flowers and life

When I first started "The Art of Arranging Flowers" by Lynn Branard my first thought was "so she is a florist and the book is about arranging flowers?"  I didn't have high hopes.  However!  This book is sooooo much more than that.  Branard makes flower arranging sound like the most fascinating thing ever.  I had no idea all of the inside things on flowers and arranging.  I had heard of aroma therapy, but had never heard of how colors or certain flowers can not only alter mood, but promote healing and encourage desires, etc.  This is all incredibly interesting stuff.  And the writing!  She is an amazing writer.  She draws you in not only in description of the flowers, but the characters are well developed, the emotions are strong, and the reader becomes invested in the book.
The novel stars Ruby, a florist in a small town, who is still grieving for the loss of her sister twenty years before.  The story follows her as she navigates through all of the emotions, celebrations, and losses that her customers deal with as they go through life.  She, however, has no children, has never really dated, and her family is all deceased.  The town and the flowers try to bring Ruby out of her shell as events happen in the town.   I really liked this novel and I will be reading more of Branard in the future.  I received this book for free from First To Read.