This summer, members of the Vise Library are participating in a Summer Reading Challenge. We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!
The ninth book on our schedule is Elly in Love by Author Colleen Oakes.
About the book:
Curvy wedding florist Elly Jordan
has had quite a year. First, she had to design her ex-husband’s wedding to the
mistress who split them up, and then she broke up with the hottest musician
this side of St. Louis. Three months have passed since then, and now Elly
is primed for what promises to be the best wedding season of her life.
Helped by her loyal friends, Elly is
on the verge of opening a chic flower boutique uptown when BlissBride, a
popular wedding reality show, asks her to design the wedding of a famous—make
that infamous–celebrity. Elly is about to get everything she’s ever
wanted, when a stranger shows up at her store with a request that changes every
aspect of her life–including her budding relationship with deli owner Keith. As
she struggles to stay calm in the midst of growing chaos, Elly will learn the
true meaning of love and sacrifice.
Elly in Love is the second book in a series. However, if you did not read the first book, Elly in Bloom, you will not be completely lost. This book is about Elly Jordan who is a florist living in the St. Louis area. She does not have any family left after the death of her mother. However, she does have a great set of friends and a too-good-to-be true boyfriend that make up for that. Elly has a great business opportunity when the producers of BlissBride seek her out as a possible vendor for a celebrity wedding. With this opportunity, the Snarky Teenager (that's her name in the book, I'm not being mean!) that works for Elly has an idea for opening a second, but different, location. Elly agrees that with the money and exposure from the show this would be the perfect time to open another business. Things seem to be going smoothly for Elly (who is actually very clumsy herself!) until a stranger turns up at her door. It turns out that this stranger is a half-brother that Elly never knew existed. Elly accepts him into her home hoping to connect with the only family she has left. Things start off rocky for the two and eventually there is something hard that happens that they must both decide how to deal with. As if the celebrity wedding, "reality" show, new brother and second business aren't enough to deal with, it seems that Elly's too-good-to-be-true boyfriend is hiding something very important from her. Elly has to learn to juggle all of these things and be happy with her life.
This book was very funny at times. Elly was hysterical. I loved how she tried to be funny, was not very graceful, but she also had a really good heart. The relationship with her employee, Snarky Teenager, were very comical as well. I found myself wanting to know more about how the relationship with Elly and her half-brother grew. Elly was always encouraging the people around her, even when she was super stressed and bone tired. (Isn't it great to have a friend like that??) I think that when I have time (after the Summer Reading Challange), I would like to go back and read the first book in this series. I was very happy to see that there would be another book in this series. I cannot wait to read about how Elly and her friends (and brother!) turn out!
This book was very funny at times. Elly was hysterical. I loved how she tried to be funny, was not very graceful, but she also had a really good heart. The relationship with her employee, Snarky Teenager, were very comical as well. I found myself wanting to know more about how the relationship with Elly and her half-brother grew. Elly was always encouraging the people around her, even when she was super stressed and bone tired. (Isn't it great to have a friend like that??) I think that when I have time (after the Summer Reading Challange), I would like to go back and read the first book in this series. I was very happy to see that there would be another book in this series. I cannot wait to read about how Elly and her friends (and brother!) turn out!
About the author:
Colleen Oakes is the author of the Elly in Bloom series
and the YA fantasy Queen of Hearts
Saga, both published via SparkPress, a BookSparks imprint. She lives in North
Denver with her husband and son. When not writing, Colleen enjoys swimming,
traveling, and immersing herself in nerdy pop culture. She is currently at work
on the last Elly novel and her second YA
fantasy series, Wendy Darling.
Connect with the author:
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Website: http://colleenoakes.net/
If you want to find out more about the Summer Reading Challenge click the image above!
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