A Page Before Bedtime

Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris

2026-08-30T20:39:33.322-05:00

Rating: 5+ of 5 stars

Pages: 496 pages
Published: February 2026

I ordered Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris to read along with my online book club, This Browne Girl Reads. When the book arrived, I was delighted I had snagged a stunning sprayed-edges edition. The cover is gorgeous on its own, but the sprayed edges make it feel magical. And that magic doesn’t stop on the outside. Harris has written a beautiful, emotionally resonant novel that explores grief, guilt, belonging, family, and redemption with tenderness and care.

The story is about Leigh Wilde, the lone survivor of her immediate family as well as the only surviving passenger of a prison bus transport crash. Reeling from trauma and loss, Leigh takes this pivotal event as an opportunity to walk into a new life in the small rural town of Camden, Alabama. While there, she meets Jackson who owns a local flower farm in nearby Gee’s Bend. Jackson offers her a place to live and work on the farm during a period of expansion for his horticulture operation. This arrangement provides Leigh with stability, purpose, and more importantly, a chance to build a found family with Jackson and his team Luke and Tibb.

As Leigh learns to tend to the land and learns the rhythms of the farm, she beings to confront her past trauma and work toward self-healing. The flower fields become a sanctuary, a place where she can bloom quietly, like the wildflowers she grows to love. And Jackson provides guidance and a safe space to release the past pain she’s carried. But as often happens in life, peace is fragile, and Leigh’s past comes back to haunt her, forcing her to reckon with the truth she hoped to walk away from.

This was a compelling blend of literary fiction, romance, and suspense. The author provided just enough tension to keep the reader engaged while also enveloping the plot in poetic and immersive prose. Harris’ writing is lush without being heavy, and she has a gift for crafting sentences that feel both delicate and powerful. The emotional beats land with sincerity, and the pacing allows the reader to enjoy the journey rather than rushing to the conclusion.

Recommendation: Harris takes her time with the novel constructing the most exquisite sentences to express even the simplest moments. Her book is one I was grateful I had the time to slowly enjoy over two weeks; allowing the story to unfold at its own gentle pace. She truly has a way with words, and Where the Wildflowers Grow is a shining example of the finest literary fiction. I’m already looking forward to reading more of her work.

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.

Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves

2026-08-15T18:36:00.000-05:00

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Pages: 256 pages
Published: July 2026

Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is Ben Reeves’ debut novel, and what a striking debut it is. This short work of magical realism explores death, the human condition, and the fragile beauty of emotional connection through an unlikely narrator: Death. Personified as Travis, his job is to comfort people in their final hours–an act he performs with practiced empathy but intentional detachment. However, this detachment begins to crack when he befriends a single mother and her eight-year-old daughter who live across the hall in his building. Through them, Travis starts to question not only the meaning of his work but also the cost of feeling anything at all.

The novel is undeniably melancholy. Its tone is somber and reflective, giving the reader time to consider the life, death, and the spaces in between. Reeves threads glimpses of hope throughout small moments of connection, kindness, and unexpected joy that gives the story some light. Those moments reminded me of Sandra Bullock’s 2013 interview when she shared advice to “savor, savor, savor,” to hold on to those fleeting bits of between that make life worth living. This book does exactly that. In the midst of heartbreak, sadness, and pain, there are small, quiet moments that really give life meaningful purpose.

Reeve’s writing is elegant and restrained. He doesn’t rush, although there were passages in the novel that felt a little long and overly verbose. Having said that, it does give the reader time to sit down with the characters’ emotions and to observe Travis’s reckoning with humanity.

I enjoyed this novel. The writing is thoughtful, and the pacing is gentle. And I’m so appreciative of the little “gift” Reeves gives us at the very end. The book is a tender reminder that even in sadness, there is beauty and even in endings, there is something worth holding onto.

Recommendation: If you enjoy introspective, character-driven stories that blend realism with a touch of the surreal, this novel is a lovely choice. It’s one that will stick with you for a while.

Score by Kennedy Ryan

2026-08-08T11:32:00.000-05:00

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Pages: 384 pages
Published: May 2026

I read Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan in 2023, and while many readers adored it and the subsequent books in the series, her writing style didn’t resonate with me. So, when one of my book club friends suggested I try Score, I was hesitant but made a genuine effort to approach it with an open mind. Unfortunately, I found more of the same: serious themes paired with superficial character development and a heavy reliance on open-door sex scenes that overshadowed the emotional core of the story.

The story centers on Verity Hill and Wright “Monk” Bellamy, who meet in college and fall into what some might call love, but felt more like lust. Their relationship implodes after Verity experiences a life-changing event she never fully explains, and the two go their separate ways without another word. Fast forward 20 years and we find Verity, a successful screenwriter, and Monk, a celebrated musician who score films. Fate brings them back together on a major project in Los Angeles, and for the sake of their careers, they agree to work together amicably. As old feelings resurface, they must confront the possibility of rekindling their relationship, yet both are still withholding the truth. Verity has never been honest about what happened in college, and Monk can’t fully acknowledge his lingering feelings or the broken trust between them.

I really wanted to like this book. Like the earlier book I read, this one attempts to explore mental health, identity, and emotional healing – all topics I find compelling. But what could have been a deeper, more nuanced examination of these issues was overshadowed by explicit scenes and limited relational development. By the end, I didn’t believe Verity and Monk’s connection was rooted in love. Their bond made sense in their young college years, but not in their later 30s. I never understood how either character knew the other was “the one” when most of their interactions centered on physical attraction rather than meaningful emotional intimacy.

My other challenge with the book was the open-door sex scenes. It’s simply not my jam. I think it’s quite possible to craft an emotionally-resonant romance novel without giving the play-by-play of what happens behind closed doors. This is not something I enjoy reading, and I honestly don’t think it adds value to any story, especially when there were so many other facets that could have been explored more deeply in this novel: mental health and its stigma in the Black community. death, grief, healing, forgiveness, just to name a few. At times, it felt like the novel was trying to do too much. You can write a thoughtful, emotionally-rich story, or you can write smut. But trying to merge the two and present it as cerebral didn’t work for me.

Recommendation: I promised I would go into this story with an open mind and give Kennedy Ryan a fair chance. After finishing Score, I think the verdict is that her style of writing just isn’t my cup of tea. And that’s OK. She’s a prolific author with a huge and devoted following, so losing me as a reader isn’t going to make a dent in her success. Not every book is for everyone, and this one was not for me.