Sins of the Farmer’s Market

Picking right up where we left off last week, it is time to take a look at another book of dark romance! However, this one is a far cry from Haunting Adeline and provides sharp twists and turns without so much of the heavy, questionable topics that the last book broached.

Anytime I am traveling or find myself a rainy weekend at home, I make it my personal goal to find a new bookstore to check out. Little hole in the wall shops that are far more intimate than a trip to Barnes & Noble are always my favorite! While the selections might be hit or miss from time to time, there is nothing like the feeling of finding that good deep cut that hasn’t made its way to TikTok or Instagram yet! And that is exactly what I found when it comes to Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson; a deep cut, quick-reading novella, with just the right amount of love story, tantalizing smut, and darkness. To get this started, let’s take a look at the book’s inside jacket synopsis.

Rosemary meets Ash at the farmers’ market. Ash—precise, pretty, and practically perfect—sells bars of soap in delicate pastel colors, sprinkle-spackled cupcakes stacked on scalloped stands, beeswax candles, jelly jars of honey, and glossy green plants.

Ro has never felt this way about another woman; with Ash, she wants to be her and have her in equal measure. But as her obsession with Ash consumes her, she may find she’s not the one doing the devouring…

Told in lush, delectable prose, this is a deliciously dark tale of passion taking an unsavory turn.

-Delilah S. Dawson

Looking back on this now, I realize it might have hit the twist a little heavier on the nose than I first anticipated, and maybe that’s why I found myself guessing at the outcome just before the final curtain was lifted. Either way, the scene is set with Ro and Ash, our lovers-to-be in a delicate dance of obsession and hidden truths.

Bloom

For those who stuck around since last week, there’s no trigger warning getting into this novel, so I would feel comfortable recommending this to just about anybody over the age of 18 due to the adult content. Sitting at only 200 pages, I burned through this book in two sittings, just as hungry as Ro was for the cupcakes you’ll read about among the pages.

Let’s dive into the review!

Bottom Line Up Front – The Score: 5/5 Stars

• Characters: 9
• Atmosphere: 10
• Writing: 10
• Plot: 7
• Intrigue: 10
• Logic: 9
• Enjoyment: 10

Bloom is one of those stories you find yourself completely immersed in. I’ll hit some of the highlights later, but Dawson has a way with writing that truly makes the pages of the book come alive. I can’t explain how fulfilling a read like that is, but I would love to find another of her books and see if this theme persists.

Starting off, the story introduces our main character; Rosemary Dutton. Normally just going by “Ro”, she is an academic holding a PhD and a new job as an assistant professor at the University of Georgia. Ro is a booky, just like all of you that find yourself coming back here. She dreams of magic, finds that her own words never quite cut it as well as those of literary giants, with a touch of introvert that obsesses over her own work. She has just left the big city life behind, as her last relationship with Erik came to a heart breaking finale, and sought out a slower pace of life, bringing her back to her roots in Georgia. Ro is instantly relatable, as many of us have experienced heart break, a need to escape, and even some self-doubt along this beautiful journey that we call life.

Enter Ash… As Ro makes her way through the local farmer’s market for the first time, she stumbles upon a stand selling soaps, candles, honey, cupcakes, and plants. Dawson does a way better job of bringing this scene to life than I ever will, but in the moment the colors danced through my mind, the scents enveloping me wholly. Behind the counter waits Ash. Ro describes her as the most beautiful woman in the world, sparking the start of a new obsession Ro has never pursued or contemplated before. Ash is a down-to-earth, elf-like beauty. All the products are hand-crafted, the plants grown in her greenhouse, the cupcakes made with family recipes known to no other. Ice blue eyes, a constellation of freckles, and tawny hair the color of corn silk, Ash is a sight unlike any other, and for the first time Ro asks herself, “Am I sure I’m straight?”

Throughout the first few chapters of the story, Ro finds herself looking for any excuse to make it back to this stand at the farmer’s market, just to get a chance to take in the beauty she has stumbled upon. Over time, a friendship forms, and the flirtation grows to the point where Rosemary is consumed entirely by this new fire burning inside her. There is one detriment though; the closer she gets to Ash, the more she learns how guarded and closed off her heart and life are from the outside world.

Their dates continue, the intimacy blooms, yet throughout Ro can’t help but shake the nagging feeling that there is more to Ash than she is willing to let on. Owning her grandmother’s old farmhouse, Ash is cut off from the world and that’s exactly how she likes it. No cell-phone, no social media, hell not even an internet connection in sight. She runs the farm, works the farmer’s market, and enjoys a quiet life secluded from prying eyes.

A key moment comes when Ash first invites Rosemary to the farm for dinner. Full of insecurity from a broken heart, the boundaries she faces with Ash begin to become too much and her inquisitive soul takes her snooping through the house. Just before opening a seemingly normal door down the main hall, Ash catches her in the act, and the blow up is intense. But why? Over what seemed to just be a normal bedroom or hall closet…? Wouldn’t you like to know.

While twisting and turning, holding me in a vice grip until I had turned the final page, I was satisfied in the fact that there was no cliff hanger at the end to leave me dangling. The character development throughout the story is sublime, often feeling like I had known Rosemary so much longer than these 200 pages allowed. And as I mentioned with the writing before, it was completely out of this world. As scenes are described, I was fully transported there. One moment I’m in a bustling farmer’s market, full of the sounds of children, vendors, and musicians. The next, I’m wandering through a garden oasis behind Ash’s house; colors and scents jumping from the pages and swirling in the room around me. It is a word heavy story though; Rosemary is an academic and a literary fiend as I mentioned, and her vocabulary throughout holds true to that. words like transubstantiation, veritable, sepulcher, grok, cultivar, and charybdis litter the pages and I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t need google close by to figure out what it all meant…

I will say however, some of the logic and plot in the story left me rolling my eyes. There was a couple moments, where I wanted to scream at Ro for being so blind to what seemed pretty clearly written on the wall. However, I have to remind myself that not everyone is a junky for horror, betrayal, and darkness. Also, I’ve been heartbroken and freshly enamored with a new love too, so I cannot ignore the fact that those emotions can be pretty blinding, causing us to overlook the lesser qualities or the red flags we run across (Besides, I’m always here for a good red flag anyways). There’s much more packed inside these 200 pages that I couldn’t live with myself if I spoiled, so I highly implore you to dive in, sink your teeth into the mouthwatering cupcakes with Ro (well, maybe… you’ll understand), and let the quick building story wash over you.

Sourcing around the internet, most of the reviews for this novella are positive, with a warm 3.92 stars on Goodreads. However, the negative reviews often speak to a predictable plot, and definitely not a book for those that aren’t a fan of slasher horror. One of the reviews that stood out to me, highlighted a point that I had not fully considered until after finishing Bloom. The research that Dawson put into this story comes forth from the pages in the recipes, the preparation of meat, and many other areas. I can’t commend the author enough for this bit of detail!

Enough from me now. Dive into Bloom, and then come back and let’s talk. What are your thoughts? Did you predict the twist early on and I’m just a slow human being? Were you craving the treats and smells just as bad as I was? Leave a comment below and let’s chat!

Delilah S. Dawson’s works can be found at her website here: https://www.whimsydark.com/

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