We’d once read a book which essentially encapsulated most philosophical theories in bite-sized pieced
wrapped in a kind of fairy tale. This one reminded us of that since wrapped in
the outer shell of a romance this is a lot about self-help, positivity and
growth.
Harper Ray is a troubled young woman with musical talent. As
a child, after an accident, her parents got hooked to drugs. She has memories
of happier times but they are largely eclipsed by later memories which are
quite terrible. After her mother overdosed, Harper’s father didn’t remain sober
for long and soon Harper and her younger sister, Tess, became a part of the
foster care system.
While the family with which they were placed were not so
great, Harper and Tess found a family in a Good Samaritan couple, Barry and
Nancy, and Andrew, another child in the foster care system. Harper found a
girlfriend, Kate, while still in the system and ran away with her leaving a
pleading and tearful Tess alone. Harper’s romance with Kate ended and Tess is
in a very bad way so Harper return to Baltimore from Rhode Island. With nothing
urgent to go back to – she has neither job nor girlfriend – Harper stays back
in Baltimore. Andrew gets Harper a one-off gig in a food market.
Ivy Homestead is a green witch, a life coach, a vlogger and
along with her mother, owner of a wholistic wellness spa resort. Ivy has her
own demons and a particularly bad falling out with a friend. That incident with
her friend has left her so under-confident about herself that for the past year
Ivy has stopped all her activities and has only been cleaning the spa resort.
When Ivy hears Harper in the market, she offers Harper a gig at her resort. Ivy
and her mom, Annie, make a more than generous offer to Harper with rent-free accommodation
on-site.
This book is a lot about healing for both the main
protagonists as their romantic relationship builds organically. The presence of
a new, interesting, intriguing and exciting person in their lives give each one
a new lease of living. While Ivy’s impact on Harper is unmistakable and
obvious, Harper’s presence in Ivy’s life and its impact is less obvious but
true.
Ivy is an adorable lady. We loved everything about her. She
is rather new age-y (we did speed-read almost all her vlog posts content
because there wasn’t really anything new in them) and her
earth-flower-yoga-floating may not find a lot of agreement (for the record, we
agree and appreciate with her but find the whole lifestyle to demand too much
effort). We totally loved her flirtatious moments with Harper.
Harper, with all her baggage, her past and her issues is
understandable, but we didn’t find her particularly likeable. In fact, there
were moment when we felt her rudeness and meanness with Ivy were totally
uncalled for.
We got to mention Tess, though she’s in a smaller supporting
role. Our heart bleeds for the child she was when her only support system, her
sister left her. We may not agree with her large heartedness and forgiveness,
but she really touched us.
We liked that this book was as much about remorse, regret and
rectifying the past as it was about the developing relationship between Ivy and
Harper. Towards the end, we loved the fact that both cared for their relationship enough to make necessary sacrifices for the other.
On the whole, this is a gentle read.
⭐⭐⭐
