Wildflower: A Novel

by Becky Jenkinson

A magical florist journeys from the kingdom’s capital to its wild woods to fulfill an unusual request, and stumbles upon friendship, conspiracy, and the buds of new love in this debut cozy fantasy.

The book contains hand-drawn floral sketches inside!

Cursed from birth to always tell the truth, magical florist Felicity “Fliss” Farrow chooses her words carefully to avoid trouble. But when she receives an anonymous request for a mysterious flower, her search leads her directly into trouble’s to Willoh Vane.

Fliss knows the outcast—yet teasingly handsome—sorcerer is rumored to have used dark magic to corrupt the northern forest five years ago. She’s witnessed the resulting feud with Prince Bastion, whom her best friend, Card, is soon to marry. Despite her divided loyalty, Fliss reluctantly accepts Will’s help with gathering rare flowers and finds herself increasingly drawn to him.

As the royal wedding approaches, Fliss fears the flowers she’s delivered are intended for a sinister purpose. But when her warnings are ignored, can she and Will save the kingdom from disaster, and ultimately discover what Fliss has sought for so long—the truth.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Cozy, Cozy Fantasy, Romantasy, Adult, Queer

Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 16, 2026

Reviews

[jenny reads a lot · Rating 4 out of 5]

The banter in this is SO GOOD!

Wildflower is a lovely cozy romantasy set in a queer normative world with epic banter, interesting magic, and enough stakes to keep you interested!

The cursed FMC gave me Ella Enchanted vibes, although their curses are quite different, being cursed to tell only the truth has gotten her into some interesting situations!

Definitely one to check out when you’re in need of a warm hug. That final climax scene had me bawling my eyes out!

Whats to love…
- queer normative world
- interesting magic and world (the FMC has plant magic!)
- found family
- trans love interest
- BANTER IS BANTERING
- laugh out loud funny
- complex characters
- TENSION!
- slow burn

What might not work for some…
- this is cozy, maybe even bordering on a little too cozy for my usual tastes. The stakes were enough to keep me interested but I think you’ll need to be in the mood for cozy to really enjoy this one!

🌶️- fade to black

4.25⭐️| IG | TikTok |

[Juniper L.H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed (most) of this novel. There was some creative yet accessible worldbuilding, funny misadventures, and a serious through-plot that kept things interesting. I liked how this novel had several different things going on at once, kept my interest, and kept me flipping pages. The romance wasn’t quite what I was looking for, but the story was nice and I like flowers!

Highlights:
-The story hooked me immediately and I needed to know what was going to happen. There was never a single chance that I wasn’t going to finish this book.
-Several mysteries to be found. I wouldn’t call this a mystery novel, but there were questions I NEEDED answered.
-The flower magic was neat. It was original and interesting, yet also very easy to follow along with. I think I like protagonists who are florists; it keeps popping up in books I read and I'm going to be continuing the trend!
-I liked the trans representation.
-The “cursed to never lie” plot point has been done before, but I thought that the author did a good job with it and kept it feeling fresh an original all the same.
-Super cozy and fun.

Nitpicks:
-The romance was, in my opinion, weak. I honestly didn’t see anything particularly great about the love interest; for the first half of the novel the only good things I could say about him was that he “wasn’t an awful person, like most of the other people the MC knows”. That’s a low bar! I just didn’t really see any reason for the MC’s attraction in all honesty. It wasn’t bad, but it just didn’t do anything for me and was a missed opportunity.
-Such a small thing: I found myself groaning and frustrated at several points because the characters wouldn’t say “a thing” that I think any person in that situation would say, and it would solve things much more effectively. No spoilers sorry! It wasn’t too bad though.
-The amount of dumb luck required for this story to happen the way it did was quite considerable….but also not really a problem. I'm just already making a list so…..

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ARC. This honest review was left voluntarily.

[Zoe Holborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an E-ARC

2026 is the year of cosy fantasy

Wildflower is a well written debut novel that blends fantasy, romance and whimsy perfectly.

Felicity ‘Fliss’ Farrow can only tell the truth which is more than a minor inconvenience when she starts to fall for the kingdom’s worst enemy. But when the pair are forced to stop a plan to ruin the royal wedding, Fliss learns that she’s more than her curse and that some people will always see past it as well.

This gave me major Ella Enchanted vibes. Paired with the mix of botanicals and magic, this was a fast paced read that blended everything perfectly and didn’t fall into any of the typical tropes. I can’t wait to see what Becky Jenkinson writes next

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wildflower by Becky Jenkinson is a tender, emotionally rich read that lingers long after the final page.

This story is deeply character-driven, focusing on growth, healing, and the quiet bravery it takes to face both your past and your future. Jenkinson’s writing is gentle yet impactful, with moments that feel raw and heartfelt without ever tipping into melodrama. I especially loved the way relationships were explored - messy, imperfect, and very human.

While the pacing was a little slower in parts, it ultimately suited the reflective tone of the story and allowed the emotional beats to land with more weight. The themes of resilience and self-discovery were beautifully handled, making this a rewarding read for anyone who enjoys thoughtful, emotional fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey, Random House for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A truly touching and meaningful book. 🌸

[Tee Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this cosy and whimsy fantasy so much. I loved Ella Enchanted as a child so this theme was so welcome and so well done in my opinion, I enjoyed the whole cursed aspect and the not being able to tell lies was so good and all the situations this got our FMC Fliss in. The banter in this book was incredible and I was genuinely laughing at times.

I loved the thoughtful LGBTQ+ representation. This story was well written and clearly well thought out too.

4 stars 🌟

Thank you NetGalley and Zaffre for my ARC copy

[Jazz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this fabulous book. What a cosy and captivating read! I was hooked from the start and by the end I was on the edge of my seat when things got heated!! I adore Will and was so pleasantly surprised to see this book represented the LGBTQ+ community! I loved it!

[terezija ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75, rounding up to 4 <3
Such a cosy read! There was so much of it I enjoyed and the premise is so good.
I loved Fliss so much, the writer playing around with her sentances because of her curse was so interesting and fun.
Wills reveal was really unexpected but appreciated, I felt like it took the story to somewhere I did not expect it to go.
What I found really confusing is the world, because the e-arc did not contain a map I found the layout of the kingdoms and the places the characters were going to so confusing and it ruined alot of the immersion.
You can fly thru the last few chapters, all the secrets getting revealed and everything getting solved was such a satisfying thing to read about.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felicity Farrow is a magical florist. And she’s cursed. Forced to always tell the truth means always carefully choosing her words, avoiding overhearing things that can put her in a predicament, and being avoided by most of the townsfolk. But life hasn’t made her bitter. Fliss is kind, smart and doesn’t back away from a challenge. She is always there for her best friend Card and her fiancée, prince Bastion. Even if that means crossing paths with Lark, her *awful* ex.

One day, Fliss receives an anonymous request for a mysterious flower. The hunt for this flower leads her straight to the towns outcast: Willoh Vane (my new book boyfriend). Fliss and Willoh quickly bond over adventure, doing the right thing and… well, each other! Willoh knows how to treat a cursed girl right, and Fliss doesn’t care about scars whatsoever.
Pretty soon, shit hits the fan and dear Lord, I held my breath more than once! The “stabbing incident”, the prison break, the possession… Cozy left the building there for a while! And then we learn the true reason for the trouble in the north, the broken friendships within more than one generation, and the true need for those mysterious flowers… For a little while I did not think there was the possibility for a happy ending.
And just like that, all these little details throughout the story come together. And it turns out that *love* is the answer.

🪻Outcast meets outcast and finds friendship, truth, acceptance and love.
🪻You’re never too young or too old to fix a broken friendship.
🪻 You can heal from trauma, and others can love the parts of yourself that you deemed broken.
🪻 Romantic. Emotional. Powerful.
🪻 Cats.

An early read via NetGalley — feelings included.

[Kenna Nauwelaers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cozy and charming read. From the very beginning, the story felt warm and inviting, and I constantly found myself wanting to keep reading just a little bit more. The pacing was engaging without feeling rushed, making it the perfect comfort read.

I absolutely loved the characters, they were all so endearing and well written. The queer representation, in particular, was handled beautifully: it felt natural and organic, never forced, just simply part of who the characters are, which I really appreciated.

The world-building was another standout for me. The setting was described in such a vivid, almost whimsical way that it was easy to picture everything, creating a truly immersive atmosphere. The magic system, especially the elements based on flowers, felt fresh and original, and added an extra layer of charm to the story.

Overall, this was a very cute, cozy, and enjoyable book with lovely characters, thoughtful representation, and a beautifully crafted world. A comforting read that I’d definitely recommend if you’re in the mood for something magical and heartwarming.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️My review: What an exciting magical world! In a faraway world where magic is common and feuds reign, Fliss has magic over flowers. She doesn't know much about her father, the feud between her best friend's fiance (Prince Bash) and the mysterious sorcerer Willoh that she meets in the forest, or why she's tasked with finding rare flowers by an anonymous customer.
Fliss is cursed to only tell the truth, another thing she wants to understand.
When Fliss and Willoh and their mothers realize something evil is afoot, Fliss has to figure it before the wedding.
Evil spells, dark magic, love, family secrets...so many things to unpack and follow. This book drew me in quickly and I really wanted to learn the background and the why. Some parts were a bit confusing with the spells and settings but not enough to ruin the storyline.
If you like magical realms, dangerous quests, and romance, this is for you. Plus, lots of info about flowers and their meanings. Beautiful!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray/Random House for an advance digital copy. These opinions are my own.

[Avery Clason · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best cosy fantasy books I’ve read!

There are so many elements in this story that I felt pulled towards - the banter, the curse, the character, the botany, queer representation/normativity - LOVE LOVE LOVE!

I heard someone say that the curse in this story gave the vibe of Ella Enchanted and I can wholeheartedly agree! Not only does Felicity give m the same vibe as Ella, but her curse as well (and similar to the faerie in Cruel Prince). It’s always so enjoyable to see how characters find ways around their curses, especially ones that force them to speak the truth.

The banter between the characters in this was also so enjoyable and I found myself giggling and doing those one off snorts in so many sections of this book.

Cosy fantasy is not a genre I delve into often, but I always find myself enamored with the elements of it and how enjoyable the books are - Wildflower being one of them! This book would be perfectly paired with a warm summer day on a porch swing with an iced tea in hand.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the eARC of this incredible book!

[❀ Sarah-Jane ❀ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book as an ARC from NetGalley and I really enjoyed it!

It was giving me Stephanie Garber vibes! Such a cozy low stakes fantasy but with intrigue, curses, and twists. I absolutely loved the vibes this gave me.

Felicity ‘Fliss’ is a florist who has a magical affinity for flowers and she’s been cursed to tell the truth since birth. She’s best friends with the Prince’s fiancé.

She’s been anonymously tasked with finding rare flowers and enlists the help of Willoh - the prince’s ex best friend, there’s history there & he’s got a bad reputation in their kingdom.

This story takes us on a quest for three flowers, finding out who ordered them, why… is it something nefarious?! It would seem so!

It’s a story of curse breaking, falling in love and Fliss learning who she is on her own. The twists and turns were just brilliant, this is a clean cozy romance & was just what I needed! HEA guaranteed!

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and DelRay for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wildflower by Becky Jenkinson follows a magical florist, “Fliss,” cursed to always tell the truth, whose quiet life is disrupted when she’s sent to find rare, mysterious flowers. Along the way, she teams up with a disgraced sorcerer, uncovering a hidden conspiracy tied to a royal wedding—while friendship and romance begin to bloom.

The story started off really strong and had me genuinely interested in the story and characters. The cozy atmosphere and LGBTQ+ representation were definite highlights, and I appreciated that it was a “no spice” read—perfect if you’re looking for something soft and comforting.

However, as I got past the midpoint, the story seemed to lose its momentum. The pacing slowed down quite a bit, and I found myself less engaged, which made it harder to stay invested through the rest of the book.

Overall, it’s a sweet, easy read with a lot of heart. A solid 3 stars.

[Iz Leplenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wildflower sucked me right in. This debut novel is honestly right up my alley. Beautiful mix of coziness, magic and romance. Cozy fantasy is it for me this year 🥰

Felicity Farrow, magical florist, is cursed to tell only truth and when she starts to fall for the kingdom’s worst enemy things get complicated. How complicated you might ask.. a lot. Conspiracy, broken friendships, new beginnings and much more. I really couldn't stop reading and I can't wait to get my hands on physical copy ASAP.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an E-ARC

[Lucia]

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

[Demetri Papadimitropoulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

She Wanted Rare Flowers, a Little Privacy, and Possibly One Emotionally Competent Sorcerer
Becky Jenkinson’s “Wildflower” turns curses, court drama, and flirtation into an unexpectedly astute novel about control, confession, and the intoxicating novelty of being understood at last.
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | April 15th, 2026


At the threshold between cultivation and wilderness, safety and self-invention, this emblematic watercolor distills “Wildflower” into a single image of poised becoming: a heroine framed by blooms, shadow, and the distant promise of a life she might finally choose for herself.

The cleverest thing about Becky Jenkinson’s “Wildflower” is that it takes a premise that could have remained a tidy romantasy hook – a florist cursed to tell the truth – and treats it instead as a theory of social life. Felicity Farrow’s condition is not merely magical inconvenience. It is a lifelong regime of forced disclosure, compulsory usefulness, and conversational self-surveillance. She cannot simply speak; she must calculate. She cannot merely have feelings; she must decide whether those feelings are safe to voice, useful to others, or survivable if exposed. In less careful hands, that setup might have produced a briskly charming fairy-tale obstacle. Jenkinson understands that it produces a person: someone kind, exhausted, conflict-avoidant, quietly furious, and so practiced in accommodating other people’s needs that she almost disappears inside them.

That understanding gives “Wildflower” its emotional ballast. On the surface, the novel offers an enticing package: enchanted botany, royal secrecy, a blighted northern region, old friendships gone rancid, rebels in the forest, curses passed through families, and a simmering enemies-to-lovers romance between Fliss and the exiled sorcerer Willoh Vane. But the book’s real subject is not magic in the abstract. It is the cost of being made legible to everyone else all the time. Jenkinson turns truth into labor. She turns candor into captivity. The result is a fantasy that, at its best, feels unusually alert to the humiliations of being valued less as a self than as a function.

Fliss is a florist in Alrick, where flowers are not decorative garnish but emotional and social instruments, each species carrying a symbolic charge that shades scenes, relationships, and choices. She is also, thanks to a curse inherited from a previous generation’s magical arrogance, incapable of lying. That inability has made her useful to Queen Fern, who repeatedly summons her as a kind of living verification device. It has also shaped every intimacy in her life. Her best friend Cardamine, now engaged to Prince Bastion, loves her and leans on her, but has grown accustomed to her endless availability. Her ex, Lark, has left behind a bruise she cannot quite stop pressing. Her mother Lilibeth loves her fiercely while withholding the very history that would help Fliss understand herself. Then Will reappears in her orbit – sharp-tongued, wounded, theatrically irritating, and much more generous than his reputation suggests – and the novel begins loosening the knot it first presents as fate.

A large part of the book’s pleasure lies in watching Jenkinson let those plot strands braid rather than merely accumulate. What begins as a curse romance widens into a story about state neglect, class fracture, parental damage, political manipulation, and the uses of secrecy. The suffering in the northern villages, eventually traced to a magical catastrophe from Bastion and Will’s shared past, matters because Jenkinson refuses to let court intrigue stay court-sized. Privileged mistakes become ecological and social ruin. A prince’s shame becomes a region’s hunger. That expansion is one of the novel’s better instincts: it repeatedly asks what private guilt looks like once it has public consequences.

The Will-Fliss romance is the book’s surest commercial engine and, happily, often its most winning element. Jenkinson understands the mechanics of flirtation at the sentence level. Will’s sarcasm is not merely decorative banter but a pressure valve for grief, resentment, and self-protection. Fliss’s awkward sincerity is not a cute foil but the behavioral residue of living under impossible constraints. Their chemistry works because it is not just a matter of wit versus earnestness. It is a meeting between two people whose relationship to expression has been damaged in opposite ways – she has been denied privacy, he has hidden inside posture. When they finally move toward each other, the book earns the heat by grounding it in relief. Desire here is not simply appetite. It is the discovery of being unafraid in someone’s presence.

Jenkinson is particularly good at making tenderness feel specific. Will carrying Fliss through forests, teaching her spells, instinctively making room for her enthusiasms about flowers, or simply listening without demanding explanation – these scenes do more than advance a romance plot. They re-educate Fliss’s sense of what intimacy can be. The book keeps returning to a simple but potent distinction: to be known is not the same as being used. “Wildflower” never entirely abandons romantasy’s taste for heightened gesture, but it is strongest when it notices the small behavioral forms through which care becomes credible.

The prose is not radical, but it is more nimble than a dismissive genre summary would suggest. Jenkinson favors medium-length sentences, lucid syntax, and an image system rooted in petals, stems, roots, weather, and seasonal change. Her diction is accessible without being slack. She has a knack for giving emotional states botanical analogues that usually feel revealing rather than dutiful. Even when the symbolism is overt, it is overt in a way the book has earned; this is a world in which flowers are language, labor, medicine, warning, and memory all at once. The style’s chief virtue is its steadiness. Jenkinson rarely overstrains for lyric grandeur. She prefers clean emotional legibility, then lets repetition build resonance. At times that can flatten into overstatement, especially in climactic scenes where characters say the thing they mean with maximal explicitness, but the same transparency is also part of the novel’s moral architecture. A book about coerced truth cannot rely too heavily on coyness.

Its formal design is more interesting than it first appears. The novel keeps organizing itself around retrievals: of flowers, of buried history, of lost friendship, of damaged selfhood. Fliss repeatedly journeys outward in search of rare blooms, and each errand returns with more than the requested object. The quest structure is functional, yes, but it is also thematic. Every sought flower uncovers another layer of political rot or familial concealment. The botanic patterning gives the book a pleasing internal logic, and the repeated movement between domestic spaces, forest thresholds, and royal interiors creates an elastic rhythm between intimacy and conspiracy. Information is delayed with some savvy. What first looks like a whimsical magical taxonomy becomes the machinery of the plot. What looks like a romance obstacle becomes a genealogy of coercion. What seems like Bastion’s arrogance is eventually reframed through shame, damage, and maternal manipulation.

That said, “Wildflower” is not equally strong in all its ambitions. Its central limitation is not that it is emotionally earnest – the earnestness is often one of its strengths – but that it occasionally resolves complexity by naming it rather than dramatizing it further. Morgana, in particular, is more effective as an atmosphere of manipulation than as a fully persuasive consciousness. Her final disclosures clarify the plot, but they also compress too much history into a single explanatory burst. Likewise, the novel’s political frame can simplify at moments when it wants to sharpen. The suffering of the northern villages matters, and Jenkinson is right to insist on it, but the rebel plotline sometimes functions more as moral pressure on the court than as a fully inhabited political reality in its own right. There are places where the book tells us a system is rotten before it has fully rendered that system in all its contradictions.

There is also some repetition in the emotional circuitry. The cycles of Fliss almost confessing, being interrupted, running into danger, being captured, escaping, and then being forced into yet another emergency confession can feel mechanically recursive in the middle-to-late stretches. Will’s teasing persona, delightful though it is, occasionally lands one beat too often when silence might have carried more force. A few confrontations arrive already emotionally italicized. Jenkinson is generally better at building feeling than trimming it.

Still, the novel’s biggest swing is also the thing that makes it memorable: it insists that the breaking of a curse cannot be reduced to romantic exceptionalism. The ending initially appears poised to endorse the oldest of fantasy bargains – one transcendent declaration of love, one sacrificial exchange, one purified emotional truth. Instead, Jenkinson redirects that energy toward something larger and much more interesting. Fliss is freed not through the isolated nobility of a single beloved but through a chorus of witnesses: friends, parents, townspeople, even people she barely knew she had affected. The novel lands, in other words, on a collective theory of personhood. You are not only what has been done to you. You are also what you have meant to others, often without knowing it. That is both more generous and more intellectually satisfying than the standard soulmate solution.

It is also where the book most clearly reveals what it has been doing all along. “Wildflower” wants, in one sense, to be read as an enchanting romantasy about magic, flirtation, curses, and flowers. It certainly delivers that. But on the page it is doing something slightly stranger and better: showing how a young woman trained to think of herself as an instrument slowly discovers that she has already been living as a presence in other people’s lives. The ending does not merely give Fliss freedom from her curse. It changes the scale at which she understands herself. That shift gives the final sections a real emotional catch. They risk sentimentality and mostly escape it because the groundwork has been so patiently laid.

The novel will likely divide readers according to what they want from fantasy prose and from romantasy plotting. Readers who prefer harder-edged worldbuilding, more oblique style, or greater political density may find parts of it too tidy, too emotionally declarative, too willing to turn subtext into text. Readers who want a fantasy that takes emotional injury seriously without becoming grim, and that understands how romance can be reparative without pretending repair is simple, will find a great deal to admire. Its tonal world is warmer than “Uprooted” by Naomi Novik, less mythically severe than “One Dark Window” by Rachel Gillig, and more invested in everyday emotional logistics than the statelier fairy-tale mode of “Sorcery of Thorns” by Margaret Rogerson. Its real kinship lies in the way it uses speculative premises to make inner life socially visible.

I would land at 88/100, which for me translates to 4 Goodreads stars: a book with real strengths, a distinct emotional intelligence, and a memorable central idea, even if it does not fully solve every artistic problem it raises. What stays with me is not the palace intrigue or even the curse mechanics, though both are deftly handled. It is the image of a heroine who has spent her whole life being forced to tell the truth finally learning that love is not extraction, that witness is not ownership, and that freedom may begin not when you are perfectly known, but when you are allowed, at last, to choose what to say.


These compositional thumbnails test how the novel’s central pressure might best be staged in miniature – figure, threshold, garden, distance, and castle all shifting until the image finds the right balance between invitation and uncertainty.


The faint graphite underdrawing reveals the emblematic image at its most skeletal, before mood and color arrive – a quiet architecture of path, border, body, and possibility.


This tonal rehearsal study strips the image back to value, atmosphere, and light logic, showing how the final watercolor’s feeling depends as much on shadow and breathing room as on floral abundance.


The border development sheet treats ornament as thought rather than decoration, working through how vines, petals, and illuminated motifs can suggest both beauty and entanglement without hardening into design.


The color swatch sheet translates the cover palette into painterly intention, mapping the golds, roses, greens, and blues that let the final image move from cultivated intimacy into storybook distance.

All watercolor illustrations by Demetris Papadimitropoulos.

[Sapphyre Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute and cosy fantasy. It completely sucked me in. Like another reviewer has said, there was a detail that I did not see coming. I did really like how accepted it was, however for me it did seem out of place. It kind of knocked me out of the cosy and whimsical vibe I was in whilst reading up until this point.
Overall this was a brilliant cosy book.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

The worldbuilding is not a strength in this one, which isn't unusual in its particular type of current fantasy, but I felt the story was solid.

The character names are a classic "Aerith and Bob" situation, some of them botanical or otherwise nature-related, some of them from various origins in our world (including several from the Bible, in a setting where religion is conspicuous by its almost total absence and where the two brief passing references are to Standard Fantasy Paganism), and some completely made-up fantasy names, with no obvious schema to account for the mixture. The characters themselves mostly feel like mid-2020s people cosplaying (or, in at least one scene, just wearing modern clothing) in a generic ren-faire setting, and the setting itself feels too small, with places that seem like they ought to be a long way off instead being in easy walking distance. The review copy I had didn't have the map yet, but based on the travel times mentioned, the whole kingdom is about the size of the six boroughs of New York City (roughly 35 miles across). And yet a character who has long wished to visit a wonderful library just to the north has never found time to make the two-hour journey by horse (meaning about 10 or at the most 15 miles), and an afternoon's walk from the citadel, which occasionally gets snow flurries, takes you not only to but also up a mountain with a permanent snowcap and blizzard weather. The small size of the kingdom presumably accounts for the fact that, although there's a royal family (consisting of a king, a queen, and two princes), there doesn't appear to be an aristocracy, and both the queen and the older prince's fiancé are commoners.

The flower lore is interesting, though it has an obvious real-world model in the Victorian "language of flowers". It's the most original part of the worldbuilding.

The magic system is largely undefined, and what it can and can't do appears to be driven entirely by what the plot requires.

There's a horse that moves implausibly quietly.

On the upside, even the pre-publication copy I received via Netgalley for review was well edited, apart from the occasional dangling modifier, fumbled idiom or clumsy phrasing, and a few cases where two words that are not synonyms are used as if they are. The emotional beats are sound. The plot is a proper plot, not just a slice of life, and it's driven by the decisions of the characters, some of which are bad ones such as real people make, and they make them for believable reasons. It's cozy in its presentation (after all, it's about a magical florist), but it has stakes and tension and losses and tragic backstory and desperate struggles and a strong climax.

The main character, Felicity, was born with a curse which prevents her from saying anything that isn't the truth. The rules seem to change a bit during the book; at one point she can say something that is her opinion, even if it's not commonly shared, but later on it's as if the very fact that she can say something means it's definitely true. Can't she be mistaken? Of course, this is also the point at which people stop believing her, because she's saying things they don't want to believe.

The queen has been using her as a snitch, which has made her unpopular, but when we see her being interviewed by the queen she's perfectly capable of concealing a lot of information, so that's a tell-versus-show mismatch, what I sometimes call a decal.

Perhaps the biggest strength of the book is that it depicts Felicity's inner life so well. Because she's unpopular for her truth-telling, she tries to be reliable and compliant and trustworthy and non-confrontational and a people-pleaser, and stuffs her feelings down and lets people walk all over her (like her only friend, a rather self-involved extravert who strongly reads "bard," though I don't think he has an occupation other than "prince's fiancé"). All of this starts coming apart quite early in the book, so we're, again, more told about her people-pleasing than we are shown, but it is emotionally accurate to someone who is this way. There are some highly emotional scenes, for Felicity and her love interest both, but they're justified by events and not just the characters being over-dramatic.

Emotionally sound writing balanced by basic and unconvincing worldbuilding and some elements that didn't ring quite true brings this in at three stars. A lot of people who don't demand much from worldbuilding will love it unreservedly, I'm sure.

[Kayla Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a Ya Cozy Romantasy book, this is for you. But if you want a Cozy fantasy book with a well put together magic system and great world building, then move along (jk jk still read if you want). This book was very hard for me to review because on one hand I read a ARC with many plot holes and expected more from the story than I got and on the other hand the plot holes can be fixed in the final book (which I hope it does) which would overlook the other faults of the book. This review may have spoilers

So first, the good, I loved the fact that the author incorporated flowers all throughout the book. Each chapter starts with a brief overview of a flower that will be brought up in that chapter, and it really helps to bring the story together. My other highlight was during the wedding scene when SPOILER all the persons the FMC impacted shared how they loved and appreciated her, which was nice to see that all her hard work paid off.

Now, this is where it all goes downhill. World building? Who's she, Magic System? Non-existent. Throughout the whole book I was so confused how the Magic worked in this world because the FMC has floral magic but the MMC is a sorcerer with his main focus to be wind, but there is also healing magic and dark magic. But then some people has magic, and some don't (possibly I'm still not clear on this). A character stated that persons who are born with low magic can study at the library to improve their skills. There are just too many variables surrounding the magic system that I have to guess. In terms of the world building, we really don't know anything about the 8 kingdoms or what type of government it has. The main kingdom has a king and queen which implies the others have the same. But again, that's one of many assumptions that needed to be made in the book.

I know nothing about transitioning or how to talk about it or share about it. But for a book where it wasn't a main or life altering factor, I wish we knew about it earlier in the book when we were getting to know the MMC. I also don't agree that an 8 year old should start that process so young. But outside of that, the romance between the two was cute until it became kinda of obsessive where the FMC treated the MMC like he was the center of her universe. It got weird once they got together because she was always thinking about him, saying she would die for him, etc. It was too much. Especially the lack of care for side characters once he was in the picture.

There were so many plot holes in the book, but to cut short an already long review, the two prominent ones were the rare flowers and curses. The book talks about how when spells are spoiled, they turn into dark curses. Then we find out that the FMC was the product of a dark curse, which would make us assume (again) that the prince was also the product of one. But then it's revealed that he was cursed directly when he was a child which makes no sense to me since it was dark magic keeping his power at bay (hence the push back after the tree incident ). Then you have a library with all the knowledge in the world that has been around for years where students go to study and do research and you want me to believe that no one was studying these rare flowers and blooming patterns etc? To the point where it's super rare for all of them to bloom at the same time, but only the villain knew this? But also, the teacher didn't even think the flowers were real, but the MMC knew the exact location of two of them? It makes no sense to me.

Anyways, all in all if you can appreciate the flowers, romance, and whimsy of the book and ignore the plot holes. You will enjoy it. Seeing as though this a Debut Novel for the author, I will give her the benefit of the doubt this time but hopefully future novels are better thought out.

[Ally · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating: ★★★★☆ (4–4.25 stars)
flower magic 🤝 cursed girl 🤝 “i literally cannot lie so this is going to ruin everything”
okay but…
a main character cursed to always tell the truth???
yeah no.that is WORSE than enemies to lovers that is a SOCIAL NIGHTMARE and i loved every second of it.
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
what i loved about this book was FLISS.
she’s such a refreshing FMC because she’s not super powerful in an obvious way or effortlessly confident she’s careful and awkward, constantly trying not to accidentally destroy her own life with honesty. and the fact that her curse forces her to be used by the crown as basically an unwilling informant???
yeah that adds actual stakes to something that could’ve been played as just quirky.
and THE MAGIC???
FLOWER MAGIC.
i’m sorry but this was EVERYTHING.We have enchanted bouquets, rare magical flowers hidden in dangerous places and magic tied to nature and intention like what more can you ask?
it feels so soft and whimsical but also… a little dangerous.and the little detail that the book includes hand-drawn floral sketches???STOP that’s so cute. also can we please talk about WILL???
oh i KNOW this man’s reputation is bad but hear me out he’s giving outcast sorcerer he's morally suspicious (allegedly) and sarcastic but secretly soft like everyone says he corrupted the forest…
and fliss is like “okay but what if he didn’t 👀” and their dynamic is VERY reluctant allies with tension → trust → feelings with soft, blooming romance (literally) and yes…i ate that up.
the vibes this book feels like are running a tiny magical flower shop, wandering into enchanted woods
and gathering ingredients that might kill you and falling in love while trying to stop a royal disaster
because yes there IS a plot, we have mysterious flower requests → conspiracy → royal wedding danger → oh no everything is connected 😭
so it’s cozy…but not low stakes cozy.
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
now what i what DIDN’T fully like was that it leans a bit YA in tone at times which is totally cool if that your thing but i just feel like most books these days tend to be that way( or they tend to be to ADULT if you catch my drift)..
some dialogue/voice can feel slightly modern for the setting and the plot is a little predictable if you read a lot of fantasy also if you want super intense romance or heavy political intrigue this is more soft and charming and emotionally driven then that.
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
overall this felt like being forced to tell the truth in a world that punishes honesty while finding someone who sees you beyond your curse and slowly realizing your “weakness” might actually be your strength.
it’s cozy it's heartfelt and a little whimsical but with enough stakes to keep you invested.
if you like cozy romantasy with actual plot a soft slow burn romance and unique magic systems (NOT just fire/water/etc.)…this will absolutely work for you.
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
My final thoughts;
i came for the flower magic…
i stayed because apparently “cursed to tell the truth” is the most stressful trope i’ve ever experienced 🌸💀

Huge thanks to NetGalley for providing me the ARC to Becky's beautiful world!

[Lemurkat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super-sweet, cozy fantasy with fairly high stakes and romance. A lovely read, as long as one doesn't focus too hard on the world building.

The main character, Felicity, is a florist, and she's cursed. Her curse? She cannot tell a lie. As such, she's been turned into the Queen's informer, and the other townsfolk cannot trust her. A dedicated people pleaser, Felicity tries to do what's best, and just wants people to like her. Her best friend is engaged to the Prince, and they're in the throes of planning a royal wedding. Meanwhile, Felicity is tasked to find three mysterious flowers, flowers that guide her directly into the path of both the rebels, and the renegade mage, Willoh, who has previous history/conflict with the prince.

Each chapter is delightfully illustrated with a different flower, and its traits, which generally relate somewhat to the content of that chapter. All adding to the whimsical charm. Willoh, the renegade mage, is your typical cozy fantasy love interest: he's charming, a little bit smug (he smirks a lot) and, obviously, deeply misunderstood. He also loves his mother, and tries to stay out of the way of political conflict, despite the fact he's become something of the royal's scapegoat.

The book is very charming, but it is somewhat weak in the world building: distances seem extremely small. One of Felicity's flower quests lead her up a snow-covered mountain within what appears to be only a few hours walk, and all the key landmarks appear to be within only a few hours travel. Then again, maybe the folks that dwell in the citadel prefer to stay in the citadel. It didn't bother me overmuch. Attitudes appear to be very modern, especially in relation to same sex marriage, and gender affirmation surgery and aftercare. Language seemed to sway slightly towards modern slang, with terms like "ex" and "kid" being banded around. None of this was particularly problematic, it's a fantasy kingdom, after all.

Healing seemed to be a mix of slow medical means, or extremely quick magical means - making you wonder why the magical side wasn't employed more often. There didn't seem to be any particular rules around magic (except dark magic, which always came with a price) - it seemed to be capable of doing whatever the prose needed it to do at the time. Nothing too extravagant, but also a convenient way to surpass many small hurdles.

Felicity's truth-telling started off based on what she believed to be true, but later it appeared that if she could say it, then it must be true, which seems like an amazing power to have. She also proved to be quite adept at talking around the truth when she needed to conceal things, and it made you wonder why she had become such a snitch.

Also, for a cozy-adjacent novel, there is a fairly gruesome bit in the middle, where one of the characters suffers a pretty ghoulish injury. So it's not all flowers and young love.

Overall, it's a cute debut novel. It's charming, and kept me reading far too late into the night, and I enjoyed the banter, and Felicity learning to stand up for herself.

[Emily Capri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy!

Set in a cozy fantasy world, Felicity Farrow is deeply passionate about flowers and works as a magical florist in her and her mother's shop. Felicity was cursed from birth with the inability to lie and has spent her life trying to navigate this. This has left her lonely and without any real friendships outside of her childhood best friend Cardamine. 

I absolutely adored this book! I was intrigued from the first page honestly. I really loved the way flowers were described immediately in such a beautiful way. Articulating how they're more than "just" flowers and what they can mean, the messages they can send, what they can do. This theme all throughout the book was so beautiful and not something I've seen before. You could really feel the passion Felicity had and the love she felt for her flowers and the role they/she plays in people's lives. 

I found that the whole premise of Felicity being unable to lie was done really well. The way we saw her play with wording, the different ways she'd worked out how to tell the truth but limit the amount of information she gave or the intricate ways she got out of revealing certain things was so clever and written well in my opinion. She was also so passionate about her work and cared so deeply about it. She was surprisingly such an incredibly strong, courageous, fearless character filled with such integrity, empathy and passion. 

I found the characters to be easily loveable honestly. But oh my, THE DIVERSITY! I was not expecting that and it brought me the most insane amount of joy!!! The world was littered with queer characters, non-binary characters, trans people. The big royal wedding that was a huge focus throughout the book was two men deeply in love and getting married. But the way it was all done is what I loved the most, because it was just....normal. None of this was treated as anything special, it was all just another part of life. As a queer, non-binary person, this made me so happy. I want to see diversity but I also don't want or need it to be flashy and centred. It was done beautifully, it was all so natural and genuine. 

I don't normally cry in books but this one made me tear up a couple of times towards the end for various reasons. The events leading up to the ending were filled with so many emotional moments and moments I was holding my breath throughout. I felt the ending was done well and the author did a good job of tying everything together. 

While the story was often quite light with jokes and discussions of pretty flowers, there were still serious topics like discrimination, classism, the food and resources issues and death/grief. 
 These were all handled with respect and in my opinion allowed the reader to learn many real life lessons from these topics. I also loved how we saw relationships in the book where people ended up with a partner who truly, fully saw them for everything they were and loved them deeply for it. 

I absolutely adored this book and will be 100% recommending it to anyone and everyone I can. One of my favourite book series is the Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett and this book really reminded me of this series in the best ways. 

Fantasy, magic, queer characters/diversity, beautiful flowers and an FMC with more strength, passion, integrity and courage than expected. What's not to love? 5⭐️

[Dotti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wildflower is a queer cozy fantasy novel following a young florist cursed to always tell the truth. Our main character, Fliss, has a tangled web of allegiances; her mother who keeps secrets from her, her best friend whose fiancé might have some secrets, and her queen who abuses her curse for information. When Fliss comes in contact with the greatly-despised wizard Willoh, she learns that maybe all is not what it seems.

This book had a lot going for it. The fantasy setting and Fliss’s characterization was very cozy and engaging. Fliss’ situation, “always cursed to tell the truth” created a lot of interesting narrative challenges that the author was able to explore. Her relationships, her job, and her self-worth are all very tied into her limitations; even her internal monologue is very sarcastic, but she is unable to express that to anyone other than the audience. The romance was well developed, with good banter and trust between our characters. Will is a compelling love interest with solid backstory of his own, and the side characters are given enough depth to be interesting (with maybe the exception of Card, who often felt more one-note). There were multiple levels of queer representation, which was a nice addition to the story while giving characters full arcs.

The pacing was good in this story, and the conclusion was excellent. I thought I knew what to expect (thank you Ella Enchanted) but was pleasantly surprised.

The magic system in this book is a little thin and undefined, with our main character having some kind of miscellaneous botany magic that only works on plants. The rest of the magic building seems to be a standard spells-create-magic system, though it’s not thoroughly explored. There seems to be a Library that Magic is studied, in addition to spell books, but also magic is able to be innately controlled, and there are dark magic and curses of unspecified varieties? At one point a character says that the inability to do magic completely is very rare, but we very rarely see anyone outside of a few specific characters using it.

This book has a lot of cozy elements, but there are still multiple not-so-cozy things: murder, violence, stab wounds, prison breaks, systemic oppression through propaganda and more. Those reading this book should enjoy the lovely descriptions of flowers and their meanings and also know that they might experience a little bloodshed.

Altogether, this was a fun book with a lot of good things going for it. I enjoyed myself, the story was very accessible, and I really felt drawn in. It wasn’t as cozy as some other books in the genre, but there were moments that definitely leaned into the cozy fantasy moniker. This is definitely worth a read.

The story contains some heavy kissing but no explicit scenes. There are multiple LGBT+ characters in this story, including in romantic scenes.

A big thank you to Del Rey RandomHouse for this advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Charlotte Kersten · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by NetGalley. 3.5 stars bumped to 4 for the sweetness of it all!

After a month of struggling to get through any reading, Wildflower felt like a gentle, warm welcome back. I saw one review compare this book to Ella Enchanted with its loveble protagonist whose life has been restricted by a magical curse, and I think that’s a pretty good comparison (although Ella Enchanted will be one of my most beloved childhood favorites forever so I'm biased). There’s a fairy tale feeling to the story and the world it’s set in feels familiar and comfy and colorful. There are certainly stakes but things never get too bleak, and almost all of the characters end up finding their way back to each other after their various conflicts, mistakes and losses. Fliss is very fun to spend time with as a kind, sweet protagonist who struggles to assert herself and is passionate about floristry. Her skill, knowledge and magic are really important to the story, and I found it genuinely heartwarming to see her learn to stand up for herself while realizing how much people care for her because of who she is, not what she can do for them. The romance is very cute, the world is cheerfully inclusive/queernorm, and I spent a considerable chunk of the book wanting to eat cake, drink tea, pet a cat, sit in the sunlight, and/or work in a garden.

My quibbles are mainly related to how repetitive the plot gets at some points, particularly in the sections where Fliss seeks out the rare flowers and ends up getting hurt and rescued, and the ending, where she and Will repeatedly try to explain what’s happening to people, are disbelieved by them despite her curse and have to escape to regroup and try again. The writing is occasionally clunky and a few strange phrases slipped through, at least in my ARC copy.

There is also a bit of wonkiness in the handling of some of the emotional themes and character arcs - we never get around to unpacking the full implications of what Fliss’s mom did with “love magic” being rape, for example, and I was kind of nonplussed when Will was suddenly about to kill himself to lift Fliss’s curse before they immediately moved on to a new plan. Some of the conversations about emotions and relationships did feel a bit “therapy speak” to me; that being said, I think we all have quite different criteria for what strikes us as too tidily articulate/jargony to feel authentic, so your mileage may vary there.

My main critique of previous cozy fantasy reads has often been that they felt overly twee, cloying or saccharine, but I didn’t feel that way about Wildflower. Since I’m a slightly harder sell for cozy fantasy in general, though, my quibbles probably stood out more to me than they might for more strongly cozy-inclined readers. Keep that in mind when Wildflower comes out on June 16th!! :)

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

Oh, Willoh Vane, the man that you are.

Wildflower is a story about a young florist, who is cursed to only tell the truth. When she starts receiving commissions to find some mysterious flowers of great power, she starts to realize that people closest to her may be hiding dangerous secrets.

Wildflower falls more on the cozy side of fantasy, but it doesn't lack danger and action. The plot is nothing I haven't seen before but that's not necessarily a bad thing - it still kept me glued to the book, curious to see where it was going. In the end, while it wasn't prefect, the plot was engaging and I had a lot of fun reading it.

When it comes to the characters, I didn't love Fliss at the beginning, but she had a strong character development and really grew on me. However, the strongest character in the novel to me is Will. He has every quality I used to love in the old YA love interests without being a complete asshole on top of it. His interactions with Fliss were a delight to read and they had a lot of very charming banter. I loved him from the moment he opened his mouth. Unfortunately, the rest of the characters are a bit of a mixed bag. The biggest offender was Card, Fliss' best friend who could compete for the worst friend of the year reward. He was engaged to Bastion, who wasn't much better but at least with him I could see some valid reasoning for such behavior. Card has zero excuses for treating Fliss the way he did. The Queen and Fliss' mom were terrible people as well. When Fliss' mom finally reveals the origin of her curse, I was at a loss of words. Morgana, aka the sorcerer who'd cursed Fliss was just kind of there and I feel her motives were kind of packed into the story last-minute. Before that she was simply a very one-dimensional villain and after we don't see much of her. I also liked some of the guards and Pidgeon, I wish some people got bigger consequences for the stuff they'd done and some things felt glossed-over and rushed.

The book reads really fast but the writing style is a bit clunky in some places. We got some really repetitive bits like Fliss constantly saying how clumsy she was and repeating how she literally can't lie. Like, we get it girl. The clumsy girl trope overall makes me roll my eyes and I don't really see why are we still doing it.

All in all, if you are a fan of cozy fantasy, I think Wildflower is one of the better ones I've read. It has some issues but in the end, I can overlook it for the interesting characters, cute romance and a fun time overall. It reminded me a little of the Regency Faerie Tales series in a way that it was a cozy romance that still focused on plot and not just vibes.

[ai lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the DelRey for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Fliss (Felicity) was cursed at birth by the mysterious Morgana to tell only the truth. As an adult, Fliss works as a florist, utilizing her floral magic to try and win back the favor of the people, who resent her for reporting to Queen Fern. As Fliss's best friend Card prepares to marry Bash, the crown prince, Fliss finds herself juggling her duties as a maid of honor, mysterious requests for increasingly rare flowers, and increasingly flirtatious encounters with Willoh Vane, Bash's disgraced ex best friend. As Will and Fliss begin to fall for one another, secrets about the curse on the kingdom's land and the justice of the Queen's rule begin to arise, forcing Fliss to choose between her friends and what is right.

The things I liked: I quite liked Fliss as a protagonist. I found her voice charming and I liked hearing about her work. Similarly, I found the queer-normative setting charming. I also like reading about the descriptions of the floral magic. Will and Fliss are cute together!

And now, the things I struggled with: the world building, the side characters, and the plot conveniences. The world building in this one didn't really do it for me. I felt as though the kingdom was the size of a small college town. Everyone seemed to know each other, everything was within walking distance, and every journey could be made within a day. This started to get confusing when Fliss seemed so astounded by how well traveled Willow was, despite him only really going places that they later travel to within a day. Similarly, I found the magic system confusing. Anything seemed possible, and this made it a struggle to understand the stakes of the novel. If the magic had been a background feature, this wouldn't have been an issue, but it is so central to the plot that I found it distracting. Additionally, I found the side characters a bit flat, especially when it came to the older generation. Queen Fern, Fliss's mother, Morgana, and Ruth are the reason for this the central conflict of the book, but their relationship and subsequent falling out fell flat. Finally, just a lot of what happens in this book is convenient. Fliss runs into people who know how to find the flowers she needs, she meets people related to the plot without much trouble, she just so happens to figure out how to us her magic when the story demands. I just struggled to see how the main character might fail because it always felt like she was going to get authorial help with her problems.

All that being said, I thought this book had its charms. Because of this, I'd still be interested in reading what this author releases in the future.

[Gie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.6/5

Wild Flowers gives off a very classic “Shoujo Manga” vibe.
A naive, self-righteous heroine who somehow doesn’t realize she’s beloved by everyone, paired with a charming, misunderstood, flirty, and powerful male lead. I can see this being quite popular with YA readers who want a cozy, low-stakes, straightforward romantasy.

The plot itself is simple and fairly predictable, but it has its charms.

I actually liked the beginning more than the end, even though the ending has more drama and action. Some of the later scenes felt a bit cringey to me, and I definitely experienced secondhand embarrassment while reading those parts.

The opening is much calmer and slower, but I found it more interesting and atmospheric.

I especially enjoyed the setup with the mysterious client requesting rare flowers from Fliss, and the journey of tracking them down. Her adventures, meeting new characters, and discovering places beyond the citadel felt genuinely cozy and charming.

One detail I really loved was the chapter ornaments. Each chapter begins with a lovely flower illustration with a bit of floriography. It’s a cute touch that fits the theme and adds to the reading experience.

That said, I struggled with the characters. The characters often felt shallow, and at times their choices didn’t feel believable, especially when they risk their lives to solve problems with motivation that boils down to “it’s the right thing to do” or a weak backstory. That wasn’t convincing enough for me, and sometimes it felt more like convenience for the plot.

The further I read, the more I disliked Fliss, the FMC. She constantly acts before she thinks, causes trouble, and rarely feels held accountable. Yes, she has a good heart, but repeatedly throwing herself (and others) into danger without a plan quickly became frustrating. Many situations could have been avoided if she paused to think and plan.

I’m also pretty tired of the “damsel in distress” trope, and it shows up a lot here. Fliss is frequently in danger, often because she has no plan, or because she’s always falling, injured, or otherwise helpless, and it got old. I found myself tired of how often she’s calling for Will, demanding he save her or fix the mess she’s in (or caused).

Overall, I’d recommend this to readers looking for a light, cozy romantasy with a little spice who don’t mind a more naive/juvenile tone. I can’t say I loved it, but it worked fine as a palette cleanser after a heavier read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Alyssa Garza · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25/5 stars - DNF @ 74%

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There were several reasons I ended up DNF’ing this book but the two main issues were: the writing style and the characters

There were a few things I liked though! The intro was great, I loved the vibes, the setting was cute, we get to meet our main characters and we’re going on some adventures while looking for the rare and mysterious flowers. It felt calm and put together, but that kinda dissolved later on.
The chapter ornaments were cute, I loved the drawings of the flowers, especially as they were integrated into the story later on.

This book has a neat and simple premise with a cute, naive heroine and a charming, misunderstood male lead, definitely something I could see in young adult/new adult romantasy, or really connecting with a younger audince.

On my issues, specifically with writing style, Jenkinson can write beautiful backgrounds and scenery but her character exposition is shallow, she over explains in a tell-not-show way, and her writing is very young-adult toned that makes me constantly forget that I am reading an adult novel until the characters do something Very Adult and I get shocked. There were multiple scenes where I was forcibly told how a character was feeling with very point blank explanations rather than allowing the characters to show their feelings in a more natural way, or at least more subtle. It led me to disconnect with the story because I was most spoon fed everything.

On the characters, I have many more complaints. Specifically, my biggest beef is with our FMC Felicity, or Fliss. She has the body of a 20-something year old but the maturity and attitude of a 15 year old who just experienced her first breakup. Fliss shifts wildly between temper tantrums and acting like she is unable to process any emotion at all to declaring she is an adult (“You can’t control me mom!”) to then actually acting like an adult (little bit of spice in her romance). She is constantly throwing herself into danger and then having to rely on other people to save her ass after she made an impulsive move with literally no thought behind it, whilst simultaneously wishing everyone would stop hating her. It was fine earlier on in the story, I enjoyed her search for the flower but the more we moved through the plot and interacted with more characters, I was just so done with everything. I surprisingly didn’t have much issue with our MMC Will, he was just kinda there though since we didn’t get much perspective from him as we did from Fliss. Card and Bastion though are just shallow characters that we also don't get mcuh insight into. They're almost antagonists but not really, just there to provide some friction.

Overall, I would recommend to someone looking for a lighter read, with a little bti of spice that does not mind the young adult tone that this book gives off, maybe new adult. It very much did not work for me but I am not everyone and I was unable to finish it so maybe there is something more hat can draw people in.

[Meryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Wildflower pulled me in with that beautiful cover and how the premise sounded whimsical and magical. I loved the floriography from the get go and the way it was woven into the worldbuilding — but if you have a bit of knowledge of the language of flowers, you might get a sense already of how each chapter will go. The rest of the worldbuilding landed weak for me, and I was also unfortunately not invested in the rest of it nor the characters.

I can't say I was charmed by the other characters. Overall there were many instances where their actions and dialogue felt a bit juvenile for me, but if I understood correctly, they're in their early 20s, so maybe that's a factor. It also threw me off when it seemed like this world was set in some medieval era, but there was modern slang or vibe slipping in. Note that I read an ARC though, so I don't know if this will change in the final copy.

One plot point that really threw me off was that revelation on Will. This tidbit is not an issue for me as a reader, just that when I reached the reveal, it felt like I was imagining the wrong character all along and thus made me feel bad about it. I think after that point on, I struggled to connect with the rest of the story, because I misrepresented the character and imagined somebody else in my head. Plus points for the representation though.

I enjoyed the first 1/4-1/2 of the book, when Fliss was collecting the mysterious flowers and going on adventures on her own; though I did have to suspend my disbelief at a good chunk of it because why was she going on these adventures totally unplanned. 😅 She was also covering long, unfamiliar distances... but all in one day. Again, I had to suspend my disbelief and just carried on, even if some of it sounded ridiculous to me.

The final 85% was a bit cheesy and overdramatic to me, the reactions almost felt caricature-ish. Now that I think about it, even some of the characters also felt that way to me, like it was so obvious that they were conceptualized and written a certain way to fill a certain role, if that makes sense. Fliss is the quiet girl determined to prove her mettle and then proceeds to save the kingdom, Will is the love interest who seems cocky but is tender-hearted, Card is the clingy bestie, Bash is the insecure prince, Fern is the overprotective mom, Morgana is the evil witch who just wants to be loved.

Overall, I'd say the book is not terrible, it's just not the kind of writing or chracterization that I enjoy. I think, for a reader to fully enjoy this book, you need to come in with Disney glasses on (fairytale + escapist, clear good vs bad, true love saves the day), even if the premise sounded like Ghibli (nuanced + complex, with characters that have strong agency).

I received a NetGalley offer of an early digital copy from the publisher Del Rey, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the copy!

[Kimberley Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect spring read of a cozy fantasy positively blooming with heart, kindness and hope.
(I apologise in advance for the several flower puns throughout this review. But also, not sorry, it’s a cozy fantasy review and needs must!)

You see the phrase “unique magic system” so often now in the fantasy market, that often it doesn’t quite ring true. However, Jenkinson’s knowledge of flora and the creativity to utilise the lore and language of flowers within this magic system really makes this debut flourish. Personally, I really enjoyed diving into a fantasy book that did not inundate me with thousands upon thousands of complex names, spells, different kingdoms, families, creatures and the like. Sometimes the best way to capture the readers attention and immerse them in the world you have created is to allow them to explore it for themselves and allow the brilliant writing to carry them through when the information is actually needed- and that is exactly what Becky Jenkinson did. Just because the magic system and lore of the world was simple, didn’t mean it was not interesting, I was completely hooked from beginning to end to see what Felicity and her flowers would do next.

Felicity herself is the classic protagonist of a cozy fantasy: underestimated, kind and bursting with magic despite the curse she has had since birth. Her inner monologue is hilarious and awkward, she is someone you just can’t help but root for. Willoh is her perfect match in every single way, the minute a love interest comes in with a drawl of sarcasm, a reluctant cat companion and perfectly tousled hair, I am sold! Watching their relationship grow page by page with their trust, kindness and flirty banter had me giggling, crying and smiling with absolute pride in how far each of them had come.

A personal favourite character of mine was Ruth with her wry and witty humour, and a particularly poignant moment of the book was reflecting on how Felicity has touched the lives of each and every one of the townsfolk despite having felt so isolated herself her entire life. If kindness could break curses in the real world, this book would be the most well-loved instruction manual on how to do just that.

Botanists, fantasy lovers and cat companions will all find something to love in this charming tale. I’m always looking for a new cozy and whimsical book to share with my mum, and when the publication date comes, we will be heading straight to the bookstore to pick her up a copy. I cannot wait.

Dare I say “blooming good” (that was the last one, I swear).