Book: When Flowers Wilt by G. E. Masters
Reviewed by Your_bookish_fantasy
Rating: 3.5/5
๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ข
โ๏ธ๐ป๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐ ๐- When Flowers Wilt
๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ NerdFam ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฐ, ๐ข๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฌ ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ก๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค.
โ๏ธโ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ค-
๐ฃ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ Ellie Gossage (out of 5 stars, my rating scale is at the end)
๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5 / 5
๐ก๏ธ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ FF ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ / 5 -๐โ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐ฆ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ โ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐
Which books have I also given this same rating? (๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐ก๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ค๐)
5โญ๏ธ Fourth wing / Bound by inked flame / Anathama / The Lies of Lena / Of silver and Curses
4.5โญ๏ธ Bitten / The Female / Quicksilver / Bride / Lights Out / A Bargain so Bloody
4โญ๏ธ Spellcaster / One Dark Window / From Blood and Ash / Phantasma / Butcher & Blackbird
3โญ๏ธWe Who Will Die / The Wolf King / Daughter of No Worlds / The Ex Hex
โ๏ธ๐๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐ :
Genre- Paranormal Lesbian Romance
๐ง 7 ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ 20 ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ (I ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ 1.7 ๐๐๐๐๐)
๐ 268 ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐
๐น๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ Dual ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฉ / ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ-
๐ฃ๐น๐ผ๐ or ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ driven? ๐ซ๐โด๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐โฏ๐ ๐ โณ๐พ๐
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ & ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ป๐ผ- Deal with the Devil Duet Book 1
๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ on ๐๐จ? โ ๐ดโฏ๐
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ- โฑ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐โด๐ ๐โฏ๐น๐พ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐น ๐นโด๐๐ ๐โฏ๐๐ ๐ ๐ถ๐ธโฏ๐น ๐ปโด๐ ๐๐ฝโฏ ๐๐โด๐๐
๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ? โ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐๐, ๐โด, ๐พ๐๐ ๐โฏ๐๐ ๐๐๐พ๐๐โฏ๐ ๐ท๐๐ ๐น๐พ๐น๐๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐๐น โด๐๐ โฏ๐โด๐๐๐ฝ ๐ปโด๐ ๐โฏ ๐โด ๐โฏ๐ธ๐ถ๐๐ ๐พ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ 6 ๐โด๐๐๐ฝ๐ ๐๐พ๐โฏ.
๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง? (Disability, plus size, mental health etc...)โ
โณโดโด๐น๐; ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐พ๐๐๐๐, ๐ณ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ป๐๐๐๐ & ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐พ๐น ๐พ โฏ๐๐ฟโด๐ ๐๐ฝ๐พ๐?โ
๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ ๐พ ๐โฏ๐ถ๐น ๐๐ฝโฏ ๐โฏ๐๐ ๐ทโดโด๐ ๐พ๐ ๐๐ฝ๐พ๐ ๐โฏ๐๐พโฏ๐?โ
๐ฒโด๐๐๐น ๐พ ๐โฏ๐ถ๐น ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฝ๐พ๐๐ โฏ๐๐โฏ ๐ท๐ ๐๐ฝ๐พ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ฝโด๐?โ
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐? Hades and Persephone retelling fans that love their sapphic novels.
๐จ๐
ฒ๏ธ๐
ท๏ธ๐
ด๏ธ๐
ฒ๏ธ๐
บ๏ธ ๐๏ธ๐
ท๏ธ๐
ด๏ธ ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ!๐จ
TW: Sexually explicit scenes, anxiety, depression, death of a family member, torture, dubious consent, blood play, wing play, shadow play, bondage, mental and emotional abuse (discussed), assault (not between MCs)
โ๏ธ๐โ๐ผโ๐๐ผ๐ ๐โ ๐๐๐โ๐:
๐๐ป๐ข๐๐๐๐
๐งโโ๏ธ๐๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฐ
โ๏ธ Gods
โ๏ธ๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค:
๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง
๐ฅต๐๐พ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐k
๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐
๐ซฆOแดแดแดsษชแดแดs Aแดแดสแดแดแด
๐ก ๐๐ฃ๐๐ข๐๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ
๐๐ฎ๐
๐พ๐ธโฏ ๐พ๐๐ธ๐โฏ๐ถ๐โฏ๐ ๐๐พ๐๐ฝ โฏ๐ถ๐ธ๐ฝ ๐ทโดโด๐
๐ก๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐, ๐ธ๐๐๐ค๐ฅ, ๐๐๐๐ค๐๐ ๐
โ๏ธ๐โ๐โ๐ผ๐
๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ค & ๐น๐๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐ช๐๐๐ค
๐ฎ๐๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฐ ๐๐ซ๐ก ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฐ
โฏ๏ธโ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐/๐ป๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค
๐ชฆ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐งฌ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐
๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ช ๐ ๐พ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐๐ก๐ช
๐งฉ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ แทแฉแTแดแ
โ ๏ธ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐...
๐งจ๐๐๐ค๐ค๐ช ๐ฝ๐โ
๐Cliff Notes Review-
When Flowers Wilt had an intriguing premise, beautiful lore, and a magic system that immediately pulled me in, but I never fully connected with the characters or their romance. The relationship felt rushed, the emotional payoffs lacked the depth I was hoping for, and some major moments resolved far too quickly. That said, the world, darker themes, and dual POV kept me invested enough to keep turning the pages. Itโs a solid start to a duology with plenty of potential, and that cliffhanger definitely makes me curious to see where the story goes next.
โ๏ธ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐น๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ ๐๐, ๐ณ๐ฐ๐บ๐ป๐ฌ๐ต ๐๐ ๐๐?โ๏ธ
(๐โ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก- ๐ต๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ด๐ข๐๐๐?) Either, the narrator did good but nothing outstanding
โ๏ธ๐ธ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐น๐ ๐ ๐ โ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ:
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Ellie Gossage , and I honestly think she elevated the story. Her narration is warm, expressive and easy to listen to, with excellent pacing and emotional delivery throughout. Whether the characters were grieving, angry, frightened or quietly vulnerable, she conveyed those emotions naturally without ever feeling overdramatic.
Despite this being a dual POV story, Ellie voices each character distinctly enough that I rarely struggled to work out whose perspective I was listening to. She gives each character their own rhythm and personality, which helped immerse me in the story and made the dialogue flow naturally.
The only small issue I had was with the production rather than the narration itself. The transitions between chapters are incredibly abrupt, with almost no pause between the final sentence of one chapter and the announcement of the next. It often felt like โChapter Twentyโ was the next word in the sentence, and it momentarily pulled me out of the story at almost every chapter break.
I can also see why some listeners might find a single narrator for two POVs slightly confusing at first, but personally I thought Ellie handled both perspectives really well, and it never became a significant issue for me.
While I had mixed feelings about aspects of the novel itself, I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook experience and would happily listen to another book narrated by Ellie Gossage.
๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐:
When Flowers Wilt caught my attention with its intriguing premise. It promised dark fantasy, witches, forbidden romance, magic, and morally grey characters, all of which are right up my street. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed the concept, the execution didnโt quite live up to the potential for me.
One thing I appreciated was how easy the book was to listen to/ read. The writing flowed well on a sentence level, and the opening chapter instantly drew me in. I was excited to discover where the story was heading, but as it progressed, I found myself becoming less emotionally invested.
The world itself was interesting, particularly the lore surrounding witches giving their souls to the Dark Lady when they come of age. I enjoyed learning more about the traditions, the reasons behind them, and how the magic fit into the wider world. The fantasy elements were intriguing, although I never felt like the magic system was explored quite deeply enough for me to become fully immersed.
The pacing was a little uneven throughout. It never completely lost my attention, but there were moments where events seemed to happen very quickly before immediately shifting direction again. I never found myself bored, but I did feel that several emotional beats would have benefited from slowing down and allowing the characters, and the reader, more time to breathe.
As for the romance itself, readers should definitely pay attention to the trigger warnings. There are scenes involving dubious consent and moments where intimacy becomes closely tied to forgiveness. The FF spice certainly delivers if thatโs something youโre looking for, and the grumpy/sunshine dynamic alongside the darker fantasy atmosphere created plenty of entertaining moments.
The dual POV also helped maintain momentum and allowed both sides of the relationship to be explored
๐งโโ๏ธ โ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ค:
Where the story struggled most for me was with the characters. Vivian and the Dark Lady never completely convinced me as individuals, and because of that, I struggled to connect with their relationship. Their romance developed very quickly, and I didnโt always feel the emotional progression needed to make it believable. At times their interactions felt slightly awkward, and I found myself wanting much more time to see trust, vulnerability and genuine affection develop between them.
I also found the emotional reactions throughout the story a little inconsistent. Considering some of the things the Dark Lady does, I expected forgiveness to take much longer to earn. Instead, major conflicts often seemed to resolve surprisingly quickly, which reduced the emotional impact for me. I wanted to really feel the consequences of those choices before the relationship moved forward.
Although Vivian is written as an adult woman and the Dark Lady is an immortal being, their dialogue and behaviour occasionally felt younger than I expected. I found myself wishing for a little more emotional maturity and complexity, particularly during some of the more significant moments.
That said, I did enjoy the Dark Ladyโs character overall. She became increasingly layered as the story unfolded, revealing far more complexity than she initially appeared to have. Vivian didnโt quite receive the same level of development, but I was still interested enough in her journey to keep reading.
The supporting cast also felt fairly underdeveloped. Most secondary characters remained on the sidelines without making a lasting impression, so the world sometimes felt smaller than it could have been.
โณ ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐-๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
No i donโt think i would
๐ชง๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค:
Overall, When Flowers Wilt is a book that had all the ingredients to become a favourite for me. The concept, the lore, and the fantasy elements were genuinely interesting, but I wanted stronger character development, a slower emotional build-up, and more convincing chemistry between the main characters. Despite my mixed feelings, the ending definitely leaves plenty of unanswered questions, and with this being the first book in a duology, readers should be prepared for a cliffhanger.
๐น๐๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ;
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
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๐๐ช โ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ฅ๐๐๐ค:
โญ๏ธ DNF
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I managed to finish it but it was rubbish. I won't keep a physical copy and won't recommend it, but it's a shame as the plot could have made a good book in another author's hands
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
It was OK. I wish I didn't start this one as it didn't do it for me as I struggled to read it. It had an interesting premise that fell flat but I had to see what happened in the end.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I don't regret reading it, and I will read the next one, but this one did have a few flaws. [These could be repetitive writing, gaps or plot holes, better character growth or world building, areas needing more detail]
Generally, the book lacked depth and became confusing. The plot resonated with me even though it annoyed me on the whole.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right people, but I wanted more! Sadly, it's easily forgettable with a few issues I just couldn't overlook/get past.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Good book! I loved it, but... I needed more! I really did enjoy it, but it had a few parts that needed more detail or added history/background or lore. But that's because the story or characters were memorable, and the plot was strong with brilliant twists. I would re-read if I needed to catch up for the next book and would recommend.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
Great book! I truly wish the story had been thought about more, or the author had been given more time as this book is so close to brilliance! I will likely read again and will definitely be recommending it to all!
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
WOW! Absolutely amazing book! Well written with great characters and a plot so memorable that it will stay with me. I will definitely read this again, I will be recommending it and sharing it with the whole world! Also- I NEED A PHYSICAL COPY!
๐ฅโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐ฅ
This is my God level tier. The book must be perfectly memorable. Even after reading 50+ more books, I will remember character names and emotions along with the plot. If there is a special edition, then I need to own it! If there is a conversation on books- I'm talking about this!
SPICE SCALE:
๐ถ๏ธโ segsual language and a little on-page action
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธโ a lot of segsual language and some on-page open door action, may be occurring a couple of times
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธโ a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently with 2/3 lurvers
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ โ super graphic and explicit, occurring 4 or more times, can be more grey and taboo themed.
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ โ Kinks and Fet!shism, explicit and super graphic. It is likely to be tushy play, toys, playrooms, and more dark / taboo fantasies and realities.