Wildflower Haven: A Review

 Readers who have enjoyed Lin Stepp's other Mountain Home books are likely to enjoy the latest one: Wildflower Haven. The cover depicts the setting nicely: a mountain range in the background and wildflowers in the foreground. Both mountains and native plants are important to the book.

The back cover gives hints of the main characters and the plot:

 

Like previous Mountain Home books, Wildflower Haven is rich in family values, a strong sense of faith, connection to the land, family traditions as well as local traditions, and—of course—romance. The Mountain Home novels also characteristically have a happy ending, but the road to getting there is a bit rocky and sometimes surprising.  

 

Wildflower Haven could be classified as an Appalachian novel, a Christian romance, a women's novel, or a blend of all. But it's an entertaining read however you classify it.

 

When the cats wake up, they will decide who reads Wildflower Haven first.
 

The novel—set in Cosby, a small town in the Smoky Mountains—gets its name from Wildflower Haven, a nursery and garden store that's been in the same family since it was established in 1889. Valerie Merton and her sister Senna help their grandparents and great-grandfather run the family business. 

Both sisters are college graduates who chose to return to their roots. At college, each was involved with a man, but Senna divorced her husband who wanted her to return to Ireland with him, and she and her daughter returned home. Valerie rejected her college suitor when he wanted her to move far way with him. But both women have found their niche back home—Valerie tends the herbs and gives lectures on plant use and care, and Senna tends the beehives. Senna's former high school sweetheart, Emmett, lives nearby and is still in love with her, but she isn't interested in rekindling their relationship. When Valerie encounters Patrick, a handsome college professor who just bought the house next door, she isn't attracted to him—at first. However, in both cases, love finds a way, but the way has many twists, turns, and complications. 

 

There are some other complications, too.  Plants and shrubs are being stolen from neighboring greenhouses and garden centers, and the Mertons worry that theirs will be hit. The son of neighbors—who also have a nursery business in the area—returns home after years of being away and returns to his former obsession with Senna, who can't stand him. Plus Senna has a secret that only a few know. . . .  Of course, there's a lot more to the plot.

The setting is important, and Stepp uses plenty of description so readers feel as if they're almost there. For instance, hiking is a major activity in the book, so the trails are described in depth and let the reader see the wonders of the Smokies. When Patrick lets Valerie know he enjoys hiking, she invites him to show him some area trails. Of course, they discover many of their common interest as they hike.  

 

Typically, Stepp includes a map of where her characters live. Here's part of the map that shows where the nursery is. . .

. . . and the part that shows where the Mertons' house is and where Patrick's house is.

 

Wildflower Haven will be available on Amazon in paperback on March 7, 2026, and is currently available for pre-order from Amazon. It will be available for Kindle soon.

 

Looks like Charlotte is going to read Wildflower Haven first.

~

Discontented Winter

 Now is the winter of my discontent—or perhaps it's the weather of my discontent. We've had some rough winter weather in the last week or two.

While the predicted big snow storm in late January didn't happen in my part of Franklin County, we did get several inches of ice instead. In some ways this was way worse than snow because ice can't be easily shoveled. In many cases, it couldn't be plowed off the roads. Because temperatures were in the teens or lower for over a week, melting didn't happen. County schools have been closed since January 26.

Arlo, Grover, and Rufus check out what the ice on my deck looked like. They're probably glad they're house cats.

Thankfully, someone scraped our driveway. Keep in mind that this is ice, not snow.

Last Saturday we got a few inches of snow on top of the week-old ice.

The best way to deal with this dreadful weather is to stay inside and cuddle up with a friend. Chloe and Tanner demonstrate how to do this:

Today is Ground Hog Day, and the rodent saw his shadow so we'll get to prolong our discontent with six more weeks of winter. A couple decades ago I wrote a groundhog poem for a Virginia Poetry Society contest. (It didn't win.) This dreadful poem is as good a way as any to end this post about the weather,

The Groundhog

The groundhog, I’m fairly certain,

Lives behind no silken curtain,

Lounges on no chaise or chair,

Wears no garments but his hair.

The groundhog, I do believe,

Keeps no secrets up his sleeve

Since he doesn’t wear a shirt.

He spends his days in digging dirt.

The lowly groundhog, I have found,

Makes his home beneath the ground,

Shuns townhouse and doublewide,

And makes do with his hole’s inside.

This large rodent, I have learned,

Has—of necessity—luxury spurned.

Both his needs and wants are few.

He only does what he needs to do.

But every winter, he has a day when

He ventures forth from cozy den

As his fans eagerly watch and wait

To see what he’ll prognosticate.

When the sun is out in force,

The groundhog’s shadow appears, of course;

If he sees it, we can be sure

Six weeks of winter we’ll endure.

If clouds prevail and sun can’t shine,

No shadow means weather will be fine.

The groundhog really doesn’t care;

He just returns to his cozy lair

Underground, so snug and deep,

That sheltered him for his winter sleep.

About his forecast, he doesn’t worry

As humans do each February.

* * *