A past coming back, but in an unexpected way…

Synopsis

Welcome to Pepper Bay. A small close-knit community where you’ll find chocolate box cottages, quaint shops, love drama, and a happily ever after.

Snuggle down with this cosy, feel-good, comfort read that whisks you away to a beautiful bay on the Isle of Wight – Perfect for fans of Christie Barlow, Phillipa Ashley, and Holly Martin.

The Pepper Bay books are standalone stories that intertwine with recurring characters. Best enjoyed when read in order,

Silver Blooms Flower Shop: Lexi and Bryce have never been friends. She views him as her childhood bully. So, she finds a way to stick it to the fancy-schmancy businessman by using his name as her pen name for the erotic romance books that she writes. That way, when potential clients try to check him out online, all they will see is fishnet stockings, sexy CEOs, and steamy sneak previews. But, when Not-Nice-Bryce comes back home to confront her, their past comes flooding back, and maybe it wasn’t as bad as she remembers.

My review

Lexi has always seen Bryce as part of her childhood bullies. Now as an adult, she has found the way to take some kind of revenge, as she uses his name as her pen name for the erotic romances she writes. By doing so, whenever a potential new client of him does some online research, they will see something they didn’t expect.
Bryce has now returned back home to confront her and demands her to put things straight. But with Bryce being back home, old memories resurface. And Lexi may come to the realization that not all memories were that bad, and that not everything she seems to remember was how it truly was… 

You may know that I am a big fan of the Pepper Bay Series, and how much I loved reading each new chapter. And with each new part in the series I fall in love with more and more characters. So I was very happy when I turned to the first page of this brand new book!
And it left me very sad, when I reached the end of it, because now I have to wait again too long before I can return! 

Starting a new book in a series is always a little bit terrifying… will the author manage to write something different than before, yet keeping the bits that made me love the previous books?
Well, I can say with a clear conscious that I absolutely fell in love with this amazing book! 

Let’s start with Lexi…
While reading her flashbacks, I felt sorry and even pitied her for the kind of childhood she had. Now, she had and still has an amazing family, but her years at school weren’t easy…
I can only imagine how difficult it can be going to school when being bullied. I guess I am a lucky one, never been bullied… 

But reading how Lexi has made it as an adult, made me proud of her. Lexi shows us that despite being bullied, you can become a strong person. And perhaps her revenge may seem petty, well, I couldn’t help but admire how well she thought about it and I found it hilarious to see the results! 

We readers are obviously prepared for the confrontation, but Lexi for sure wasn’t ready to see Bryce again. And reading how the main characters immediately clash again, was hilarious to read! Also reading how they try to outdo each other, was the best thing ever! 

Initially it was easy to see Bryce as the bad guy, bullying Lexi when they were younger. And I was for sure a fan of some sweet revenge.
But again those flashbacks…
They made me see a whole different side of Bryce, showing us that each story has in fact two sides. And while what Bryce did, wasn’t always the right decision he made, it was also typical for a teenager. Because we get to know the doubts Bryce had, and how he wanted to do the right thing, but didn’t always succeed… 

With younger Lexi and Bryce, we see that sweetness, but also the ignorance in a way, that describe perfectly teenage life.
We see how they are struggling with understanding their real feelings, and when they have it finally figured out, it’s too late… 

But with adult Lexi and Bryce, we see that the real thing never disappears… even if many years have passed. However, it’s also hard to decipher if the feelings that we have are genuine, or just a remembrance of those feelings years ago. 

There are so many lovely moments in this book… how Lexi finds her passion by working in Bryce’s Aunt Flower shop for example. But also moments that show us the strength of the character. For I can only admire the bravery in the choice that Lexi made early in the book…
And also the courage it took Lexi to make an important decision later on the book, as at that moment there was too much at stake…
Also Bryce shows what a great guy he is, how he easily accepts what Lexi’s future will be. And by giving Lexi in the end a wonderful gift, showing us that he truly understands and knows Lexi. 

However, there were also a few heart – breaking moments… Like learning how Lexi was being bullied and in which ways. But also learning about Bryce’s family and how he is still haunted by that past…
Those bits were not easy to read, but it made me understand the characters better, made me see where they were coming from and learn how much they have grown. 

This was a wonderful, heart – warming, marvellous story that I couldn’t start reading quick enough, only regretting how quickly I finished it…
It made me realize again that human nature isn’t always logical, as people do (or don’t) do things that make sense, and that hindsight a wonderful thing.
And it made me also believe that Real and True Love never dies and always finds a way…