Wallflower
The Gardener Series: Book One
by Krista Gold
Left wealthy but alone after her famous mother's death, Tessa George is slowly beginning to rebuild her life when she is knocked off her feet - quite literally - by her neighbour's sexy gardener. Shy and inexperienced with men, Tessa is stunned when the devastatingly handsome Emilio kisses her, and the two are soon fully embroiled in a steamy affair, with Tessa’s sexuality blossoming under Emilio’s expert attention.
When Tessa receives the job offer of a lifetime, it seems like all the pieces of her life are finally falling together. But then Tessa finds her mother’s explicit journals, and they raise more questions than they answer about her mother’s secret life. Just what was Tessa’s mother involved in? Who was her mysterious lover? And does someone have unfinished business with Tessa? Tessa needs to weed out the truth – and fast.
Can Tessa bloom into the woman she was meant to become – or does she need to wake up and smell the roses?
Part Fifty Shades, part psychological thriller, "Wallflower" will keep you guessing until the very end.
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| https://www.amazon.com/Wallflower-Gardener-Book-Krista-Gold-ebook/dp/B07J3Y15QL |
Momma Says: 3.5 stars⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wallflower is an erotic thriller with emphasis on the erotic. The story starts out a bit slow for my tastes, but once it picks up, things move quickly for our protagonist, Tessa. There were a couple of things that bothered me with the romance, most especially the fact that Tessa gets so close to Emilio but knows next to nothing about him, including his last name. Nevertheless, there is chemistry between them, and they are nothing short of scorching hot together. That side of the story did become a little too much at times with some scenes coming literally back to back. With so much of the steamy goodness, it's hard to get any real feelings between this pair. Lust is there in spades, but lust doesn't necessarily mean love, and I would've liked a few more real conversations between Emilio and Tessa to get the feel of a growing romance. My favorite part of this one is when the suspense kicks in. It's well-plotted and moves at a good pace with a steadily rising tension. There's also an awesome twist that I never saw coming. There are clues, but they're subtle - the kind that you look back on with a forehead slapping moment once all is revealed. On the technical side, there are a number of errors, mostly by way of extra words or simple words that are missing from a sentence. In the beginning, they are few and far between, but they do pick up in number as the book progresses. That aside, the story makes for a compelling read and I love that I didn't figure out the twist before it happened. I will be interested in seeing what's next for this series and watching this author's growth with future books.
