Bloom

Finished this book way too quick. Loved everything about it.

At first a romance then a nightmare. Why a 20 word minimum? It's gory and could be controversial. 2 more words.

I’ve been looking forward to another book by Delilah S. Dawson ever since I read and loved The Violence. Bloom seemed promising, with it’s beautiful but disturbing cover, but unfortunately this was just OK for me. Maybe the novella length had something to do with that, but I found it underwhelming and strangely jarring and over the top in places.The story revolves around two characters. Rosemary “Ro” Dutton is a twenty-seven year old literature professor who is trying to bring some magic into her ho-hum life. She decides visiting the local farmer’s market is just the thing to raise her spirits, so one Saturday she heads out, looking forward to buying fresh fruit and flowers. When she comes upon a booth selling cupcakes, soaps and houseplants, Ro meets Ash, who tempts her with a cupcake sample. Ro is overcome by how delicious Ash’s bakery goods are, and she’s also oddly attracted to the petite young woman. “Oddly” because Ro has never been attracted to females before, but there’s something about Ash that draws her in.Week after week, Ro returns to Ash’s booth at the market, and the two women grow closer and closer. Eventually Ash invites Ro to her house, where she lives alone and runs her business. But when Ro starts asking too many questions, Ash firmly tells her that she has boundaries, and that some parts of her life and house are off limits. Ro thinks this is a bit odd, and she agrees to Ash’s terms. But Ro’s curiosity gets the best of her, and you know what they say about curiosity…I’ll start with the things I liked about Bloom. First, Dawson’s sumptuous descriptions of Ash’s food, especially her cupcakes and home made bread, were simply mouthwatering. Even better, I loved Ro’s reactions to eating her food, which bordered on sexual gratification. It definitely made me wonder what was in those cupcakes!I also loved the creeping sense of dread as Ro starts to sense that all is not quite right with Ash. Dawson drops hints about what might be coming, and I had a few theories in mind before we eventually find out at the end. Ash is described as “fae-like,” and that brought to mind that eating food in the fairy realm is dangerous for humans. Because Ro is obsessed with Ash’s cupcakes, I wondered if there was some kind of enchantment going on (I was wrong!)Despite these positives, though, I found most of the story to be kind of a slog. The first 80% deals with the odd and uncomfortable relationship between Ro and Ash: Ro goes to the farmer’s market, sees Ash, tastes some cupcakes, lots of flirting, then she goes home and thinks about Ash. Rinse and repeat. The story is told from Ro’s point of view, and she’s sort of a mess. She doesn’t really know what she wants, she’s alarmed that she has feelings for another woman, and despite several warnings from Ash, she continues to stalk her, going to her house uninvited, snooping around once she gets inside, Googling her name, etc. Ash doesn’t have any social media accounts and likes her privacy (you’ll understand why once you learn her secret), but Ro is determined to uncover the truth. Also, Ash seduces Ro, so she’s obviously sending mixed messages. I didn’t care for either of them, to be honest.So up until about 80%, the story is pretty slow and tame, except for a few spicy scenes between the two women. But when Ro learns the horrifying truth about Ash, Bloom suddenly becomes a hard core slasher nightmare. The shift from happy, delicious cupcakes and bread goodness to bloody horror was extremely jarring, and while I would normally love this type of horror, as disturbing as it was, in this case it struck me as disgusting and Evestomach churning. The ending was over-the-top horrific and came across as almost silly, unfortunately. Even though this didn't quite work, it won't stop me from reading Dawson's other books.

Don't want to go into story details too much as it only recently came out but Delilah S. Dawson has done it again. Another great original work by her. Delilah's use of third person shines very well over a nice round even number of two hundred pages. I'd say it's the equivalent of Stephanie Meyer's The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. If you're a fan of the author and their previous work you'll defenitely love it and be a bit sad that it's a quick read but the story's meant to be that way and still very enjoyable. And that ending!!

I really liked what I read. It was a bit predictable but based off the description you could easily figure out what was gonna happen. It gave me that feeling of emptiness after I finish. A feeling longing. I really really wanted this to be longer. For Ash to be more fleshed out. It's the only thing holding it to a 4 star for me. The price for me for how short it was not worth it but I'm happy I bought and read it regardless and found this writer. I got invested quickly and forgot this was partially a bit erotic. If anything that was a nice secondary to the story. Wasn't anything extra either. It fit into the story nicely. I very much look forward to other books from Delilah.

This is my first time reading this author, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the cottagecore vibe, from the crystal doorknobs in Ash's house to the free range chickens in the yard. It was all so cozy, until it wasn't. This is a book not to be missed. I completely enjoyed it.

I loved the writing style although it was a little slower than I wanted. Completely shocked by the ending!

Just finished “Bloom” from Delilah S. Dawson. I was interrupted by work or I’d have devoured its 202 pages faster. Like all her work, it’s delicious and rich and enticing. Rather like maple bacon cupcakes made to a super secret recipe.12/10. I’m hesitant to put it in my little library because that would mean giving it up, and I’m not quite ready to surrender.

So glad I bought this book. It was so good!

So I knew it would be a bit violent, and I knew it would have a little shock element, but jeeeeeeeeeezo I was not expecting what happened in the last couple of chapters!!!Delilah S Dawson is a genius, she really is. She send you down a rabbit hole of sweet, genuine love, and then flips the table and smashes you in the face with it!Great book!