All Kendyll has ever wanted is a fairytale ending. As a romance writer, she's written plenty of happy-ever-afters but can't seem to get her own, despite having a fiance. Fighting and numerous other struggles have put them on a rocky path with no romance in sight. Looking for a fresh start, she starts house hunting in North Carolina and throws all of Vance's preferences out the window when she walks onto an old, dilapidated plantation. The house speaks to her in more ways than one and is eerily reminiscent of dreams Kendyll has had since she was a teenager. When renovation starts on the home, Kendyll is forced to confront her past, her relationship with Vance, and her feelings for the handsome contractor, Wes. Will she be able to put the past to rest and find her happily-ever-after?

Where Flowers Bloom by Nikki Vale starts slowly but pulls you in and keeps you following Kendyll and her romantic tendencies. I found myself wanting to learn the secrets behind Kendyll's relationships, detailed dreams, and the plantation mansion. I wanted to see how her dreams played out and how they related to reality. I was certainly not prepared for the twists and turns that inevitably came with addressing your past and trying to figure out your future. I was also rooting for her to get her happy ending but that's probably because I'm a hopeless romantic myself. Very interesting plot with unexpected twists. Where Flowers Bloom by Nikki Vale had great character development and made you fall in love with the colorful people who end up having such an impact on Kendyll.

Romance author Kendyll hopes that a new start in a new town will reinvigorate her relationship with Vance, her fiancé of ten years. When Kendyll recognizes the ballroom of a plantation house in need of renovation from the dreams that have haunted her since she turned thirteen, she buys the place immediately, despite knowing that Vance won’t approve. Her initial shock that it’s a genuine plantation house is mitigated by the discovery that the house formed part of the Underground Railroad. Kendyll’s dreams become more vivid as she settles into her new home and surprising discoveries suggest that there’s more to her dreams than she first suspected, and the strange connection she shares with the handsome contractor working on her house may be the key to unraveling her dreams.

Nikki Vale blends an unflinching narrative about slavery and race with the tenderness of love in this must-read steamy romance, Where Flowers Bloom. The personality friction in Kendyll and Vance’s relationship is convincing, as are their efforts to try to overcome their differences. This makes for an interesting juxtaposition against the immediate connection she feels with Wes and the lighter experiences they share. Vale subtly explores the stigma often associated with having a darker skin tone through Kendyll’s insecurities about her complexion and her tyrannical mother’s strictly enforced opinions regarding interracial dating while Kendyll’s dreams detail the plight of slaves with heart-breaking honesty. Where Flowers Bloom is as much a story about reconciling the past and finding oneself as it is a steamy romance where the heroine must make an impossible choice between two men.