Official Review: Burning Flowers (Book 1, The Clarke Tril...

sphillips44 · Post by **sphillips44** » 09 Sep 2015, 09:34

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Burning Flowers (Book 1, The Clarke Trilogy)" by June Beyoki.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Burning Flowers (The Clarke Trilogy #1) written by June Beyoki is the first installment of a three-story romance series. Set in Virginia, readers are introduced to Clarke Bennett, a hard working woman completely consumed by her flower business with no time for fun, let alone love. For Clarke, her life revolves around finding her next big client and making sure her shop is ‘perfect.’ That is until her dreams go up in smoke and she meets Vince, the unlicensed handyman.

Vince helps Clarke fix up her dreams, but dares her to take a look at life from a different perspective. He tests her limits, but knows when to pull back. With a keen and strong sense of self, this character really sells the story and shakes things up.

While this story is short, it moves at the right pace from a ‘normal’ relationship standpoint and packs each chapter with plenty of drama and intrigue. The story is told in third person, following Clarke through her daily struggles and thoughts. While there are a couple erotic scenes, they are brief, yet detailed and sufficient.

This novel portrays the struggles of self-doubt, self esteem and insecurities that many young, successful women face today in society. Struggles that hinder any chances of finding a real chance at love or self acceptance. Throughout this journey with Clarke, readers are able to form a mutual understanding and really connect with the main character and her struggles that she deals with.

Given that this novel is part of a series, the ending does have that ‘cliff hanging’ edge to it, but in the sense that you can anticipate what is going to happen in the next installment.

In reading this novel, I found that I couldn’t step away. As soon as one chapter ended, I was turning the page to read more. This is the best novel I have read thus far, and is definitely one that I would grab off of the shelves in a store. With only a couple of spelling hiccups and no grammatical or syntax errors, this is a book store ready story. It is definitely a must-read and highly deserving of a 4 out of 4 stars rating.

I for one can not wait to read Flowers in Bloom, the second novel in the trilogy, to see what is in store for Clarke.For anyone who likes romance novels that also allow a main character to find and love themselves, this is definitely a must-read for you. With the right combination of let down, love and lust you can’t go wrong with this story.

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Burning Flowers (Book 1, The Clarke Trilogy)
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Tanaya · Post by **Tanaya** » 11 Sep 2015, 10:22

I would totally read this book. It's right up my alley. The fact that you couldn't put it down says a lot. Thanks for a great recommendation.

sphillips44 · Post by **sphillips44** » 14 Sep 2015, 10:30

Tanaya wrote:I would totally read this book. It's right up my alley. The fact that you couldn't put it down says a lot. Thanks for a great recommendation.

You're welcome. It's honestly such a great read! I loved it!!

literarycat · Post by **literarycat** » 06 Oct 2015, 09:54

I would definitely read this one. I like the reference that it keeps pace with a "normal" relationship. Great review thanks for sharing

sphillips44 · Post by **sphillips44** » 06 Oct 2015, 12:52

@literarycat thank you so much! It was such a good read, I consumed myself in it.

Post by **bookowlie** » 07 Oct 2015, 17:26

Nice review! It's also a ringing endorsement when someone says they can't put a book down. What a cool name for a female character!

sphillips44 · Post by **sphillips44** » 07 Oct 2015, 19:36

This was definitely one of the best books I have been able to review to date, not that I have had a lot of experience (yet). However, this was definitely delightful.