From the New York Times bestselling author of If I See You Again Tomorrow comes a delightful and heartwarming novel about family, love, grief, and one precocious houseplant, that reminds us of the beauty of living a life in full Bloom.

Morris Warner is withering away. After the sudden death of his husband, Fred, he has shut himself off from the world. No more going to movies with friends, or swims in Lake Michigan, instead preferring the quiet loneliness of his history books and Jeopardy episodes with only the cat to hear his answers.

Morris’s stepdaughter, Sloan, feels like she has nowhere to grow. She’s about to get married to the man of her dreams, if only her mother will let her actually plan her own wedding and trust her to build her own life after her father’s death.

Jade is drying out. Literally. As a plant in Morris’s home, she and her plant housemates have been slowly wasting away, leaf by falling leaf, since Fred’s death and Morris’s lack of care. She needs to come up with a plan to make her new owner come back to life, no matter what it takes.

New York Times bestselling author Robbie Couch’s Bloom is a wondrous novel where family, love, kindness, and yes, Mother Nature, triumph.

If ever there was a book that makes you want to water your plants, this would be it. It’s a super sweet look at grief, moving on, and reconnection.

Morris recently lost his husband Fred and hasn’t been the same since. He’s shut himself off from the world. No more movies with friends or enjoying time outdoors. It’s just him, his cat, his history books, and the occasional episode of Jeopardy while Fred’s plants wither away (kind of like Morris’s happiness). They’re slowly dying. But they have their own perspective and a plan to bring Morris back to life.

Meanwhile, Fred’s daughter, Sloan, is trying to plan her wedding while dealing with her overbearing mother. One day, Sloan decides she wants to reconnect with Morris, and maybe convince him to walk her down the aisle. The problem is, her mom blames Morris for ruining her marriage to Fred years ago when he “stole him away,” so there’s a lot of tension there. But Sloan will deal with that later. She just needs to reconnect with Morris, and in doing so, she not only finds what was missing in her life, but helps heal Morris as well.

I especially liked that we get occasional chapters told from the POV of the withering plants living in Morris’s house. They offer some real levity to the story. Hearing how they view humans was a lot of fun. They’re confused. They’re frustrated. They’re literally dying because Morris won’t water them. But they also care about him in their own weird plant way.

I really enjoyed watching Morris try to figure out how to live again. Grief makes you forget how to do the simplest things and Morris is really deep in that fog of just doing his best to exist and take care of himself. It was sweet to see him reconnect with Sloan. She’s about to get married and she’s struggling. Her mother is controlling every detail of the wedding because she doesn’t trust Sloan to make her own decisions. And on top of that, she’s still holding onto her anger at Morris for being the reason her marriage to Fred ended. Watching Morris and Sloan find their way back to each other while also dealing with her mother was touching.

The writing is gentle and warm. This isn’t a heavy, tragic grief book. It’s hopeful. It’s about healing and the people and things that remind you life is still worth living. Even if those things are dying houseplants with strong opinions.

I read this in a single sitting. It’s the perfect length for a lazy afternoon on the sofa. It doesn’t overstay its welcome. It tells its story and gets out. And it leaves you feeling lighter than when you started.

If you’re looking for a cozy, heartwarming read about grief and healing, or books with unconventional narrators like sentient plants, pick this up. It’s sweet, well-written, and genuinely moving. It’s the perfect read when you need something gentle.

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