Growing Flowers: The Pete & Daisy Collection

The Flower

by Tani Hanes

When they meet, Pete is a student who needs a place to live, Daisy is a young woman in a family bind who needs a husband. She’s a bred and born New Yorker, he’s from the vineyards of Tuscany, but when they meet, sparks fly, as though they were meant to be. Follow our intrepid young couple as they navigate the treacherous waters of being newlyweds, new parents, and a vulnerable family unit trying to protect themselves and their children from the threats of an indifferent and sometimes cruel world. Through four novels and numerous bonus chapters, our favorite couple and children learn to cope with an old flame, a stalker, wrenching loss, and simply growing up. Ten years pass from beginning to end, but the time flies by as everyone gets older and, hopefully, a little wiser in this loving and rollicking family unit.

820 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2018

About the author

I was born in Japan, raised in central California, and am now lucky enough to live in New York City. I've wanted to write for so long, and decided to celebrate my birthday by finally doing it! Anyone, everyone who wants to, DO IT. Write what you love, what makes you happy, otherwise what's the point? There's nothing like getting a tearful text from an advance copy beta reader asking, "Why?? Why did you do that to her?!" Being a substitute teacher for fifteen years gave me some good ideas for what today's younger readers would enjoy, and I hope you do :o)

Be sure to visit my web site at www.tanihanes.com and signup for the VIP Readers List for access to pre-releases, bonus materials, giveaways, and other goodies!

Reviews

[Simonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pete and Daisy's series is not only one of my favourite's of Tani's, but one of my favourite series, in general. And the reason is quite simple: Tani has done what many authors (in my humblest opinion, of course) are unable to do, with her ability to blend sexy romance and realistic family life flawlessly. If there is an author that can write sex and children equally well, it's Tani Hanes.

My favourite thing about this collection are the characters, especially our titular heros, Pete and Daisy. Daisy is the heroine the modern world needs. Someone who is young, educated, beautiful, sexually active, desired by lots, and worried about if someone will love her. Yes, world! You can be all those things at the same time. Although I do not find many similarities between myself and Daisy, I can still relate to her, because, like Daisy, I am more than one thing. People are complex, unable to be defined by one trait. Most of us are a lot of good with a little bit of bad rolled into one and literary characters should be the same. Daisy definitely is.

And Pete, wonderful Pete. I tend to read books where the male protagonist is a bad boy (she admits shamefully) because I'm young and romance is exhilarating to me. However, Pete, a good guy through and through, blows them all out of the water. I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to read about a guy who is truly good and also sexy. I think Tani has contributed something great to the world with a male character who-shocks-treats his love interest right.

There's also a whole host of other characters, who are equally well-written and bring a lot to the story. The children, with their hilarious comments, deserve a special mention!

Overall, this is a beautifully written series with vibrant characters and a dream-worthy yet thrilling plot. If you are interested in a marriage-of-convenience turn real-love, life of a rock star with a family, and lots of steam kinda thing, this is the series for you. It comes highly recommended.

[books are love · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series will make you laugh, smile,cry and just love Pete, Daisy and their family. Tani Hanes has written a series of books that are personal and sweet, loving and full of warmth but also are real. Real in how life is seen and treated. Real in the issues and problems that Pete and Daisy face each and every day. Their love and respect for one another help them through the tough times and their unwavering support and belief in one another helps them with every day.

Pete is my favorite character. His kind, loving and patient nature is amazing. He is so amazing as a dad and husband. No matter how much fame he has, his family is all that matters to him. He takes their happiness to heart and his love for them shines through in all he does. His love for Daisy knows no bounds and I love how he is with her. When you see him with his children you swoon. This man is just wonderful and you fall in love with him instantly.

Daisy is fun loving and kind. A great mom and wife. Still love Pete more only because of how truly supportive and enamored he is with his family. To him they are his world and everything else could go away and he would still feel rich and on top of the world. Daisy and Pete face many challenges and together they face them head on and with love and support for each other.

This series spans ten years of their lives and all that happens to them. Their beginning and how they met, the beginning of how they fell in love, their hardships of loss and loneliness, the fame, the consequences fame can have and them growing as a couple and family. Through it all their love shines through and you see nothing but unconditional love, support and respect from them both as they face day to day living and the hard times with kindness, belief in each other and together. A just truly wonderful series that you don’t want to put down and have end.

[Esther Haddie's Haven · Rating 5 out of 5]

First things first: I COULD NOT PUT THIS COLLECTION DOWN.
I'm calling dibs for Pete because I see my ideal guy in his character. Nuff said.
Okay, not really. Growing Flowers follows two amazingly written characters, featuring the non-whitewashed topic of family hardships. I can relate to EVERYTHING that takes place in this series. Okay, maybe not the marriage and sex, but everything else. Many of the hardships Pete & Daisy experience I have seen firsthand. It's not easy. And each book just makes the story even better. I absolutely LOVE the family that Pete and Daisy have together. It is so realistic and literally perfect. Tani Hanes did an amazing job in bringing forth the family topic in a very real way. I have never read a series like this, in this kind of a level. I highly recommend it.
Also, the cover(s) are adorable and so beautiful.

I do not remember how I came about it, but I own the first book in this series already. I devoured Pete & Daisy and fell in love with the story. I immediately wanted more, but being a bookworm is rough when you're broke (#bookwormproblems). So when I saw that YABoundBookTours was putting together the blog tour for this collection, I did not question my urge to take part.
DISCLAIMER: I received an ARC of this series for my participation of a blog tour. This is my honest, voluntary review.

[Richard L Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book that never ends.

It was an okay read, definitely felt like it would never end.
For the most part I enjoyed reading it.