Book Review: The Florist by Serena Yates

The Florist, by Serena Yates
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 6, 2015 (originally pub. 2012)

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Buy Link: Publisher

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Blurb:

A Workplace Encounters Book

When freelance florist Dylan White gets a call that a good friend has died and left him a flower shop, Dylan isn’t sure he wants the commitment. Still, he travels to Florida to speak with the law firm, where he meets defense attorney Sean Mellick in the corridor. Sean makes a point of “running into” Dylan again, and Dylan eventually agrees to a date.

While romance blooms between the two men, their careers aren’t going as smoothly. Dylan faces employee resistance and sabotage, and then inexplicable expenses leave him on the verge of bankruptcy. An offer to sell that sounds too good to be true makes him suspicious, and he asks Sean for help. Though they’ve had very little time together, Dylan and Sean need each other to work through the issues and plant the seeds for the future they both want.

My Review:

A story with an excellent concept, but flawed execution. A free-spirited freelance florist (who knew that was even a thing?) inherits a flower shop in Florida, where things are mysteriously going wrong. A lawyer working a case connected to the floral industry (apparently a big deal? Again, who knew?) starts to doubt that he’s doing the right thing. They meet, it’s attraction at first sight.

But really? Sean just comes off as super creepy, and the villain is so overly-dramatic that I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

This is a short novella, and the plot itself is pretty solid. I like the way things connect between the two men professionally, the ties between Dylan’s new shop and Sean’s lawyer clients weaving together. But Sean just came off as a bit too much, and I couldn’t help but find him creepy instead of endearing.

“I bet you could use some support right now, someone to talk to.”
“How do you know that?” Dylan’s eyes narrowed.

The characters were pretty two-dimensional. Flint, the manager at the store Dylan has inherited, is so obviously The Bad Guy that he might as well be wearing all black and breathing heavily, a la Darth Vader.

“Well!” Flint looked angry enough to spit nails. “I think you’re going to find running a flower shop isn’t as easy as it may look. So I suggest you leave the running of the business to me, and stay out of the details.”

I think this story has a lot of potential, but it just didn’t do it for me. I couldn’t relate to the characters, and the relationship didn’t work for me.