I don't know what I just read. This book was intriguing and yet was boring all at the same time. At no point in the book did I feel like I knew where the story was going. Debating if I want to finish the series. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

I have to be honest I was confused for the majority of this book, there was some parts that seemed really good but mostly it felt confusing and some things felt a bit too strange such as the male characters mentioning they were desperate for her to turn 18.

This was a fresh take on dark romance— a disturbingly realistic portrayal of societal grooming and the unspoken roles powerful men place both on each other and on the women in their circles. Through Daisy’s spiraling inner thoughts on the shame surrounding her budding sexuality and her boyfriend Marcus’s explosive low-self esteem forged under the pressure to live up to the accomplished male figures in his life, we see the utterly destructive consequence of expectations. These expectations poison the evolution of their relationship with confusion and distrust, showing how easily something innocent and exciting can turn so very sour.

Unable to fully embrace perfectly natural feelings as she struggles to navigate the game that she doesn’t yet fit into, Daisy is quick to condemn herself. The painful inner turmoil surrounding her curiosity about sexuality and pleasure are likely to echo the adolescent experience of many readers.

The writing style landed as a stream of consciousness prose, fitting the fast-paced and highly emotive atmosphere. At times it became disjointed and unpredictable, but this also added to the overall feeling of the spiral that I believe the author was aiming for.

In the beginning, the specifics of the family trees and their relationships were somewhat confusing but in a way that just increased the taboo vibe– the suspense remained high, as it wasn’t clear to me just how forbidden Daisy’s choices, at any moment, might end up being.

From start to finish, it was a roller coaster— investments in characters were as high as the disappointments in them were low. They were ultimately human and selfish, free to hurt one another again and again in their own private world.

The ending left a tantalizing crack in the door.

I initially reviewed this free copy as an ARC for NetGalley. My thanks to them and to the author for the opportunity.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of The Wallflower in exchange for my honest review!

This book was such a lovely surprise. The Wallflower is the kind of slow-burn, emotional romance that sneaks up on you in the best way. Francesca Black does an incredible job capturing the feeling of being overlooked—of being the quiet one in the room—and turning it into something strong, soft, and powerful.

The main character is relatable, awkward, and endearing, and her growth throughout the book was beautiful to witness. I loved watching her come into her own. The romance felt sweet, yet simmering, with just enough tension to keep me flipping the pages.

This isn’t a flashy, over-the-top story—it’s heartfelt, cozy, and real. If you’re a fan of underdog heroines, second chances, and emotionally rich storytelling, this one’s worth picking up.

#TheWallflowerSeries #NetGalley #FrancescaBlack #BookReview #WallflowerRomance #ARCReview #RomanceBooks #SlowBurnRomance #EmotionalReads #RomanceReaders #UnderratedReads #eARC

I got a ways through this book, but I’m not vibing with it and am kind of confused to some of the story line. I am currently DNF/pausing this book for now and may come back to try again. It seems like it has promise, but maybe it’s just not the book for me? I also didn’t really like it mentioning that they couldn’t wait until the FMC was 18 for what seemed sexual reasons.
Thank You to NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for this ARC.

This book was pretty good, I would definitely recommend

~This was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review………..

The Reader's Contract at the start of this book really piqued my interest, promising a passionate and powerful experience that was messy in an intriguing way.

However, as I delved into the story, I found the messiness to be frustrating rather than engaging.

The pacing felt off, racing through some sections while dwelling excessively on trivial details in others. I was left confused, struggling to grasp the characters' motivations and the plot's direction, particularly regarding Daisy's situation with Marcus.

Overall, I found the book disappointing, with unfulfilled expectations, a lack of coherent plot, and a repetitive writing style.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Francesca Black and NetGalley for this ARC!

I was super excited to read The Wallflower based on the description. I love a dark, academic romance with moody & passionate vibes. But I feel I was oversold a bit.

I think my biggest issue was in the overall story telling. Some important moments felt rushed and lacked depth while seemingly insignificant events had pages of description. For that reason, it was hard to follow the plot at times and to even understand the characters motivations.

I was really looking forward to this one so I wish I had more good to share but this one fell flat for me.

1.5⭐️ Oof I’m not going to lie, this one was a struggle. It started out strong but then began to lose my interest pretty quickly. The FMC and MMC lacked chemistry, and the spice scenes lacked romance. The writing was repetitive but I think what made this such a difficult read was that the author spent most of her time going into detail over the things that didn’t matter instead of focusing on the things that would have made the story more interesting. The pacing was not consistent and eventually I just started skimming so that I could close the book for good.

Real lack of plot, and scenes that are meant to be sexy ultimately come across as creepy (we get it, she's 18, doesn't make it any better!). This felt uncomfortable at certain points.

Ok - first of all, I just want to preface my review by saying that this is a truly personal opinion. I still believe everyone should read this book, because the author has put a lot of time and energy into it. I personally really struggled with the style of writing and the lack of plot.

That being said, I still gave it 2 stars because the characters were interesting and I felt the beginnings of a seriously incredible family/mafia style dynamic being built. Unfortunately, we never quite get enough information from the author to sink our teeth in....

The book is about a young girl on the journey of her sexual awakening....but I didn't find it empowering, more trouble and blame-focused.

I thought with the trigger warnings at the beginning, that we were in for a wild ride, but again, I didn't experience that at throughout the book and would struggle to tell you the storyline.

a sharp and intense read this doesn't hold back right from the start. its intense and you are tense as just where this will go and what each characters is about to bring to the table. people are complex and this is ever present in this novel. there is a shade of unease in this book, every time i came back to it i felt a little unsure and as you are taken deeper into the story and roles within it you get more emotionally thoughtful on what you are reading. it certainly stirred the pot for me and definitely warrants its psychological definition.
this book is about Daisy who is just becoming an adult in age. but she is eager. eager for it all to begin. shes frightened of the things she wants but also wants it to come right this minute. what is her role. does she want to play it. and is this for others and if not who exactly is she? can you play a role but also be yourself. be light and shade for others because thats right but also be true to you? should you always bend or never?
i will say the start of this book gave it such added buzz. you are in. you are invested. you are intrigued. you feel like you are in this silent room watching the characters in a muted far off way. but also you are somehow so crisply and cleanly aware of whats going on. then next minute you are right there knowing what each character is doing,feeling. its such a skill that the author has given us this scope on every scene she sets for us.
the layout also adds to how its read and how you as a reader takes it.
this whole book feels thick with something. but i think that every reader will read it an negotiate just how it feel for them. to them. and what they take from it. i cant quite pin point my feelings. i cant quite pin point the book or characters. and somehow i love that.

I had to finish this book about 50% in. Reading the beginning I was pumped about this book that it was going to be amazing with all the warnings. Lol. The more the better! But the writing style just really bothered me. Also, everyone keep mentioning MMC now is 18 .. it kinda creeped me out. I really wanted to like this book but I am sorry I didnt. This was given to me as an ARC for an honest review. I appreciate the opportunity to read this book.

A book with an odd mix of psychological thriller and romance. This was written in a way that felt very suspenseful, I found myself holding my breath, waiting for something insane to happen. Reading it honestly felt like a fever dream and half the time I was reading and rereading trying to understand what was going on. This is a book that explores desires and wants, and the characters are super messy and flawed. I can appreciate the messiness, it made for a really harrowing read, but some things l found disturbing. Like the love interest using derogatory language towards someone he supposedly loves. The family dynamic was awkward and often uncomfortable. And there is something really gross about the FMC being basically given to the Holt family. This one was a miss for me. Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

DNF at 30%.

I’m down for morally grey MMCs and alpha males and all that. Usually doesn’t bother me. And here, I didn’t really give two damns about the characters. No, what bothered me to the point that I had to stop reading this was the author’s voice and style: so smug, so pleased with herself. From the opening “authors note” to the monologuing, it’s insufferable. And then add to the male characters all roiling in this “women are delicate, fragile flowers” and “this 18 year old is so precious, so pure”. I can’t. Maybe it gets better, but I don’t care to continue to find out.

I received the ARC from NetGalley, self-published by Black. All opinions are mine alone.

Still reeling from this story and I could not put it down. I had to immediately get book 2 and keep going. I’m not quite sure what I read but I was hooked. I finished in one night .

2⭐️ 1🌶️

I’m honestly not sure how to feel about this book. The writing leaves a lot to the imagination. It is written in third person which can be hard to keep track of. It’s basically a story of a virgin girl surrounded by various men in her life until the night she loses her virginity to the “golden boy” she loves. He makes a promise to be kind and gentle with her but curiosity has it, that isn’t what she wants at all. Their families are intertwined since a young age and once her 18th birthday come around she’s look at differently, they’ve all been waiting for the moment her innocence is gone. The book ends on a cliff hanger, there is no finality to the story. I won’t be reading the other books as this one didn’t really peak my interest. Maybe I just didn’t understand the story and was left confused and unfinished, just like Daisy. Thank you for the opportunity to read prior to release.

Just... Meh. The characters in this book were SO unlikable that it made it hard to be invested in the narrative at all. The description said slow burn...and man did they mean SLOW. Nothing happens... at least as far as I read. I did not finish this book. I couldn't.

The Wallflower by Francesca Black begins with an impressive spark—the Reader’s Contract. This unique and compelling introduction immediately pulled me in, and I was so taken by the promise of the story that I snapped photos and sent them to my fellow book lovers, declaring, “Now this is how you start a book.” Sadly, that initial excitement quickly fizzled out as the novel failed to deliver on its early potential.
The story centers around 18-year-old Daisy, who is essentially "given" or betrothed to Marcus Holt, a moody and possessive young man. What could have been an intriguing slow-burn romance or coming-of-age tale turned into a repetitive, meandering narrative with little to no plot beyond the slow buildup to their first intimate moment—a scene that ended up being more of a letdown than a payoff. And from there, things only continued to deteriorate.
The only time I felt even remotely invested was during a dinner scene between Daisy, Marcus, and another couple—a moment that hinted at depth and tension—but even that ultimately fell flat. The characters never seemed to evolve or learn from their experiences, and their relationship dynamics often felt emotionally unhealthy and unbalanced, with hints of manipulation and jealousy that were concerning rather than romantic.
Stylistically, the book struggled. Word and statement repetition became a major distraction, to the point where it felt like filler rather than meaningful prose. While the descriptive detail was strong in places, it often veered off into tangents that added nothing to the actual storyline, dragging the pacing and muddling the focus.
The point-of-view shifts were especially frustrating. Instead of clearly separated perspectives through chapters or marked breaks, the narrative often jumbled multiple POVs together without warning, making it difficult to track who was speaking or feeling what at any given time. Add to this the unusually long chapters—some of which could have been easily split into more manageable sections—and it made for a confusing and fatiguing reading experience.
Though The Wallflower is the first in a four-book series, I felt no urgency to continue with the series. The book lacked a strong narrative arc or satisfying resolution, and by the end, I felt more exhausted than curious. Ultimately, this was a story about a timid girl and a hot-and-cold love interest, wrapped in a structure that didn’t do its characters—or its readers—any favors. What started as a promising concept devolved into a frustrating and underwhelming read.
Thank you NetGalley and Francesca Black for the opportunity to read this ARC and provide my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This was just not good. The writing was sloppy and messy. The characters were one dimensional. There was really no plot… just thinking about having sex, not having sex, watching others have sex, a finally having sex once, and then not having sex and obsessing over it. The family dynamics were very very weird and uncomfortable and the fact that Daisy was basically given to Marcus and the Holt family from a young age and then the author drug out them having sex was strange. Did not enjoy this and found myself asking “what is going on” a lot.