I guess you could say I’ve spent the last four days Spring Cleaning after a week of cleaning my office and filling six trash bags and one huge leaf bag, I’m almost done. Monday morning, you couldn’t even see the table and I had so much piled on my computer desk, you could barely see the laptop!
Two back to back deadlines had gotten my office terribly cluttered and I knew I had to do something before I began the first book in the Natchez series. A cluttered office makes for a cluttered mind. lol
Now to this week’s book. It’s Bloomed to Die by Johnnie Alexander. I love this collage of Johnnie! Bloomed to Die is available at Annie’s Fiction.com and is a book club offering.
Here’s the back cover copy:
When her position at the university is unexpectedly cut, Kaylee Bleu is left feeling more than a little lost. But the timing couldn’t be better.
An unexpected phone call brings an exciting new opportunity for Kaylee. She packs up her life and moves to take ownership of her grandparents’ grand Victorian mansion flower shop and charming Wildflower Cottage, both in Turtle Cove, Wash., on gorgeous Orcas Island.
Of course, Grandpa Ed has been gone for years and while Kaylee feels the pang of missing him, she eagerly accepts her beautiful new surroundings to begin a brand-new chapter in her life.
Wedding bells are set to ring in picture-perfect Turtle Cove, where Kaylee Bleu and the Petal Pushers are readying the grounds of Orcas Island’s historic lighthouse for the event of the year. Prodigal daughter Brooke Edgars has returned to the island to marry local millionaire James Stratford, but the couple’s trip to the altar is altered when Kaylee makes a horrifying discovery: the groom’s dead body.
[tweet_dis_img inject=”My review of Bloomed to Die by Johnnie Alexander on Reader Friday and a #bookgiveaway!”]
[/tweet_dis_img]My take:
I loved this cozy mystery set on Orcas Island! Johnnie took a trip there before she wrote the book and her details are great. Kaylee has settled in at Turtle Cove and is preparing the grounds for the wedding when she discovers James Stratford’s body at the old lighthouse. The bride is the primary suspect in his murder by oleander poison. It’s up to Kaylee to prove her friend’s innocence. There are plenty of twists and turns to satisfy this cozy mystery reader. 🙂
I give Bloomed to Die 5 Stars!
Bloomed to Die isn’t available anywhere but Annie’s Fiction, and it’s good enough that I’m signing up to receive a few more of the books in the series. If you leave a comment, I’ll enter you in a drawing for a book in my library! You have a choice of questions to answer: Do you belong to any book clubs like Annie’s Fiction? OR, Do you do Spring Cleaning?
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Comments 61
I love getting books by mail
Author
I do too, Jessica. Thanks for stopping by this early in the morning!
Hi, Jessica. So do I! It’s especially fun if it’s a surprise! Thanks for stopping by.
Your office looks as awesome as your writing. And Bloomed to Die is a great read, all the more since I’m from Washington state so love the setting. I’m glad she’s writing more!
Author
Thank you, Delores! and I hope you have a safe journey to Minnesota! And I love Johnnie’s books, too.
Hi, Delores. I’m so glad you enjoyed my first attempt at a cozy mystery. It was a fun story to write. Thanks for the encouragement!
I don’t belong to any book clubs, but I do do some Spring cleaning! I can only take dirty windows, etc. for so long!
Author
Windows are next, Mary! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, Mary. Since I just moved, I’ve been dusting, sorting, organizing–all that stuff! I don’t know that it counts as spring cleaning, though! Thanks for being here!
Every time I go to my computer in our basement, I think about spring cleaning. I dream of the day when I can clear out the massive clutter and actually see the walls and be able to get close enough to the windows to look out. Maybe I’m spending too much time dreaming and not enough doing. Truth is, I could get rid of the bulk of things I have boxed and stacked and still would only make a dent in the clutter.
Author
I know, Edward. I’ve been in this house for 22 years and if I didn’t spring clean sometimes, the clutter would take it over! Thanks for stopping by!
Move! Believe me, Edward, that’s a great way to downsize. LOL! Though I moved last year with a 15-foot truck and moved this year with a 26-foot truck. How did that happen??!!
We have quite a few of the series by “Annie’s Fiction” and “Guideposts” in the church library. Is Johnnie’s book, “Bloomed to Die” a new series? If so, I would love to get it for the church library.
Author
Janet, it’s the Victorian Mansion Flower Shop Mysteries series set on Orcas Island with Kaylee Bleu as the heroine. It would make a great addition to your church library!
Thanks for letting me know. I already get the series, “Amish Inn Mysteries” so will be on the lookout for these books.
Author
Great!
Hi, Janet! How great to see you here. Bloomed to Die is the second book in the Victorian Mansion Flower Shop series. I also wrote the 8th book which will be released later this year. Hugs and prayers!
Yes I do spring clean! Looks like a really cute book! Great review!
Author
Victoria, I don’t always spring clean, just this year. 🙂 Glad you liked the review.
Hi, Victoria. The book cover is adorable. Don’t you just love Bear? Here’s a spoiler–the poor little guy drinks poisoned tea. Thankfully he has a great vet!
No, I don’t belong to a book club. Spring cleaning is Biblical. Jews remove any leaven from their homes in preparation for Passover. I clean out things on a regular basis.
Author
I was just reading that in my daily Chronological Bible readings, Caryl. I wish I could say I cleaned out regularly. If I did it wouldn’t be such an ordeal. lol Thanks for stopping by.
Hi, Caryl. Thanks for that Biblical reminder. So glad you stopped by!
I haven’t been in a book club yet. Maybe I need to start one! Being a military family, now retired, we had to do spring cleaning every year. It was helpful to thin out our stuff before we had to move again . I love reading and tend to have too many books. Is that even a thing?!? I look forward to moving into our retirement home after my husband finishes his job in Germany and we move back to the US, so I can have wall to walk bookcases filled with Christian fiction.
Author
Oh, yes, moving will make you keep your “stuff” to a minimum, Maria. I once moved “stuff” from one house to another house, then to another house and when we moved from there I learned they were going to bulldoze the house down and I left the “stuff” in the attic. lol Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting!
Oh, Maria! I love the idea of all those bookcases. Nope, no such thing as too many books. Though my moving trucks would be smaller if I had fewer boxes of books. I give books away but then I get more! Prayers for your eventual move and new home!
I have been cleaning out for the last couple of months. It is a great feeling! I am not in a book club. This sounds like a great cozy. I am reading Irene Hannon’s new one to be released, Pelican Point. It takes place in Oregon and also is about a lighthouse. Have a great weekend.
Author
It is a great cozy! And yes, it really does feel good to get my office cleaned out. Now on to my bedroom!
Hi, Gloria. I just moved here to Oklahoma this week and today I focused on clearing boxes out of two rooms and getting the furniture where it needed to be. There’s still lots to do, but it feels so great to have the rooms “walkable”! Thanks for stopping by and for recommending Irene Hannon’s new release!
Love your office! I do some spring cleaning, but not able to do it like I used to. I do not belong to a book club…would love to, but none around me. I am currently reading Jessica Patch’s Secret Service Set UP….very good.
Author
I’m loving my office too, now. Right now the white table is temporary until I can get someone to build me a table top. 🙂 I can’t wait to read Jessica’s book! She lives about a hundred miles from me. 🙂
Hi, Jackie! I read Deep Waters by Jessica Patch and interviewed her for my Novelists Unwind website. (I interviewed Patricia, too!) Glad you stopped by!
Wow! What a clean office area! Looks great! Yes I do a spring cleaning but we live in the mountains of CO. and spring comes late. So my spring cleaning comes late too!!!
Author
Faith, I don’t always do spring cleaning. Sometimes it’s winter cleaning or summer…just whenever I can’t stand the clutter one minute longer. lol Thanks for coming by.
Hi, Faith. Colorado is one of my dream destinations. It must be beautiful there in the spring. And in the summer and the fall and the winter. LOL! Thanks for stopping by!
I do not belong to a book club or spring clean. I do read a lot, though. I am currently reading Kim Vogel Sawyer’s Beneath a Prairie Moon. Just finished both books in Jennifer Delamere’s London Beginnings series. Waiting for Irene Hannon’s book Pelican Point to arrive in the mail. So many books, so little time! No time to clean. too busy reading.
Author
I agree, Sue. My house isn’t really dirty, but it does get cluttered. The guy I date once said that he’d heard people who could stand clutter were well adjusted and that I was very well adjusted. 🙂 This has been a de-cluttering week.
Sue, I absolutely agree. I have so many books, both print and on my Kindle, to read. I can highly recommend Freedom’s Ring by Heidi Chaivaroli and The Alliance by Jolina Petersheim. I recently read Heidi’s book and just loved it. I’m currently reading Jolina’s book and it’s all I want to do!
I do not belong to a book club but definitely spring clean….multiple times a year 😉
Author
I need to start that multiple times a year thingy, Mindy! Thanks for stopping by.
Hey, Mindy. So glad you stopped by! I’m echoing Pat about that “multiple times a year thingy.” LOL
Yes, I do spring cleaning. In fact I took everything out of my kitchen cabinets today and washed then out inside and out and put everything back. Thank you for the chance.
Author
The kitchen cabinets are next in line after the windows, Lucy! Thanks for stopping by.
Hi, Lucy! I’ve been washing dishes, etc. before putting them into the kitchen cabinets since they’ve been in storage for a few months. Also washing towels and bedding. It’s nice to start out with everything clean but sure does slow down the unpacking process! Thanks for being here!
I do not belong to any book clubs. It is something I would consider for the future, though. I do not do traditional spring cleaning; mainly because I do not need to. I have my house sectioned into 4 zones. I deep clean 1 zone per week. The spring cleaning type jobs are separated out throughout the week each month. Since they are done every month, they are quick and easy to do and keep up!
Author
Oh, Wow, Diane! Can you come to my house and train me???? Thanks for stopping by!
Wow, Diane! That’s a great idea. I have a friend who cleans using the Mount Vernon method. I think it’s similar to the zones but I’m not sure. Thanks for sharing!
So fun to hear you’re going to read the series. I wrote #5 Digging Up Secrets, the yet unnamed #14 and am working on #20 now. I have the honour of writing Reese and Kaylee’s first kiss. 🙂
Author
Aww! I didn’t know that! I love these books. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by! I’ll have to have yours on Reader Friday, Sandra!
Sandra! I didn’t know you got the first kiss. How fun is that?! I’ve enjoyed getting to know you better as we’ve talked about the series in our Facebook group. So glad you stopped by!
Patricia, thanks so much for reviewing Bloomed to Die. Thanks, too, for your help when I was researching poisons before writing the proposal. I’m so glad you enjoyed the story and I appreciate your review! Hugs!
Author
Johnnie, thank you for stopping by! I love this story and your writing!!
By the way, your office looks fantastic!
Author
Thanks, Johnnie!
Your office looks amazing! I could only hope to have an office that organized 🙂
Author
Thanks, Kathryn! Now to keep it that way. lol Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, Kathryn. Glad you stopped by!
I want to know more about Orcas Island! I had not heard/read about it before today! YES, I spring clean! I love it when I can open windows on all 4 sides of my house & enjoy a gentle breeze!
Author
I can’t wait to open my windows, either, MS Barb…but it will have to wait until after pollen season. Already, cars are covered in yellow! thanks for stopping by. And I want to go to Orcas Island, too!
I’d love to go there, too! I planned to go but the trip didn’t work out so I did a lot of online research instead. Even though Turtle Cove, the setting for the book series, is fictional, it’d be a great vacation destination! I had my characters visiting real places in the 8th book in the series, coming out later this year, because they’re on a sort of scavenger hunt. It was fun to look up Mount Constitution and all the history about strawberries! That was fascinating!
Author
Oh, wow, Johnnie. I thought you went there! My bad. 🙂