A beautiful story based on true facts with added fiction. Flowers link grief, forgiveness, family & boats. Seems a strange mix but reading this compelling story & the author's great writing will be so enjoyable!

A Five Star delight. The writing by Sally Page in The Secret of Flowers brings the unseen behind the scenes world onboard the Titanic to life.

It certainly left me in awe of the powerful storytelling. This is a gorgeous read, comforting, and intriguing. The Secret of the Flowers lingers long after the last page is read.

Published by Harper Collins UK

What an amazing story! The Secret of Flowers is a story about hope, friendships, acceptance, daring to change and moving on. I loved how it combined the story of a glimpse of life in the Titanic. I found this book very inspiring and well-researched!

A beautiful book that filled me with sparkle, love, light and joy.

Really enjoyed reading this book, a break from the norm. I learnt a lot as well as enjoying the story.

Who knew flowers even had secrets!

Highly recommended, 5 stars from me.

What a lovely read. Great characters from the grieving young widow Emma, her horrible mother and the gorgeous duo of betty and len. This is a story of being lost, making wrong decision but encountering kindness, finding your strengths snd gifts and blossoming through true friendship. The titanic storyline is nice but to me it’s nit the real story in this one. Loved it. Resounding 4 stars

This is such a lovely, well written book. The author has such a lovely way with words.
I didn't want it to end but I wanted to know what happened next.
It's not the first I've read by this author, and it definitely won't be the last.
Just beautiful and inspiring.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Soon after the death of her husband Emma gives up her job as a research scientist and goes to work as a florist for Les and Betty.
Emma is dangerous it close to closing down socially. She feels unable to speak to anyone except her brother who lives in Singapore. She has a very strained relationship with her mother who constantly finds Emma wanting.
Les invited Emma to a talk he is giving about the Titanic and although she is too panicked to attend she becomes obsessed with finding out about the florist in the doomed liner.
Emma's search leads her to new contacts, new friends and an acceptance of herself and her life.
A lovely book for romantics, flower lovers, history lovers and anyone who enjoys a really good book.

Another heartwarming and beautifully written book from this wonderful author, and I think this could be my favourite so far.

We follow two timelines with present-day Emma still coming to terms with the untimely death of her husband, and Violet who worked as a steward on several ships, including the Titanic.

Emma is a self-conscious, slightly socially awkward, multilingual scientist. Tall and with curly red hair, she feels conspicuous when all she wants to do is blend into the background. Her father has died, her relationship with her mother is fraught and her brother lives on the other side of the world, meaning she keenly feels the loss of the love of her life.

When she decides to quit her job and do something completely different, she is drawn to a role in a garden centre, working as a part-time florist. It helps her to feel closer to her father who was a keen gardener, and whose "pillow post" letters she still treasures.

A discussion about the Titanic in a local history group leads her to wonder about the identity of the florist who worked on the prestigious ship. As she researches deeper, she is inexplicably drawn to a photograph of one woman in particular. Could this woman be the florist? And why does she seem so familiar?

Along Emma's quest for knowledge, she makes new friends and finds ways to come to terms with the loss of her husband and her fractured relationship with her mother.

“Flowers are like friends, they bring colour to your world”

The Secrets of Flowers is a heartwarming and beautifully written story about loss and friendship. It follows Emma on her mission to find out who arranged the flowers on the Titanic. Emma is coming to terms with the loss of her husband and she leaves her job as a scientist to work in a garden centre amongst flowers. It also follows Violet, a stewardess on the Titanic - Violet’s part of the story is true which makes this book even better.

I absolutely adored this book. Sally Page did an amazing job at developing the characters - they were so loveable in their own ways. I adored Les and Betty, and their kindness to Emma with what she is going through. The alternating chapters between Emma and Violet really kept me hooked on this book. The information about the Titanic was very fascinating and it did inspire me to do some research in my own time. It is a very easy read and I couldn’t put it down.

This was my first read by Sally Page, and it definitely won’t be my last. It was truly beautiful. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A romance story with no ‘love interest’. A mystery that reaches a satisfactory conclusion at the end. All tied in with flowers and scents. It is written in two time periods and initially I made assumptions that were later proved to be wrong. This did not spoil the book, it increased the mystery.

Such a good book with really lovable amazing characters.
I loved getting to know each and every one of them.
All the connections to the Titanic and learning about Violet Jessop was fascinating.
I really enjoyed both the past storyline and the present- altogether a really great read!

I enjoyed this story, especially the characters and Titanic references.

One year on from the death of her husband, Emma feels no closer to moving forward with her life. Seeking distraction, she quits her job and begins working at the local garden centre.

Here, Emma begins to open up and finds herself attending boss Les’ talk on the Titanic. Intrigued, Emma sets out to research who would have arranged the flowers on-board.

Alongside her story unfolds the tale of a stewardess on the Titanic, who Emma can’t help but feel connected to.

The story develops wonderfully, and is a real feel good read. I would recommend this book. It is a great sensitive portrayal of grief and is written in a sensitive way.

A really interesting premise. I was intrigued to see how the two stories came together and it did not disappoint. Recommended.

I have been lucky enough to meet Sally recently at a Book and Pudding Club summer party. It was so great to hear about the writing process and inspiration behind the book and her intrigue into the flowers on the Titanic which I have never thought about before! As always with Sally's books Secrets of Flowers has wonderful characters and story line. Emotion and intrigue. Brilliant!

Emma has lost her way. She is grieving her husband's death and cannot seem to come to peace. After, leaving her job as a research scientist, she becomes a florist in a garden centre where she befriends the owners, Les and Emma. One day, she is thinking about the Titanic ans wonders who the florist on the great liner was. And so starts the quest.
Running alongside is the story of Violet, the florist. We find out how she came to be on the Titanic and why there is no listing of a florist in the staff lists.
As Emma finds Violet, she feels a strong connection to her, but what is the connection?
Fascinating story weaving fact with fiction. Not to be missed!

I recently read a paperback book by Page ("The Book of Beginnings") in case this was a sequel, and noticed a flower shop mentioned near to the shop in the book, wondering if it was to do with this book. Not a sequel, not set in Highgate, but still a good read in its own right. Emma is a year on from her husband's sudden death, hiding in the shadows, no longer enjoying her science job. She happens upon an advert for a part-time job as a florist in a garden centre, applies and gets it, and starts to - ahem - blossom under the care of the older couple who run it and Tamas, the delivery man.

A new obsession with who did the flowers on the Titanic then introduces her to even more kind people, new friends even, and she even gathers up the courage to flirt with a barman, encouraged by one of those friends, though this is very much not a romance book. Meanwhile, we're reading Violet's story, a young girl growing up in South America who moves to England with her mum and brother: who could she be and what has she to do with Emma and the story? There's lots of nice detail here of the search, and it's heart-warming to see Emma gain strength and resilience as she goes, facing up to some stuff in her marriage and her relationship with her mother. Page is turning out to be a good reliable author to pick up (like her daughter, Libby Page!).

Reviewed on my blog 12 Sept 2024: https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2024/09/12/two-final-august-netgalley-reads-by-susie-dent-and-sally-page/

The Secrets of Flowers by Sally Page is a heartwarming story of self-discovery, forgiveness, grief and living again. It is about compassion, friendships, and faith. It has beautiful likeable characters (except one). We learn about flowers and the Titanic. Page intersects two stories that come together at the end. This is a dual era novel: part historical fiction, and present day. I would say at its core it’s a mystery.

Fun Fact: the story of Violet was based on the true story of a girl who sailed as a Stewardess on the Titanic. This was fascinating and informative. This novel has been diligently researched by Page.

As someone said “Flowers are so important at significant points of everyone’s lives: births, birthdays, celebrations, and deaths. They are a tangible sign of love, that someone is thinking of you. It was interesting to hear about the many different flowers included in the story and the meanings they often have assigned to them.” I often found myself looking up what each one was.

Thank you #netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for this eCopy to review

I recently read The Secrets of Flowers by Sally Page, and it was an absolutely enchanting experience! This novel beautifully intertwines the past and present through the story of Emma, who, a year after her husband’s death, finds solace and purpose working at a local garden centre. The book’s exploration of grief and healing is both poignant and uplifting.

Emma’s journey to uncover the mystery of who arranged the flowers on the Titanic is fascinating and adds a layer of historical intrigue that kept me hooked. The way Sally Page describes the flowers and their meanings is so vivid that I could almost smell the blooms as I read. The characters are wonderfully developed, each bringing their own warmth and depth to the story.

What I loved most about this book is its heart warming message of hope and the power of connections, both old and new. The Secrets of Flowers is a delightful read that left me feeling inspired and comforted. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a touching and beautifully written novel.

I never imagined that I could love this new Sally Page book as much as I loved the previous two; The Keeper of Stories and The Book of New Beginnings. Choosing a favourite of the three would be like asking me to choose my favourite child,and I have three of them…impossible!

At first I thought how good the author is at creating eccentric characters but then it dawned on me that we are all eccentric in our own way and that is what makes life so interesting.

Emma has recently lost her husband,Will who had a sudden heart attack. As a result she has made the decision to leave her highly pressured research job and has decided to work part time as a florist at a garden centre. As Emma settles into the routine of her new job she tells her employer’s Betty and Les very little about herself or her past. As Emma meets Tamas who delivers flowers to the garden centre she finds that he and his wife have also faced a tragedy in their family. When Emma has cold feet about attending a talk given by Les on the Secrets of the Titanic she later watches a TV programme about the Titanic and starts to wonder if there was a florist on board the ship.

The Secrets of Flowers is told in two time frames. Running alongside Emma’s story is that of Violet who lived in Argentina as a child and overcame a serious illness only to then have to deal with the death of her Spanish Father. After his death the family take a boat to London and settle there. Violet’s mother goes to work as a stewardess in a shipping company, leaving Violet to look after her sister, while her two brothers go to live in an orphanage. Violet eventually goes to work for the shipping company instead of her mother and is a stewardess on the Titanic on its fateful maiden voyage.

I loved how each chapter was linked to a different type of flower. As Emma herself goes on a voyage of discovery she meets the most interesting characters in her search for the answer as to whether there was a florist aboard the Titanic and discovers an amazing link between her family and someone aboard that ship.

I would highly recommend this book and was privileged to receive an ARC in return for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sally Page's previous novels and this one was no exception. A delightful story, with a dual timeline of Argentina in the early 1900s and the present day, with wonderful characters and such an original plotline about the mysterious origin of the Titanic florist. Moving and uplifting (and refreshingly romance-free!) this is an absolutely lovely book.