Like a Flower in Bloom, by Siri Mitchell

From the Publisher:

He Stole the Work She Loved.
Will She Let Him Steal Her Heart as Well?

It's all her uncle's fault. For years Charlotte Withersby has been free to pursue her love of plants and flowers by assisting her botanist father. But now that she's reached the old age of twenty-two, an intrusive uncle has convinced her father that Charlotte's future--the only proper future for a woman--is to be a wife and mother, not a scholar.

Her father is so dependent on her assistance that Charlotte believes he'll soon change his mind...and then Edward Trimble shows up. A long-time botany correspondent in the South Pacific, Trimble arrives ready to step in as assistant so that Charlotte can step out into proper society--a world that baffles her with its unwritten rules, inexplicable expectations, and confounding fashion.

Things aren't perfectly smooth between Trimble and her father, so Charlotte hatches a last gasp plan. She'll pretend such an interest in marriage that the thought of losing her will make her father welcome her back. Only things go quickly awry, and she realizes that the one man who recognizes her intelligence is also the person she's most angry with: Edward Trimble, her supposed rival. Suddenly juggling more suitors than she knows what to do with, Charlotte is caught in a trap of her own making. Will she have no choice but to leave her beloved flowers behind?

My Review:

Like a Flower in Bloom is a wonderful book by Siri Mitchell. The story is so good. Siri Mitchell writes characters that are genuine and believable, and each with their unique quirks that help to keep them all straight. I love the issue that is addressed in this book regarding who women are called to be... I'm not a feminist in any way, and would love to "just" be a wife and mother, but I love that it addressed the issue of being who God made you to be and glorifying Him with your gifts even if they don't fit others' expectations.

This book was absolutely wonderful. I won't share about the story, but I do want to share a piece in the "Note from the Author" afterward of the book that meant a lot to me:

As Mr. Trimble suggested to Charlotte, Eve's designation in the Bible as a helper should not consign women to a fate of eternal servitude. That word, ezer, is used only twenty-one times throughout the Bible. The first two are in reference to Eve. The other specific references are used when God refers to himself. Perhaps you are familiar with this one: "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help [ezer] come? My help [ezer] comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1-2_. It's a shame that the vitality and strength of that description has been lost in translation. It lends a different slant to the idea of Woman to think that God gave that trait, that strength of His, specifically to the female of our species.

Read this book! You'll love it.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.