From the author of Dancing with Bees comes a charming and heartfelt story about opening yourself up to love.
Disciplined and pragmatic, Mary Roberts feels she’s got her life under control. She’s recently moved to Hobart, she’s nearing the end of her training as an emergency doctor, and she keeps a tight handle on the wellbeing of her mother and her sister back home in Sydney.
But when it comes to her long-term boyfriend, Felix, Mary’s always had a blind spot. That is until she finds another woman’s G-string in their bed …
In need of a temporary escape, Mary signs up to help run a wilderness expedition medicine course. She soon discovers that rock climbing, plunging into freezing cold water, and working in the close company of a grumpy yet disconcertingly magnetic retrieval doctor are pushing her way out of her comfort zone.
Suddenly, everything she thought she knew about herself is starting to unravel. The question is, what will the fallout be? A breakdown in her relationship with her sister? Her mother’s brittle mental health reaching the point of catastrophe? Or – most dangerous of all – could Mary Roberts finally be ready to fall in love?
(4/5)
Mary is perfect. A quick poll of the hospital staff where she works finds that 100% of the guys and 65% of the girls admit they’re in love with her, and the other 35% are jealous of her. She’s intelligent, driven, fit, and incredibly hot. Of course, she’s thrown into a situation where she’s stuck with Abel, an emergency retrieval doctor who is intelligent, driven, fit, and, of course, also incredibly hot. The man is an outdoorsy adrenaline junkie who saves lives for a living and sketches portraits in his spare time. His favourite book is Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, for goodness ‘ sake!
While they seem a match made in heaven, there are outside influences and internal hurdles that threaten the burgeoning connection, not least Mary’s complicated family relationships and her very recent ex, Felix.
I think you always need to suspend your disbelief when reading romance, and this is definitely no exception. While I wanted to shake Mary at times due to her absolute inability to read situations correctly, this led to some delicious chemistry and sexual tension between the two leads. I gobbled it up within a day!
(4/5)
Mary Roberts has her life sorted. She knows where her medical career is heading, and she’s in control of her personal life. Until she isn’t. A grenade lands smack dab into her well-ordered life, in the form of a tacky G-string.
With her world suddenly topsy-turvy, Mary is forced to confront some glaring truths about herself, her cheating partner, Felix, her alcoholic mother, and her baby sister. This is something I can really identify with. That lost feeling of not knowing which way is up. I cheered on Mary’s triumphs and got frustrated when she refused to acknowledge her past affected her present.
This book captivated and enchanted me. I was invested in Mary’s story from the first sentence. I absolutely loved the dynamic between Mary and her love interest, Abel. Abel is a romance reader’s dream man! Sexy, smart, and emotionally intelligent. Not to mention faithful. This is a delightful read. A trip to Tassie that you won’t regret!
(5/5)
I loved Flowers in July. It has heart, love, kindness, quirk, and joy. I thought the first part of the story was a little slow, but it picked up, and I was then engrossed. I did think the ‘F’ was overused and unnecessary.
Mary Roberts, a final year doctor working a placement in a Tasmanian hospital, comes from a dysfunctional family in Sydney – Mary, her alcoholic mother, and her younger sister, who has 3 young children. Mary feels she is the one to manage and try to save her family, even though she is living in Tasmania. I loved Mary’s care and concern for her family.
After a very recent relationship break-up with Felix, Mary’s life is in turmoil. Mary goes on a ‘Wilderness Expedition’ for further training and strikes a friendship with Dr. Able Sutherland, a Retrieval Doctor. I loved the ‘warm burn’ of their relationship. Able encourages Mary to put her own need for happiness first. I loved the chemistry between them. I loved the gardening references and the friendship Mary develops with an elderly neighbour whom she meets while going for a walk.
(5/5)
A really good book to read, and I found it hard to put down at times.
Mary is one of those people who thinks about everyone else and tries to make sure they are happy all the time. It wasn’t till she met Abel and did different things with him that it made her think about herself for a change and look into what she wanted out of life and how to enjoy it.
A really nice novel, I thoroughly recommend it.
(4/5)
This is a lovely romance, given extra depth with its realistic portrayal of working as a doctor.
Maynard uses familiar romance tropes to drive her story forward, but ultimately, this is a strongly character-based story. Mary, Felix, and Abel are all very real and recognisable.
Mary is a sympathetic character. Readers will admire her grit and focus, and probably also want to be her friend. She’s carrying a heavier weight than just Felix, and her backstory is believable.
I very much liked that this was a story about Mary’s personal growth, as much as a story about the growth of her relationship with Abel. Nor is he just her “saviour” – he’s a rounded character with strengths and problems of his own. Mary needs to recognise some things about herself and address some of her non-romantic relationships before she can fully enter into a relationship with Abel.
I really enjoyed this. It’s a romance for those who aren’t looking for pure escapism, but want a bit of reality mixed in to add depth and nuance. Romance readers will love it, but it should also draw in readers who only dip into the genre occasionally.
(4/5)
In Flowers in July, Anna Maynard (Dancing with Bees) crafts a heartfelt slow-burn romance centred on Mary, a trainee doctor who escapes her on-again-off-again ex by joining a wilderness medicine course, only to find herself sharing a cabin, and a fake relationship, with her intimidating course leader, Abel.
Told in first person, Mary’s voice pulls you directly into her world. I took a little while to warm to Mary, a confessed non-dog-lover who sees reading fiction as a waste of time. Despite my early reservations, I found myself completely caught up in her story. Her love and support for her sister and mother inspired me, and her character genuinely grew on me.
Maynard draws convincingly on her medical training, hospital experience, and life in Tasmania, lending authentic detail to both the emergency department scenes and the Tasmanian wilderness landscape.
This slow-burning romance was executed very well. Mary’s journey to trust again, after so much hurt, made the payoff even more satisfying. This book was heartfelt and inspiring, with beautiful moments, like when Abel reads his favourite book to her. Flowers in July, with its fake-relationship and forced-proximity combination, will appeal to fans of Sally Thorne and Emily Henry.
(4/5)
If you want to feel good, Flowers in July by Anna Maynard, is a great book to read. It is about compassion and the development of personal awareness and fulfillment. It is an intricate story of how pasts intertwine with the present, forging characters and how sometimes these build barriers. This is the story of Mary; intelligent, dedicated, driven but emotionally compartmentalised. How her barriers are untangled is engaging, relatable and thought provoking.
The background is the world of emergency medicine with the trials and tribulations of demanding work, study and dedication. Additionally, there is the weight of family ties. Antidotes are the escapes to the wilds of Tasmania and the awakening a love of the natural world. And of course, the flowers that bloom in July. And Abel, the retrieval doctor.
The unfolding love story is at times, tender, sexy, frustrating, humorous, heart stopping but always with the feeling that love will emerge and overcome all challenges. Definitely made me feel good.
(3/5)
I liked the idea of this story and initially enjoyed it; however, as it progressed, I started to lose interest. The novel centres around Mary Roberts, a trainee emergency doctor in Hobart, having left her family in NSW, to move there with her long-term boyfriend Felix, who also works in the same area. After finding another woman’s G-string in their bed, she breaks up with him, and the story continues from there. Their relationship seems to have been unhealthy, and as such, their continuing working one. Apart from dealing with her breakup and move, Mary has self-worth issues, as well as longstanding issues with her mother and sister, which, while they are explained, are not at all helpful to her or her relationships. There are some laugh-out-loud and emotional moments, and I was initially interested in developments with her possible new love interest.
As the story went on, Mary kept seeming to sabotage her own efforts to become more positive and change her attitude toward her self-worth, toward others, and toward life. I sadly lost interest in her and what might happen in her future, though, like most books of this genre, it all seems to work out.
I don’t often read this genre, though I have read and enjoyed several. It may appeal more to true fans.
(4/5)
I found the novel “Flowers in July” by Anna Maynard a great fun read. This book got me out of my reading slump!
I was happily immersed in the world of Mary, a doctor-in-training, who has just broken up with her boyfriend, and tries everything she can to avoid running into him. Cue the wilderness medical expedition, which sees Mary in close proximity with the two men that she would rather avoid, the ex-boyfriend Felix, and the grumpy retrieval doctor, Abel. I enjoyed the slow reawakening of Mary, finally away from a person who dulled her shine, and the attraction towards someone new.
I didn’t want to put the book down, I needed to know, ‘will they’ or ‘won’t they.’ I don’t usually read romantic books, but this was such a warm, lovely escape, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants an enjoyable read.
(4/5)
Flowers in July by Anna Maynard is a book about choices and where they lead us, and why settling for what you have isn’t always the best option.
Mary is almost finished with her placement in a hospital in Tasmania; her partner, Felix, is a serial cheater, and she feels like her family is her responsibility. She breaks up with Felix, moves to the granny flat from hell, and then volunteers to go on a wilderness survival course to escape everything. She has no idea what is waiting for her.
I enjoyed this book, which made me laugh in some places. The wilderness course storyline was fun and relatable.
I think readers who like a funny romance story will enjoy this book.
4 stars! I look forward to more from Anna Maynard!
(5/5)
What a lovely, cosy, slow-burning, romantic love story.
As I have never read any other books by this author, I really didn’t know what to expect, but I really enjoyed this book from the first page.
I fell in love with the main character, Mary, and couldn’t wait for her to find happiness after her disaster of a relationship with Felix.
The other main character, Abel, well, what can I say, I never thought men existed who are patient and kind.
Right from the start, the book had just the right chemistry between Mary and Abel. The storyline was executed in a way that you just wanted to keep reading more.
I would definitely recommend people to give this book a go, you will find you won’t be disappointed.
(5/5)
Having just spent time in Tasmania, where the setting takes place, I was able to accurately visualise some of the places, which was quite exciting.
The main character, Mary, was very realistic by going through a lifetime of heartache with both family and relationships, but finally learns to put herself first and finds herself wanting to change and have a fulfilling relationship with someone she least expects to capture her heart.
The story was very refreshing for a romance novel and kept me engaged all the way through. If I could, I would have read it in one day.
(5/5)
Forced from childhood too young, Mary Roberts lives a rigid, controlled life, focused on the wellbeing of her mother and sister. The discovery that her long-term partner has been cheating on her – again – upends her ordered existence and sets her on a journey of self-discovery. Against the backdrop of the Tasmanian wilderness, Mary learns to live her own life.
The romantic hero of the story, Abel Sutherland, is a gem. Tall, dark, handsome, and genuinely ‘nice’, he sees Mary clearly from the start and provides the support she needs to grow. Mary narrates it best: “But in his arms, in the warm glow of his beautiful gaze, I could almost imagine a life like this. Where I was his, and he was mine, and I could live in a way that was bolder and braver than I’d thought possible, where my vulnerability could be safe, and he would hold me and tell me, ‘I’m right here with you.'”
Flowers in July is exactly what it claims: ‘a charming and heartfelt story about opening yourself up to love.’ It’s light, it’s funny – how often do you read about someone’s “serious, lingerie-coloured eyes”? – and it shows the slow blooming of a life given the right encouragement.
(5/5)
I loved this book. I finished reading Wuthering Heights before Flowers in July, and this book was a balm after that one. It is a sweet book. One that went beyond romance. Mary has a lot of hangovers from her last boyfriend and her troubled childhood. This has made her into the person whom Abel meets. She has achieved success with her career, but she has lost a lot of confidence and needs to always be in control. Going on the wilderness medical training trip means that she has to confront how she sees herself and try new things. Abel helps her find her true self on her own terms. I really liked Mary. I thought she was entirely believable, and I felt for her. I couldn’t stop reading. The tension was addictive, and I just wanted everything to work out for Mary and Abel. Now, I had better go find Anna Maynard’s other book, Dancing with Bees, at my local bookshop!
(5/5)
Oh! So this is one of those books…
It’s 2:37 am on a Tuesday, and I have to work in less than 4 hours; however, this book would not let me sleep until I finished it.
Bursting with emotion and joy, I absolutely loved it. I laughed and cried along with Mary, and now I am exhausted.
Mary is in Tasmania for a medical placement before her exams.
She is cheated on by her long-term partner, Felix, and somehow ends up on a Wilderness expedition medicine course. Abel Sutherland is the grumpy leader of this course, and Mary hates the great outdoors.
What ensues is funny, sad, inspiring, and addictive reading as we learn about family and relearning to like ourselves.
Do yourself a favour and grab a copy.
Good night.
(4/5)
This book is touted as a romance, and don’t get me wrong, it is, at its heart, a wonderful love story. But it’s more than that. The main characters, Mary and Abel, are high achievers – both doctors who are forging careers in emergency and emergency retrieval medicine. They are also just so likable with messy and complicated family lives, work pressures, and vindictive exes to deal with. The love story develops gloriously slowly with plenty of ‘will they, won’t they’ moments and misunderstandings; all while Mary embarks on her own journey of self-discovery, learning what is important to her and to appreciate that she doesn’t have to be everything to everybody all of the time.
This book draws you in, easy to read but very hard to put down – with its easy-to-read style and fabulous descriptions of the Tasmanian wilderness and Hobart’s gardens, I finished it in two days. And as I prepare for my own trip to the Tasmanian wilderness next month to walk the Three Capes, as much as I would love to attend a dinner party with Mary and Abel, I really hope I don’t need the expertise of an emergency retrieval team.
(4/5)
Mary Roberts has her life under control; she’s moved to Hobart, is nearing the end of her training as an emergency doctor, and she’s got a handle on her mother and sister back home.
Or rather, she had control until she found evidence that her boyfriend, Felix, had cheated on her… Again!
In need of an escape, Mary signs herself up to help run a wilderness expedition medicine course, taking her out of her comfort zone.
I found myself loving Mary from the very beginning! Her journey to this point was covered really well, and I feel that, as readers, we have a great understanding of who she is and how we got to this point. Her story as the typical ‘eldest daughter’ was relatable, and I especially loved her relationship with her sister and how that was explained.
Abel, the gentle revival doctor, is also fantastically written. The way he helps Mary come out of her shell and realise that she’s not the person that Felix has made her out to be was so lovely to read.
Just all round a beautiful book, and I can’t wait to see what Anna writes next
(5/5)
Flowers in July by Anna Maynard – a new author for me, and I wasn’t sure if I would like the story. It took just a few pages to get into the story. Mary Roberts, a trainee doctor, is so concerned for her Mum, who has had mental health issues and alcoholism throughout Mary’s life, and concerns for her sister, a single Mum of 3, that she has taken on the role of parent to both of them. Mary is in Hobart with her boyfriend Felix, a doctor also, but Mary finally leaves him after his philandering ways. Mary goes on a medical expedition, but when she arrives, Abel, the grumpy doctor, and Felix the philanderer are both on the course.
Mary tries a lot of new experiences, but still won’t allow herself to not be the parent. Abel is there for her, hoping she’ll let him in.
(4/5)
This book is perfect for easy and enjoyable reading. I’d highly recommend it as a holiday read or as a lovely weekend escape from reality with a glass of wine (or two!).
While the theme is love and romance, the story kicks off with a dramatic start and quickly introduces characters who are both relatable and perplexing. Anna Maynard’s writing really makes you feel you either know the characters or want to get to know them. The characters’ story, told so thoughtfully in ‘Flowers in July’, reminded me of the tender moments involved as you fall in love. Anna beautifully weaves relatable hardships into the story and captures the emotions of each moment so well that I found myself smiling, frowning, and tearing up in many parts as I read. This is the type of book where you just MUST know how it ends. A very enjoyable book, well-written. Well worth a read.
(4/5)
This is a heart-warming story about re-finding yourself after prioritising others for too long. Mary, a doctor training in emergency management, is at her lowest after the latest betrayal from her long-time partner, Felix. The fates conspire to put her on a wilderness medical expedition with her ex, Felix, and Abel, a grumpy but attractive and incredibly competent retrieval doctor. Throughout the wilderness expedition, Mary is pushed out of her comfort zone and forced to reckon with her own beliefs about her intelligence and competence. The tension between the developing chemistry with Abel and the space Abel wants to provide for Mary to work through her own traumas and emotions drives the story. The book balances these emotional developments and Mary’s complex family issues with lovely moments of levity – the best of which involve Felix being (deservedly) put in uncomfortable positions during wilderness training rescue scenarios. While at times it felt like Mary overcame her fears and confidence issues a little too quickly, this was balanced by the slow and considered development of her relationship with Abel (who is too good to be true, but in the best way) and the exploration and mending of her family relationships.
(4/5)
Flowers in July starts comically for us readers, with Mary Roberts using kitchen tongs to remove from her bed the underwear of her boyfriend’s latest dalliance. This incident begins a chain of events where Mary’s personal, professional, and family life are upended. It also brings into her life the mesmerising Abel Sutherland.
Flowers in July is more than just a romance book, but it’s the part that really spoke to me. I loved Mary, and I loved her journey, but I think I loved Abel the most. I love how he supports Mary in ways she sees and cannot – at least in the moment – see. Even when not physically around, he makes his presence felt. Not only does he come across as a good partner, but he is a good person. He is perfection on paper.
If you’re after a slow-burning romance with a whole lot of feeling, Flowers in July should be on your to-be-read list. It’s shaping up to be my romance read of the year.