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Darkest Flowers

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Scarred in a wildfire, botanist Henri Muller finds only the bite of a vampire can cool his burning body and soul.

Botanist Henri Muller will do almost anything for a flower---even brave a forest fire. Scarred and heartbroken, he journeys to a greenhouse run by a reclusive proprietor with a mysterious green thumb and a potent sexuality. Henri's startled by their passionate encounter, but when he discovers the vampire's bite soothes his tormented body and soul he longs to stay though the cure is deadly.

Ambrose is a shy monster with a lonely heart. Will Henri choose to become his mate or will he let Ambrose wilt and die like a neglected flower? With each passing day, Ambrose grows weaker...

52 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 11, 2014

17 people want to read

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Eva LeFoy

45 books23 followers

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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for ~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semicolons~✡~.
3,654 reviews1,220 followers
August 8, 2014
1.5 stars

What do you get when a 46-year-old botany student who was burned in a fire meets a reclusive vampire in said vamp's green house? A ride on a foot-long cock, that's what.

This was not a good book, and that's the nicest way to put it. There was zero character or relationship development, and the plot was all over the place.

Henri may be pushing 50, but he acts 19. He catches his younger boyfriend screwing another man sans condom, and Henri's biggest concern is that the boyfriend is leaving him. Henri also screws the vamp without a condom or any consideration thereof, so clearly safe sex is not on Henri's mind.

There's some crazy-ass melodrama here. Henri runs screaming into a burning forest. A few months later he's scarred and has lost his will to live, and then he meets the vamp, Ambrose, whom he screws and alternately loves and fears, and then he leaves and gets sexually harassed by his adviser, only because his scars disappeared following his encounter with Ambrose; but the scars return! So he has to screw the vamp AGAIN. Such hardship. He saves Ambrose, and Ambrose saves him. And Ambrose has past lovers who are now flowers? And then there's a HEA, I think.

Because, WHAT?

If my review made no sense, it's because this book made no sense.

Some of the writing was clever, and I can appreciate bonding over the beauty of flowers, but this story tried to be too many things, and it flailed and sunk.

The vampire lore was all wrong. There was sex, but I kept wondering how a human was going to take a foot-long cock up his ass with no prep?

The whole thing was distracting and weird and creepy, and not in a good way either.

Profile Image for Veronica of V's Reads.
1,528 reviews44 followers
August 1, 2014
I received a copy of this book via Goodreads' Don't Buy My Love program in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, this story was good for...entertainment.

Henri is a 40-something gay man pursuing an advanced degree in botany. He catches his callous young lover in the sack with any one of a number of men, and promptly departs for a nature preserve to study his main thesis topic (Cobra Lilies) only to find it ablaze in a raging forest fire. Overwrought, Henri plunges into the forest and is overcome by smoke and injured, burned severely.

Months later he is healed, scarred but striving to find any wild Cobra Lilies to study in time to turn in his thesis. (Lookit, I have a graduate degree--the path of Henri's studies absolutely does not jive with my educational experience, and I had two children in grad school. There's grace given to students who have suffered injury or illness, so the big push to finihs was to me, silly. But whatever, the plot is kinda silly...)

Henri gets wind of a reclusive greenhouse owner who may keep Cobra lilies, and he seeks out this floral Mecca only to come into contact with the most sexually dazzling creature he's ever seen. I mean, a flawless specimen of manflesh who parades about his greenhouse nude, watering his plants and speaking tenderly to them? It's Henri's dream come to life.

Ambrose is a spider setting his web, however, and he seduces Henri into sex. (Not too hard) Henri's sure this is freaky-deaky when not only do the plants get in on the act, but Ambrose bites him and drinks his blood. Yep. Ambrose is a vamp.

Henri is stunned to learn that Ambrose's bite can heal the pain of his burn scars, yet, after a second night of passion and research, he flees, suddenly afraid that Ambrose will drain him. Strangely, he returns to school to find his thesis advisor now up for blowing his tenure by sexually blackmailing Henri. O_o

Henri is partially temporarily healed by Ambrose's bites, and he's totally attracted to Ambrose, but he's freaked by the vamp thing. He decides to return to Ambrose--after he takes a 3000 mile journey into the wilds of the American southwest. He and Ambrose share a novel telepathic link that brings Henri rushing to the rescue when Ambrose's health fails.

Oh, and immortal HEA.

All of this happened in a tidy novella. So lots of plot, not all of which made sense. There was a whole lotta smexytimes, most of which was human-to-vampire but some of which included some floral elements...
Profile Image for blub.
2,040 reviews
July 26, 2014
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Henri is 46 year old botanist who has been dealt a very bad hand. On the night he find his boyfriend cheating on him he also finds out the plants he's been studying for his thesis is being destroyed by fire. Desperate and depressed he runs into the fire in hopes to save/see that one flower still exists in the blaze. Finding those hopes are dashed he gives up and hopes the fire will claim him too. However, the attempt on his life fails and he finds himself with horrible scars. A few months later word gets to him to that there's a reclusive person growing the carnivorous plant he was studying so Henri makes the trek out to meet Ambrose. Henri is quite taken with Ambrose when he first meets him. The attraction is instantaneous as is the seduction on Ambrose part...

I felt like I was missing minor details and stuff was happening off the page like Henri undressing but we know Ambrose ties the robe around him...etc. The thing with Ambrose and the flowers were a bit kinky. The emotional details and want of both characters were nicely depicted and really helped in understanding why Ambrose was so desperate to try to get Henri to stay. The revelations about the flowers were interesting.

I would have liked to see a bit more character and relationship development. Henri came off as younger than he was. That detail confused me at the start since I kept thinking he was in his 20's trying to complete a degree. The way he acted when he found Jack cheating on him I thought could have been handled better what with him pushing his 50's (lifetime of experience didn't seem at all present). The sex was a bit scary and not safe really. I mean there's no prep for Henri the first time Ambrose and him have sex (and Ambrose isn't a small guy) then on their second go Ambrose uses the gum or whatever from the plants to help sooth the way. He couldn't have done this the first time too? There's no condoms and Henri doesn't even make a fuss.

The story is a entertaining read if you don't think hard about it and am just reading it for a short story to pass the time.
Profile Image for Sarina.
766 reviews1 follower
March 19, 2017
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.


Okay, time for some honesty here; this wasn't what I was expecting AT ALL. The two main characters, Henri and Ambrose, meet while Henri is trying to finish his flower research so he can graduate. The attraction between them is pretty much immediate and all consuming, not really unexpected in a short paranormal read as there's a lot of ground to cover in a small amount of pages. This was where things got weird, however. Like, really weird. I don't want to give things away but there are some freaky things going on with those flowers. -.- Eventually Henri has to leave and tries to stay away just to prove that he can but, eventually, he gives in and rushes back. I seriously had a Brokeback Mountain moment during this part of the book where all I could hear was "I wish I knew how to quit you."

I had a few problems with the book, mostly stemming (ha, stemming! Unintentional flower pun, I swear!) from the fact that there was no prep whatsoever before any of the sex scenes. Maybe some guys can take it that rough but none that I personally know. The other was the fact that Henri finding out Ambrose was a vampire didn't really faze him that much; he has some panic over the fact but its hardly a blip on the radar. I didn't get the impression that vampires were a known entity in the world so this wasn't really believable. Now, what I really liked about this book was the originality of the vampire concept that the author came up with; I can honestly say that I've never come across anything else like it. There was also a great deal of sex and sexual situations throughout this one, not as graphic as some I've read before though; if you aren't in the mood for that type of read this probably isn't for you. So, if you like your sex with vampires and/or botany and don't mind a read that's up there on the weird scale, this could be for you. If you have no ability to suspend all belief you may want to find something else.
Profile Image for Alicia.
79 reviews7 followers
July 29, 2014
(This book was received free from the GoodReads Don't Read in the Closet Read for Review Program in return for an honest review.)

This story had to be the silliest vampire story I've read. The main character Henre is an OLD botony student, aged approximately 45 years. He stumbles upon his 24 year old boyfriend cheating on him, drives himself out to a forest research area only to find it engulfed in flames and still he runs into the woods.

The disfigured Henre, six months later, is still hoping to graduate and finds the needed flower for his reasearch at the home of vampire Ambrose. He trespasses, but this is a mate/bond story so it's all good. Sex, biting, healing and research take place, but Henre's need to graduate has him leaving Ambrose behind.

It all leads to a satisfactory ending, but I just couldn't sink my teeth into this story. It was way too mushy and soft. There were few shining moments, and an overlay of spirits and flowers that made no sense to me in this dark, sad love story.
Profile Image for Tsubaki.
127 reviews
September 13, 2014
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
-

I've been wary of vampire lore in anything other than the horror genre and for good reason. While entertaining, I really can't say I liked the story all that much. It started strong enough, but at some point, the plot spiralled out of control into a twisted, convoluted, mess.

The characters are all a little odd and not really relatable or realistic. Henri doesn't exactly act the way you'd expect a character of his age and caliber to act. He also seems quite bipolar, maybe due to his previous disastrous relationship with Jack. Ambrose, on the other hand, I really don't know what to make of. While I applaud the attempt to break the mold and take a different approach to established vampire lore, there really is only so much you can change until you end up with something that's vampire in name only. And there was so much wrong with Henri and Ambrose's first meeting... It was disturbing to say the least.

Not to mention other weird things about the plot… a lot of little things mostly, but it adds up after a while. And intentional or not, there's a weird lust/pleasure equates death thing going on too. (Which I liked and wished was explored in more detail) I really don't know what to make of the story. There was a lot of potential, but ultimately unsatisfying. There were a ton of plot points and loose threads that were simply left unaddressed.

I kind of wish that there was better character development and thought put into their relationship. The story would have been a lot better if Ambrose alone was a more solidly put together character. Take away the vampire label and build him as the unique creature he was described to be. And for the love of god, slow down the relationship…
Profile Image for Mary.
438 reviews45 followers
August 6, 2014
I got this book for free in exchange for an honest review through the DBML program of the M/M Romance group at Goodreads.

This was a different read for me. I have not read many vampire M/M genre but this one stood out for me. I thought it was an entertaining read, I like the way Ms. Lefoy writes. If I am not comfortable in the sentence structure I will put the book down and go on to the next one. We have two MC, Henri, an older man, crushed and hurt by his younger lover& damaged physically by a fire causing tremendous pain and emotional distress. Ambrose, vampire, emotionally hurt by not able to find his "soul mate" and slowly dying " from his "lack of subsidence" to survive. Lust and love hit them in different ways: Henri to run away, frightened by the thought of the "vampire" and Ambrose, because of Henri's run from him decides to "die". I do not want to go in more detail but it was a fun read. This is a fantasy, it worked for me..
I loved the way the author tied up the ends in the book and created a HEA. The book is not long but it is entertaining. I never would have thought of vampires in this take by Ms. Lofoy. I thought it was original. I would recommend this book to read and would enjoy more from this author.
Profile Image for Angel.
483 reviews1 follower
August 4, 2014
I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.

This had to be the oddest vampire book I've ever read. I am not going to rehash the plot as many before me have done.

There was a huge amount of unrealistic sex on both the MCs parts. And I'm not just talking about insta-lust. This was unsafe and unbelievable... like a foot long cock. The 1st main character, Henri, seemed as if he was all over the place both emotionally as well as mentally. He's supposed to be in his 40's but he has no concern for his life after finding out his lover has been cheating on him. The storytime line jumps to months afterwards and we see a scarred Henri continuing on. Still no growth of caution or concern despite his circumstances, because he bumbles into a person's home without regard for safety or any other matters, such as privacy either.

The vampire, Ambrose, was just walking around nude, taking care of his flowers. I did like the author's take on the vampire legends. It was an interesting concept that needed more fleshing out and a stronger plot fulfillment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Roger - president of NBR United -.
712 reviews28 followers
August 5, 2014
I got this book for free in exchange for an honest review through the DBML program of the M/M Romance group at Goodreads.

this book is an interesting take on the Vampire trope. It is not your typical vampire book. I liked that Henri was an older student going back for a second carreer. Ambrose is a vampire and a reclusive gardener who specializes in the Carniverous plants that Henri need to study to complete his graduate desertation for a Botany doctorate. A few thing kept this from being truly enjoyable for me. One was the scene where henri previous lover Jack cheated on him and Henri found him because he had to go back to get his laptop. Also wasn't fond of the unless you complete the mating ritual the Vampire dies. I hate that in shifter books and I hate it even more in the vampire trope. but it was welll written an had excellent detail to plot. I highly recommend this.
Profile Image for Lisa.
3,607 reviews142 followers
August 2, 2014
I was given this book for free by the author in exchange for an unbiased review.

Henri is writing his thesis on Cobra Lilies and when he arrives at the forest where he is doing his research, he finds a forest tire and his lilies all gone. Overcome by smoke he ends up badly burnt.
A few weeks later, he receives a message from the college about where there were some Cobra Lilies that he could study.
There he meets Ambrose. Unbeknown to Henri, Ambrose is a vampire. Ambrose's bite temporarily cures Henri of his scars and in return Henri's blood reinvigorates Ambrose.
I enjoyed this book. Two men, we were to all purposes alone in the world find themselves drawn to one another, each saving the other.
I would like to read more about them in the future.
Profile Image for Carly.
Author 5 books50 followers
August 6, 2014
Henri and Ambrose are emotionally damaged characters. Each is searching for love and acceptance of who they are, despite their scars, but are close to giving up on ever finding a true connection when they meet unexpectedly and sparks fly.

Darkest Flowers is an odd little vampire story with deeply erotic themes and an usual setting. I liked it because the storyline kept me intrigued and was different than anything I had read before. Eva LeFoy has a gift for telling stories in unexpected ways and I enjoyed the unusual concepts of this story, though I must admit it felt a tiny bit creepy at times. I would recommend this story for any lover of paranormal erotic romances who is looking for a dark story short story with a solid ending.
Profile Image for Kenike.
215 reviews
August 13, 2014
I was given a free copy of this book for my review. Well..... I must say this story was different! I think it was well written. I didnt really understand what the fire did to the mc. I really didnt see the thing with the flowers coming. However, as different as it was I liked it. I think different is good as long as the story flowed well. I wish it could have been longer to explain all the flowers but I did like the book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews