Top Ten Tuesday/ Flowers On The Covers

I missed the top ten Tuesday prompts since I had done poetry month last month, but I’m back, and yesterday, I looked at what we have for this week, and I have to say that nature on book covers is my favourite. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by thatartsyreadergirl, which has a new weekly topic.

May 7: May Flowers — Pick your own title for this one to reflect the direction you choose to go with this prompt (books with flowers on the cover, flower names in the title, characters whose names are flower names, stories involving flowers/gardeners)

Goodreads Blurb:

Eve Grey is divorced, the wrong side of forty and dreading her only son leaving for college in the autumn. Still, she has one last summer planned with him in Little Bamton, and she’s determined to make the most of it. At least, that’s the plan until Davy’s father rocks up and tempts him away with the promise of sun, sea and sand. Eve’s summer stretches away in front of her…

She’s alone for the first time in 18 years…
The house feels strangely empty…
And there’s something about the summer air that’s making her feel decidedly fidgety.

All it takes is one particularly rowdy book club session to set her on a new and exciting path!

Finn Casey is hoping his visit to Little Bamton might help him get over his writer’s block. It was his editor’s idea to take a painting course in an attempt to get inside his new hero’s head. Unfortunately, the village just provides him with a whole new set of distractions . . .

His quietly beautiful new art teacher . . .
The fact that his bedroom just happens to be right next to hers . . .
And his editor’s not helping matters by phoning every hour of the day (and night) asking for updates on the manuscript.

Will Eve open up enough to let new love in? Will Finn finally manage to step into his hero’s shoes and win the girl? Or is this particular love story doomed to remain unwritten?

Goodreads Blurb:

When Carrie Stowe unexpectedly inherits her eccentric grandmother’s Italian villa, she sets her heart on going to Tuscany. It could be her only escape from the mundane and suffocating routine of life with Arthur, her repressive husband.

Arriving late at night and in the midst of a violent storm, she discovers that she is not alone. A young man is there before her, an enigmatic figure from the past: her cousin Leo, who had been missing for years, believed dead.

As Carrie reads the secrets of her grandmother’s diaries and the enchantment of the house exerts itself, Carrie finds herself irresistibly drawn to him. But what of her husband? And is Leo really who he appears to be?

Goodreads Blurb:

Lizzie Buckley has a life many women dream of – a gorgeous husband, a beautiful home and darling (when they’re not fighting) three-year-old twins. But ever since the birth of her children, she’s had a fantasy about locking herself in her bedroom for twenty-four hours with a good book and a box of chocolates.

Unfortunately, her husband James doesn’t understand her feelings. And when Lizzie unburdens herself in a flaming email to her sister Janie, then hits send at the wrong moment and accidentally shoots it off to James instead, her fairytale life gets a big dose of reality. With the word “divorce” ringing in her ears, Lizzie finds herself moving out and embarking on a totally different life – working hard to reinvent herself as a runner, a gardener, and a writer of children’s books.

But despite transforming her body, her neglected career, and her libido (courtesy of the local landscape gardener), Lizzie can’t get over her soon-to-be ex. As Lizzie discovers, sometimes the fairytale ending is just the beginning of the real story.

Goodreads Blurb:

He has all he could ask for.

James Lewis, the Earl of Stratford, has precisely what he wants: a quiet existence on his family estate, a thriving horse trade that leaves him plenty of time to work on the final volume of his anonymously published opus, The Maiden Diaries, and a deeply committed albeit unconventional relationship with his stablemaster, Harold Granger. While the shy, awkward earl can barely manage a word in London society, with Harold, he can share anything.

He wouldn’t change a thing.

Harold Granger knows what he and James risk by loving one another. James’s reputation as an eccentric recluse would be twisted into something far worse if anyone learned he was carrying on an affair with a servant. Worse still if anyone learned that Harold puts the earl on his knees and delivers the welts and bruises James begs for. But when it’s just the two of them, everything feels so perfectly right, and Harold is determined to remain a safe harbour to James no matter what.

But a storm is fast approaching.

Their determination to protect each other is put to the test when James’s volatile younger brother, Frederick, returns from a decade abroad, nursing grudges from the past. When Frederick stumbles upon James’s secrets, he sees a means to rid himself of his brother and reclaim his own place in society. His scheming forces James and Harold from their idyllic life and into a web of treachery that can only be untangled by the Bucknall Club circle–if the two can let themselves trust these newfound friendships the way they trust each other.

Goodreads Blurb:

Full of enthusiasm, recent graduate Hayley Carter is thrilled to be working for a non-profit organization in Washington, DC. Having spent a lot of her life in the background due to family circumstances, Hayley is eager to step up and be heard—and bring much needed change to her new organization. With romance on the shelf, it’s time to focus on herself and new career. Armed with a workbook to help her improve on a personal and professional level, Hayley is ready to become a better version of who she already is.

But will a baseball player for the Washington Soaring Eagles challenge her thoughts on not only dating, but the person she thinks she needs to be?

Brody Jensen is the new catcher for the professional team in DC. Baseball is everything to Brody and has been his salvation while growing up. Brody wants to make the most of his full-time shot behind the plate. Which means no serious relationships.

However, when a chance encounter leads him to Hayley, Brody finds himself wanting to know all about the beautiful blonde who has engaged him from the moment he spotted her. Together, they find themselves questioning the ideals they had set for not only relationships, but themselves, too.

When the cherry blossoms bloom in the nation’s capital, Cupid puts a squeeze play on Hayley and Brody. Will they be brave enough to love themselves and each other? Will love be called out? Or will their relationship be safe at home?

Goodreads Blurb:

When love finds you, resistance is futile
Jill Becket knows she’s in trouble the minute a brand new, gorgeous client walks into her practice. Amelia Shaw is suffering from a massive burnout, and has no clue of the calamitous effect she’s having on her new therapist. Jill’s ethical code prevents her from acting on her feelings. Falling in love is so low on Amelia’s priority list, she doesn’t even consider it. Her only current life goal is to feel better.
Can these two women find each other despite the professional and personal obstacles they face?

Goodreads Blurb:

Sana Khan is a cheerleader and a straight A student. She’s the classic (somewhat obnoxious) overachiever determined to win.

Rachel Recht is a wannabe director who’s obsesssed with movies and ready to make her own masterpiece. As she’s casting her senior film project, she knows she’s found the perfect lead – Sana.

There’s only one problem. Rachel hates Sana. Rachel was the first girl Sana ever asked out, but Rachel thought it was a cruel prank and has detested Sana ever since.

Goodreads Blurb:

lthough she doesn’t realize it, Kendall is drowning in secrets. About her husband Carter, who died in a car crash. About Gabe, who was driving the night Carter died. About her brother George’s girlfriend. Gabe’s return to Sturgeon Falls brings the secrets bubbling to the surface.

Since Carter’s death, Kendall’s been too busy running a B&B, managing a cherry orchard and raising two girls to think about Gabe. But when he shows up at her B&B, memories come rushing back – including the crush she’d had on him.

Goodreads Blurb:

When her former boyfriend shows up eight years later, Madison isn’t sure if she’s more relieved or angry he doesn’t recognize her. Especially since she’s forced to work with him for a few months and he has no clue she kept such a huge secret from him.

When Stephen finally realizes Madison is the same girl he knew as Bea from his grandparents’ town, he’s excited to catch up and reminisce about those summers — but she seems cold and wants nothing to do with him.

The truth comes out and he learns he’s the father of a seven-year-old son, throwing him into completely unfamiliar territory as he tries to develop a relationship with his child and attempts to rekindle the romance he’d once shared with Bea.

Can they each overcome their sense of betrayal and learn to be united for the sake of their son, and perhaps find love again?

Goodreads Blurb:

Seasons in a Small Town – Spring

In rural Drago, Illinois, Zeke came by his “the Geek” nickname honest, more comfortable in the world of algebra and algorithms than high school’s social hallways. Though that didn’t keep him from longing for the unattainable prom queen, Jennifer.

The one person who did understand his out-of-the-box brain was Darcie, his best friend.
After their high school graduation, Zeke and Darcie for one night jolted from friends to lovers. And then he left town, and she knew he couldn’t look back. What he didn’t know was the depth of Darcie’s feelings for him.

Now it’s 17 years later, and Zeke’s a self-made billionaire founder of a tech security firm, Darcie’s a local cop and Jennifer’s a divorced mom of a tween girl. And their little town is flagging.

At Darcie’s urging, Zeke returns to Drago to boost its economy. Will his new wealth attract the still-beautiful Jennifer? Or will Darcie, the one girl who always made him feel at ease, show him that true love knows no boundaries?

Alex