Sally Page's stories have captured me since I read her first one, so being allowed to read this would always be taken gratefully.
The Secrets of Flowers is a beautiful, intricate tale based on a real person, with hints of interest by the author, but its storyline and the main characters are fictional.
Emma is a woman who is coming to grips with the loss of her husband, who quite suddenly died. She is still young, but flo9undering in her existing life.
Taking a break from her normality as a scientist, she begins to enjoy a job at the small local garden centre, remembering her father's love for flowers and immersing herself in good memories.
But she is still nervous about socialising and mixing with others.
A small chain of events leads to her burying herself in research about the Titanic, and a pull towards the flowers on board leads her towards Violet Jessop, the only woman to have survived three major shipwrecks, including the Olympics and the Titanic.
She can't help but feel a connection to the woman but cannot figure out what it is.
Aided by Garden Centre owners Betty and Les and Tamass, their flower delivery guy, and a whole host of other people, they slowly piece together the life of a young woman and her role on the ships, revealing the connection that Emma felt so strongly with this woman.
It is such a beautifully told dual-timeline story.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Fiction for an ARC.

I received a free copy of, The Secrets of Flowers, by Sally Page, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Getting over the death of a loved one is so very hard, sometimes people stay in grief forever, and never move on. Sally decides to quit her job, and start over, a year after her beloved husband passed away. This book was so interesting, I enjoyed learning about the flowers on titanic. A lovely book.

What a beautiful story about Emma, a scientist who sadly finds herself suddenly widowed and in need of a new start. She takes a job in a garden centre and embarks on a journey of discovery, both about herself and her family history, as well as the mystery of the florists on board the ill fated Titanic. The story of Violet, a young woman in the past with a love and passion for flowers, entwines this tale and we slowly discover the link between these two women. Beautifully written, fascinating characters and with a hint of mystery, this book was highly enjoyable and a great read.

Emma lost her husband, Will, suddenly to a heart attack. She then found out he had been having an affair.
Her life has been shattered and she decides to change her life. She leaves her job as a scientist and starts working in a garden centre.
A colleague is interested in the Titanic and Emma realises there is no reference to a florist on board and starts investigating.
This means she has to come out of her shell and talk to people, all sorts of interesting people who will eventually become a big part of her life.
I loved this book!

A story which combines flowers, the titanic and history is one which is a winner for me.

Emma is struggling from the loss for her husband and decides to change her life by leaving her career and following her passion for flowers by taking a part-time job in the local garden centre.

She makes new friends and becomes fascinated by the Titanic and trying to find the florist who she believes worked on board.

Violet was a stewart on the Titanic and as Emma begins to investigate she feels drawn to her story, wondering if she was the on-board florist who may be connected to her family.

The dual timeline was beautifully written. When the two main characters lives connect this added even more depths to the brilliant storyline.

Sally‘s love of flowers is evident through the book. I loved how each chapter began with the name of a different flower. .

Grief, forgiveness, love , guilt and how we are all shaped by our past is wonderfully explored.

A beautiful book which made me want to spend more time in my garden even if it was reading instead of tackling the weeds. I thoroughly recommend this gentle delightful book.

3.5 rounded up Having read previous books by this author that I loved.
I had high hopes for this book, and while I did enjoy it I felt it wasn’t as good as the others I have read. I liked that it was told from 2 different perspectives but I found it at times hard to keep up with the duel POC and various characters. The titanic parts were the best bits for me I really enjoyed them parts but the rest I really struggled to get into and found so slow paced. While the book is well written I just struggled to connect with the characters and story line. However I would still recommend as I think others would enjoy it more if they could keep up with the story and characters. Especially if you like the titanic or aspects of it as the character is based on a true person who was aboard the titanic!

This is a book of two narratives, that of Violet who becomes a stewardess on the Titanic, and that of Emma, a young research scientist recently widowed. In her grief, Emma decides to leave her academic research job and take a part-time floristry job in a garden centre. This change begins to help her come to terms with her loss but gives rise to other anxieties. She becomes fixated on finding out who arranged all the flowers on the Titanic and this brings her into contact of a variety of different people. I truly loved this book which made me laugh and cry in different places. The stories of Violet and Emma do eventually merge and link together in the nicest way. It is a beautiful, well written story bringing together the past, the present and using the knowledge of flowers to link our memories. Thoroughly enjoyable and a beautiful, evocative read. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book.

This is an extraordinary story that brings together flowers and bouquets, floating boats and family backstories. One character is based on a real person, who was on the Titanic when it sank; and how her story unfolds and is linked to the main character's story is in itself sufficient to keep you reading to the end - and the twists and turns along the way are very clever. Then there are the flowers, their meanings and how they symbolise different things in each chapter and in the lives of each character. Some characters are very well portrayed - Les who speaks in proverbs and sayings most of the time, his wife Betty who turns out to be more empathetic than first appears; the Doctor and Nurse Merry Eyes, and their pillow post and their fascinating sub-plot with a glorious ending.

I enjoyed reading this book; wanted it not to finish - always a good sign - and wonderful for a holiday novel: not too demanding but with sufficient research, history and fascination to keep you hooked; and, as always with the author's books, well-written. To find out how boats, bouquets and backstories are all linked, I can really recommend you read this book!

With thanks to ARC and the publishers for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book; all views are my own.

A new and unique look at the Titanic shipwreck. A wonderful story with dual timelines. I felt as if I knew each of the characters as friends.
Struggling after the sudden death of her husband Emma retreats from the world, leaving her career and taking a part time job in the local garden centre in the floristry department. Struggling to interact with anyone the owners Les and Betty become more than friends and enjoy the research for the Titanic florist together.
The ending will make you smile

This book takes you on an emotional journey as you follow the story through watching the characters grow and change.

Another wonderful book from Sally Page. A lovely relaxing read but with so much information. I have gained knowledge about the titanic, and learnt about flowers. The old names- I didn’t know that honeysuckle is woodbine. Along side this there is a woman dealing with grief and the aftermath of losing a husband who wasn’t quite who she thought he was.

I really enjoyed this. I loved the way the stories overlapped and the historical elements.

I learnt so much about the Titanic and the different roles onboard.

It was beautifully written with wonderful characters, I highly recommend it!

The Secrets of Flowers
29TH AUGUST
by Sally Page
This book was a joy to read! There is so much going on I would thing there is something for everyone. The history of Violet Jessop and the Titanic was fascinating as was all the detail about the flowers. For the more romantically minded readers there was plenty of broken hearts in need of mending. Definitely another winner from Sally Page who should be suitably proud of The Secrets of Flowers. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own

What a beautiful book. Sally Page has done it again. I completely lost myself in the story telling, the images created and, oh, the fragrance from the flowers! A joy fro start to finish. Thanks to Netgalley.

Any day that comes with a new Sally Page book is a good day. Her books are perfection, particularly her last one, The Book of Beginnings.

You can feel Sally's passion for flowers planted deeply (pun very much intended) within this book. The heart and soul if it lies in flowers and how they are so linked with our lives and emotions.

She has a way of facing difficult topics such as grief head on, but in a familiar, heartwarming, and gentle way.

We have the main story following Emma's journey, but every other chapter is a story from the point of view of Violet, who at first we don't know how she relates to Emma's scene but all will be revealed.

There is a subplot regarding the florists on the Titanic, and if I'm honest, no matter how interesting the Titanic is, I've never once thought that there would be a florist. It's almost a given that the flowers are there, so that was an interesting side to the story and one that I ended up in a Google black hole about.

There was something about Emma at first I didn't gel with. I can't say why, but she grated a bit. But once we learn about her background, and especially when she gets other characters to spar with, then I started to really like her. She's stuck, she's grieving, and she's scared. And for some reason, this made her even more likeable. And then Betty who works for the garden centre, she's lovely and bubbly and very motherly and I liked her especially.

I've said before how much I loved Sally's previous book, The Book of Beginnings, and if I had to compare I'd say I liked that one marginally better but that's only because it was about pens nd writing and things like that which mean a lot to me, whereas I don't know much about flowers. But looking at them neutrally, they're all as great as each other. Her books are so comforting and easy to read but powerful, you know you're never going to be disappointed by what you read.

It's not a particularly short book, nor is it overly long, but at 384-ish pages, I expected it would take me a couple of days to read. But I read it in one day, in a matter of hours in fact. I mean, I know that I'm lucky in a way because I am self-employed, and because of my illness, I am at home most of the time, often in bed, and so I do have more free time than the average person which I do appreciate, but it is so easy to read and so comforting to read that is will be gone in a matter of hours, no matter your circumstances.

There's a tough of romance, adventure, and history. Sally creates these worlds that, whilst contain heartbreak, are full of friendships, love, joy, hope, promise, comfort, cosyness, and just pure beauty.

The Secrets of Flowers - Sally Page

A year after her husband Will dies Emma changes her life, leaving her high powered research post to go and work in a local garden centre becoming friends with the owners Betty and Len. During the course of working there she picks up her interest in flowers, makes new friends and starts to research the significance of flowers and anyone who arranged them on the Titanic. The novel is interspersed with the story of Violet, a stewardess on ocean liners in the early part of the 20th Century including the Titanic. Emma finds a photo of Violet and can't understand why she feels she recognises her. By the end of the novel we have heard both Emma and Violet's story and understand the connection which was not what I expected.

I love Sally Page's books and this was no exception. An easy delightful read about new friendships, coping with grief, forgiveness and being able to move on. I loved the fact that Violet is a real person and Sally has used what she knows about her to weave an extroadinary tale of someone who survived not one but three shipwrecks. I particularly liked each chapter headed by a different flower.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy.

Another gorgeous novel from the pen of Sally Page.

Emma lost her husband a year ago, and with him her zest for life. She loves her job as a florist, but there's nothing else going on to interest her - until, that is, her colleague invites her to a talk on the Titanic and she realises that, despite the mention of all the flower arrangements on board, there is no florist on any manifesto. So who did sort out the many, many flowers on the ship?

There is one thing I can be sure about with this author; each novel is entirely different to the one before but equally as mind-grabbing. This is another author I regard as a real treat to have one of her novels just waiting to be read, and she never disappoints. Emma's story is one I very quickly got into and I found myself hovering with that age-old problem: will I race through the novel or will I pace myself and make it last? I'm always full of good intentions but it's not long before the story takes over and I can't put the book down. An excellent read, beautifully written as always and very rewarding. A definite 5* from me, and my recommendation.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

A very engaging story on a fascinating subject and some compelling characters. Who arranged the flowers on the Titanic? The book really made me think about the lives of ordinary people on board. Having read other Sally Page novels, I think this is her best to date.
Thanks for the advance review opportunity.

Sally Page Secret of Flowers

Scientist Emma is newly widowed and throws away her prestigious career as a reaction to losing her husband so young. Her love of flowers prompts her to apply for a job in a local garden centre gradually becoming close to the older couple, Betty and Les, who run the business. A growing fascination with the Titanic leads her to research into the florists who ensured that the tragic ship was known by some as ' a ship full of flowers' A second timeline based in the early 20th century adds depth to the story and stretches from Argentina and back to England as we follow a family destined to connect with both the Titanic and ultimately to Emma's research.
Travelling from Oxford to London and then Paris, Emmas research focuses her mind initially but leads ultimately to a personal crisis forcing her to face up to the past and to move forward with her new friends.
A sensitive and gentle story that deals with grief, guilt and the importance of connections to our past as well as to our future. The author uses her own knowledge and love of flowers to add authenticity to her descriptions - I can almost smell the scents from the flower shop as I read!

An atmospheric, heartfelt story, filled with vivid characters and wonderful descriptions. Simply a delight to read. I couldn't put it down.