HotHouse Flower by Margot Berwin
Publisher: Vintage
Publish Date: June 1, 2010
Paperback, 304 pages
My Review:
Why I Read This: I was contacted to be a part of the TLC Book Tour for this book and author and it sounded interesting so I signed on.
How is this Novel Driven: I'm not sure - it's character and plot driven, probably a little more character-driven because it's about the growth of Lila, but there are lots of events to move this book forward and keep you turning pages.
My thoughts: I started this during the read-a-thon over the weekend and I'm glad I did - it was hard to put down and worked great with the hours of straight reading I had to do. I even started this later in the afternoon when I usually start losing my momentum, but HotHouse Flower helped me keep my momentum going.
I found Lila to be engaging from the beginning. I think a lot of women are lost like Lila and will understand her predicament in this book. I liked the storyline, her relation to the plants and the adventure she embarks on in Mexico. Armand is just an amazing character and so fun to learn more from.
The descriptions were just right in this book, giving you a wonderful feeling of the setting without overwhelming you with too many details. I never felt bogged down in this book. I just wanted to know what would happen next and would Lila find the Nine Plants of Desire.
At times the storyline can seem a little over the top, but that is part of what made it enjoyable to me. It's a fiction story and it's well-written and highly enjoyable. The characters are fun and well-described, the settings beautiful and dangerous, the plot moves along perfectly. I loved this book and just can't rave about it enough.
My Rating: 4.75/5.0
About HotHouse Flower
HotHouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire is one woman’s journey from the modeling and advertising world of New York City to the rain forests of the Yucatan Peninsula. From the hot and steamy plant dealers in the Union Square Green Market, to the curanderos, herbalists and shamans of Southern Mexico.Lila Nova is a 32-year-old adverting copywriter who lives alone in a plain white box of an apartment. Recovering from a heartbreaking divorce, Lila has a simple mantra: no pets, no plants, no people, no problems. But when she meets David Exley, a ruggedly handsome plant dealer, a country-sexual, as she calls him, her lonely life turns into something far more colorful. From the harsh streets of Manhattan to the verdant jungles of the Yucatan, Hothouse Flower is the story of a woman who travels beyond sense and comfort to find out what she really wants.
A note from the Author
The story is based on a relationship with my good friend Armand who was kind enough to give me permission to use his name on these pages. Over the years Armand taught me a lot about life and relationships and plants. I’ve taken some of that knowledge and created this novel. I would say that the circumstances of the book are fictional in specifics and very real in the abstract.
Take it for what you will. Read it in whatever way gives you the most pleasure.
About Margot Berwin
MARGOT BERWIN won a merit scholarship for creative writing from the New School and earned her MFA in 2005. Her stories have appeared on Nerve.com, essaysandfictions.com, The New York Press, and in the Anthology The Future of Misbehavior. She lives in New York City.
You can contact Margot:
- on Twitter – @MargotBerwin
- on her Facebook fan-page
- on her regular Facebook page
Giveaway:
I have one copy of HotHouse Flower by Margo Berwin from the publisher to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment and a way to contact you and you are entered. Open to the US/Canada only. Ends 10/18.
Margot’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS
Wednesday, August 11th: Chocolate & CroissantsThursday, August 12th: The Road to Here (and guest post)
Friday, August 13th: Chick Lit Reviews .com
Monday, August 16th: Raging Bibliomania
Tuesday, August 17th: MrBrownThumb
Thursday, August 19th: A Nourishing Glimpse
Monday, August 23th: The Gods Are Bored (author guest post)
Tuesday, August 24th: garden bliss
Thursday, August 26th: A Homesteading Neophyte
Tuesday, August 31st: Mockingbird Hill Cottage
Wednesday, September 1st: Adventurous Kate
Thursday, September 2nd: Bloomingwriter
Tuesday, September 7th: Free Range Living
Wednesday, September 8th: Colloquium
Thursday, September 9th: Book Addiction
Monday, September 13th: K-Town Homestead
Tuesday, September 14th: Really Rose
Tuesday, September 14th: Creative Living With Jamie (podcast)
Thursday, September 16th: Life in the Thumb
Monday, September 20th: Tales of a Capricious Reader
Tuesday, September 21st: Aunt Debbi’s Garden
Wednesday, September 22nd: Layers of Thought
Tuesday, September 28th: The Indoor Garden(er)
Wednesday, September 29th: Garden Faerie’s Musings
Thursday, September 30th: Plants are the Strangest People
Monday, October 11th: My Reading Room
Tuesday, October 12th: Patsybell.com
Thursday, October 14th: Get Busy Gardening!
Tuesday, October 19th: Chiot’s Run
Wednesday, October 20th: Evolution of a Garden
Thursday, October 21st: Kaleidoscopic Wandering
Monday, October 25th: Evenstar Art
Tuesday, October 26th: A Gardener in Progress
Thursday, October 28th: Farmgirl Fare
Tuesday, November 16th: Candice Does the World
FTC Notice: I was provided my copy of HotHouse Flower by the publisher for a stop on the TLC Tour for a honest review. I do not profit from links on the blog due to NC regulations.
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