Fail Me

Florida Flowers #1

by Elodie Colt

The farm boy next door would have been perfect for me…if not for the arrangement he’s made that’s standing in our way.

Everything in my life is falling apart, and following a brutal thunderstorm, that includes my patio. A girl in my situation has nothing to lose, but as it turns out, accepting the help from a cocky, smug, shamefully hot farm boy to repair my property can actually make things worse.
Because Matthew is dangerously much more than a dexterous man providing me with creative inspiration. He’s also my dirty little fantasy. And completely off-limits. Because he struck a deal with my neighbor: take her daughter’s hand in marriage, and she’ll save his family’s plantation - an offer that will be off the table if he changes his mind.

Falling for a man who’s spoken for is a fool’s errand, and it’s not on my agenda to get my heart broken a second time. So all I can do is wait until his work for me is done, and then cut all ties.
But my dirty fantasy soon turns into a cruel nightmare when he sneaks into my room and catches me with my hands down my pants.
Either I’ll marry the guy, or I’ll die of humiliation.
Better to start digging my grave, I guess.

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Elodie Colt is a USA Today bestselling Paranormal & Contemporary Romance author from Austria. When she’s not busy writing books that go beyond run-of-the-mill alpha stories, she spends her time binge-watching the latest Hollywood blockbuster, playing the guitar, or hitting the gym. The fact that German is her mother tongue didn't keep her from giving her dream to publish in English a chance. Whatever she writes, she has one goal - to make you cry, laugh and wet at the same time ;)

connect with me: https://linktr.ee/elodiecolt

Reviews

[Coastie Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read from this author. I was in my emotions for parts of the story as I felt sad and happy finding out Matthew and Samantha’s backgrounds growing up. Matthew is the owner of a citrus plantation farm that is going through some downfalls right now (along with all the other citrus farmers) and is cocky, hot and challenging. Samantha is sweet, caring and a bit standoffish to those she doesn’t know. When Matthew and Samantha meet, it doesn’t go to well for Matthew as he gets slapped! I think from that point on, Matthew was attracted to Samantha. When it turns out that Matthew is working right next door to Samantha, she realizes it is the guy she slapped and is so attracted to him that she is able to write (she is secretly an author!). Things heat up between Matthew and Samantha, but Matthew’s boss has other things in mind for Matthew and her daughter Jillian. It might be the only way he can save his plantation.

Great story with great characters. Drama, action, passion, secrets, betrayals, tragedy and a few awkward moments will keep your attention as you read this story. I am looking forward to reading more from this author and will definitely be going and looking at some of the other series she has written. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fail me is a heart warming story that pulls at your heart strings as you empathise with the pain and anguish the MCs experience whilst also simultaneously rooting for them and wanting to slap sense into them.

Mathew is a challenging soul whilst he is undoubtedly hot, and when I say hot I mean really hot, there is one but that will melt you into a pile of goo, however he is also a cocky arrogant arse who actually considers the most deplorable proposition. I think Elodie wrote his character so well as de does go through his own mini redemption arc through positive words and deeds for Sam and it helps build their connection on a deeper level.

Sam is an interesting FMC she is caring and kind to those she let's in behind her walls but that is an almost impossible feat to achieve following her treatment at the hands of those she loved its hardly surprising. She has instant chemistry with Mathew but fights it because of her demons and because she isn't the only player on the field. Watching her navigate this emotionally difficult situation really helps you as the reader bond with her and be fully in her corner.

Things are expensive between Sam and Mathew to say the least but some of those instances are seriously next level hot, you need a fan. I loved the pace their relationship developed and how it wen backwards and forwards to only fail spectacularly and for $h*t to hit the proverbial fan before the painfully fitting conclusion.

[KL Cassanello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew can save the orange grove and family homestead. If he marries Jillian. Just one problem... he's fallen in love with Samantha. I fell in love with this book, the story grabbing my interest at the first page and holding it throughout. Between Sam's secret career, her quirky but loyal roommates, her do-gooder parents, and the crazy neighbor who expects Matthew to marry her daughter, there's plenty of crazy to go around. It's a wild ride before they find their happy ending. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Julia Fris · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Fail me" is a book filled with many emotions...love, hate,betrayal, angst... If you want a love story, bit of a drama and action packed, this is the book for you. The main characters grows beautifully in the book, and the story of Matthew and Samantha is really emotional. I definitely recommend this book ! ❤

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a good, and enjoyable steamy heartwarming romance read. The story has a good story line. The characters are good, and they have good chemistry.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Mrs D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Elodie’s books & another series off to a flying start. I have to admit, I found Matthew a bit too cocky initially & wanted to slap him!. Samantha is sweet & needs to have a little more faith in herself. She is surrounded by some strong, diverse, female characters who have her back & drive her nuts at the same time; the kind of friends every one needs ;)

I don’t do spoilers, but there’s sadness, joy, humour & sass with just the right amount of “Oh my!”. Can’t wait for book 2, Forget Me!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Phyllis Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting, sad, uplifting and sweet. The story of Matthew Mallory and the pain he goes through to save his family's Orange Plantation after a virus ruins his crop and livelihood. The he meet an old friend of his mother's Christina, who offers to pay him to take care of her roses. And then she offers him money to marry her daughter, but Matthew wants the girl next door. But all hell breaks loss on a misunderstanding and he could loss the girl he loves. You have to read to find out what happens with the girl and the plantation. You'll love it!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matthew and I had a love/hate relationship in the beginning of this book. As I read further, I found myself connect with him more. Samantha and Matthew also had a love/hate relationship. They had chemistry and that fire but Sam is stubborn. Delving into the pasts of these two you start to understand them both more and the feels begin. I enjoyed reading this book. I loved all the Florida Flower girls. I am excited to read more of their stories.

[Vicki Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. Matthew had to work through things to decide what was most important. Sam just had to get over herself and open herself up a little more to decide what was important.

[Stephanie]

Sexy Gardner, wonderful characters, great world building, page turner easy to read. steamy, Happily Ever After.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[M J King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivated from the first paragraph, this book held me to the very end. I read this in one sitting, carried along with the depth of the characters and incredible, emotional story. Without giving away any spoilers, the events transpiring in Fail Me flow perfectly with no awkward moments, everything works so well from the descriptions of the environment that not only could I see in minds eye, I swear I could feel my taste and smell senses caught up in the brilliance of it all. Wonderful, wonderful book and one heck of an author to take me on this journey so completely.

[Cindy Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Matthew and Sam’s story. I laughed and cried reading their story. In parts I wanted to bang some heads together and say what the hell.

[Denise Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do love a good romance & this had plenty of that also loved the main characters who had good personalities not the drippy feeble ones you come across sometimes (you all know what I mean!). Little bit old fashioned story lines at times I thought but still enjoyed the book regardless of that.

Would certainly read others in the series.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a very nice novel with a guaranteed happy ending. Sometimes it is a little naive in the development of the story, but I enjoyed reading it. On the whole it is a delightful story and I gladly read it . I'm looking forward for the following episodes of what will be a really good series. Sometimes it is good to read without drama and anguish. Medium spicy.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Michelle Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will take you in a roller coaster of a ride not only with the two main characters Sam and Matthew but also Matthews dad.
This book had me hooked, it had me laughing, it had my crying and it had me shouting WTF , and the juicy bits are very juicy!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jacqueline Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samantha Kent's life is not what she wanted it to be. Her secret career has not quite taken off yet and she is broke. Her car and garden are ruined and her last boyfriend cheated on her so the last thing she needs is to hook up with her neighbours hot new gardener. Matthew is a cocky smug seriously hot farm boy looking to save the orange plantation that is his families ailing business when he is offered what could be the perfect chance. There is just one catch! Can he set aside his feelings for Sam and take the offer or will his love for Sam win? And can Sam forgive him for her humiliation? You need to read this story and find out! At first I wasn't sure about Matthew but he quickly grew on me and is now one of my favourite book boyfriends. So get reading and prepare to be panting over the sexy hot scenes!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sue Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my, hunky Matthew can come and sort out my garden any time he wants! A great romantic read charting the on/off romance between Sam – the budding erotic romantic novelist & Matthew, temporary gardener and focused on saving his family’s orange growing business. Matthew is offered a difficult choice when financial help is offered with strings attached, meaning he can’t proceed with romancing Sam, especially after he witnesses her ‘enjoying herself’ when he’s not supposed to! I really liked the ‘will they/won’t they’ aspect of the plot. A good read.

[KReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

I was enthralled with this steamy romance. Samantha and Matthew captured my attention and my heart. No cliffy here, just all the feels.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[BooksBooksandmoreBooks69 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slight twist to this one, and it made a nice change. Poor Matthew is an orange grower, and he’s facing financial ruin. He loves the orchards that he works, he can’t believe he’s going to lose it all!! Throw in the fact his father is suffering with Alzheimer’s, he can’t afford to keep on his workers and his drinking is becoming a problem! Samantha is a writer, but bills won’t wait for her next bestseller, things need paying now. Her parents aren’t much help, they are too focused on helping other people rather than their own daughter. And they’ve never really been on board with her being a journalist/writer! I have to admit, I wasn’t a big fan of Matthews at first, there’s cocky and there’s rude cocky, and he was just rude. But you have to feel sorry for him, to lose his livelihood has to be a blow. To be propositioned/hired by an older woman who knew his mother as a Gardner/handyman has to feel demeaning. But to use a predicament to further his own gain was a little despicable and rather underhanded (even if I did understand the reasons behind it) Misunderstandings and miscommunication has this couple at loggerheads with each other. Samantha won’t poach on another woman’s patch, even though both mother and daughter have their eye on the gardener! But looking at Matthew is creating a stir in both her loins and her laptop!! 😂 He’s becoming the star in her new book…… There is laughter, a few great one liners and funny moments. A little angst as their feelings aren’t returned. And then betrayal! Can they really get past all these issues to be together? It’s the first book in a new series, so I’m hoping we get to see glimpses of Samantha and Matthew in the future books. 🦋

[Reg Hancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matthew Mallory is 27, tall, dark and handsomely bearded but although the owner of Mallory Fruit Farms a 3000 acre Orange plantation in Northern Florida growing the juiciest, sweetest oranges he is downcast these days by having to fire many of his employees. An Asian bug has relentlessy eaten most of the orange trees in all Florida and his farm is now a giant compost as he has to destroy it. His father is dying from Alzheimer's though fortunately their longtime assistant from Paraguay, Sofia, is taking care of him as she has for Matthew since he was 10 when his mom walked out and left them. On the road he sees a luxury car broken down, a Porsche, with an attractive brunette obviously distressed. A good guy, he stops and offers to give her a lift home though she lives far in West Palm Beach. After the two hour plus drive they arrive and she jumps onto his lap making out but they are interrupted. Her mom is Christina Robinson an old friend of his mom's and she offers him a job landscaping her large estate at a big salary he can't refuse. This leads to him meeting the neighbors a group of young women renting from one beautiful blonde, Samantha Kent. The attraction between Sam and Matthew is instant as he had actually met her previously in a slapping incident in a thrift store. Sam is gun shy even though she wants to move forward with Matthew as she has been hurt. This is a well written steamy romance as they do get together, of course, yet it might have been done a little bit sooner. More to this story including jealousy, spite, lies, bribery. Was glued from page one to the end. Received this ARC and have voluntarily reviewed.

[Dee]

The addition starts with the book cover….yeah…yeah…yeah don’t judge a book by its cover they say ….well we all do it and this one here it is the scratch to your itch or better yet the filling to your oreos! Speaking of filling…..wait, that’s for later. Within the first chapters you get the panoramic view of whom you’re dealing with! This is book is part of the Florida Flowers series why just read one when you can start at the beginning and keep reading through the series it won’t be a waste of time. Mathew life isn’t going as he planed growing up wasn’t easy and he is struggling to make lemonade with the lemons dealt but struggling and fighting the ghost from his past, feeling like his world is falling apart all he wants to become is a author but being forced to run the family orange farms. He runs into an old friend of his mothers who offers him a part time job all monies earned must go to the orange farms working this job he meets the friend’s neighbor. Samantha well she is sweet, a bit headstrong but has her reasons, a relationship with her parents is nonexistent, she is struggling financially and trying to get her career to take off but has friends that support her. The chemistry is instant, and the magnetic pull can’t be ignored and meeting in a thrift store in the manner they met …wow embarrassing. Things may get worse when she thinks Mathew is engaged will it all be cleared up, communication is best in this situation, will he save the orange farms, will she reach out to her parents and can they find something worth fighting for ending with happiness?

[Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mathew had a tough family life growing up and it had a major impact on him. He’s definitely a flawed man who has some demons he needs to overcome, but his whole world is crumbling around him. Personal and professional.
Sam is no stranger to family issues. She hasn’t seen her parents in person seven years. Her finances aren’t doing the greatest as she’s trying to get her secret career off the ground. Thankfully she has four roommates to help with the burden.
There were a few times when it was difficult to like Matthew, especially how he casually spoke about Sam and Jillian. I get that his head was a mess with everything going on in his life, but they had feelings and they didn’t deserve that.
I really liked Sam! That first interaction in the thrift store…epic! I loved how she held her head high and just walked out! And her payback for him walking in uninvited to a private moment… hysterical! I also liked all her roommates.
I have to give it to Matthew, he realized he had true feelings and then tried to make things right. He’d won me over by then. The last part of the book was really emotional, but perfect!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Raecharmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew is trying to save his family's plantation but it seems like everything is against him. One of his mom's friends offer him money but in order to get it he has to marry her daughter. This is a complication because he already has feeling for someone else. Sam lives next door to where Matthew is working and sparks fly between them. Sam is wary of men after what she's been through but there's something about Matthew that draws her to him. Will he turn away from love in order to save his family's plantation? Will a misunderstanding keep them apart?

This is a great story that will captivate you from beginning to end. This is a well written and very entertaining story. I would recommend this book to any book lover.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[DENICE · Rating 4 out of 5]

MATTHEW MUST MAKE A CHOICE

I received this book for free and am giving my honest and voluntary review.

Matthew Mallory’s orange plantation is infested with a disease that may make him lose his inheritance. He’s given a chance to save it by his mother’s friend, a wealthy divorcee, if he marries her daughter. He becomes ensconced in a neighbor rivalry between Samantha, a striving author, and Jillian, a spoiled rich girl with daddy issues, and his own feelings of inadequacy that he tries to fix with excessive drinking. I love the point where he has put himself into a quandary that only he can fix but he might be a bit late with it. The book started out slow but picked up and became wonderful.

[lf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learning to grow Florida Flowers

Fail Me is the first book in the Florida Flowers series and the first book I have read by Elodie Colt. I was not sure what to expect but as the book description piqued my interest I decided to try a new author and see what happened. For the most part the result was a very positive reading experience. The author has delivered a nicely written and well constructed book. The story-line held my interest, made me laugh, swoon, reach for a tissue and blush. I love the characters who are flawed, have more than a few personal and family issues but yet have a lot to offer. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

I received a copy of this book and am leaving my honest review. My opinions are all my own.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the author and am voluntarily leaving my review. It takes tragedy, desperation and a messed up garden to bring Samantha and Matthew together. I really liked Samantha but it took time to warm up to him. He had more than his share of arrogance. She is going to change that but risks her heart. While they both have their baggage to deal with, their chemistry is off the charts. He is going to have to make some decisions because his heart pulls him to her while he still needs to solve the problems with his plantation. There is plenty of drama in their story but they work thru it in the end.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the end I enjoyed this book, however, I struggled through the beginning. I don't enjoy books with cheaters and this one felt like it was going to fall that way until the end. Mathew was a down on his luck farmer, struggling with a sick father who was abusive to him as a child and trying to save the family farm. Sam had been let down by everyone in her life and had shut people out to save herself. There is a lot of angst between them and they resist their attraction to each other until they can't and then things get steamy. I think the roommates saved this book for me, they added the humor and emotion to the story that Mathew and Sam lacked.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fail Me by Elodie Colt is the sizzling story of Matthew and Samantha. He’s got LOTS going on in his life and business. He owns an orange orchard. She is a writer who is having difficulty finding her muse. They are drawn to each other…but, the forces between them are mind-boggling.

This is book one of a series that I am already hooked on!!! Great characters!!! Excellent writing and phenomenal storyline!!! Can’t wait for the next one!!!

I am volunteering to leave a review for an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Marilyn Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of Matt and Sam. Both had a bad childhood that they endured but need to deal with in order to move forward. His dreams of being a writer is dashed when he has to take over the family citrus business. But it’s hard and he’s feels that he’s failing. Sam is a writer but isn’t making much as sge can’t find her muse. Matt meets a friend of his mothers and it helps him and he then meets a neighbor Sam. They get to taking about writing and begin to become closer. But it falls apart when a misunderstanding makes it fall apart! Will they work it out?

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled through the first few capters due to pacing. Matthew wasn't likable to me and I tried, I did, but he never grew on me. He seemed hard, and he cursed way too da#$ much. Maybe I didn't like him as it was difficult to like a man (yes, I know he is a fictional character) that used "soil-killing & air-polluting chemicals". I kept thinking about the real-life workers who have to suffer their boss man's pleasure, and from then on, I soured on Matt. Perhaps if the pacing was a bit more snappy, and less pity-me, I would have liked the story more.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.