Welcome to the biggest botanical scavenger hunt in New England.
Meet Team #FleurFour: Young empty-nester Olivia Rose screwed up big time, landing her on forced leave from her job. Coaxed into joining the race, she’s determined to find the answers she needs in the wake of her father’s death to finally put the past behind her.
Garden-savvy radio host Irina yearns to repair a strained relationship with her stepdaughter Olivia, and a road trip together might just be the perfect opportunity.
After a tragic accident, floral deliveryman Holden is done with life kicking him down. Winning the prize money could bring him a fresh start.
Talented florist Zach’s confident façade has gotten him far, but it’s beginning to crumble, and he still has a lot to prove. His heart and career are on the line.
Friendships blossom, but as the clock counts down, the team is put to the test. From puzzling clues, to scheming competitors and thorny detours, Team Fleur Four must learn to work together—or they’ll wilt among the weeds just as they begin to bloom.
Jean has a penchant for the misunderstood, be it sharks, microbes, or wounded characters. A scientist by training, she now spends her days as an author and champion for her children. She draws from her interest in history, science, the outdoors, and her family for inspiration. She serves on the local library board of trustees and is an advocate for community, inclusion, and diversity. Her books span the genres of historical romance (with mystical elements), contemporary romance, women’s fiction, suspense, road trip, smalltown, and friendship fiction.
A nature enthusiast who adores the national parks, Jean also writes for family-oriented travel magazines and websites. When not writing, she enjoys gardening, tackling the biggest mountains in New England, and going on adventures with her husband and children, while taking snapshots of the world around her and daydreaming about the next story. If she were stuck on a deserted island, her three essentials (besides family, food, water, shelter) would be: coffee, lip balm, and endless pink sticky notes.
Find out more about her books by visiting her website: www.jeanmgrant.com
Chasing Roses presents an original premise and offers a fun adventure filled with wonderfully quirky characters that you can't help but become invested in. Each character has their own reasons for participating in the botanical scavenger hunt, and discovering their motivations makes for an engaging read.
Team Fleur Four races against time and faces various obstacles to reach the finish line with all the answers in hand. However, the true essence of the story lies in what they share and learn about themselves and each other. The bonds of friendship and teamwork are central themes that enhance the narrative.
Chasing Roses is a fantastic read and a delightful, original story that should not be missed.
Olivia's unexpected leave of absence from her job has her teaming up with Holden, Zach and Irina on an a race as Team 4 #FleurFour. Each has their own reason for joining the race but can they win? The adventure begins and all four of them find themselves forming a friendship and taking a closer look into their own lives.
Delightful read, loved the spirit of this story. I think there is a character everybody can identify with and layers to this book I was not expecting. You are swept away immediately and the wistfulness of the story does not let up even at the end. Wonderful story.
This is the first book I’ve read by the author. I will be on the look out for more by the author. If you like flowers, or anything with gardening and racing then this book is for you. I love the mix of different flowers and racing. It makes me think of ‘The Amazing Race’ just with flowers. There is revenge, cheating, and losses, but there are also wins in the story. The book does follow four people: Irina, Olivia, Holden, and Zach. I did Olivia and Holden as Zach and Irina follow into the other two.
Olivia is a mom of a high school student who is getting ready to graduate. She is still mourning the passing of her dad and roses show up once a month for her from her father. He set it up before his death, didn’t he? Her step mom is bugging her to join her team for the flower race and she doesn’t like the idea. When she finally agrees she realizes that this might just be what she needed. She meets Holden who is also on the team and she also finds that she might be falling for him. She tells Holden this about the break in: “I haven’t always been this unhinged, you know. I thought I had worked through most of this junk last year, but I guess healing is a bumpy path. I have another book. I used to draw him. The guy. Over and over. He wore a mask, but I remember his icy blue eyes. The tattoo on his neck. Here I am, chasing the man with the rose tattoo. I’m hopeless. Chasing roses.”
Holden could use the money to pay off debt and maybe resume the college degree he’s going after. That is the only reason that he said yes to joining Irina and Zach on the flower race. He also met Olivia when he took her the monthly roses to her house and she was stuck in the attic. When she joins the team he soon finds out that it’s not an ex or a boyfriend sending the flowers. Then she trusts him with something and he tells her what happened to him. Holden says this to her at the end of the race: “So, seeing as how Zach talked to Jin about the stuff that was on his mind, and we told the race coordinators about Tad and Dottie, I felt compelled to call my parents after dinner. I was tired of the shame, Olivia. Turns out my mom knew about the work accident all along. Kinda hard to hide the court case, you know? It… felt good to get that weight off my chest, too.”
I just adore this cover ! I just want to climb into this book and become one with it and its wonderful characters 🥰
The idea of a botanical scavenger hunt sounds both intriguing and interesting and that’s exactly what these people needed not just to to distract them but to find peace , discover themselves , discover others , find peace and their life paths ❣️
Olivia has not only lost her dad , she’s forced to take leave from work and she’s got an empty nest so there’s a lot going on emotionally right now for her 🥲
Irinia Olivia’s stepmother is wanting to mend bridges with her and that’s not easy at best of times now there’s extra baggage which complicates an already delicate situation 🤷♀️
Holden our delivery man has had more than his fair share of life’s-hard knocks and he needs this distraction .,
Zach , our florist is falling apart at the seams and struggling to keep things together and is at great risk of losing everything ..,,
Our little band of scavengers are 1 of 30 yea s and there’s price money up for grabs so naturally they’ll have to deal with peoples herd , dishonesty and nastiness and I thought they may fold under the pressure but they blossom , when the going gets tough the tough get going and these four people inspired me in so many ways they grew not only as individuals but as a team ❣️
I laughed , I cried , I got angry but most all I really love as inspired to do better and be better ! This is defo a read I’ll be coming back to when I need a life me upper 📚❣️
Chasing Roses is a delightful book centered around the fictional 25th anniversary of the Great Garden Race of Worcester, MA. Setting out on this sweltering, 14-day, massive scavenger hunt in a stuffed to the gills, beat-up old minivan with iffy air conditioning are four disparate characters and two large dogs (one with digestive issues). Each of the humans is carrying a bit of extra “baggage”. The goal is to discover and follow the far-flung clues for a prize of a quarter of a million dollars. Naturally, each participant begins, motivated by what he/she will do with the winnings. Join Olivia, Irina, Zach and Holden as they traverse the state of Maine in The Great Race fashion, searching for clues and facing down their personal demons (plus one or two of the human type).
The book’s characters are well fleshed out and relatable. Grant’s prose manages to be concise yet descriptive. Roses are thematically strewn throughout the book, and Grant manages to make this not just a cozy read, but one that demonstrates the universal principles of grief, remorse, self-forgiveness and our need for community. “Everyone has demons they need to work through. Closure is hard. Acceptance is harder and forgiveness is the hardest.” A definite 5 star read.
Four people have teamed up in the biggest botanical scavenger hunt in New England. They call themselves Team Fleur Four and they must work together to solve the twelve clues to take home the $250,000 prize. Each person could use that money to better their lives. The clues are brainteasers and some are more difficult than others. But with each clue solved, this quartet grows closer. Can they win the grand prize or are they chasing a hopeless dream?
Chasing Roses is a delightful adventure I thoroughly enjoyed. Think Amazing Race meets Gardeners’ World with plants and flowers as the theme. The descriptive narration is immersive, which allowed me to get caught up in the hunt and the competitors. The characters in Team Fleur Four come from different backgrounds but have similar goals. I connected with all of the characters in Team Fleur Four. The plot has twists, puzzles, and emotions. Some of the competitors will stop at nothing to win, including cheating.
If you’re looking for a fun adventure read, pick up Chasing Roses.
I enjoyed reading this book by this author. One of the things I enjoyed about this author is their ability to use details to make the characters pop. I also enjoyed their ability to pull me into the story from the start and keep me turning pages to the end. This is a story about learning to work together and the best of all friendship. A story where two weeks, twelve clues and one cash prize that could change a life. Olivia, Irena, Holden and Zach are one team. As the clock starts and starts ticking down this team will be put to the test as they work through the clues. Will they make it on time to win the cash? What they find at the end could be more valuable than any cash prize. I enjoyed all the characters in this story. They each have their own unique situation and what they get out of their adventure. They made the story easy and fun to read. I enjoyed watching each of the character’s growth throughout. This is a fast paced, hard to put down story and one you don’t want to miss. I look forward to seeing what is next for this author. I highly recommend this story.
Chasing Roses is an uplifting contemporary fiction novel that blends adventure, emotional healing, and the quiet magic of botanical knowledge. The story is set against a two week New England scavenger hunt and follows four strangers turned teammates competing for a life changing prize while confronting the personal struggles they’ve been avoiding. The storyline involves twelve clues, thirty teams, and a race that forces each character to grow. The scavenger hunt becomes a catalyst for emotional transformation, not just a competition. The novel’s themes center on second chances, teamwork, grief, rebuilding confidence, and the complicated beauty of family, especially the fragile relationship between Olivia and her stepmother, Irina. Olivia’s quiet grief and sense of displacement contrast with Irina’s hopeful determination to mend their bond. Holden brings warmth and resilience as he tries to rebuild his life, while Zach’s talent is shadowed by self doubt and pressure. This is a heartfelt, hopeful, and character driven story that offers a feel good journey about finding purpose, connection, and courage when life feels uprooted.
Chasing Roses is a botanical road trip novel that throws together four characters who are carrying a lot of emotional baggage. The story is based around a multi-day scavenger hunt where the teams have to work together to solve clues and find the correct plants before their opponents. When Irina and Zach need an extra two people for their team, they rope in Olivia and Holden who could do with a break (and the prize money).
This is a fun read for plant lovers who like character-driven stories. If you like romances set around flower shops, this is a nice development on that trope that brings the characters to a variety of locations and situations.
I found it particularly interesting to learn about different plants as the characters puzzled their way through the clues. It’s also nice seeing how the dynamic in the group changes as the characters gradually open up and reveal their secrets.
Chasing Roses gets four stars from me! If you like road trip novels that throw together a somewhat unlikely group of travellers, and are interested in plants, you’ll love this book!
I love reading Jean M. Grant's books; she has such an amazing style of writing that brings her books to life. Chasing Roses was such a great book; it really captured the beauty of plant life, flowers especially, and the wonders of nature all around us. All of the characters have something that they are working through in their personal lives, and each could use that huge cash reward to help make life a little better for each of them. I love how realistic this book was, and the excellent use of teaching the readers about how we each deal with drama in our own ways, some more healthy than others. As each character works through their issues and shares the traumas that they are each dealing with, they find that it is the first step in finding a way to heal. This story captivated me throughout as I followed the race, cheering on our team of Fleur Four to the end. Will they be able to cross the finish line intact, or will they be disqualified before they get started? @Brandy Rymer 1/2026
Chasing Roses by Jean M. Grant is a heartwarming story about relationships and redemption. Olivia had been through a live changing experience and pushes away her step mom in the process. Through a series of events irene convinces Olivia to do the Great Garden Race with her. It is the last thing Olivia wants but with her son going off to a fancy internship and her being placed on leave from work, what else is she supposed to do?
Little does she know this journey will help heal her, and the other three, she embarks on the journey with. The Great Garden races clues are clever, Jean M. Grant, certainly knows her flowers and trees and the terrain of Maine. At times I felt like I was on the journey with our characters. I love the story line that weaves in perfectly with the adventure.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. It is a novel I will certainly recommend for some time to come.
I absolutely adored Chasing Roses by Jean M. Grant. From the first chapter, I was swept into a beautifully written historical romance filled with heart, depth, and unforgettable characters. The heroine is strong, intelligent, and refreshingly realistic, and I found myself cheering for her every step of the way. The romance develops through its tender moments and its tense situations which create deep emotional ties between the characters. The historical setting captivated me through its vividness which enhanced the story without creating an overwhelming experience. The story maintained a steady rhythm which kept me focused throughout the entire duration while the emotional scenes brought me joy. The final pages left me feeling complete but I experienced sadness about departing from the characters. This book is essential for readers who enjoy historical romance stories that offer both warmth and charm together with authentic emotional satisfaction. 🌹📖
Chasing Roses is absolutely a fun, adventure filled journey to the theme of Amazing Race but with Flowers and Plants as a central theme. Get the clue, parse it out, find the location, locate the gem (or flowers in this case, rinse and repeat. 30 teams of 4 will start but only one will take the top prize. Team Fleur Four started out as a rag tag team with plenty of emotional and physical baggage but the journey ended up being about way more than a grand prize. All learn so much about each other, their competitors but most of all, themselves. Born and Raised in Maine, I now feel the need to take this journey myself because much of the trip, I've never seen. I loved the hometown feel of the destinations and the authors portrayal of each character's strengths and weaknesses and how they came through for each other.
This book is a fun adventure story that throws together four people in an exciting race. What I liked about this book was the dynamic between the characters. They aren’t necessarily people who would spend time together normally, so watching their friendship begin to blossom as the story went on was really lovely to see. There were some truly heartwarming moments in this book. The story was fun and exciting to read. So much seemed to happen during their time in the race it kept the story engaging and thoroughly enjoyable. There was twists and turns and laughter throughout and I was invested from start to finish. A great story about forming unlikely friendships that I would highly recommend.
I was immediately able to relate to one of the main characters, Olivia, from the very first chapter. She is very clumsy and has weird things happening to her: such as accidentally getting locked into her attic and waiting awkwardly until someone happens to stop by and can let her out. She has other bouts of bad luck, but I won't give too much away about what happens.
Olivia ends up joining a team for a race to win $250,000. This whole book was giving "Amazing Race" vibes and we follow Olivia and the rest of her team throughout it.
I devoured this book and love the way it was written. The character development was great and I especially enjoyed the banter between all the characters. They all had their personal battles they tried to work through on this race while trying to be good team players as well. This is a must read.
Amazing race meets scavenger hunt with flowers and plants…is what you will get with Chasing Roses by Jean M. Grant. 30 teams of 4 is what the race will have and Irina and Zach need two more people to join them. They get Holden and Olivia to join them, they know they need a break from life and could use the extra money. Two weeks away and the prize money is enough for them all to say YES!!! As they travel from clue to clue you see that each of them are going through something, they each are growing and trying to heal. Truly was a good read and an amazing way to learn about plants and flowers. I truly loved this cozy read and plan to read more of Jean M. Grants, the story telling truly was TOP NOTCH!
Chasing Roses by Jean M Grant is full of fun. Imagine a scavenger hunt for flowers and plants where the prize is $250,000. The #FleurFour team consists of Olivia, Irina, Zack, and Holden. Armed with their twelve clues, they must work together to solve the clues and win the prize. This book is such a pleasant and fun book. Grant’s descriptive narrative puts you right there with the team. If you like puzzles and riddles, this is the book for you! The story is more than the adventure of the journey; it teaches all four teammates about each other but most of all about themselves. A great read!
For my first Jean M. Grant book I really loved this book. I got sucked into the storytelling and of course, Irene, Olivia, Holden, and Zach sure make an interesting team! It's a little rocky at first when the teammates come together, especially all from different backgrounds, but after some growing pains they get into the groove and are able to work together. I love that this book has puzzles, botanical information, and of course a road trip throughout Maine! It makes me want to go and follow along this race path to see if I can find the flowers and plants that they were talking about! If you want a cozy read then this book is for you!
This is the first time I have read anything from this author and I enjoyed the book. It is about four people coming together to form a team to go on a botanical scavenger hunt. Starts off with Irina, Zach, Jin and Holden. Jin gets injured so they need to find a new player and talk Olivia into taking his place. They go from New England to Maine for a scavenger hunt looking for clues based on botanical clues and the winner will win 250,000 dollars. This group uses their team mates skills to solve the clues and try to win the hunt. I love the storyline and the characters and how they help boost each other up and become good friends. I recommend this book it is well worth the read.
I was fortunate to read an early copy of another great book by Jean Grant!
This story of adventure really warms your heart! Four people end up on a team to try and win the Great Garden Race. Through adventure, solving puzzles, and some hardships they all find a bond of friendship and learn about themselves. It’s easy to fall in love with the characters and cheer them on throughout the race.
Can they overcome their own personal conflicts and beat their rivals to win the race? Read for yourself and find out!
Chasing Roses is a wonderfully written Second Chance/ Adventure that follows four people on a scavenger hunt that turns into so much more than that. The characters are relatable fully developed and creative yet make the story come to life. The authors attention to detail blew me away. This story touched my heart is so many ways. I needed this story and the emotions that went along with it. I highly recommend reading this book to find out what happens next. I’m looking forward to reading more from this Author.
I enjoyed seeing the story come to life from the entire team’s point of view. The highs and lows of whatever each of them were dealing with prior to the races and how taking the time to do the race together strengthened their friendships. They each have some trust things to work through and their own self discovery. Throughout the story each character has a situation in their life that they need to tackle head on and it’s wonderful to see how their team comes together to support them. This is a great book. A worth your time cozy read with the perfect amount of romance and mystery.
This book was such an enjoyable read. 4 strangers, A two-week scavenger hunt, 12 weeks and prize money. Will they be able to solve it together, will they win the prize? Or will they find something a lot more valuable than that? I really loved this adventure. We have the hunt on one side and on the other side, we have each of the characters unraveling themselves, each of them has a unique past and a story. It was really heartwarming to see their growth. A very engaging read with some real character development. Highly recommend it.
This book is a little different from the romance books that I usually read all the time. I enjoyed the book and think you will too. I did find that the story line was really good. I could sympathize with the characters, I followed the story line really well . I did find it a little slow starting. That might be because I am not used to reading this kind of book.
I enjoyed the ups and downs the characters went through with the race. I think you will too. Check it out, I don't think you will be disappointed.
Cute story that uses redemption, healing and a garden race to make us love the characters even more. This was a fun filled adventure where the four main characters learned to heal themselves with the help of their unlikely teammates. This story is written from many different points of view which adds to the understanding and development of each person. The characters are written so realistic and down to Earth that you feel like you know them personally. Loved laughing out loud with Holden and his jokes; felt Olivia’s sadness at her losses and even enjoyed the adventure of The Race.
I was honored to read an ARC of this one and I can’t say enough great things about it. Chasing Roses was everything I need in fiction. Mending relationships, forming new ones, troublesome dogs, traveling in a packed car (Have I mentioned I’ve been cross-country with my family? CAN RELATE.), and solving clues for cash. Plus an act of heroism or two!
A perfect genre-blending read that leaves you feeling satisfied. And really…right now? That hits the spot. ❤️
Four unlikely people, each experiencing dramatic life circumstances, team up to solve an interesting scavenger hunt in the beautiful New England countryside. Friendships will be formed, relationships will be tried and tested, and a prize will be awarded to the team of 4 who can successfully complete the scavenger hunt first. This story kept me engaged and I loved the characters. I felt like I was part of this team and their adventures. I recommend this great read!
Chasing Roses by Jean M. Grant is a warm, uplifting tale of second chances, and follows four unlikely companions on a New England scavenger hunt that turns into a journey of healing and self-discovery. The character/s relatable struggles and the vivid countryside setting make this a heartfelt, feel-good read that’s brimming with hope, friendship, and fresh starts. Perfect for fans of character-driven adventures with emotional depth. Happy Reading…
I’ve had the great pleasure of reading an early copy of Chasing Roses. What a ride! It’s a fun and interesting read with a host of characters, each with their unique quirkiness, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with them! As an added bonus, New England is almost like another character in the plot. I’ve learned much about the local setting. Thumbs up to Chasing Roses!
This book has so many interesting journeys. Four people, four lives…each trying to discover what they need and how to get there from here. Very nicely written, with everything-mystery, adventure, a race, and love. It kept me interested from the beginning to the end. And I loved the end! Excellent book, would highly recommend.