Hot House Flower - Review/Giveaway

About HotHouse Flower

Margot Berwin’s sultry debut novel, Hothouse Flower, explores plant magic, spiritual discovery, and romantic fever in the jungles of Mexico—an adventure that finds its roots at a green market in lower Manhattan and in one very special Laundromat.

Lila Nova is a thirty-two year-old advertising copyrighter who lives alone in a plain, white box of an apartment. Recovering from a heartbreaking divorce, Lila’s mantra is simple: no pets, no plants, no people, no problems. But when Lila meets David Exley, a ruggedly handsome plant-seller, her lonely life blossoms into something far more colorful.

From the cold, harsh streets of Manhattan to the verdant jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula, Hothouse Flower is the story of a woman who must travel beyond the boundaries of sense and comfort to find what she truly wants.



About Margot Berwin

MARGOT BERWIN won a merit scholarship for creative writing from the New School and earned her MFA in 2005. Her stories have appeared on Nerve.com, essaysandfictions.com, The New York Press, and in the Anthology The Future of Misbehavior. She lives in New York City.

You can contact Margot:

* on Twitter – @MargotBerwin
* on her Facebook fan-page
* on her regular Facebook page





A note from the Author

The story is based on a relationship with my good friend Armand who was kind enough to give me permission to use his name on these pages. Over the years Armand taught me a lot about life and relationships and plants. I’ve taken some of that knowledge and created this novel. I would say that the circumstances of the book are fictional in specifics and very real in the abstract.

Take it for what you will. Read it in whatever way gives you the most pleasure.


My Review

Most of my readers know I usually don't review works of fiction but when TLC asked me to join the tour for Hot House Flower I did a little research on the book. When I saw "exotic plants" and adventure in the" jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula" I knew I had to read this novel.

It did not take me long to finish this delightful story. I liked the character of Lila, she reminds me a little of myself in some ways. Perhaps many readers will see themselves in Lila as she finds herself. There were times however that I wanted to shout at her to think about what she was doing.

Each chapter begins with the description of a different flower and the flower plays a part in the chapter, I really liked that. If you are expecting a steamy erotic novel be aware the hot and steamy is found primarily in the heat of the dryers at the laundromat and the humidity of the jungle. But the male characters are still very much the hunks.

One description I found (On Margot's FB fan page) describes the book as "Eat, Pray, Love meets The Orchid Thief in this rollicking debut novel about plant magic, spiritual discovery, and romantic fever in the jungles of Mexico." That pretty much sums up my feelings on Hot House Flower. Definitely a must have for your reading list.

Buy it! The book is available in many outlets including Amazon.com

Giveaway

Thanks to the folks at TLC Tours one of my readers can win a copy of Hot House Flower. The rules for this giveaway are simple.

1) Be a follower on Google Friend Connect of The Road to Here. Say in your comment that you would like to win a copy of Hot House Flower.

2) In a separate comment tell me your favorite flower.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents. If your email address is not on your profile please leave it in your comments. The giveaway will end at midnight PDT on August 20th.