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The Bloom Girls by A.J. (Amy) Pine Published by Grand Central Publishing on August 3, 2021
Genres: Family Life, Fiction, Marriage & Divorce, Sagas, Women
Pages: 368
Format: ARC, eBook, Paperback
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Gilmore Girls meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding in this humorous, multi-generational story about a mother and daughter who discover that life happens when you least expect it.
Gabi Bloom doesn't believe in signs. She believes in photographic evidence, the view through her camera lens, and the snap of the shutter. It's why she traveled to Europe--to satisfy her wanderlust and to kick off her photography career. But in Ireland, all of that changed when Gabi gazed into the impossibly blue eyes of an American bartender. She wasn't prepared for their intense and immediate attraction, or the fact that she'd be bringing Ethan home with her . . . as her fiancé.
Gabi's upcoming marriage is the cherry on top of her mother's current predicament. Stumbling toward forty, Alissa is a pastry chef who raised her daughter single-handedly while Gabi's father traveled the globe. Now her baby girl is getting married after a whirlwind romance and Alissa--well, Alissa is pregnant. Again. And not only is her ex the father, he wants her back. For good. Until she can figure out that part of the puzzle, Alissa is hiding her big little secret even as she helps Gabi plan a happily-ever-after wedding. But somewhere between disaster and hope, life might just bloom in a way that is breathtakingly unexpected . . .
Amy Pine (AJ Pine) kicks off her Women’s Fiction career with The Bloom Girls, a multi-generational story of love, loss, family, friendship filled with complicated, flawed, and quirky characters that are all still figuring out how to live their best life no matter their age. ~ Sharon – Simply Love Book Reviews
Amy Pine (AJ Pine) kicks off her Women’s Fiction career with The Bloom Girls, a multi-generational story of love, loss, family, friendship filled with complicated, flawed, and quirky characters that are all still figuring out how to live their best life no matter their age. They made mistakes, their relationships were complex and often complicated, but there was always love.
The story focuses on Gabi Bloom, who is traveling through Europe following her college graduation and her mother, Alissa, who at 39 has just discovered she once again is unexpectedly pregnant with her ex-husband’s baby. Gabi meets Ethan on her first night in Galway, Ireland. He’s an American from her hometown of Chicago working at a pub for the summer and spends his time off meeting Gabi as she travels throughout Europe photographing life and working on her photography portfolio. Meanwhile Alissa is trying to figure out her complicated relationship with Matthew, her ex and Gabi’s father, and how they are going to explain another unplanned pregnancy to their daughter.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story as I feel that it painted a very good picture of how complicated family relationships can be at any age. I personally would have liked to see a bit more communication between Gabi and Alissa, but being that Gabi’s parents were keeping the pregnancy from her since she came home and announced she was marrying Ethan in late December and they didn’t want to upset her, they didn’t spend a whole lot of one on one time together throughout this book.
As Gabi’s relationship with her parents grows and changes, she also begins to question her career choices and while she knows Ethan is the one she wants her in life, she also knows that her dreams are important. Meanwhile Alissa begins to realize that while she had always encouraged Matthew to follow his dreams, she never once asked him to choose her and Gabi.
A feel good story filled with love, laughter, tears, mistakes, and forgiveness, I thoroughly enjoyed The Bloom Girls.
About A.J. (Amy) Pine
A librarian by day and a romance writer by night, A.J. Pine can’t seem to escape the world of fiction, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. When she finds that 25th hour in the day, she might indulge in a tiny bit of TV where she nourishes her undying love of vampires, superheroes, and all things K-Drama. She hails from the far off galaxy of the Chicago suburbs.