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.

Emma is reeling from the death of her husband and decides to make a major change in her life, leaving her role as a research scientist to become a florist in a small local garden centre. She becomes immersed in a research project of her own and meets a wonderful cast of characters, while trying to come to terms with who she is, reconciling what she has learnt about her marriage and trying to remain true to herself in the face of never ending criticism from a close relative. The Secrets of Flowers centres upon forgiveness, friendship and family.

It is a really warm and cosy read, it’s well written and paced. There’s an interesting blend again, as in the lovely The Book of Beginnings, of real life people, historical events and has a host of sympathetic likeable characters. I feel as if I know Betty and Les, they are so real. I would love to visit their garden centre and drink a mocha in the cafe!

Sally Page has again provided a bibliography which I always really enjoy at the end of a well researched novel. Here there is much about the Titanic which I found interesting. Emma goes to The V&A exhibition about Ocean Liners. I had visited this too!

I was unfamiliar with Violet Jessop, a stewardess who survived all three incidents on the sisterships of HMS Titanic, Olympic and Britannic. Her real life meeting in the last part of the story gave me goosebumps.

The only question I have (and I’ve asked the author on Instagram) is who were The Glory Girls of Piccadilly? They are briefly mentioned at the beginning of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Secrets of Flowers.

The secret of flowers by sally pages

Thankyou netgalley for letting me read this amazing book. Sally page definitely did it again with an amazing book. This was definitely a 5 star rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This may contain spoilers so don’t read if you want to read the book.

Sally has a way of writing her books to make you feel like you are there. While reading this book all I good smell was flowers the outside nature. This book is emotional heartwarming loving the perfect cozy summer read. You are pulled in from the start.

All the characters in this book (minus Emma mum) was so lovely. Betty and les they just sounded like the perfect grandparents everyone asked for.
I loved the fact that it had bits off history from it in the titanic in it and one off the staff that was on the ship.

Emma is struggling after the death of her husband will when he died suddenly. While working at the garden centre with les and betty and missing a talk about the titanic she decides to learn about the flowers on the ship and who sorted them out. Emma goes on a journey to found out about the history and meets amazing people on her journey. (Love that it mentions my home town in this journey)
Also learning about violet and her life growing up before setting out onto the ships and finally the titanic and her part with the flowers.

I loved the blurb for this book and couldn’t wait to read it. The combination of the Titanic and flowers had me hooked from the start. The story focuses on Emma, recently bereaved and trying to find purpose in her new life; and the other part of the story is about Violet, a young stewardess from Edwardian England. Emma and Violet are both linked to each other by their love of flowers and I enjoyed finding out more about them and how they were linked to each other which comes clear at the end of the story (it’s so hard not giving any spoilers here!).

I loved the bits about Violet Jessop, who is based on fact and thankfully wrote memoirs about her life. I loved learning more about flowers, especially flowers from the last hundred years and how they are present in all aspects of our lives from birth to marriage and death (and much more in between).

When Emma's husband Will died suddenly a year ago, her life stopped when his heart did and she feels adrift. Emma quits her university research job and begins working at the local garden centre and her employers are Les and Betty.

Here, Emma finds some peace and solitude working with the plants and flowers. Les asks her to attend a talk about the Titanic at the History Society, like everyone Emma has watched the film, but she’s never thought about the people who worked on the ocean liner. On such a luxurious ship it would have been full of flowers and she wonders who was in charge of supplying and arranging them.

Alongside Emma’s narrative, a story is told from the point of view of a stewardess Violet on the Titanic, after talking to a variety of experts about the ship, Emma thinks she might be the person who helped arranged the flowers, who was Violet and why does Emma feel a connection to her?

I received a copy of The Secrets of Flowers by Sally Page from HarperCollins UK and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. What an amazing story, about the importance of flowers in people’s lives and how arrangements are given when a child is born, blooms are present at weddings, celebrations and bereavements, and are a symbol of love and friendship, and brighten up a room and a person’s day.

The characters in this novel are wonderful, I really liked Les and Betty and Tamas, and they all play a part in helping Emma come out of her shell and solve the mystery of Titanic's flowers.

A narrative about friendship and hope, coming to terms with the loss of a spouse, being able to move on, believing in tomorrow and learning from history. Five stars from me, I enjoyed The Secrets of Flowers, and Ms. Page’s previous books, The Keeper of Stories and The Book of Beginnings and I highly recommend them all.

Following the death of her husband, Emma quit her university research role and started working in a garden centre for Les and Betty. When Les gives a talk on the Titanic, Emma's interest in the ship, and particularly The Florist starts to grow.
We are taken on a journey through Emma's research into The Florist, meeting some interesting characters along the way.
The story is told in tandem with the story of Violet, a cruise ship worker from the Titanic era.
This is a beautiful book. I absolutely loved sitting in my garden surrounded by flowers, reading an evocative book where the flowers are the stars.

A year after the sudden death of her husband, Emma gives up her research post at the University and takes solace in a job at the local garden centre where she comes to enjoy the friendship of the elderly owners Betty and Les. Motivated by Les's interest in The Titanic and her own interest in all things to do with flowers Emma becomes obsessed in researching who the florist on the Titanic was and what happened to her.
The story is told from two points of view - Emma in the present and Violet, a stewardess on the Titanic in the past.
A series of endearing supporting characters add to the charm in this lovely book . In addition to exploring themes of friendship, family dynamics, loss, recovery and the power and meaning of flowers across a multitude of events there is true historic factual information related to the history of the Titanic.
A very enjoyable and uplifting read.
I am grateful to NetGalley and he publishers for an advanced copy of this book .

I really enjoyed this book from the beginning and really savoured it. It is the story of Emma who has left her high profile job after the death of her husband and gains employment in a garden centre. Emma has become a bit of a recluse since Will’s death but after an aborted night with people she embarks on a quest to find out who the florist was on the Titanic and why the photograph of a young nurse seems so familiar.

The story not only explores the florist of the Titanic but also the relationships Emma has with the people in her life. The story takes us from the early 1900’s to present day and the descriptions of the flowers are so good you can almost smell them.

4.5⭐️
A beautiful , floral delight with added history from the Titanic. Undoubtedly Sally Page’s best work.

One year after her husband’s death Emma has become a wallflower, hiding among the brighter blooms in the florist where she works.
But when a colleague invites her to a talk on the Titanic, she begins a quest to uncover who arranged the flowers on board.
As Emma discovers the lost story of the girl and the great ship, she realises that flowers may unlock long buried secrets in her own life…

Absolutely loved this story of a woman finding herself through searching for The Florist on the Titanic and what got her to be on the fated ship.
Brilliant characters who I adored (apart from Emma’s mother - what an awful woman!!)
I encourage you to read the author’s note at the end too (which I often skip over)

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved this book. The main character, Emma, is incredibly endearing, and I found myself rooting for her throughout her journey, especially given the rough luck she has faced recently. The characters of Betty and Les, who run the garden center where Emma works, are also wonderfully portrayed and add a lot of warmth to the story.

Emma, dealing with her grief, makes a significant life change by resigning from her university research job and taking a position as a florist at a local garden center—an environment vastly different from the world of science. Her struggle with social anxiety is depicted well, adding depth to her character. When Les and Betty invite her to a local history talk on ‘The Secrets of the Titanic,’ Emma surprises herself by agreeing to go. This decision becomes a pivotal moment in the story.

The narrative skillfully intertwines Emma’s story with that of Violet, a stewardess on board the Titanic. This dual storyline adds an intriguing layer to the book.

Sally Page's writing is beautiful. It feels like a warm embrace and was a refreshing change of genre for me. The Titanic element and Violet's story are well-integrated. Overall, this is a delightful book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. It's a pleasure to read and highly recommended.

Having loved The Keeper of Stories, by Sally Page, I was very pleased to receive an ARC of this book to read. It was an enjoyable read, but for me it did not quite come up to the standard of the last book.

Recently widowed Emma is struggling with many aspects of her new way of life, so abandons her career as a scientist to work part time in a garden centre. Dealing with flowers on a daily basis, she becomes interested in the the story of the Titanic, and who was the florist on board.
This seemed to develop into more of an obsession than simply an interest for Emma. At times I found myself losing patience with her character, as she reacted very oddly to some situations, and became fixated on some ideas to do with her search.
It is a pleasant, easy read, for me it’s a 3.5 star rounded up to 4 star. I will look forward to Sally Page’s next work .
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

Grieving and lost Emma takes a job in a garden. Centre as a florist. She finds herself immersed in a research project into the flowers on the Titanic.

The descriptions on flowers, their scent, their meanings and their effect on people are integral to this book. The characters are well thought through and engaging.
The dual story line is well done and I love reading the authors note to discover that Violet was a real person.

A great book that deals with grief and recovery in a sensitive way.

Well worth reading! Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publishers and author for a copy to review.