fantasy worlds and the other being part of said world)
both the artwork (helped with visualising) and the writing (quite whimsical and joyful i have to say) were beautiful
however, i found it kind of rushed, from the moment they met until the last chapter. i understand that romance stories (that im not a very big fun of, at least as the main plot) are supposed to be fast-paced and lighthearted, but i admit i wanted some of the themes to be explored more (mostly trauma related or fantasy details about the different creatures, as i haven't read anything with dryads before and found it very interesting)
i also understand the whole "we should focus on the future, move on and leave it behind" thing, that secures the happy ending, but i was hoping for a different kind of closure considering the corporation-environmental aspect of the story
im sure fans of the genre will love it
3,5/5
i loved the cottage-core/nature vibes, seeing the creations of priscilla as a decorator (a career path i once considered of following), the dynamic of the characters (one daydreaming of fantasy worlds and the other being part of said world)
both the artwork (helped with visualising) and the writing (quite whimsical and joyful i have to say) were beautiful
however, i found it kind of rushed, from the moment they met until the last chapter. i understand that romance stories (that im not a very big fun of, at least as the main plot) are supposed to be fast-paced and lighthearted, but i admit i wanted some of the themes to be explored more (mostly trauma related or fantasy details about the different creatures, as i haven't read anything with dryads before and found it very interesting)
i also understand the whole "we should focus on the future, move on and leave it behind" thing, that secures the happy ending, but i was hoping for a different kind of closure considering the corporation-environmental aspect of the story
im sure fans of the genre will love it
April 24, 2024
**4,75 stars rounded up
Thank you to the author for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This book was beyond anything I expected. I fell head over heals in love with Ainsley, Priscilla and their wonderful relationship. It was heartwarming seeing the way they came to care so deeply for each other and how Priscilla only fell even more in love with Ainsley after learning about her true self. The nicknames they called each other, they way they described the other in such endearing ways, the way they loved each other unconditionally, and the sex scenes gosh. They were so beautifully written and I adored reading about how much they worshipped each other, and communicated to to make sure no boundaries were crossed and the ultimate level of pleasure was provided. Dirty talk and the likes has never really been my cup of tea but this I really enjoyed reading, and this is coming from a usually sex-repulsed asexual.
Not only did I love Ainsley and Priscilla's relationship, I also loved them separately. Ainsley's calm and protective personality, and undying love for her community, friends and found family. Priscilla's curious, happy personality and found family relation with Orion and the rest of the Moor family. It was all so sweet.
Ainsley being a Dryad and connected to the birch tree was really cool and creative, and I would honestly love to know more about her and her past, as it seemed super interesting since she's lived as long as she has. I'm also just ridiculously in love with her, or as much as an aroace person can be. If she called me any of the things she called Pri I would quite simply fold. In the words of Lucy Moor "Woah! Giant tree lady!".
All the rep is also just awesome. Ainsley being enby, Priscilla being POC, plus sized and a lesbian and Orion being a trans guy. I've also never read a book with maladaptive daydreaming rep, so that was very nice as well!
This is not really about the story, but more about the book itself. I am beyond obsessed with the illustrations, they're beautiful!! Why isn't that a thing in more books, show me the characters please! As someone who can sometimes get uncomfortable reading about sex, I really appreciated the way Faeri Sami prepared the reader for the upcoming spice. All chapters including explicit sexual content were underlined, and an icon was visible next to the paragraph when things started to get steamy. It's such a small yet super inclusive thing, and it honestly made me really happy to see. That way I could mentally prepare for the upcoming sex, and even skip if I needed to. BIG BIG props to them for this.
I highly recommend everyone to read this book once it releases, which I know I've said a lot recently, but it's true none the less. This will be a very nice addition to any human x non-human romance lovers, and a very nice introduction to anyone who wants to dip their toes into the genre.
Thank you to the author for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This book was beyond anything I expected. I fell head over heals in love with Ainsley, Priscilla and their wonderful relationship. It was heartwarming seeing the way they came to care so deeply for each other and how Priscilla only fell even more in love with Ainsley after learning about her true self. The nicknames they called each other, they way they described the other in such endearing ways, the way they loved each other unconditionally, and the sex scenes gosh. They were so beautifully written and I adored reading about how much they worshipped each other, and communicated to to make sure no boundaries were crossed and the ultimate level of pleasure was provided. Dirty talk and the likes has never really been my cup of tea but this I really enjoyed reading, and this is coming from a usually sex-repulsed asexual.
Not only did I love Ainsley and Priscilla's relationship, I also loved them separately. Ainsley's calm and protective personality, and undying love for her community, friends and found family. Priscilla's curious, happy personality and found family relation with Orion and the rest of the Moor family. It was all so sweet.
Ainsley being a Dryad and connected to the birch tree was really cool and creative, and I would honestly love to know more about her and her past, as it seemed super interesting since she's lived as long as she has. I'm also just ridiculously in love with her, or as much as an aroace person can be. If she called me any of the things she called Pri I would quite simply fold. In the words of Lucy Moor "Woah! Giant tree lady!".
All the rep is also just awesome. Ainsley being enby, Priscilla being POC, plus sized and a lesbian and Orion being a trans guy. I've also never read a book with maladaptive daydreaming rep, so that was very nice as well!
This is not really about the story, but more about the book itself. I am beyond obsessed with the illustrations, they're beautiful!! Why isn't that a thing in more books, show me the characters please! As someone who can sometimes get uncomfortable reading about sex, I really appreciated the way Faeri Sami prepared the reader for the upcoming spice. All chapters including explicit sexual content were underlined, and an icon was visible next to the paragraph when things started to get steamy. It's such a small yet super inclusive thing, and it honestly made me really happy to see. That way I could mentally prepare for the upcoming sex, and even skip if I needed to. BIG BIG props to them for this.
I highly recommend everyone to read this book once it releases, which I know I've said a lot recently, but it's true none the less. This will be a very nice addition to any human x non-human romance lovers, and a very nice introduction to anyone who wants to dip their toes into the genre.
April 18, 2024
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
The aesthetic and fantasy element of the book was so beautiful and I loved all the different types of representation that were included. The writing was really good as well.
However the romance moved far too quickly for my personal taste. It also seemed like many things were left unexplained and several plotlines were abandoned in the end. The ending felt rushed basically.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light and cute romance book.
The aesthetic and fantasy element of the book was so beautiful and I loved all the different types of representation that were included. The writing was really good as well.
However the romance moved far too quickly for my personal taste. It also seemed like many things were left unexplained and several plotlines were abandoned in the end. The ending felt rushed basically.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light and cute romance book.
May 6, 2024
was afraid when picking up an indie book mostly described on aesthetics that this book would be exactly what it turned out to be. To be fair, I picked it up mostly for the sapphic F/NBi romantasy aspect. Was there a F/NBi couple? yes. Was there a romantasy? Well I was expecting a romance set in high fantasy world given the whole marketing but one of the protagonists is an interior designer, so there is that. And I guess it was a romance with fantasy elements so yes.
Listen, I feel bad for being negative about what's clearly a passion project. The author wanted a book that matched their aesthetics and imagery, where they could write the sex scenes they wanted and spread some body positivity. But as a book and as a romance, the plot and writing are lacking. The couple lacks chemistry, with a sped-up love story rushed to get to the sex scenes. As for the story, there's not a lot to chew on, even for a romance. There are hints of attempts to conflicts to create some tension but most fall flat. I don't say this often but this story could have likely worked better as a short story which is less demanding of plot and allows more polished writing and especially dialogues. The writing was trying to hard to create an atmosphere but I felt like I could see all the seams. I know I'm supposed to find things I liked so the illustrations were nice, the overall concept too. I feel like this could work for people who are less demanding than me and are in a mood for vibes over the rest
Listen, I feel bad for being negative about what's clearly a passion project. The author wanted a book that matched their aesthetics and imagery, where they could write the sex scenes they wanted and spread some body positivity. But as a book and as a romance, the plot and writing are lacking. The couple lacks chemistry, with a sped-up love story rushed to get to the sex scenes. As for the story, there's not a lot to chew on, even for a romance. There are hints of attempts to conflicts to create some tension but most fall flat. I don't say this often but this story could have likely worked better as a short story which is less demanding of plot and allows more polished writing and especially dialogues. The writing was trying to hard to create an atmosphere but I felt like I could see all the seams. I know I'm supposed to find things I liked so the illustrations were nice, the overall concept too. I feel like this could work for people who are less demanding than me and are in a mood for vibes over the rest
March 30, 2025
Read for the 2025 Trans Rights Readathon!
April 30, 2024
3.5 ✨️
This was given to me as an ARC and I couldn't be more grateful that Faeri selected me!
This book is lovely journey of a dyrad, a tree spirit who is unsure if they are going to survive the next hibernation, and a girl struggling with maladaptiv day dreaming and how they come together in the cutest of ways. Both Ainsley and Priscilla OWN my heart they were both so very very cute!
And gosh the illustrations!! Even tho not all final ones were included in the ARC I was still severly in love with them!! Immaculate art style, at times even reminiscent of 90s animes imo!
LOVE ME A FAT MC !!
And Priscilla's struggles with maladaptiv daydreaming were things I could relate to SO well! More than once it made me go "she is just like me!!!"
However despite all the lovely things about this book I didnt love it as much as I hoped it would.
I think my biggest critique is that despite having a non-binary character its never actually topic? Yes, its described in the past how Ainsley went with a male-looking appearance/name but in the time frame of the book Aisnley goes by she/her the entire time and even her close friends refer to her as a woman over and over again. I expected it to be more of a topic in sense of that Ainsley goes by he/him or they/them once in a while to also have Priscilla see this side of her.
Another point that I didnt like very much was that it was Duo-POV, which I usually LOVE but not when One sentence is this POV and the one following immediately a different POV. It just got confusing in my opinion and made it all a bit messy at times.
There were other things that bugged me but I think those might just be personal preference so I am not gonna mention them here!
Overall I thought this was genuinely a sweet book and I had a good time reading it! Thank you so much for this opportunity 🩷
This was given to me as an ARC and I couldn't be more grateful that Faeri selected me!
This book is lovely journey of a dyrad, a tree spirit who is unsure if they are going to survive the next hibernation, and a girl struggling with maladaptiv day dreaming and how they come together in the cutest of ways. Both Ainsley and Priscilla OWN my heart they were both so very very cute!
And gosh the illustrations!! Even tho not all final ones were included in the ARC I was still severly in love with them!! Immaculate art style, at times even reminiscent of 90s animes imo!
LOVE ME A FAT MC !!
And Priscilla's struggles with maladaptiv daydreaming were things I could relate to SO well! More than once it made me go "she is just like me!!!"
However despite all the lovely things about this book I didnt love it as much as I hoped it would.
I think my biggest critique is that despite having a non-binary character its never actually topic? Yes, its described in the past how Ainsley went with a male-looking appearance/name but in the time frame of the book Aisnley goes by she/her the entire time and even her close friends refer to her as a woman over and over again. I expected it to be more of a topic in sense of that Ainsley goes by he/him or they/them once in a while to also have Priscilla see this side of her.
Another point that I didnt like very much was that it was Duo-POV, which I usually LOVE but not when One sentence is this POV and the one following immediately a different POV. It just got confusing in my opinion and made it all a bit messy at times.
There were other things that bugged me but I think those might just be personal preference so I am not gonna mention them here!
Overall I thought this was genuinely a sweet book and I had a good time reading it! Thank you so much for this opportunity 🩷
May 16, 2024
ARC provided by author and publisher.
Firstly, I want to say congratulations to Faeri Sami for her debut book. I can tell so much passion went into writing it and I am glad I got to read this! I look forward to seeing what else they write.
(Spoilers avoided)
My overall impression is fairly positive. The quality of the words and descriptions were very dreamy and gave me a decent visualization of the characters. I enjoyed most of the characters involved and an exploration into a fae world I haven't seen before. The romance was beautiful and heartfelt. The illustrations also added much to the story.
There were several things I would want changed, however. I don't think I ever confidently figured out where this story took place. Based on context of where the author currently lives and some of the speech in the book, I imagine this is in Scotland/Ireland. Not fully knowing the setting of the book made it slightly disconnected for me. I also felt the romance moved extremely quickly and I did not get a chance to actually feel the chemistry between the main characters. There seemed to be a bonding time in their initial meeting, but the story jumped over it even though it was referenced a bit later.
Before reading this, I was not deeply familiar with the lore of dryads. I felt like there was an expectation to know them before the story began. I would have liked a bit more background information in the initial chapters so I could understand the gravity of the situations later presented and how exactly the magic community was tied together.
I also wasn't completely sold on the major conflict of the story and how it was concluded. What happened to the person who caused the disaster? What are the consequences of one of the character's self discoveries at the end? Why is there no further discussion of the consequences of the other main character possibly not coming back and what would happen to their romance?
Overall, I believe the author did their best job to capture an image of love, magic, and hope. I believe future work of this author will be worth reading once they find their footing in story writing. Thanks!
Firstly, I want to say congratulations to Faeri Sami for her debut book. I can tell so much passion went into writing it and I am glad I got to read this! I look forward to seeing what else they write.
(Spoilers avoided)
My overall impression is fairly positive. The quality of the words and descriptions were very dreamy and gave me a decent visualization of the characters. I enjoyed most of the characters involved and an exploration into a fae world I haven't seen before. The romance was beautiful and heartfelt. The illustrations also added much to the story.
There were several things I would want changed, however. I don't think I ever confidently figured out where this story took place. Based on context of where the author currently lives and some of the speech in the book, I imagine this is in Scotland/Ireland. Not fully knowing the setting of the book made it slightly disconnected for me. I also felt the romance moved extremely quickly and I did not get a chance to actually feel the chemistry between the main characters. There seemed to be a bonding time in their initial meeting, but the story jumped over it even though it was referenced a bit later.
Before reading this, I was not deeply familiar with the lore of dryads. I felt like there was an expectation to know them before the story began. I would have liked a bit more background information in the initial chapters so I could understand the gravity of the situations later presented and how exactly the magic community was tied together.
I also wasn't completely sold on the major conflict of the story and how it was concluded. What happened to the person who caused the disaster? What are the consequences of one of the character's self discoveries at the end? Why is there no further discussion of the consequences of the other main character possibly not coming back and what would happen to their romance?
Overall, I believe the author did their best job to capture an image of love, magic, and hope. I believe future work of this author will be worth reading once they find their footing in story writing. Thanks!
April 21, 2024
ARC reader here!
This book was an absolute delight to read! I constantly looked forward to reading more every day. The story was entertaining and I very quickly became attached to the main characters.
As a queer reader myself, the representation was so comforting and also quite well written! I enjoyed how real yet non-toxic the main romantic relationship felt. It even made me emotional a few times.
My only criticisms are that their relationship was a bit rushed (but that does not detract from the story too much) and that the ending felt a bit abrupt and not fully complete. I also wish there was a bit more general information about the magical world they lived in.
That being said, this book is still wonderful and everything it claims to be. I highly recommend it.
This book was an absolute delight to read! I constantly looked forward to reading more every day. The story was entertaining and I very quickly became attached to the main characters.
As a queer reader myself, the representation was so comforting and also quite well written! I enjoyed how real yet non-toxic the main romantic relationship felt. It even made me emotional a few times.
My only criticisms are that their relationship was a bit rushed (but that does not detract from the story too much) and that the ending felt a bit abrupt and not fully complete. I also wish there was a bit more general information about the magical world they lived in.
That being said, this book is still wonderful and everything it claims to be. I highly recommend it.
April 19, 2024
Review from the ARC team here !
This book has to be one of the few books that actually managed to grab my attention enough to finish fully, the flow was THAT good. The amount of emotions I felt while reading this was way lot more than I was expecting, I smiled, I cried, I... blushed-
Even if you're just looking for some nice, non toxic sapphic romance, this book is PERFECT for it !
I'm mostly a darker fantasy-gothic horror girlie but even that didn't deter me from reading :)
This book has to be one of the few books that actually managed to grab my attention enough to finish fully, the flow was THAT good. The amount of emotions I felt while reading this was way lot more than I was expecting, I smiled, I cried, I... blushed-
Even if you're just looking for some nice, non toxic sapphic romance, this book is PERFECT for it !
I'm mostly a darker fantasy-gothic horror girlie but even that didn't deter me from reading :)
April 10, 2024
Thanks a lot to the author, for giving me an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review!
CW: Sexual Content, Grief, Mentions of Past Emotional Abuse, Mentions of Past Death
4.5 / 5 Stars
While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, there's one thing that I didn't enjoy quite as much. That being: The transition from the final chapter to the epilogue. Let me clarify, I don't hate the epilogue itself, nor do I have an issue with its purpose for the story - which it executes admirably by the way. However, I can't help but feel that inserting just one more chapter between the two would have softened the abruptness of the transition. It's not to say I don't understand the function of epilogues - I do. Yet, still, the conclusion of the last chapter feels more like the end of a chapter rather than the end of the entire book.
...That being said,... I loved literally everything else. Probably, or maybe even mostly, because of everyting Priscilla is and embodies. I'm just some random reviewer, so my personal life probably means nothing to you, fellow reader, but as a fat, queer woman myself, who comes from an emotionally (and other) abusive household, well... let's just say, that reading about Priscilla's strength made me very emotional. Oftentimes, books that are supposed to be "hopefull" and "uplifting" don't quite hit the mark with me, because the things the characters are forced to say feels very general and unpersonal to them and the book itself. Almost like quoting google. This book though, and especially Priscilla, don't have that happen to them. I couldn't tell you how the author does it, but the way they wrote Priscilla was amazing.
Well, and then there's Ainsley, who'se also such an amazing character.
And their love story, just: beautiful. It was all things warm and nice and soft. And I guess, there's sex too. I considered skipping over them, but honestly, they were actually written so well, that the uncomfortable feeling I can get from reading smut wasn't even present for a moment.
Other things this book is doing that need to be mentioned: Consent & Communication are fucking sexy. Also, also: No stupid misunderstandings. Just cute sapphics (& evil cooperations : P)
There's so much love and care put into this book, not just towards the characters, but also the readers themselves. And I guess, I just wanted to finish this review by saying: Thank you.
Final Thoughts
This is a book about hope and love and support and it's fucking beautiful.
PS: There's stunning art in there, too!
CW: Sexual Content, Grief, Mentions of Past Emotional Abuse, Mentions of Past Death
4.5 / 5 Stars
While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, there's one thing that I didn't enjoy quite as much. That being: The transition from the final chapter to the epilogue. Let me clarify, I don't hate the epilogue itself, nor do I have an issue with its purpose for the story - which it executes admirably by the way. However, I can't help but feel that inserting just one more chapter between the two would have softened the abruptness of the transition. It's not to say I don't understand the function of epilogues - I do. Yet, still, the conclusion of the last chapter feels more like the end of a chapter rather than the end of the entire book.
...That being said,... I loved literally everything else. Probably, or maybe even mostly, because of everyting Priscilla is and embodies. I'm just some random reviewer, so my personal life probably means nothing to you, fellow reader, but as a fat, queer woman myself, who comes from an emotionally (and other) abusive household, well... let's just say, that reading about Priscilla's strength made me very emotional. Oftentimes, books that are supposed to be "hopefull" and "uplifting" don't quite hit the mark with me, because the things the characters are forced to say feels very general and unpersonal to them and the book itself. Almost like quoting google. This book though, and especially Priscilla, don't have that happen to them. I couldn't tell you how the author does it, but the way they wrote Priscilla was amazing.
Well, and then there's Ainsley, who'se also such an amazing character.
And their love story, just: beautiful. It was all things warm and nice and soft. And I guess, there's sex too. I considered skipping over them, but honestly, they were actually written so well, that the uncomfortable feeling I can get from reading smut wasn't even present for a moment.
Other things this book is doing that need to be mentioned: Consent & Communication are fucking sexy. Also, also: No stupid misunderstandings. Just cute sapphics (& evil cooperations : P)
There's so much love and care put into this book, not just towards the characters, but also the readers themselves. And I guess, I just wanted to finish this review by saying: Thank you.
Final Thoughts
This is a book about hope and love and support and it's fucking beautiful.
PS: There's stunning art in there, too!
May 11, 2024
"May Day Flowers" wasn't for me. That being said, it is a fantastic book. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a solid romantic fantasy novel. I think this could very easily become a lot of people's favorite book and favorite comfort read. It is enchanting and well written.
The reason it wasn't for me is because I can be very picky with my romance novels. It isn't the fault of the author or the book; in this case, it is my fault for simply not being in the right mindset for it. I'm sure if I were to reread it a year from now it would sit better with me.
I received a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinion is my own. Thank you to the author for the opportunity.
The reason it wasn't for me is because I can be very picky with my romance novels. It isn't the fault of the author or the book; in this case, it is my fault for simply not being in the right mindset for it. I'm sure if I were to reread it a year from now it would sit better with me.
I received a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinion is my own. Thank you to the author for the opportunity.
May 13, 2024
A dryad and a party decorater fall for each other in the cutest ways possible.
May day flowers had me enchanted from chapter one, I love reading books where the fae are just living around humans and they try and keep it hidden, I think this book was written wonderfully and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
May day flowers had me enchanted from chapter one, I love reading books where the fae are just living around humans and they try and keep it hidden, I think this book was written wonderfully and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
April 30, 2024
Really beautiful prose, illustrations, and story. I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a cozy (and spicy) time! 💖✨
July 30, 2024
Where do I even begin with this beautiful piece of art.
Maybe the cover? CRUSHED IT. LOVELY. I'd put it on my fridge if I had one. The fact that the author is also the artist is amazing and gives the story so much heart and soul! The illustrations was one of my favorite parts.
But also just the cherry on top of a heartfelt, emotional story about love in all of its forms and trying to survive in your own way. The message of the author is hopeful and the tale of the characters more that beautiful. I was lured in by the cottagecore and coquettecore aesthetic and stayed for the care and love put into these characters and their wholesome relationship.
Well, maybe the illustrated spicy scenes played a huge role as well, but that was a rare treat okay.
If I had to nitpick, I wish the author would have taken a bit more time with establishing and building the main character's affection for each other. You can see why they become infatuated, but to me personally, there could have been a bit more buildup to make it really convincing. Although I understand that the premise of the story might have needed a quick development, I would have enjoyed a few more chapters of them falling for each other.
But the book overall? More of this. Desperately. I recommend this book to anyone. Even to those, who want to skip the spice, since the author explicitly marks these sections and skipping them doesn't take away from the story.
What a time to be sapphic, man.
Maybe the cover? CRUSHED IT. LOVELY. I'd put it on my fridge if I had one. The fact that the author is also the artist is amazing and gives the story so much heart and soul! The illustrations was one of my favorite parts.
But also just the cherry on top of a heartfelt, emotional story about love in all of its forms and trying to survive in your own way. The message of the author is hopeful and the tale of the characters more that beautiful. I was lured in by the cottagecore and coquettecore aesthetic and stayed for the care and love put into these characters and their wholesome relationship.
Well, maybe the illustrated spicy scenes played a huge role as well, but that was a rare treat okay.
If I had to nitpick, I wish the author would have taken a bit more time with establishing and building the main character's affection for each other. You can see why they become infatuated, but to me personally, there could have been a bit more buildup to make it really convincing. Although I understand that the premise of the story might have needed a quick development, I would have enjoyed a few more chapters of them falling for each other.
But the book overall? More of this. Desperately. I recommend this book to anyone. Even to those, who want to skip the spice, since the author explicitly marks these sections and skipping them doesn't take away from the story.
What a time to be sapphic, man.
May 1, 2024
I was given an ARC with the goal to provide an honest review.
While the bones of the story is intriguing, my biggest issue is the author’s writing style and habit of telling us what the characters think and feel instead of showing. At times it felt like the characters were being moved around the story like dolls. Although it wasn’t my cup of tea, I can imagine those who want a simple easy read would love this.
I enjoyed the characters themselves, but the plot and pacing gave me some issues. Some plot lines fell through the cracks and others felt rushed. More specifically the ending and epilogue picks up pace tremendously in comparison to the rest of the story.
Reading this book it is apparent that the author is full of passion for the story and their characters. It is because of this that I am genuinely interested in future writing projects, especially to see how their writing can improve.
While the bones of the story is intriguing, my biggest issue is the author’s writing style and habit of telling us what the characters think and feel instead of showing. At times it felt like the characters were being moved around the story like dolls. Although it wasn’t my cup of tea, I can imagine those who want a simple easy read would love this.
I enjoyed the characters themselves, but the plot and pacing gave me some issues. Some plot lines fell through the cracks and others felt rushed. More specifically the ending and epilogue picks up pace tremendously in comparison to the rest of the story.
Reading this book it is apparent that the author is full of passion for the story and their characters. It is because of this that I am genuinely interested in future writing projects, especially to see how their writing can improve.
April 25, 2024
ARC review provided by the author
First off, congratulations on your debut! You can tell a lot of thought and love went into writing it, and it's a fantastic accomplishment in itself to write your own book.
I enjoyed the overall story. The characters were decently fleshed out, and I enjoyed learning about them. The location was described gloriously - I am terrible at visualising sometimes, but all of the settings were explained with such detail that it made them easy to picture in my head.
I agree with a lot of other reviewers that the book overall felt rushed. I found myself questioning if I had missed bits because the main characters' relationship seemed to have progressed so quickly. I was also hoping for more closure in the ending, as a few plot points seemed to have been left unresolved.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable read. I would certainly read more from you in the future.
First off, congratulations on your debut! You can tell a lot of thought and love went into writing it, and it's a fantastic accomplishment in itself to write your own book.
I enjoyed the overall story. The characters were decently fleshed out, and I enjoyed learning about them. The location was described gloriously - I am terrible at visualising sometimes, but all of the settings were explained with such detail that it made them easy to picture in my head.
I agree with a lot of other reviewers that the book overall felt rushed. I found myself questioning if I had missed bits because the main characters' relationship seemed to have progressed so quickly. I was also hoping for more closure in the ending, as a few plot points seemed to have been left unresolved.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable read. I would certainly read more from you in the future.
April 23, 2024
So, first and foremost thanks so much for FaeriSami for sending me the ARC, bucket list moment worthy for sure!
Before I start the review, I want to preface that 1. I’m new to good reads but am an avid reader. If it seems a wee suspicious that I’m posting a review from a blank account, know this book was worth me making an account for this occasion. 2. Most of this review is based on personal preference, opinion not fact, and I’m taking into account that this is the debut work of an independent author, and as such it may not be as fully polished and bedazzled as a novel written by someone backed by a company and checked by professional editors. In a way, I find it makes this book a bit more ‘true’ to the author’s vision and heart. There have been less people asking for changes and tweaks to characters and stories, this book and all of its words have come from FaeriSami’s own imagination and heart, I find something truly beautiful about that. 3. I’ve broken my review into segments, sorry if that’s annoying it’s just how I find it easiest to do. At the end there’s a bit labeled by “SPOILERS” so you know I’ll be talking more in depth about the happenings of the story and characters, otherwise the rest of the review is just general without getting into plot specifics.
Writing:
Overall, the writing and word usage of May Day Flowers is very descriptive and fittingly: flowery. The way the author writes gives the book a very whimsical and dreamlike quality. Of course, there are a few typos and a few instances where words became a bit overused in the text, nothing that isn’t to be expected from a debut novel by an indie creator. I felt the flow of the book was alright, though the pacing shifted here and there between slow and jumping over a lot of prime character development and interaction opportunities. The author spends a good amount of time describing scenes, and outfits, that can be a wee long- but then I remember how Tolkien’s descriptions run on. It must be a fantasy thing, but more I assume derived from the authors talent in the world of illustration. Sami sees the image and they describe it thusly as they would an illustration. (I highly recommend their art for those curious!)
Characters: the characters of May Day Flowers are Well described, and I feel like even had Sami not included illustrations into their novel, I’d have been able to accurately picture the characters. However, when it came to how they were written, I found many of them a little 2-Dimensional for me. The main Characters are decently likeable and you can feel for them both, though I personally found more of a connection to Ainsley than Priscilla. I do wish though, that we got to see more character interactions, this came up quite a bit in my notes. What we see of the characters are fun and enjoyable, but I found I never really got ‘enough’ of them. When it came to the Romance between the two main characters, I feel like things moved a bit quickly. A lot of their relationship is /told/ to us and not so much shown. And what was shown was really enjoyable and I was always hoping for more between them than just the spicy scenes. Now granted, being a romance novel we go into this knowing these two will be a couple in the end, and the promotional materials for the novel very clearly focus on their relationship as established. It’s understandable the author wanted to skip to them being in the relationship as that’s what the focus was about, but I just wish there was a little more of them in the lead up. Also on the topic of characters, there are a bountiful number of side characters that are also well described, some more than others. And I personally, am hoping we see a sequel set in this world about Orion because he caught my interest off the bat- maybe it’s just the Edgelord in me, maybe it was the constant sass this man put out but Orion quickly became the favorite for me.
Pacing: I kind of went over this in the above points, there is A LOT of good in this novel, I think what holds it back most is that so much is not shown but /told/ to us. It seems like maybe a struggle between the desire for the flowery descriptive prose to set the stage, but it seems like we get the smallest vignettes of characters interacting and then are swiftly moved into descriptors to change the scene. It left me craving just more of the characters doing small mundane things and having more conversations. It lends to the novel as a whole having a bit of a choppy pacing, some chapters there’s a strong clear flow, others are more slices of scenes.
-Conflict and Antagonist: May Day Flowers promotional materials marketed the novel as not having a true villain/antagonist and that the main conflict would be an outside source beyond the characters control, and that was honestly a nice change of pace for me. But, there was a lot of set up and moments that occurred that set the stage for there being an actual corporeal villain, and while some of the conflict was out of character control- others can be argued otherwise.(I go more in depth on this in the SPOILER section below) the inclusions of these scenes reads as set up for the unveiling of a mastermind villain almost and the lack of it coming to fruition lends to an almost “unfinished” feel. They could of course lend for wonderful hooks of the author wishes to pursue sequels, but I’d have loved to see a few of them resolved here where they relate to the main characters.
Illustrations: they’re gorgeous. I know the ARC copy is missing some of the illustrations, but the ones included are stunning. (I do hope the final release has more candid-pic or Slice of Life type images, spice is nice but I’m a sucker for ship fluff personally.)
SPOILER CONTENT:
Ok, getting into the spoiler territory, much like other points in the novel I feel like Priscilla’s maladaptive daydreams are again told and not shown, we see 2 moments where the daydreams occur for sure, are told about them in many points, and others im not sure if they’re moments of maladaptive daydreaming or if they’re simply the authors favoring for a more descriptive narrative. All of which are good things in and of themselves- don’t get me wrong! But the coupling of these factors makes it a little harder to understand and muddles the narrative. Ainsley’s predicament of not know if the next time she falls asleep will be her last ends up seeming like a much more understandable and worrisome scenario by comparison. And I think that rather than being able to make the comparison between the 2 main characters, we should be able to draw more parallels that draw them together. It overall seems that Ainsleys ailment is focused on more than Priscilla’s but again it may just be that I didn’t pick up on what was a daydreaming moment verses flowery prose.
On the topic of Ainsley and also villains, the book spent quite a bit of time building up Grey Granite, developing the mindset of Blair Ingram and set them up as the villain and the unwilling accomplice. And in the end it was Ingram that caused the fire, the main ending conflict for the characters to overcome (excluding Ainsley’s hibernation) which in my opinion lands more in the ‘villainy’ camp than outside forces. The book also sets up Ainsley’s erratic hibernation pattern as almost a mystery, especially when it brings up the letters from other dryads. At one point o got the impression of Ainsley having an almost contect-the-dots moment while reading them that may be explored later- and with the set up of Grey Granite I was almost expecting it to almost be an answer to where the Dryads went. And maybe it is but is more of a hint intentionally.
Overall, May Day Flowers is a wonderful read, even for someone who’s at home amongst the beasties and fiends of horror novels like me. There are its issues in plot and character writing, but it’s a debut. It’s indie. And most importantly, it’s a passion project. You can feel how much love FaeriSami put into evoking the warm spring feeling into the lines of this book. It’s spoken from their heart directly onto the paper, unaltered by other minds. There’s something ephemeral and wonderful about that. If you’re willing to take into account this book and any flaws it may have, you’re very well likely to find something truly inspiring and worthy of adding to your shelves.
Before I start the review, I want to preface that 1. I’m new to good reads but am an avid reader. If it seems a wee suspicious that I’m posting a review from a blank account, know this book was worth me making an account for this occasion. 2. Most of this review is based on personal preference, opinion not fact, and I’m taking into account that this is the debut work of an independent author, and as such it may not be as fully polished and bedazzled as a novel written by someone backed by a company and checked by professional editors. In a way, I find it makes this book a bit more ‘true’ to the author’s vision and heart. There have been less people asking for changes and tweaks to characters and stories, this book and all of its words have come from FaeriSami’s own imagination and heart, I find something truly beautiful about that. 3. I’ve broken my review into segments, sorry if that’s annoying it’s just how I find it easiest to do. At the end there’s a bit labeled by “SPOILERS” so you know I’ll be talking more in depth about the happenings of the story and characters, otherwise the rest of the review is just general without getting into plot specifics.
Writing:
Overall, the writing and word usage of May Day Flowers is very descriptive and fittingly: flowery. The way the author writes gives the book a very whimsical and dreamlike quality. Of course, there are a few typos and a few instances where words became a bit overused in the text, nothing that isn’t to be expected from a debut novel by an indie creator. I felt the flow of the book was alright, though the pacing shifted here and there between slow and jumping over a lot of prime character development and interaction opportunities. The author spends a good amount of time describing scenes, and outfits, that can be a wee long- but then I remember how Tolkien’s descriptions run on. It must be a fantasy thing, but more I assume derived from the authors talent in the world of illustration. Sami sees the image and they describe it thusly as they would an illustration. (I highly recommend their art for those curious!)
Characters: the characters of May Day Flowers are Well described, and I feel like even had Sami not included illustrations into their novel, I’d have been able to accurately picture the characters. However, when it came to how they were written, I found many of them a little 2-Dimensional for me. The main Characters are decently likeable and you can feel for them both, though I personally found more of a connection to Ainsley than Priscilla. I do wish though, that we got to see more character interactions, this came up quite a bit in my notes. What we see of the characters are fun and enjoyable, but I found I never really got ‘enough’ of them. When it came to the Romance between the two main characters, I feel like things moved a bit quickly. A lot of their relationship is /told/ to us and not so much shown. And what was shown was really enjoyable and I was always hoping for more between them than just the spicy scenes. Now granted, being a romance novel we go into this knowing these two will be a couple in the end, and the promotional materials for the novel very clearly focus on their relationship as established. It’s understandable the author wanted to skip to them being in the relationship as that’s what the focus was about, but I just wish there was a little more of them in the lead up. Also on the topic of characters, there are a bountiful number of side characters that are also well described, some more than others. And I personally, am hoping we see a sequel set in this world about Orion because he caught my interest off the bat- maybe it’s just the Edgelord in me, maybe it was the constant sass this man put out but Orion quickly became the favorite for me.
Pacing: I kind of went over this in the above points, there is A LOT of good in this novel, I think what holds it back most is that so much is not shown but /told/ to us. It seems like maybe a struggle between the desire for the flowery descriptive prose to set the stage, but it seems like we get the smallest vignettes of characters interacting and then are swiftly moved into descriptors to change the scene. It left me craving just more of the characters doing small mundane things and having more conversations. It lends to the novel as a whole having a bit of a choppy pacing, some chapters there’s a strong clear flow, others are more slices of scenes.
-Conflict and Antagonist: May Day Flowers promotional materials marketed the novel as not having a true villain/antagonist and that the main conflict would be an outside source beyond the characters control, and that was honestly a nice change of pace for me. But, there was a lot of set up and moments that occurred that set the stage for there being an actual corporeal villain, and while some of the conflict was out of character control- others can be argued otherwise.(I go more in depth on this in the SPOILER section below) the inclusions of these scenes reads as set up for the unveiling of a mastermind villain almost and the lack of it coming to fruition lends to an almost “unfinished” feel. They could of course lend for wonderful hooks of the author wishes to pursue sequels, but I’d have loved to see a few of them resolved here where they relate to the main characters.
Illustrations: they’re gorgeous. I know the ARC copy is missing some of the illustrations, but the ones included are stunning. (I do hope the final release has more candid-pic or Slice of Life type images, spice is nice but I’m a sucker for ship fluff personally.)
SPOILER CONTENT:
Ok, getting into the spoiler territory, much like other points in the novel I feel like Priscilla’s maladaptive daydreams are again told and not shown, we see 2 moments where the daydreams occur for sure, are told about them in many points, and others im not sure if they’re moments of maladaptive daydreaming or if they’re simply the authors favoring for a more descriptive narrative. All of which are good things in and of themselves- don’t get me wrong! But the coupling of these factors makes it a little harder to understand and muddles the narrative. Ainsley’s predicament of not know if the next time she falls asleep will be her last ends up seeming like a much more understandable and worrisome scenario by comparison. And I think that rather than being able to make the comparison between the 2 main characters, we should be able to draw more parallels that draw them together. It overall seems that Ainsleys ailment is focused on more than Priscilla’s but again it may just be that I didn’t pick up on what was a daydreaming moment verses flowery prose.
On the topic of Ainsley and also villains, the book spent quite a bit of time building up Grey Granite, developing the mindset of Blair Ingram and set them up as the villain and the unwilling accomplice. And in the end it was Ingram that caused the fire, the main ending conflict for the characters to overcome (excluding Ainsley’s hibernation) which in my opinion lands more in the ‘villainy’ camp than outside forces. The book also sets up Ainsley’s erratic hibernation pattern as almost a mystery, especially when it brings up the letters from other dryads. At one point o got the impression of Ainsley having an almost contect-the-dots moment while reading them that may be explored later- and with the set up of Grey Granite I was almost expecting it to almost be an answer to where the Dryads went. And maybe it is but is more of a hint intentionally.
Overall, May Day Flowers is a wonderful read, even for someone who’s at home amongst the beasties and fiends of horror novels like me. There are its issues in plot and character writing, but it’s a debut. It’s indie. And most importantly, it’s a passion project. You can feel how much love FaeriSami put into evoking the warm spring feeling into the lines of this book. It’s spoken from their heart directly onto the paper, unaltered by other minds. There’s something ephemeral and wonderful about that. If you’re willing to take into account this book and any flaws it may have, you’re very well likely to find something truly inspiring and worthy of adding to your shelves.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 15, 2024
First things first I would like everyone to know that I am not a crier. I rarely cry. I say that because currently there are dried tears of joy on my cheeks as I sit to write this review. I also very rarely read romance. I used to hate the genre… Probably because most of the romance I knew of was straight white and very vanilla. This book was everything else. The main character, Ainsley (Super neat name) Was straight out of my Fairy coded dreams (I sleep on mushroom sheets, so sue me.) A Non-Binary character that carries that energy no matter what she is doing was a joy to see. The love interest, Pricilla, was a joy of a character who grew into so much more as the story progressed. Though I can tell the writer is new to the art form, I hope she never stops. Her world is built with loving hands and the adoration for the characters is so central to the story it drapes about their proud shoulders like a mantle, As if the story was built only to gift us with these fantastic characters. I cannot wait to see more from this author and I will happily be putting this book on my re-read shelf alongside other cozy beautiful favorites.
May 9, 2024
!! I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a review !!
Rating: 3/5 Stars
TL;DR: A very promising debut novel. Short and sweet, with memorable characters, good sex scenes, and all together just a beautiful book. I think a lot of my problems can be summed up in two ways: Firstly, there are a lot of problems with plot progression. Secondly, this book has some technical errors and would've done better with some more beta reading and editing.
I will get into the negatives first, before going into the positives.
My main issue is the pace in which the plot comes through to you. High stakes are dropped too quickly and relationships are formed somewhat inorganically fast. Being a short novel, I understand wanting to get to large plot points quicker than longer pieces of work. However, things like Ainsley and Priscilla's relationship went so fast that it was almost disappointing. I do not personally care for romance novels in which they /only/ get together at the end, I like exploring the relationship in the actual text. But I still do enjoy pining, yearning, and the natural development of a relationship. I really would've loved to see more build-up to Ainsley and Priscilla getting together.
I was also disappointed that things like Ainsley's true identity were settled much quicker, and the reveal felt lukewarm. The first few chapters build up so much anxiety around the subject only to have it be swiftly and rather cleanly settled all of a sudden.
I wish there was a bit more tension with Ainsley's identity. Something I would've loved to see is to make the conflict with Gray Granite put pressure on Ainsley to reveal her identity to Priscilla. Perhaps to explain why GG is pressuring Ainsley, and why Ainsley is so insistent on not giving in to their demands, Ainsley would have to use this conflict to reveal her identity to Priscilla. That way the stakes of the plot not only go hand in hand, but there's also enough time to give both things their due attention.
The second issue I had was issues with awkward prose, hard to understand sentences, and quite a few technical errors. I do not mind things like spelling and grammatical errors on a surface level, in fact some of the best advice I've heard from writing professors in my time is that technical errors are the last thing you should worry about in your creative writing. But at times these errors can cause sentences to become hard to follow and muddy their meaning.
This can also damage the prose the story is written in. May Day Flowers seems to borrow techniques from more flowery literature, such as books written in the Victorian era. I have spent a lot of time with historical writings, especially Victorian Lit, in college, so I find myself rather keen at identifying this kind of prose. In the first third of the book this prose has moments of being extremely awkward and hard to follow. I found this problem exceptionally obvious in a lot of Ainsley's POVs. I'm not sure if it was intentional, but sometimes following Ainsley was difficult. This is a problem that seems to settle itself out as the book progresses.
I do have some minor nitpicks that I'll just place here. My first one is dancing around established mythos for fae creatures and the like. The best example of this is when Ainsley says iron harming fae is a common myth. I think it would add just a bit more fun to the story and characters if they were working within the constraints of established fae mythology. It can definitely crop up some interesting/funny/cute moments. My second is the witches and their divination. I really liked characters like Estelle most of the time, but sometimes their ability to read the future/the world around them felt kind of contrived and hard to believe.
Now that that's out of the way, the things I really really liked!
First of all, the characterization is EXTREMELY strong. The characters are easy to fall in love with the moment they're introduced. Personalities blaze through the page the moment a character speaks for the first time. You know exactly what to expect. It's hard to choose a favorite out of the cast.
Besides the aforementioned pacing issues from before, once characters had established relationships they were well written and very engaging. Ainsley and Estelle, Orion and Priscilla, even the relationships between minor side characters held a lot of charm and intrigue.
Something else deserving of praise is the way the sex scenes are written. I'm picky about sex scenes, maybe not as much as some but I can get easily squicked out by poorly written sex. The sexual scenes in May Day Flowers were beautifully written. The flowery prose mentioned before really strengthened these scenes to give them a sense of intimacy and beauty. Not to mention, monster lesbians in love will always win my heart in the end.
And of course it can not be forgotten that the illustrations in this book were beautiful. While the words often did a perfect job at painting visualizations of the narrative, the illustrations were a wonderful extra treat! I'm always sad that books with illustrations are seen as geared towards children, as drawings can add so much character (especially in a fantasy story). So having an erotic novel with beautiful art to go along with it is a breath of fresh air.
Besides pacing issues and some problems that would've definitely been solved with more beta reading and editing, I really enjoyed this book! A quick and cute read with memorable characters that will give you butterflies.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
TL;DR: A very promising debut novel. Short and sweet, with memorable characters, good sex scenes, and all together just a beautiful book. I think a lot of my problems can be summed up in two ways: Firstly, there are a lot of problems with plot progression. Secondly, this book has some technical errors and would've done better with some more beta reading and editing.
I will get into the negatives first, before going into the positives.
My main issue is the pace in which the plot comes through to you. High stakes are dropped too quickly and relationships are formed somewhat inorganically fast. Being a short novel, I understand wanting to get to large plot points quicker than longer pieces of work. However, things like Ainsley and Priscilla's relationship went so fast that it was almost disappointing. I do not personally care for romance novels in which they /only/ get together at the end, I like exploring the relationship in the actual text. But I still do enjoy pining, yearning, and the natural development of a relationship. I really would've loved to see more build-up to Ainsley and Priscilla getting together.
I was also disappointed that things like Ainsley's true identity were settled much quicker, and the reveal felt lukewarm. The first few chapters build up so much anxiety around the subject only to have it be swiftly and rather cleanly settled all of a sudden.
I wish there was a bit more tension with Ainsley's identity. Something I would've loved to see is to make the conflict with Gray Granite put pressure on Ainsley to reveal her identity to Priscilla. Perhaps to explain why GG is pressuring Ainsley, and why Ainsley is so insistent on not giving in to their demands, Ainsley would have to use this conflict to reveal her identity to Priscilla. That way the stakes of the plot not only go hand in hand, but there's also enough time to give both things their due attention.
The second issue I had was issues with awkward prose, hard to understand sentences, and quite a few technical errors. I do not mind things like spelling and grammatical errors on a surface level, in fact some of the best advice I've heard from writing professors in my time is that technical errors are the last thing you should worry about in your creative writing. But at times these errors can cause sentences to become hard to follow and muddy their meaning.
This can also damage the prose the story is written in. May Day Flowers seems to borrow techniques from more flowery literature, such as books written in the Victorian era. I have spent a lot of time with historical writings, especially Victorian Lit, in college, so I find myself rather keen at identifying this kind of prose. In the first third of the book this prose has moments of being extremely awkward and hard to follow. I found this problem exceptionally obvious in a lot of Ainsley's POVs. I'm not sure if it was intentional, but sometimes following Ainsley was difficult. This is a problem that seems to settle itself out as the book progresses.
I do have some minor nitpicks that I'll just place here. My first one is dancing around established mythos for fae creatures and the like. The best example of this is when Ainsley says iron harming fae is a common myth. I think it would add just a bit more fun to the story and characters if they were working within the constraints of established fae mythology. It can definitely crop up some interesting/funny/cute moments. My second is the witches and their divination. I really liked characters like Estelle most of the time, but sometimes their ability to read the future/the world around them felt kind of contrived and hard to believe.
Now that that's out of the way, the things I really really liked!
First of all, the characterization is EXTREMELY strong. The characters are easy to fall in love with the moment they're introduced. Personalities blaze through the page the moment a character speaks for the first time. You know exactly what to expect. It's hard to choose a favorite out of the cast.
Besides the aforementioned pacing issues from before, once characters had established relationships they were well written and very engaging. Ainsley and Estelle, Orion and Priscilla, even the relationships between minor side characters held a lot of charm and intrigue.
Something else deserving of praise is the way the sex scenes are written. I'm picky about sex scenes, maybe not as much as some but I can get easily squicked out by poorly written sex. The sexual scenes in May Day Flowers were beautifully written. The flowery prose mentioned before really strengthened these scenes to give them a sense of intimacy and beauty. Not to mention, monster lesbians in love will always win my heart in the end.
And of course it can not be forgotten that the illustrations in this book were beautiful. While the words often did a perfect job at painting visualizations of the narrative, the illustrations were a wonderful extra treat! I'm always sad that books with illustrations are seen as geared towards children, as drawings can add so much character (especially in a fantasy story). So having an erotic novel with beautiful art to go along with it is a breath of fresh air.
Besides pacing issues and some problems that would've definitely been solved with more beta reading and editing, I really enjoyed this book! A quick and cute read with memorable characters that will give you butterflies.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2024
First of all, I would like to say thank you to the author who so graciously gave me an e-arc of this book. I absolutely meant to read and review it before now but life simply got in the way. Better late than never right?
My first disclaimer before this review is this is (to my knowledge) the first self publish romance novel I've ever read. I'm not entirely sure whats considered standard for self pub and what isn't, so absolutely take that into consideration when reading this review.
Now the book itself... I have so many mixed feelings.
Sami's prose was beautiful and their characters extremely lovable. I found some pieces of dialogue clumsy but more often than not it was wonderfully written. I will say if you aren't a fan of extremely purple prose this won't be for you, but depending on the day I do happen to fuck with flowery language, so that wasn't really an issue for me.
The characters were quirky and cute, and their interpersonal relationships were so much fun to read. There's a part of me that wishes every character had just a smidge more character development though. I already like them, but most side characters felt very surface level and I never felt like I truly understood the main characters. It seems like the author was setting up for this to be a series of interconnected stories so hey maybe in later novels I would get that character developement I was craving, but its a shame I didn't feel it here.
As I see it the biggest issue I had with this books was the opening chapters. Its where the clumsiest writing was, and it honestly failed to really pull me in. I was absolutely determined to finish the book so I kept reading but had this not been an arc I would've dnf'd it. It simply felt like too much exposition and not enough anything else. Characters would interrupt conversations they were having to have internal monologues about how the world works and it was just not working for me. I know that it was all information the reader needed to learn and exposition heavy openings are common but there had to be a better way to do it.
I am glad I didn't dnf the book. Priscilla and Ainsley were such sweet characters to read from, and their magical found family was everything I wanted it to be. It is a bit insta-love-y but honestly in a romance novel that's not the worst thing. Having these two characters practically worship each other from the beginning really worked for me.
The art in this novel was also absolutely gorgeous. Apparently my e-arc was missing a few pieces and I'm genuinely sad about that, the art was such a highlight for me personally!!
Overall a fun (and hot) read but probably not something I'll be rereading in the future.
Thank you again to the author for sending me an arc, hopefully its alright that my review is a week late lol
My first disclaimer before this review is this is (to my knowledge) the first self publish romance novel I've ever read. I'm not entirely sure whats considered standard for self pub and what isn't, so absolutely take that into consideration when reading this review.
Now the book itself... I have so many mixed feelings.
Sami's prose was beautiful and their characters extremely lovable. I found some pieces of dialogue clumsy but more often than not it was wonderfully written. I will say if you aren't a fan of extremely purple prose this won't be for you, but depending on the day I do happen to fuck with flowery language, so that wasn't really an issue for me.
The characters were quirky and cute, and their interpersonal relationships were so much fun to read. There's a part of me that wishes every character had just a smidge more character development though. I already like them, but most side characters felt very surface level and I never felt like I truly understood the main characters. It seems like the author was setting up for this to be a series of interconnected stories so hey maybe in later novels I would get that character developement I was craving, but its a shame I didn't feel it here.
As I see it the biggest issue I had with this books was the opening chapters. Its where the clumsiest writing was, and it honestly failed to really pull me in. I was absolutely determined to finish the book so I kept reading but had this not been an arc I would've dnf'd it. It simply felt like too much exposition and not enough anything else. Characters would interrupt conversations they were having to have internal monologues about how the world works and it was just not working for me. I know that it was all information the reader needed to learn and exposition heavy openings are common but there had to be a better way to do it.
I am glad I didn't dnf the book. Priscilla and Ainsley were such sweet characters to read from, and their magical found family was everything I wanted it to be. It is a bit insta-love-y but honestly in a romance novel that's not the worst thing. Having these two characters practically worship each other from the beginning really worked for me.
The art in this novel was also absolutely gorgeous. Apparently my e-arc was missing a few pieces and I'm genuinely sad about that, the art was such a highlight for me personally!!
Overall a fun (and hot) read but probably not something I'll be rereading in the future.
Thank you again to the author for sending me an arc, hopefully its alright that my review is a week late lol
November 19, 2025
This was one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read 🥹💗 It left me with so much warmth in my heart and I’m going to have to thank my best friend, Martina for reccing it to me 🫶💗
The art was gorgeous enough and it’s not just the cover, there’s several gorgeously illustrated scenes throughout, mostly from intimate moments between Ainsley and Priscilla. I couldn’t wait to see if the book was as beautiful as the art and it was. May Day Flowers is a very sweet, emotional, tender romance with an enchanting, ethereal, reminiscing, and basically a fairytale / cottagecore feel. It’s magical.
Ainsley and Priscilla are wonderfully healthy and sweet together. Their romance is very emotional as they get to know each other and open up. They’re honest, communicate, trust each other, value consent, and refer to each other with beautiful expressions of affection. They’re the most perfect, sweet couple and arguably the healthiest I’ve ever read. I love them.
The messages the book expresses about community, love, and living are also beautiful and tug at my heart. The book builds up to the celebration of May Day, where Ainsley’s friends—new and old come together in celebration and joy for life.
Both leads are complex and their stories emotional and bittersweet. Ainsley, a dryad born from the forest, her soul tethered to the birch tree that the community celebrates May Day around. With each winter, she rests to return in spring, but lately that cycle of life has been disrupted and she wakes more infrequently, fearing one day she may sleep and never come back. Priscilla is from an abusive family who controlled her life and stifled her dreams and self, until she ran away and found herself, a family, and a home. The two find comfort, love, and understanding in each other and it’s emotional and tender and loving to read. They’re perfect for each other. The side characters were also super loveable. Nearly everyone radiated so much empathy, warmth, kindness, and care. I’m fond of even the most minor side characters in this book.
It's a beautiful book with gorgeous art, a sweet, emotional romance, and heartwarming messages around connection, love, and living. I loved it. ❤️
Rep: Fat, Black, Lesbian / Sapphic MC with Maladaptive Daydreaming & Nonbinary / Genderqueer / Genderfluid MC (who's changed appearance and pronouns between cycles, but currently uses she/her; she doesn't claim a specific identity label in-book that I remember) (correct me if I should change anything with either of them)
(Also, the most tender, intimate, consent-centric sex scenes I’ve ever read; I wish more authors wrote sexual intimacy with this much care; it felt more like an extension of the characters.)
The art was gorgeous enough and it’s not just the cover, there’s several gorgeously illustrated scenes throughout, mostly from intimate moments between Ainsley and Priscilla. I couldn’t wait to see if the book was as beautiful as the art and it was. May Day Flowers is a very sweet, emotional, tender romance with an enchanting, ethereal, reminiscing, and basically a fairytale / cottagecore feel. It’s magical.
Ainsley and Priscilla are wonderfully healthy and sweet together. Their romance is very emotional as they get to know each other and open up. They’re honest, communicate, trust each other, value consent, and refer to each other with beautiful expressions of affection. They’re the most perfect, sweet couple and arguably the healthiest I’ve ever read. I love them.
The messages the book expresses about community, love, and living are also beautiful and tug at my heart. The book builds up to the celebration of May Day, where Ainsley’s friends—new and old come together in celebration and joy for life.
Both leads are complex and their stories emotional and bittersweet. Ainsley, a dryad born from the forest, her soul tethered to the birch tree that the community celebrates May Day around. With each winter, she rests to return in spring, but lately that cycle of life has been disrupted and she wakes more infrequently, fearing one day she may sleep and never come back. Priscilla is from an abusive family who controlled her life and stifled her dreams and self, until she ran away and found herself, a family, and a home. The two find comfort, love, and understanding in each other and it’s emotional and tender and loving to read. They’re perfect for each other. The side characters were also super loveable. Nearly everyone radiated so much empathy, warmth, kindness, and care. I’m fond of even the most minor side characters in this book.
It's a beautiful book with gorgeous art, a sweet, emotional romance, and heartwarming messages around connection, love, and living. I loved it. ❤️
Rep: Fat, Black, Lesbian / Sapphic MC with Maladaptive Daydreaming & Nonbinary / Genderqueer / Genderfluid MC (who's changed appearance and pronouns between cycles, but currently uses she/her; she doesn't claim a specific identity label in-book that I remember) (correct me if I should change anything with either of them)
(Also, the most tender, intimate, consent-centric sex scenes I’ve ever read; I wish more authors wrote sexual intimacy with this much care; it felt more like an extension of the characters.)
May 20, 2024
[3.75 stars rounded up]
TW: mentions of past emotional and physical abuse from family members, maladaptive daydreaming episodes, sex, temporary loss of limbs, fire-related wounds, loss of past loved ones (by illness)
Good stuff first: I love the fat and nonbinary representation in this book and how casual it is without bringing too much attention to it; maladaptive daydreaming representation! this is the first time I've heard about it honestly and I like that it's there (I wish it would be more consistent and not only coming up when the plot needs it to); I ADORE the illustrations in this book, it's so cute and ethereal (and sexy too hehe) and they helped with visualizing the characters as well; the writing is just golden, like many quotes stood out to me because they were just so beautiful and the way some scenes were written... *chef kiss*; and last but not least, a healthy sapphic relationship! there's consent, communication, and cuddles <3
Also, this book has smut, but the author underlined the chapter and put a symbol before the smut paragraph which is a thing I want in books now for when I don't feel like reading spicy scenes (sex-averse ace here). The scenes themselves were so well written too, and I didn't feel uncomfortable or grossed out while reading them! Some themes are explored like but I didn't mind them too much (I just skimmed the parts lol)
Now, I'd like to talk about some other things in the book that didn't hit the mark for me. The relationship between Ainsley and Priscilla was so rushed, from the insta-love to that ending. I get that they're in love but that quick? But they're a cute couple though, so I have to let that slide for now (/lh). Another thing is that that climax-ending sequence left so many unanswered questions for me and it was all just too fast and dizzying. And also I would've liked more worldbuilding, especially with the fact that magical creatures live with humans. Maybe a little history of the place or background information would helped, and also yes, the place itself could've been less vague because all this time I thought they all were in some US town but they seem to be in Scotland or Ireland (sorry I'm that slow).
All other comments aside, this is a beautiful sapphic book on hope and new relationships (family, friends, and romantic ones). Thank you Faeri Sami for the free ARC copy! My opinion is my own.
TW: mentions of past emotional and physical abuse from family members, maladaptive daydreaming episodes, sex, temporary loss of limbs, fire-related wounds, loss of past loved ones (by illness)
Good stuff first: I love the fat and nonbinary representation in this book and how casual it is without bringing too much attention to it; maladaptive daydreaming representation! this is the first time I've heard about it honestly and I like that it's there (I wish it would be more consistent and not only coming up when the plot needs it to); I ADORE the illustrations in this book, it's so cute and ethereal (and sexy too hehe) and they helped with visualizing the characters as well; the writing is just golden, like many quotes stood out to me because they were just so beautiful and the way some scenes were written... *chef kiss*; and last but not least, a healthy sapphic relationship! there's consent, communication, and cuddles <3
Also, this book has smut, but the author underlined the chapter and put a symbol before the smut paragraph which is a thing I want in books now for when I don't feel like reading spicy scenes (sex-averse ace here). The scenes themselves were so well written too, and I didn't feel uncomfortable or grossed out while reading them! Some themes are explored like but I didn't mind them too much (I just skimmed the parts lol)
Now, I'd like to talk about some other things in the book that didn't hit the mark for me. The relationship between Ainsley and Priscilla was so rushed, from the insta-love to that ending. I get that they're in love but that quick? But they're a cute couple though, so I have to let that slide for now (/lh). Another thing is that that climax-ending sequence left so many unanswered questions for me and it was all just too fast and dizzying. And also I would've liked more worldbuilding, especially with the fact that magical creatures live with humans. Maybe a little history of the place or background information would helped, and also yes, the place itself could've been less vague because all this time I thought they all were in some US town but they seem to be in Scotland or Ireland (sorry I'm that slow).
All other comments aside, this is a beautiful sapphic book on hope and new relationships (family, friends, and romantic ones). Thank you Faeri Sami for the free ARC copy! My opinion is my own.
September 22, 2024
A very belated review in exchange for the ARC I received!
I might be a little biased as I've been following Sami's social media for perhaps a little under a year now? I remember first seeing them as the beautiful fae songstress with the floor length dress! I've always admired the way they craft their characters with so much care, that when the book was announced I was ecstatic.
I finally picked up the book but due to life issues getting in the way at the time I wasn't able to do this in a timely manner. However when I did start reading it (two days ago) I was absolutely hooked! I haven't been drawn in to a book like that in ages and I can only describe the vibe of the book as a warm hug or a cozy drink. It was just so easy to pick up and put down the book - and as someone with ADHD, that's something I really appreciate about it. With reading in general, I can find my distractions going elsewhere if I'm not completely engaged with the content -May Day flowers completely had me enthralled.
The pace at which the book moved was a very comfortable one, never lingering too long on one scene but also knowing when to draw out the more important ones. I appreciate the consideration that went into marking the nsfw passages for those that might feel uncomfortable with that. There are just the most gorgeous illustrations throughout the book, it's very clear how much effort work, and love went into this project.
All in all, I found the story easy to follow and found comfort in the parallels that matched up with some of my own life events. I resonated with Priscilla especially, but there were absolutely parts of Ainsley that I related to also. There was also just this safe feeling throughout, that nothing was being mocked or shamed. Sami has a great way of describing the trauma of leaving a home that very much pulled at my heartstrings and made me feel seen.
I'm very grateful that I was given the opportunity to review this book and I very much look forward to any more titles you publish in the future!
I might be a little biased as I've been following Sami's social media for perhaps a little under a year now? I remember first seeing them as the beautiful fae songstress with the floor length dress! I've always admired the way they craft their characters with so much care, that when the book was announced I was ecstatic.
I finally picked up the book but due to life issues getting in the way at the time I wasn't able to do this in a timely manner. However when I did start reading it (two days ago) I was absolutely hooked! I haven't been drawn in to a book like that in ages and I can only describe the vibe of the book as a warm hug or a cozy drink. It was just so easy to pick up and put down the book - and as someone with ADHD, that's something I really appreciate about it. With reading in general, I can find my distractions going elsewhere if I'm not completely engaged with the content -May Day flowers completely had me enthralled.
The pace at which the book moved was a very comfortable one, never lingering too long on one scene but also knowing when to draw out the more important ones. I appreciate the consideration that went into marking the nsfw passages for those that might feel uncomfortable with that. There are just the most gorgeous illustrations throughout the book, it's very clear how much effort work, and love went into this project.
All in all, I found the story easy to follow and found comfort in the parallels that matched up with some of my own life events. I resonated with Priscilla especially, but there were absolutely parts of Ainsley that I related to also. There was also just this safe feeling throughout, that nothing was being mocked or shamed. Sami has a great way of describing the trauma of leaving a home that very much pulled at my heartstrings and made me feel seen.
I'm very grateful that I was given the opportunity to review this book and I very much look forward to any more titles you publish in the future!
April 30, 2024
Hi, Sami, thank you for letting me to be part of the ARC team and read an early copy of May Day Flowers. I have fun reading the book and here is my review on the book:
One of the many things that I love about May Day Flowers is the beautiful writing. The writing style of the book is captivating with descriptive language which help me vividly picture the scenes and characters. The smooth flow of the writing also make the story engaging and a pleasure to read. The emotional impact of this book is so strong, I blushed while reading the spicy scenes, I smiled while reading most of the Orion's lines because he is such a fun character, I feel my heart being warmed when I saw the sweet and loving interactions between Ainsley and Priscilla and how I was touched by the changes in Ainsley before and after she met Priscilla. Speaking of Priscilla, it's nice to see a fellow plus sized lesbian being represented in romance genre. It's comforting for me because I personally have never being viewed as loveable, desirable person due to the people surrounded me always have something nasty to say about my body and treat me like I don't deserved to be love. The existence of Priscilla feel like a warm hug to me, encouraging me to love myself more.
Also, the wholesome romance between Priscilla and Ainsley (although their romance seem a bit fast paced to me), their relationship is a great example of healthy relationship as they both support and respect each other without forcing them to do the things they don't want to. I really appreciate May Day Flowers portrayal a healthy and sweet romance with its inclusive representations of POC and LGBTQ+ characters.
However, I feel like the main conflict ended a bit rush, it would be nice if we get to know more about it as I personally think it hasn't fully resolved yet.
Thank you once again for writing this wonderful book! Wishing you a successful book release!
One of the many things that I love about May Day Flowers is the beautiful writing. The writing style of the book is captivating with descriptive language which help me vividly picture the scenes and characters. The smooth flow of the writing also make the story engaging and a pleasure to read. The emotional impact of this book is so strong, I blushed while reading the spicy scenes, I smiled while reading most of the Orion's lines because he is such a fun character, I feel my heart being warmed when I saw the sweet and loving interactions between Ainsley and Priscilla and how I was touched by the changes in Ainsley before and after she met Priscilla. Speaking of Priscilla, it's nice to see a fellow plus sized lesbian being represented in romance genre. It's comforting for me because I personally have never being viewed as loveable, desirable person due to the people surrounded me always have something nasty to say about my body and treat me like I don't deserved to be love. The existence of Priscilla feel like a warm hug to me, encouraging me to love myself more.
Also, the wholesome romance between Priscilla and Ainsley (although their romance seem a bit fast paced to me), their relationship is a great example of healthy relationship as they both support and respect each other without forcing them to do the things they don't want to. I really appreciate May Day Flowers portrayal a healthy and sweet romance with its inclusive representations of POC and LGBTQ+ characters.
However, I feel like the main conflict ended a bit rush, it would be nice if we get to know more about it as I personally think it hasn't fully resolved yet.
Thank you once again for writing this wonderful book! Wishing you a successful book release!
May 12, 2024
I received this book as an electronic advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.
This book is sweet, emotional romantic story. I enjoyed the descriptive writing that the author uses. They were able to transport me into this beautiful forest cottage core dreamscape. The main character Priscilla has a very complex personality making her more than just romance place holder. She felt like a real person who exists else where than just on pages. Ainsely, the other protagonist, also has a complex and depth to them which also make them feel real. All the characters that the author writes has that complexity and no one is a one-sided character. Because of how they write out descriptions and the characters they create, I am excited to read more books from Faeri Sami.
I also appreciate that the spicy parts of this book can be skipped and the Faeri has predetermined markers to show readers where to skip. I do wish they included markers to show where a reader can jump back into the story after the spice has cooled down.
Also I felt like the story was very fast paced. We only met each character before they became together and it seemed to move very quickly. I wish we had more time to learn about these complex characters, the themes introduced and the lore of the fantasy and different characters. I also feel like the ending was rushed. The final conflict was over in a flash and I wish there was an extra chapter or two to help tie up loose ends and plot points.
Overall it was an enjoyable quick read from a new author that I would love to see more books from. I appreciated all the content warnings and the heads up that they added. And the illustrations were superb!
This book is sweet, emotional romantic story. I enjoyed the descriptive writing that the author uses. They were able to transport me into this beautiful forest cottage core dreamscape. The main character Priscilla has a very complex personality making her more than just romance place holder. She felt like a real person who exists else where than just on pages. Ainsely, the other protagonist, also has a complex and depth to them which also make them feel real. All the characters that the author writes has that complexity and no one is a one-sided character. Because of how they write out descriptions and the characters they create, I am excited to read more books from Faeri Sami.
I also appreciate that the spicy parts of this book can be skipped and the Faeri has predetermined markers to show readers where to skip. I do wish they included markers to show where a reader can jump back into the story after the spice has cooled down.
Also I felt like the story was very fast paced. We only met each character before they became together and it seemed to move very quickly. I wish we had more time to learn about these complex characters, the themes introduced and the lore of the fantasy and different characters. I also feel like the ending was rushed. The final conflict was over in a flash and I wish there was an extra chapter or two to help tie up loose ends and plot points.
Overall it was an enjoyable quick read from a new author that I would love to see more books from. I appreciated all the content warnings and the heads up that they added. And the illustrations were superb!
April 15, 2024
🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸
The author describes it like so: plus-size POC main character, Nonbinary MC, sapphic romance, cottagecore x coquette, hopecore, beautiful art, and 🌶 vines! And they're spot on.
This book was so delightful. I loved the characters, loved the lack of hard problems (other than a looming absence, and CLIMATE CHANGE!) This is just a nice little love story.
I wanted to say that this book is about so much more than a woman falling in love with a birch dryad, but at the center of many complex and touching topics is a simple love story. Two individuals that instantly vibe, immediately shoot their shot, hook up within like the first day of knowing each other and are closer, kinder, more passionate and more vulnerable than most. There's no drama, no hesitation, and no interpersonal conflicts.
This book was also about lifelong friendships, found family, the climate crisis, and being completely vulnerable and loving every second we have with our loved ones.
I liked the way the author addressed potentionally distressing content. Along with a list of content warnings, the explicit scenes are marked with a symbol within the book and their chapters underlined in the Table of Contents.
Loved loved loved the beautiful illustrations, both the ones showing us what characters looked like aaaand the suprise spicy scenes 🥵
My only issue was that it is written in third person present tense, which is personally hard for me to read. But it didn't stop me from finishing the book, I just had to skim a lot.
🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸
The author describes it like so: plus-size POC main character, Nonbinary MC, sapphic romance, cottagecore x coquette, hopecore, beautiful art, and 🌶 vines! And they're spot on.
This book was so delightful. I loved the characters, loved the lack of hard problems (other than a looming absence, and CLIMATE CHANGE!) This is just a nice little love story.
I wanted to say that this book is about so much more than a woman falling in love with a birch dryad, but at the center of many complex and touching topics is a simple love story. Two individuals that instantly vibe, immediately shoot their shot, hook up within like the first day of knowing each other and are closer, kinder, more passionate and more vulnerable than most. There's no drama, no hesitation, and no interpersonal conflicts.
This book was also about lifelong friendships, found family, the climate crisis, and being completely vulnerable and loving every second we have with our loved ones.
I liked the way the author addressed potentionally distressing content. Along with a list of content warnings, the explicit scenes are marked with a symbol within the book and their chapters underlined in the Table of Contents.
Loved loved loved the beautiful illustrations, both the ones showing us what characters looked like aaaand the suprise spicy scenes 🥵
My only issue was that it is written in third person present tense, which is personally hard for me to read. But it didn't stop me from finishing the book, I just had to skim a lot.
🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸🌶🌷🌸
July 12, 2025
J’ai fait l’acquisition de ce roman quand celui-ci était en promotion gratuite. Alors bien qu’il ne s’agisse pas vraiment d’un genre que je lis, j’ai sauté sur l’occasion et je me suis retrouvée avec une petite lecture mignonne sur les bras.
Ainsley retourne en hibernation tous les hivers, à l’exception des dernières fois où son cycle de sommeil s’est déréglé et la fait dormir plus qu’elle ne le devrait. Elle se réveille donc pour la première fois en 20 ans et doit organiser la May Day qui soit à la hauteur. Elle embauchera donc Priscilla pour aider avec la décoration et, entre elles, une attirance débutera instantanément.
Alors comme je le mentionne, ce roman est vraiment tout mignon et constitue une lecture bien tranquille. Pas forcément le genre qui m’attire le plus, mais je l’ai bien accueilli. La plume est légère, l’histoire se tient bien et ça vient avec des illustrations et ça, c’est toujours bien sympa !
J’ai aussi aimé le fait d’avoir une romance entre un personnage non-binaire (Ainsley) et une femme. La relation se développe vite, mais elle se tient. Et aussi, props à l’auteurice d’avoir mis des indicatifs clairs pour les scènes s*xuellement explicites pour nous laisser le choix de les lire ou de les sauter selon notre niveau de confort. Une belle attention bienveillante.
Donc voilà. Pour les gens qui recherchent quelque chose de cosy, de mignon et de léger. Ce roman est la lecture qu’il vous faut !
Ainsley retourne en hibernation tous les hivers, à l’exception des dernières fois où son cycle de sommeil s’est déréglé et la fait dormir plus qu’elle ne le devrait. Elle se réveille donc pour la première fois en 20 ans et doit organiser la May Day qui soit à la hauteur. Elle embauchera donc Priscilla pour aider avec la décoration et, entre elles, une attirance débutera instantanément.
Alors comme je le mentionne, ce roman est vraiment tout mignon et constitue une lecture bien tranquille. Pas forcément le genre qui m’attire le plus, mais je l’ai bien accueilli. La plume est légère, l’histoire se tient bien et ça vient avec des illustrations et ça, c’est toujours bien sympa !
J’ai aussi aimé le fait d’avoir une romance entre un personnage non-binaire (Ainsley) et une femme. La relation se développe vite, mais elle se tient. Et aussi, props à l’auteurice d’avoir mis des indicatifs clairs pour les scènes s*xuellement explicites pour nous laisser le choix de les lire ou de les sauter selon notre niveau de confort. Une belle attention bienveillante.
Donc voilà. Pour les gens qui recherchent quelque chose de cosy, de mignon et de léger. Ce roman est la lecture qu’il vous faut !
April 19, 2024
Ho deciso di iscrivermi al forum per ricevere la copia di questo libro perché mi ispirava moltissimo la copertina e lo stile di disegno e la trama sembrava avere davvero un buon potenziale, anche perché non ci sono tantissime storie fantasy-romance con una storia d’amore tra due donne.
Posso dire che l’ho apprezzato fin da subito, non l’ho letto nella mia lingua madre, ma non ho riscontrato particolari difficoltà e nonostante questo posso dire che è molto ben scritto. Non è complesso, l’ho trovato molto cozy anche se alcune tematiche trattate possono essere un po’ pesanti (tutte presenti nei TW comunque), l’autrice è stata in grado di introdurle e incastrarle nel racconto senza risultare fuori luogo.
Apprezzo moltissimo che si sia parlato di un disturbo (il maladaptive daydreaming), ancora molto poco conosciuto, in modo rispettoso e realistico.
Le scene spicy sono molto ben descritte e mi hanno fatto battere il cuore (è davvero raro trovarne di ben scritte e non trash).
La storia nel complesso è bella e scalda il cuore, l’unica cosa che per alcuni potrebbe risultare fastidiosa è stata la velocità con cui si è sviluppata la storia d’amore, ma che trovo comunque in linea con il tipo di personaggi e di linea temporale necessaria allo sviluppo del racconto.
Ho apprezzato tantissimo la descrizione dei personaggi e la rappresentazione presente in questo libro e le illustrazioni sono MERAVIGLIOSE, tanto che avrei preferito vederne ancora di più.
Posso dire che l’ho apprezzato fin da subito, non l’ho letto nella mia lingua madre, ma non ho riscontrato particolari difficoltà e nonostante questo posso dire che è molto ben scritto. Non è complesso, l’ho trovato molto cozy anche se alcune tematiche trattate possono essere un po’ pesanti (tutte presenti nei TW comunque), l’autrice è stata in grado di introdurle e incastrarle nel racconto senza risultare fuori luogo.
Apprezzo moltissimo che si sia parlato di un disturbo (il maladaptive daydreaming), ancora molto poco conosciuto, in modo rispettoso e realistico.
Le scene spicy sono molto ben descritte e mi hanno fatto battere il cuore (è davvero raro trovarne di ben scritte e non trash).
La storia nel complesso è bella e scalda il cuore, l’unica cosa che per alcuni potrebbe risultare fastidiosa è stata la velocità con cui si è sviluppata la storia d’amore, ma che trovo comunque in linea con il tipo di personaggi e di linea temporale necessaria allo sviluppo del racconto.
Ho apprezzato tantissimo la descrizione dei personaggi e la rappresentazione presente in questo libro e le illustrazioni sono MERAVIGLIOSE, tanto che avrei preferito vederne ancora di più.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2024
Thank you so much for providing me the ARC for the book and just in time for me to review this book a day before the book releases. Happy release day in advance, May Day Flowers!
I truly enjoyed the story and the overall vibe of the book! It is so cozy and cute with added representation of the main characters, a plus size character (which btw I always love as a plus size myself) & a non-binary character in the book, such a cute duo! The characters in the book really interacted well with the progression of the story. I enjoyed the included illustrations in the book too, it adds a nice touch! Regarding the skippable spicy scenes, I actually love the indicated symbol & underlined chapter but I totally forgot about it & just enjoyed the flow of the story!
So would I recommend this book? 100% yes as this book has a nice & chill flow when it comes to the plot of the story. I really took my time enjoying the story & highly recommend for the cozy readers out there! You can totally skip the spicy scenes and still enjoy the plot of the story! Congrats on debuting a wonderful book to the author, can't wait to see more work in the future!
I truly enjoyed the story and the overall vibe of the book! It is so cozy and cute with added representation of the main characters, a plus size character (which btw I always love as a plus size myself) & a non-binary character in the book, such a cute duo! The characters in the book really interacted well with the progression of the story. I enjoyed the included illustrations in the book too, it adds a nice touch! Regarding the skippable spicy scenes, I actually love the indicated symbol & underlined chapter but I totally forgot about it & just enjoyed the flow of the story!
So would I recommend this book? 100% yes as this book has a nice & chill flow when it comes to the plot of the story. I really took my time enjoying the story & highly recommend for the cozy readers out there! You can totally skip the spicy scenes and still enjoy the plot of the story! Congrats on debuting a wonderful book to the author, can't wait to see more work in the future!
August 8, 2024
C - 7
A - 7
W - 8
P - 7
I - 5
L - 7
E - 6
CAWPILE TOTAL: 6.7
I'm really glad I ordered and read this, and I did find it enjoyable at a lot of points, but it's a much softer, slice of life style book with cosy vibes. I thought that would suit me to a tea but I think this was just a little too soft for me.
I did love Ainsley and Priscilla and their relationship was adorable. The addition of the illustrations are lovely, especially when they indicate the R rated scenes coming up so that you can choose to skip them if you wish. I think my favourite thing about this book is that it doesn't patronise you with the queer content included as some other debuts I've read have done.
It was comfortable and sweet but the elements of adventure just weren't raw enough for me. They were too short lived. As much as I loved that they were a statement on the damage we do to our planet, my adrenaline just wasn't pumping.
All in all, it still scored decently across the board and got a fair mid-rating. Which is pretty good considering the new rating system I'm using, being a bit more harsh.
A - 7
W - 8
P - 7
I - 5
L - 7
E - 6
CAWPILE TOTAL: 6.7
I'm really glad I ordered and read this, and I did find it enjoyable at a lot of points, but it's a much softer, slice of life style book with cosy vibes. I thought that would suit me to a tea but I think this was just a little too soft for me.
I did love Ainsley and Priscilla and their relationship was adorable. The addition of the illustrations are lovely, especially when they indicate the R rated scenes coming up so that you can choose to skip them if you wish. I think my favourite thing about this book is that it doesn't patronise you with the queer content included as some other debuts I've read have done.
It was comfortable and sweet but the elements of adventure just weren't raw enough for me. They were too short lived. As much as I loved that they were a statement on the damage we do to our planet, my adrenaline just wasn't pumping.
All in all, it still scored decently across the board and got a fair mid-rating. Which is pretty good considering the new rating system I'm using, being a bit more harsh.
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