What do you do when the future isn’t a bed of roses?Lydia has spent three years of her life working on what now seems to be a worthless degree. Every job she applies for needs years of work experience and she has precisely none. The only spark of hope comes when her boyfriend, Jake, manages to land her a role as a gardening volunteer at Heathley Park and Gardens, but when she meets the head … when she meets the head gardener, Scott, her hopes are crushed.
Far from being the opportunity of her dreams, Heathley Park and Gardens is one big nightmare! Will she ever be able to prove to both Scott and herself that she should be taken seriously as a gardener?
It doesn’t help that someone has a vendetta against the Heathley gardeners. A vandal is running rampant through the park and gardens and unless they uncover the culprit, Heathley could be just one scuttled boat away from a lawsuit!
Lydia is about to discover that love, life, and landscape gardening, is definitely not a bed of roses.
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Great story. I was wonderfully surprised by this story. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lydia is a strong character with a few humanizing weaknesses. Most of the gardeners around her are simply weak with few redeeming qualities. But, there is hope.
Blooming #1 – A quick, fun read with bits of suspense. Armed with self-doubt in the beginning, the main character uses integrity, determination and hard work to succeed and becomes an outstanding young woman while changing the life of the people around her. This book is filled with humor and suspense. The author did a good job with this book; still needs editing. But this recent work is vastly superior over her earlier writings. Like the main character, she persevered, too. 5*
Holly Winters books 1-4 5* Ms. Loren re-edited this series.
Snowed In With Death #1 – Just so silly, it’s funny. A humorous whodunit filled with the egos of six private detectives and a young female amateur sleuth. Even with the disdainful PIs present, the young woman shows them up. Just perfect for a few minutes of humor filled relaxation. 5*
A Fatal Frost #2 – Two stories in one. This book picks up where Snowed In With Death stops. The perfect breakfast opens the story! Another well written, quick murder mystery with our two characters from SIWD. The plot was interesting and kept the reader’s attention; great for a lunch break or a few moments of relaxation. I contacted the author to review her books after reading the ones I had in my Amazon library. 5*
Murder Beneath the Mistletoe #3 – An interesting story, a little more substantial than the first two books in this series. The characters are interesting, although one disappears without really knowing what’s up with him. The ending is kinda cool, which of course is where the next book picks up. 5*
Winter’s Last Victim #4 – Picks up where Murder Beneath the Mistletoe stopped. These four stories are related in more than one way. Interesting plot, the same good and bad character types and a new member to Holly’s “gang”. Plenty of humor, along with a couple of surprises. 5*
Holly Winters books 1-4 end
The Lavender of Larch Hall – A quick, easy read. A well written suspense with a touch of romance and humor. Just perfect for a few minutes with a cuppa. 5*
Lydia becomes a full time volunteer at Heathley Park and Gardens to gain hands-on experience as a gardener. She gets the worst jobs, but is determined to prove she can do the work. This is a coming of age story with all the appropriate angst. The plot and characters are well done. I enjoyed Lydia’s journey.
Fun Gardening Romance
This is a fun and lighthearted story that takes place in a public garden. It gives a lot of insight into the hard work of maintaining those beautiful places that look so carefree. The plot is a light mystery and light romance. I have read many of this author’s books and have enjoyed them all. I am looking forward to reading this entire series and have already started book 2. I enjoy this author’s style as well as content. Her heroines are well centered and capable while her hero’s are nice guys who care a lot, but are not perfect.
Wow. I really enjoyed this and have good feelings throughout the book. It is about staying true to yourself regardless what family and boyfriends negative comments. It is about how sighing and pushing ahead with your passion gives one confidence and rewarding experiences. In this book good wins over bad,Yeah! Unfortunately the real world sometimes shows the opposite. Just have to take an accepting view for one’s self and keep heading straight ahead even if slow and wobbly sometimes. Still some villainy and mystery going on but a HEA for now. I would definitely read the next book of these characters and place of work,