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The Flowers Need Watering
Mateo Borden, after his spontaneous decision to come out to his parents at twenty, ends up a devastated young man when they disown him. A year later when his best friend, Liam Robertson, takes a job in New York City, the last thing he expects is to be asked to go, too. Mateo’s decision to remain in Halifax and, consequently, his rejection of Liam’s declaration of love, shatters their friendship. Broken and angry, Mateo tries to redefine family and friendship in the face of these two overwhelming losses.
Years pass and, as the novel opens, Mateo has come of age. He’s twenty-nine and a rock star on the literary scene. He is, for the most part, living a happy life, surrounded by the people who matter to him most — Simon Denault, his partner of five years; Melinda Borden-Grey, his feisty older sister; Zane Grey, Melinda’s even-tempered husband; and his precocious nephew, Xavier.
Until a call in the middle of the night puts Mateo on a collision course with his past, and leads to two life-altering reunions — one with his dying father, Peter; the other with Liam, who has quietly returned home.
Unfolding over seven arduous days, The Flowers Need Watering is a story of one man’s struggle to understand the meaning of family — a penetrating meditation on loss, truth and betrayal, and, ultimately, the redemptive value of forgiveness.
Years pass and, as the novel opens, Mateo has come of age. He’s twenty-nine and a rock star on the literary scene. He is, for the most part, living a happy life, surrounded by the people who matter to him most — Simon Denault, his partner of five years; Melinda Borden-Grey, his feisty older sister; Zane Grey, Melinda’s even-tempered husband; and his precocious nephew, Xavier.
Until a call in the middle of the night puts Mateo on a collision course with his past, and leads to two life-altering reunions — one with his dying father, Peter; the other with Liam, who has quietly returned home.
Unfolding over seven arduous days, The Flowers Need Watering is a story of one man’s struggle to understand the meaning of family — a penetrating meditation on loss, truth and betrayal, and, ultimately, the redemptive value of forgiveness.
- GenresM M RomanceLGBT
305 pages, Paperback
First published February 8, 2017
114 people are currently reading
520 people want to read
About the author
Marcus Lopes
10 books55 followersMARCUS LOPÉS is the author of seven works of fiction, including Everybody but Me, Broken Man Broke, and The Flowers Need Watering. Originally from Nova Scotia, he lives in Toronto.
Find out more about Marcus Lopés by visiting his website, marcuslopes.ca.
Find out more about Marcus Lopés by visiting his website, marcuslopes.ca.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 15, 2019
**2 stars**
I have no idea what I just read.
So much hate, conniving, secrets, unhappiness.
I didn't like ANY of the characters. Maybe the little boy Xavier, who we got to meet a couple of times.
I didn't care WHO Matteo ended up with, I hated both Liam and Simon. There was NO HEA or even a HFN.
I only finished out of sheer curiosity, like one watching a car wreck. Ugh
I have no idea what I just read.
So much hate, conniving, secrets, unhappiness.
I didn't like ANY of the characters. Maybe the little boy Xavier, who we got to meet a couple of times.
I didn't care WHO Matteo ended up with, I hated both Liam and Simon. There was NO HEA or even a HFN.
I only finished out of sheer curiosity, like one watching a car wreck. Ugh
April 10, 2017
In his debut Indie novel, Marcus Lopés presents a moving and provocative story about grief, doubt, love, and family. The Flowers Need Watering is a stunning portrait of a man coming to terms with the death of his estranged father, while questioning his place in the world and the life he’s built. Thoughtful, nuanced, and complex, Lopés’ novel rises above the standard of typical LGBT fiction.
The real strength of The Flowers Need Watering comes from its deeply flawed characters and Lopés’ ability to change our perceptions of them over time. In the opening chapters, Mateo (the protagonist) is angry, stubborn, and at times cruel. By contrast, readers will believe his partner Simon to be patient, kind, and beyond reproach. As the story unfolds, it becomes easier to both empathize with Mateo, and take Simon off his pedestal. Add to the mix Liam, a ghost from Mateo’s past, and the complex tapestry of the characters’ lives begin to unravel. Soon we discover no one is innocent, and there are many sides to every story.
In the end, everyone ends up a little better off than they started, but maybe not in the ways they expect.
Through his writing, Lopés wants us to “think about the choices we make and how we respond, either under duress or when our emotions take control, to the challenges we face in life each and every day.” In The Flowers Need Watering he absolutely succeeds!
This is a great read, and I highly recommend it even for those outside of the LGBT community. The Flowers Need Watering is a human story that will appeal to anyone interested in high-quality writing, and great storytelling. There’s something for everyone here.
I’ll eagerly await more from this author.
The real strength of The Flowers Need Watering comes from its deeply flawed characters and Lopés’ ability to change our perceptions of them over time. In the opening chapters, Mateo (the protagonist) is angry, stubborn, and at times cruel. By contrast, readers will believe his partner Simon to be patient, kind, and beyond reproach. As the story unfolds, it becomes easier to both empathize with Mateo, and take Simon off his pedestal. Add to the mix Liam, a ghost from Mateo’s past, and the complex tapestry of the characters’ lives begin to unravel. Soon we discover no one is innocent, and there are many sides to every story.
In the end, everyone ends up a little better off than they started, but maybe not in the ways they expect.
Through his writing, Lopés wants us to “think about the choices we make and how we respond, either under duress or when our emotions take control, to the challenges we face in life each and every day.” In The Flowers Need Watering he absolutely succeeds!
This is a great read, and I highly recommend it even for those outside of the LGBT community. The Flowers Need Watering is a human story that will appeal to anyone interested in high-quality writing, and great storytelling. There’s something for everyone here.
I’ll eagerly await more from this author.
December 29, 2017
Soooo melodramatic
This book isn't that great. Limited character development and very thin plot. Repetitive internal high emotional chapter endings. So dramatic and written very stiffly. Would have been nice if the author explored why 3 of the siblings are in interracial relationships. And would have been nice if the mother and older brother's bigotry was more nuanced or fleshed out.
This book isn't that great. Limited character development and very thin plot. Repetitive internal high emotional chapter endings. So dramatic and written very stiffly. Would have been nice if the author explored why 3 of the siblings are in interracial relationships. And would have been nice if the mother and older brother's bigotry was more nuanced or fleshed out.
May 4, 2020
3.5 stars
This was a roller coaster, every time I think it was over or getting better I still had to hold on.
First time reading this author.
One thing I liked was all the characters had a point of view.
At first I was sympathetic with Liam then not.
Mateo was a confused man. Simon ooh I thought he was good, until he was not. The sister annoyed me.
There were some funny parts which made this an easy read. Th e week felt like a lifetime.
This was a roller coaster, every time I think it was over or getting better I still had to hold on.
First time reading this author.
One thing I liked was all the characters had a point of view.
At first I was sympathetic with Liam then not.
Mateo was a confused man. Simon ooh I thought he was good, until he was not. The sister annoyed me.
There were some funny parts which made this an easy read. Th e week felt like a lifetime.
April 7, 2017
Great Storytelling
I am one of those readers who is drawn to the titles of a book and then the synopsis. The title immediately caught my attention and I just had to read it.
It is primarily a love story between Mateo and Simon. No story involving two gay men would be complete without the self righteous who condemns those does not share their belief.
Throw in an old boyfriend, some infidelity and the power of forgiveness. I found it to be an engaging read and will definitely read other novels by this author.
I am one of those readers who is drawn to the titles of a book and then the synopsis. The title immediately caught my attention and I just had to read it.
It is primarily a love story between Mateo and Simon. No story involving two gay men would be complete without the self righteous who condemns those does not share their belief.
Throw in an old boyfriend, some infidelity and the power of forgiveness. I found it to be an engaging read and will definitely read other novels by this author.
April 4, 2017
Curiously unsatisfying, although well written.
May 25, 2021
This book is messy as hell
Whewie, where do I start with this book. I have a lot of thoughts. The Flowers Need Watering, is a novel by Marcus Lopes on Kindle Unlimited. It's about one Mateo reconciling with his father’s death despite being estranged from his parents when he died. Let me preface with what I thought I was gonna get with this book. So I was really excited to find a Black author why writes gay romance with Black people. I’m so tired of reading about cis masc white men so it was refreshing to find a Black author writing about Black people. So when I started this book I thought I was going to get Black love. This is one of those books you keep reading because even though you hate the characters and the plot is melodramatic, you can't stop reading because it's so messy but you want to know how it ends. I think I’ll do a character breakdown so I can go through why I sort of disliked this book but couldn’t put it down. If you like dysfunctional family stories with melodrama, this is the book for you. All the characters have their own baggage and mess but they’re also so dislikable I was getting annoyed.
I’ll get the big issue out the way. Down with the swirl agenda. I don’t mind a swirl romance once in a while but I feel like the romance is over-saturated with interracial couples and its tired. Anyways, I was a little disappointed that the love interest was a white man, but took it with a grain of salt and moved past it. I would have looked past it if there was only one swirl couple in the book but THREE out four of the siblings are partnered with white people. Like what is going on. The book sort of acknowledged that and made some glib jokes about it, but I wasn't amused. I kid you not, there's a line in the book where the main character’s brother is like “Betty’s parents were against me because I was Black, and my parents were against Betty because she was white”. Like spare me the Loving v. Virginia bullshit. I can deal with one swirl couple in a book (begrudgingly), but three is just too much. And all of them were partnered with white people like...what’s going on? Can we at least get some interracial couples with non-white people?
Now let’s get into the characters starting with the main character, Mateo. Mateo is one of those people because they carry around trauma they let the bitterness fester and infect other people. Mateo is a bitter person and he takes that out on all the other characters. He’s always closed off and on the defensive with everyone, and he has a me against the world mentality. It’s not attractive which made it really difficult for me to understand why everyone was bending over backwards to protect his feelings and his best interests. Every single character centered Mateo in their storyline and they were doing all this work to get his approval and love and I was just like why? This nigga doesn’t care about y’all and he wouldn’t take the same consideration of your feelings. So yeah I didn’t like Mateo which made it hard for me to understand why everyone made him the topic of conversation.
Next character is Melinda, Mateo’s sister. She’s just annoying. She’s one of the dizziest characters I’ve ever read. She’s always in everybody’s business especially Mateo’s and trying to manipulate certain outcomes that she wants. And she does all this meddling but it doesn’t even yield the results she wants so she does all this extra stuff nothing. She’s the most annoying character in the book because she can’t leave anybody alone. Couldn’t stand her.
Next is Liam, a white man who returns from NY because he no longer finds his life fulfilling and he comes back to try to rekindle a relationship with Mateo. I ultimately found Liam’s character to be kind of pointless. I really wanted to skip his POV every time he came up because he just wasn’t giving anything. I didn’t feel anything for him. Liam also let Mateo talk to him crazy and that kind of annoyed me. If someone talked to me they way Mateo talked to him we’d be hurling insults at each other not taking it lying down. Liam was entirely too passive when Mateo was being rude to him. All he’d say was “you’re being mean” and start tearing up. Like if someone’s being rude be rude back to them, fuck their feelings because obviously Mateo doesn’t care about yours.
On to Simon. Simon is Mateo’s current white partner. They’ve been together for five years, but their relationship is threatened when Liam comes back. Simon is messy as hell, but for some reason I was kind of rooting for him. Spoiler warning: Simon is a cheater. He cheated on Mateo half way through their relationship because he felt neglected and lonely. Normally, I don’t feel anything for cheaters, but I don’t know I kind of felt for him. Simon is the character I liked the most, he’s messy and insecure but for some reason I was rooting for him. There were so many times when I wanted Simon to leave Mateo behind. Mateo wasn’t communicating within since his father died and Simon was frustrated because he felt unsure of what to do in their relationship. I really wanted him to just make a grand exit and move on with his life, but he just kept crawling back to Mateo, which I just didn’t get. Like Mateo is not someone I’d want validation from.
The rest of the characters were just there. For some reason the author told a chapter from Liam’s mom’s perspective and that was just especially pointless. I feel like I know too much about Mateo’s brother, Benjamin, and his white wife. Their backstory added nothing to the story. The clear antagonists in the story and Mateo’s mother and his oldest brother. They’re Bible-thumping homophobes who don’t approve of Mateo because he’s gay. Obviously, they are the springboard off which Mateo begins his journey of self -acceptance.
That’s my rundown of the characters. Most of them are unlikeable. As for the writing, there were some choices that didn’t quite work. Some of the POVs were very unnecessary. Only POVs that were needed were Mateo’s, Liam’s, and Simon’s. Also the author would do this thing where one character would have this secret and somehow another character would already know what the secret is, but never explained how they knew. It happened more than one time in the book so it stood out. Overall, I didn’t enjoy reading this book but at the same time I couldn’t put it down either. I guess this is what it means to “hate read” something even though I don’t “hate” this book, per se. I just hated the characters but there was so much mess happening that I needed to know how it ended. I'll give Marcus Lopes another chance, but if the next book doesn’t turn out well then I think I’ll have to let him go.
Whewie, where do I start with this book. I have a lot of thoughts. The Flowers Need Watering, is a novel by Marcus Lopes on Kindle Unlimited. It's about one Mateo reconciling with his father’s death despite being estranged from his parents when he died. Let me preface with what I thought I was gonna get with this book. So I was really excited to find a Black author why writes gay romance with Black people. I’m so tired of reading about cis masc white men so it was refreshing to find a Black author writing about Black people. So when I started this book I thought I was going to get Black love. This is one of those books you keep reading because even though you hate the characters and the plot is melodramatic, you can't stop reading because it's so messy but you want to know how it ends. I think I’ll do a character breakdown so I can go through why I sort of disliked this book but couldn’t put it down. If you like dysfunctional family stories with melodrama, this is the book for you. All the characters have their own baggage and mess but they’re also so dislikable I was getting annoyed.
I’ll get the big issue out the way. Down with the swirl agenda. I don’t mind a swirl romance once in a while but I feel like the romance is over-saturated with interracial couples and its tired. Anyways, I was a little disappointed that the love interest was a white man, but took it with a grain of salt and moved past it. I would have looked past it if there was only one swirl couple in the book but THREE out four of the siblings are partnered with white people. Like what is going on. The book sort of acknowledged that and made some glib jokes about it, but I wasn't amused. I kid you not, there's a line in the book where the main character’s brother is like “Betty’s parents were against me because I was Black, and my parents were against Betty because she was white”. Like spare me the Loving v. Virginia bullshit. I can deal with one swirl couple in a book (begrudgingly), but three is just too much. And all of them were partnered with white people like...what’s going on? Can we at least get some interracial couples with non-white people?
Now let’s get into the characters starting with the main character, Mateo. Mateo is one of those people because they carry around trauma they let the bitterness fester and infect other people. Mateo is a bitter person and he takes that out on all the other characters. He’s always closed off and on the defensive with everyone, and he has a me against the world mentality. It’s not attractive which made it really difficult for me to understand why everyone was bending over backwards to protect his feelings and his best interests. Every single character centered Mateo in their storyline and they were doing all this work to get his approval and love and I was just like why? This nigga doesn’t care about y’all and he wouldn’t take the same consideration of your feelings. So yeah I didn’t like Mateo which made it hard for me to understand why everyone made him the topic of conversation.
Next character is Melinda, Mateo’s sister. She’s just annoying. She’s one of the dizziest characters I’ve ever read. She’s always in everybody’s business especially Mateo’s and trying to manipulate certain outcomes that she wants. And she does all this meddling but it doesn’t even yield the results she wants so she does all this extra stuff nothing. She’s the most annoying character in the book because she can’t leave anybody alone. Couldn’t stand her.
Next is Liam, a white man who returns from NY because he no longer finds his life fulfilling and he comes back to try to rekindle a relationship with Mateo. I ultimately found Liam’s character to be kind of pointless. I really wanted to skip his POV every time he came up because he just wasn’t giving anything. I didn’t feel anything for him. Liam also let Mateo talk to him crazy and that kind of annoyed me. If someone talked to me they way Mateo talked to him we’d be hurling insults at each other not taking it lying down. Liam was entirely too passive when Mateo was being rude to him. All he’d say was “you’re being mean” and start tearing up. Like if someone’s being rude be rude back to them, fuck their feelings because obviously Mateo doesn’t care about yours.
On to Simon. Simon is Mateo’s current white partner. They’ve been together for five years, but their relationship is threatened when Liam comes back. Simon is messy as hell, but for some reason I was kind of rooting for him. Spoiler warning: Simon is a cheater. He cheated on Mateo half way through their relationship because he felt neglected and lonely. Normally, I don’t feel anything for cheaters, but I don’t know I kind of felt for him. Simon is the character I liked the most, he’s messy and insecure but for some reason I was rooting for him. There were so many times when I wanted Simon to leave Mateo behind. Mateo wasn’t communicating within since his father died and Simon was frustrated because he felt unsure of what to do in their relationship. I really wanted him to just make a grand exit and move on with his life, but he just kept crawling back to Mateo, which I just didn’t get. Like Mateo is not someone I’d want validation from.
The rest of the characters were just there. For some reason the author told a chapter from Liam’s mom’s perspective and that was just especially pointless. I feel like I know too much about Mateo’s brother, Benjamin, and his white wife. Their backstory added nothing to the story. The clear antagonists in the story and Mateo’s mother and his oldest brother. They’re Bible-thumping homophobes who don’t approve of Mateo because he’s gay. Obviously, they are the springboard off which Mateo begins his journey of self -acceptance.
That’s my rundown of the characters. Most of them are unlikeable. As for the writing, there were some choices that didn’t quite work. Some of the POVs were very unnecessary. Only POVs that were needed were Mateo’s, Liam’s, and Simon’s. Also the author would do this thing where one character would have this secret and somehow another character would already know what the secret is, but never explained how they knew. It happened more than one time in the book so it stood out. Overall, I didn’t enjoy reading this book but at the same time I couldn’t put it down either. I guess this is what it means to “hate read” something even though I don’t “hate” this book, per se. I just hated the characters but there was so much mess happening that I needed to know how it ended. I'll give Marcus Lopes another chance, but if the next book doesn’t turn out well then I think I’ll have to let him go.
June 8, 2017
My views on this novel have veered widely and finally I believe it was neither as bad nor as good as I thought.
It deals with big issues: love, forgiveness, redemption and the dynamics of family and friendship.
It is well-written, perhaps too well-written, perhaps over-written. Some may find it pretentious.
It takes place over seven days and centres round the death of Peter Borden. His son Mateo, an openly gay, internationally acclaimed writer, is estranged from most of the family. Will he attend the funeral? Will he deliver a eulogy as his father seems to have wished?
As if this were not enough, a friend from the past, Liam, returns, hoping to find love, and casting doubts on the solidity of Mateo's relationship with his partner, Simon. How will this be resolved?
My problem with this book is that I found most, if not all, of the characters self-centred, selfish and unfeeling. Ultimately they were not really that interesting or engaging. Most of them were just so unremittingly awful that they lost credibility.
Four stars for (most of) the writing and the interesting themes.
This was a free download.
It deals with big issues: love, forgiveness, redemption and the dynamics of family and friendship.
It is well-written, perhaps too well-written, perhaps over-written. Some may find it pretentious.
It takes place over seven days and centres round the death of Peter Borden. His son Mateo, an openly gay, internationally acclaimed writer, is estranged from most of the family. Will he attend the funeral? Will he deliver a eulogy as his father seems to have wished?
As if this were not enough, a friend from the past, Liam, returns, hoping to find love, and casting doubts on the solidity of Mateo's relationship with his partner, Simon. How will this be resolved?
My problem with this book is that I found most, if not all, of the characters self-centred, selfish and unfeeling. Ultimately they were not really that interesting or engaging. Most of them were just so unremittingly awful that they lost credibility.
Four stars for (most of) the writing and the interesting themes.
This was a free download.
April 9, 2020
Mateo, is one of 4 children from a black family, who except for his sister, rejected him when he came out to them. He has been in a 5 year seemingly happy relationship with Simon, when his father has a heart attack and his sister calls him to join the family at the hospital. His father asks to speak with him and apologizes but Mateo turns a deaf ear. At the same time, Liam, the closest friend of his brother in law and sister suddenly returns from New York and after an 8 year silent absence approaches Mateo and proclaims his love. The world falls apart for both Mateo and Liam and Simon as they deal with relationship issues and confusion.
Well written conversation, realistic sibling emotions and relationships and it is nice to read a story set in Halifax where I lived for a time and written by a native, well almost, Lower Sackville.
Well written conversation, realistic sibling emotions and relationships and it is nice to read a story set in Halifax where I lived for a time and written by a native, well almost, Lower Sackville.
October 13, 2018
this book resonates with me because i know these characters in real life (although lesbians). i'm glad how the love story is resolved. it made me scared for mateo and simon when liam shows back up in mateo's life. mateo calls liam a narcissist and he isn't wrong. simon makes mistakes and mateo has to figure out how to deal with them and if he can trust him anymore.
mateo's family is dysfunctional at best. some accept him, and some don't. his father tries to make amends before he dies, but mateo isn't receptive. he does speak at his fathers funeral, not the way his father wanted him to, but he does what he can to 'build a bridge'.
love this authors work, can't wait to read more from him!
mateo's family is dysfunctional at best. some accept him, and some don't. his father tries to make amends before he dies, but mateo isn't receptive. he does speak at his fathers funeral, not the way his father wanted him to, but he does what he can to 'build a bridge'.
love this authors work, can't wait to read more from him!
August 24, 2020
Thirsty on a rainy day
I started reading this story in fell in love with it . it was a very good read. and to use the analogy of water it flowed very well. I enjoyed that the store wasn't full of gay erotica and that it was a true good story. The story line allowed you to see the characters in the other characters in the character development was very good. now I do have some questions about the character Zane Zane came across as very bi-curious at the least. Growing up in a black family in the deep South I know something about those who over-the-top zealous religious folks. Many a family have been destroyed by those types. I enjoyed the book
I started reading this story in fell in love with it . it was a very good read. and to use the analogy of water it flowed very well. I enjoyed that the store wasn't full of gay erotica and that it was a true good story. The story line allowed you to see the characters in the other characters in the character development was very good. now I do have some questions about the character Zane Zane came across as very bi-curious at the least. Growing up in a black family in the deep South I know something about those who over-the-top zealous religious folks. Many a family have been destroyed by those types. I enjoyed the book
September 15, 2025
This was awesome !! 7 days and a world of angst. I actually cant find the words to reflect my thoughts. The past comes back to haunt Mateo in every way possible. His family who had thrown him out a decade previously, is back in his life. An old 'friend' suddenly reappears who has memories of a lost love he wants to rekindle. His current partner who loves him without question sees their whole life together unraveling by an unknown threat and Mateo has no idea what to do, where to go of what to think about any of it. He just wants to be left alone to think about it all and find his way through the quagmire his life has turned into. This is a page turner in a different way and a dam good read.
June 10, 2024
The overall story would've been an epic read if it actually went somewhere with characters coming full circle. There's alot I want to say but it would reveal spoilers. But to sum it up I loved everything about the book accept I felt nothing got accomplished with Mateo's revelations about himself. It's like he opened his eyes and closed them again...
So many characters stories needed more detailed work on their conclusions. Too many scenarios that were all over the place at once then stagnant again. I truly believe this story had good bones and believable structure in imagery, but alot of the follow through on some things just left me grasping...
So many characters stories needed more detailed work on their conclusions. Too many scenarios that were all over the place at once then stagnant again. I truly believe this story had good bones and believable structure in imagery, but alot of the follow through on some things just left me grasping...
May 7, 2017
This was a very 'adult' book dealing with very real relationship, and life, issues. The characters' actions were mostly understandable, and yet I found the characters themselves pretty unlikable for the majority of the book. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe they were too conflicted, or stubborn, or selfish. They were just all over the place, and had me all over the place. It wasn't until the last 5 or so % that I felt anything other than moderate depression, and the book went from 2 to 3 stars.
A well written and edited book, but just didn't fully work for me.
A well written and edited book, but just didn't fully work for me.
September 30, 2019
I continued reading this story of lovers and families who disappoint one another and use bias and religious beliefs to interfere with their love because the characters were interesting. But the poor writing, specifically the continual lack of parallel structure, put me off too much and interfered with my enjoyment. Where are the editors for these ebooks?
September 5, 2021
2.5 stars.
I found it really hard to connect with the characters in this story. They all seemed very immature and conniving. The author seemed to just get to a point and decide to throw an obstacle in the way of the characters. This adds drama but in a way that didn't work for me. For me there was lots of potential but it didn't quite work.
I found it really hard to connect with the characters in this story. They all seemed very immature and conniving. The author seemed to just get to a point and decide to throw an obstacle in the way of the characters. This adds drama but in a way that didn't work for me. For me there was lots of potential but it didn't quite work.
July 15, 2018
Family is not always about love.
Mateo’s life begins careening out of control when he is summoned to his fathers hospital bed to say goodbye. As with flowers, you must tend, cultivate and water your relationships or they’ll become dormant and never flower. Wonderful new talent.
Mateo’s life begins careening out of control when he is summoned to his fathers hospital bed to say goodbye. As with flowers, you must tend, cultivate and water your relationships or they’ll become dormant and never flower. Wonderful new talent.
February 3, 2019
I returned it after about 3 or 4 chapters. I didn't care for the characters or the immediate "angst" from nearly the first page. Not to mention it was an inter-racial story that didn't deal with race were definite points lost for me.
July 31, 2017
This was a really great book! Well written. The author kept it vividly interesting page by page.
April 14, 2020
DNF at 32% that's all I can say. Good thing it was free with Kindle Unlimited!
May 15, 2020
Excellent
The first time I read a book by this author and it was a real life experience a great read
The first time I read a book by this author and it was a real life experience a great read
June 3, 2020
Did not like this book. Too many characters very confusing.
March 20, 2021
Enjoyable Story
I was really impressed with the story line, and the happy ending. The characters were well developed although a few were pretty much very unlivable.
I was really impressed with the story line, and the happy ending. The characters were well developed although a few were pretty much very unlivable.
January 6, 2026
Surprisingly good considering some of the reviews
September 26, 2025
The novel explores and portrays family life; love, loss and forgiveness. The three main characters are followed over the course of 7 days & their individual stories are realistic and relatable. Mateo being the main protagonist was rejected by his parents when he came out 8 years beforehand but made a life for himself with his partner Simon of 5 years. His former love interest Liam returns from New York to support his mother who is ill. Liam is haunted by his past with Mateo and an altercation ensues that sets bad feelings between Mateo and Simon and it seems their close relationship is at threat. Mateo’s father calls for his son as he lays dying to try to repatriate their collapsed family tie.
The interplay between all the family members and relationships is well founded in the writing, however the novel is drawn out I feel, but an easy read overall.
As the final pages concluded the words, Family, the ones we are born into and the ones that we chose, very much resonated with me.
The interplay between all the family members and relationships is well founded in the writing, however the novel is drawn out I feel, but an easy read overall.
As the final pages concluded the words, Family, the ones we are born into and the ones that we chose, very much resonated with me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2021
A very poignant story about relationships between family members, friends and lovers. No right or wrong, just love.
December 3, 2023
Well written but not a romance. I felt let down about a lot of this book. I felt a lot was unresolved. And Matteo was hard to connect with. 2.5
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February 17, 2017DNF At 40%
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