Another fantastic book by Sarah Morgan, an author I have recently discovered through Net Galley.  Jack & the girls appear to be such a lovely family, going through such a dreadful time, that you cannot help but hope they all come through it in one piece.  And you cannot help but love Flora - she is so fun, understanding and kind.  She seems to have the ability to see things that other people just don’t.  Throughout the book, you are aware that there are things yet to be revealed but, although I had an idea of what some might be, I didn’t guess it all!  

I would highly recommend this book - it was a great holiday read - and thank Net Galley and the publishers fo letting me review it.

Family For Beginners is the second book by Sarah Morgan that I've read.  I really enjoyed the story and read it pretty quickly, reading it in two sittings.

I liked the three differing points of view, though I have to say, I would have liked to see inside Jake's head at times! The story was well written and I really liked the setting once they got to the Lakes, where the addition of Clare and her family brought the book into its own.  My one bug bear was just how quickly it seemed that Izzy turned around, but that's just me.

The underlying issue of Becca throughout the book was well done; though I felt like the big secret was alluded to for so long, I almost expected it to be something bigger if that makes sense.

Family For Beginners by @sarahmorganwrites . Published by @hqstories 💕💕
Sarah has treated us to another great book.
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We all have a certain member of the family who we refer to as ‘the head of the family’ or ‘the glue that holds everyone together’
Sadly when that person passes away - from time to time crackers within the family can begin to appear all because that ‘glue’ is no longer there.
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Here is what happens within this family. Jack has lost his wife Becca and is left to raised their 2 daughters Izzy & Molly.
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Along comes Flora who slowly starts to build a relationship with Jack much to the displeasure of Izzy.
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Wanting to keep things as normal as possible for his girls- Jack wants to continue with the family tradition of going on holiday to the Lake District and meet up with friends Clare & Todd.
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Only 12mth before her death Becca discloses a secret to her friend which now Clare wished she wasn’t told. It’s almost feels like it’s becoming a burden.
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Jack asks Flora to come along to which she reluctantly agrees. Izzy is far from happy with this arrangement and the progression of this relationship. Which is understandable given that she’s only recently lost her mum.
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It is a very emotionally charged book that tackles some very hard emotions. Grief, loss, love , secrets, feelings and rebuilding.
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An emotional ride which is so so well written.
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Following an extremely stressful few weeks it was so relaxing  to finally be able to read Family for Beginners. Thank you netgalley! Sarah Morgan is one of my favourite authors and her stories never fail to entertain. Having read almost all of her books I can honestly say they just get better. I thought this book was very different to her usual style but as excellent as always. Flora is a florist who in the course of her work meets Jack who is a widower with two daughters, stroppy teenager Izzy and little Molly. Their relationship flourishes but Flora is resented by Izzy though not by Molly. Izzy in particular is still grieving the loss of their mother Becca who seems to have been perfect. Jack wants to continue the family tradition of holidaying in the Lake District at the home of Becca’s friends Clare and Todd.  Flora reluctantly agrees to the trip. Before Becca died a year previously she had told Clare a secret. Clare wishes she hadn’t and that the secret had died with her. During the course of the few weeks holiday secrets emerge but relationships are glued. This story explores relationships, grief, loss and love but also building a solid family circle. Highly recommend!

Emotional Rollercoaster....
Well rounded and credible characters  that jump from the page and an emotional rollercoaster in this family drama from Sarah Morgan. A book of second chances, love, life and intense relationships with an engaging storyline. It is an emotional read but also one to generate smiles and a definite feel good factor by the end.

Lovely book. 
The story of a family whose lives change when the wife/mother dies. Facing a life with the important person in their life the husband and kids try to carry on as best they can. But each person is carrying secrets. Friends of the wife who died is also carrying a secret. Jack meets a lady named Flora, who also has things that she’s never confided in with anyone. The eldest daughter of Jack has issues with Flora as well as herself. Revelations follow from everyone when they visit Clara and Todd at their favourite holiday place. 
Recommend it.

Loved this story about Flora and of her finding love unexpectedly & then having to get to grips with the person she falls in love with being a widow with two daughters, one of whom is a teenager with lots of issues around her father finding a new love interest so soon after her mother dying.
Beautifully written, loved that each chapter was told from each characters point of view.

Flora works in a florist. She is there morning, noon, and would happily be there night, too, if the place didn't close. She filled gaps in her own life, by working nonstop, choosing beautiful blooms at the markets, creating floral masterpieces and generally brightening the days of the customers.
But nothing fills the void she feels upon entering her substandard apartment. No family to call her own. No partner to share a meal with. Just a space filled with damp and discord.
Losing her mother at a young age, and having to live with an aunt who makes it pretty clear she wasn't wanted, does nothing for her self esteem.
Then she meets Jack.
Or rather Jack enters the florist and her house.
Jack, who has voids of his own.
Despite her best efforts, Flora gets swept up into a romance that she is convinced won't work. After all, no one else important in her life ever hangs around.
Besides, Jack already has a family. Two motherless girls. How is that going to work?
And then, he wants to take her on a long-standing family holiday to visit the dead wife's best friend, Claire? 
Sarah Morgan, you did it again!
I knew I'd enjoy this book. I've liked other Sarah Morgan books, so I was under no doubt of that. But, it wasn't just good, it was fantastic!
I felt so much emotion, learning about Flora and her background,  I rooted for Izzy, Jack's eldest daughter, who didn't want anyone taking the place of her mother. I sympathised with Claire, a woman who lost who she thought was her best friend,,,
Told from the point of view of the three women, this story really captured the feelings of different people involved in familial loss. 

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a deeply touching and beautiful story. 

I was incredibly invested from the very beginning. The writing style, language, behaviour and story line were incredibly believable and easy to follow. I grew very attached and invested in the characters and their journeys. I will not be forgetting them anytime soon.

The premise and back history of the characters was very painful in some places but what was left overall was an overwhelming sense of love. A real emotional rollercoaster exploring, grief, secrets, love, communication, friendship and family. 

The ending was incredibly uplifting and I would recommend this book in a heart beat.

A great story about love, grief and teenagers!
I really enjoyed this book although it seemed quite different to her previous books. However it was a fascinating read set in New York and the Lake District and charted the changes and growth in the new relationship between Flora and Jack. Life as a step mum isn’t easy and it definitely isn’t in this book, especially when secrets are kept. I highly recommend this book.

Clear your day before you start this book as it's one of those that you can't put down until it's done! 

Flora meets Jack when he comes to the flower shop she works in to get a birthday present for his seventeen year old daughter Izzy.    There's an instant attraction and a coffee date turns into more.  

Jack is a widower, his wife Becca died suddenly, leaving him and his two daughters Izzy and eight year old Molly. 

Flora's mum died when she was around Molly's age and was sent to live with her aunt who just tolerated her instilling in Flora a habit of people pleasing. 

Throw in a family holiday to England to stay with Becca's best friend will Flora be accepted into the family or left out in the cold. 

This is a lovely book dealing with grief, families, teenagers!, guilt, secrets and a lot of love.  The characters are well rounded and likeable and throughout the book I felt empathy for them all.   It had me on a rollercoaster of emotions ... loved it! 

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ for the Arc

Emotional Rollercoaster....
Well rounded and credible characters  that jump from the page and an emotional rollercoaster in this family drama from Sarah Morgan. A book of second chances, love, life and intense relationships with an engaging storyline. It is an emotional read but also one to generate smiles and a definite feel good factor by the end.

Sarah Morgan's latest offering features elements of romance, but it is distinctly background material as the nature of family, grief, love and the consequent trials, tribulations and joys of a new blended family are firmly at the forefront. With a florist mother obsessed with flowers, it probably comes as no surprise that she is named Flora, but Flora's life has been shaped by a desperate loneliness since her mother died when she was 8 years old. She was taken in by an cold aunt who never shied from letting her know she was a burden that had disrupted her life. The young and vulnerable Flora tried her desperate best to please her aunt and fit in with her, all to no avail despite the fact Flora spent years caring for her until her death. Like her mother, Flora is a talented florist, yearning to belong and be part of a real family.

However, her dreams seems beyond her reach, that is until the day widower Jack Parker comes in to buy flowers for his 17 year daughter, Izzy. A connection springs up between the two of them as he invites her for coffee, and in time Flora begins to hope that perhaps the impossible just might be hers, but the path to true love and a ready made family is strewn with obstacles. Jack has two daughters, 7 year old Molly and Izzy who has been taking care of her and their home since their mother, Becca, died a year ago. The entire family are still reeling from the long and tenacious fingers of a grief that has held them tightly in its festering grip, but Jack wants Flora to be part of his chaotic family. Whilst Molly slowly unfurls and lets Flora in, Izzy is a much more complicated, a hostile teenager, with her angst, fears, guilt, secrets and grief, determined to make Flora feel like an unwanted outsider.

Flora who has a history of people pleasing by doing what others want is going to have to learn to be comfortable being who she is if she is going to have any chance of belonging to a family she is beginning to love with all her heart as she joins them on their annual 3 week holiday in the Lake District in Britain. Morgan's central protagonist, the bohemian, deeply caring Flora, with her colourful clothes will snag your interest immediately as she embarks on what can often be a minefield and a emotionally rocky affair, that of the creation of a new blended family. This is a lovely and entertaining read that will appeal to many as Morgan once again weaves her magic. Many thanks to HQ for an ARC.

Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for my digital ARC - my thoughts are my own.

This is the third book I've read by Sarah Morgan. I enjoyed the first two but this book was even better!

Great characters - three girls who lost their mothers during their childhoods and are dealing with their emotions (two recently, one over 20 years ago), a widower trying to do the best for his children, a best friend who is unhappy about the secret she was left with, a caring teenage boy (rarely seen in a fiction book). Also loved the inclusion of Chase the dog - I do have a soft spot for books which include a dog.

A great book to curl up with and enjoy.

I’ve read a lot of this authors books & this ones probably one of my favourites so far.  Amazing characters & story.  I’d highly recommend this to anyone amazing book.

I have read nearly all Sarah Morgan’s novels and if I could give this one 6 stars I would.
 I haven’t really enjoyed the last few books she has released but this one was excellently told all the way through. It was a story that I couldn’t put down and I felt drawn to all the characters, especially Izzy and Flora.  Wonderful.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a preview copy.

Sarah Morgan takes us on a rollercoaster of love, loss, grief and new beginnings in her latest offering and it was very much a case of perseverance through the earlier chapters paying dividends. 

“Life is like a garden, don’t you think? Sometimes glorious, and sometimes a disaster. It’s messy, but always real.” 

Flora is a bit of a loner, a beautiful soul who simply yearns to love and be loved, something that becomes a reality when she meets widower, Jack adjusting to life as a single dad to a stroppy teen, Izzy and sweet seven year-old, Molly. Resentful of the fact that her dad has brought Flora into their fold, Izzy doesn’t make life easy—I can’t deny her attitude rubbed me up the wrong way as did Jack being completely oblivious to her games—but when he and Molly suggests Flora joins them in the Lake District for their annual holiday (much to Izzy’s disgust), this story came into its own.

“We can handle anything life throws at us if we do it together.” 

As we leave the hustle and bustle of Manhattan for the serene, beautiful backdrop of the Lake District along with the introduction of Jack’s friends, Clare, Todd and their teenage son, Aiden, things begin to shift as Flora is simply Flora doing her best to fit in, whilst Clare, although welcoming, struggles with the change in dynamic to their group. And it’s this which leads to us seeing just how strong and selfless Flora is as secrets are revealed and walls come down. 

“...you’re like an oasis of sunshine in an otherwise dark and stormy life.” 

Sarah Morgan has once again penned an emotional journey between real, flawed individuals which leaves your heart happy and reminds you that whilst life isn’t always easy, the right person can make it easier.

A story of grief, secrets and learning to love again. 

This is the first book I’ve read by Sarah Morgan. I normally compare authors to one another but Sarah I can’t - her writing style felt different to me, it spoke to me in a way no other story has, I felt every emotion with the characters and it nearly had me in tears something books don’t do to me. Sarah Morgan you are unique !

I could really relate to Flora, Izzy and Molly as I lost my mum last year and I knew what they were going through. This made me think of my mum lots. My favourite quote was ‘Life never sends us more than we can cope with.’
My favourite character was Flora she reminded me a lot of myself, always trying to please other people. I didn’t like the sound of Becca even though she was dead, she sounded very high-maintenance and stuck up. 

I highly recommend you buy this book, it’s a story that will make you see things in a different light.

I make no apology, in a world that turns its nose up at romantic books, that Sarah Morgan is one of my favourite writers. There’s just something about how she manages words that sends her right to the top of the class. In this her latest she doesn’t disappoint. Flora is a little lost amongst all those flowers until handsome widower strolls into the shop. He has a daughter. There are fireworks. Lots and lots of fireworks. There is a happy ending. What more do you want?

Another fantastic read from Sarah Morgan, this book reminds you that no one is as perfect as they seem and sometimes you just have to find the person who is perfect for you.