Tahira In Bloom. Literally. That was the title and that's exactly what the author delivered through this beautifully written cottagecore vibish book. Tahira coming-of-age!

Tahira has always been focused on The Plan. Like every Desi parent to ever exist, Tahira's parents always wanted her to be the best. But there's a catch. Guess who's parents actually supported their daughter's choice to excel in the arts? Unfortunately Tahira's plans come to a screeching halt when she finds herself spending her summer in some small town living in a shed, instead of doing her glamorous fashion designer internship.

Pair the city girl with the small town and there's got to be trouble brewing. But, add in a rude neighbor (who goes by the name Rowan Johnston) who thinks Tahira is just another airhead influencer, and it's a whole different game. But their paths cross when Tahira needs a ticket to fame using the flower-arranging contest in town and guess which rude boy happens to have the biggest green thumb in the neighborhood? Will Tahira bite her tongue and work together with Rowan to get her plan back into place? Or will it just be a total waste of a summer?

That has got to be the most adorable story I've read in a while. The author had me at Desi Muslim MC who wanted to be a fashion designer, but it was the plant nerd with a heart of gold that had me hooked to the book. And his sister. You'll know why if you read the book.

The fact that the author wrote this book so her daughter could read it melted my heart. And you could see the love and the cozy comforting vibes oozing out of this book as you flip every page. Even though I'm not the biggest plant nerd, this just made me want to reconnect with nature. Unplug for a few minutes and stargaze (unfortunately, I don't have a Rowan to stargaze with) and a book like that which moves you to that extent, is definitely an extra special book. I'll probably cherish this story for years to come. Both love stories <spoiler>(Tahira and Rowan's, and June and Leanne's)</spoiler> had me smiling till my cheeks hurt. I'd do anything for a sequel with June as the MC, I'm just saying

Although the story was mostly cozy, the author never shies away from heavy topics. The conversations between Rowan and Tahira about the racial discrimination in their field of work due to being Black and Muslim, respectively broke my heart. The bullying that Rowan's sister went through, the racial microaggressions, they all combined to give a powerful narrative on how we have to work twice as hard in our respective fields of work to get the same recognition the majority race gets. And as a Muslim girl (Muslims are a minority here in SL), I felt like this book could've just played out here. Every scene could fit into a Sri Lankan setting and the dialogues and conversations we would have would be the exact same.

Definitely recommend this book and I've got to thank everyone involved for getting me an ARC of this book through Netgalley. It's got to be one of my favourite approvals so far!

BRB, gotta find myself some T-shirts with plant puns on them!