The Desert Flowers-Lily by Judith Keim
Publisher & Release: Wild Quail Publishing, October 14, 2021
Setting: California
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Length: 291 Pages
Heat Level: 1 Flame
Rating: 4 Gold Crowns
Book Description:
Three talented women are brought together by a man they all love, becoming his Desert Flowers, who work together to save his hotel from being ruined by the company buying it…
When Lily Weaver is asked to help Alec Thurston, the one man she’s ever truly loved, and to come to Palm Desert, California, she doesn’t hesitate. He’s dying of cancer and needs her help in overseeing the sale of his hotel, The Desert Sage Inn, to another hotel group. For five wonderful years, she was his assistant at the hotel until he kindly told her their relationship was getting too serious, and he helped her find other work. With her organizational skills and attention to detail, she’s his perfect choice to oversee the details of the sale to help make a smooth transition while maintaining the reputation of the upscale property. Unappreciated in her job with a law firm in New York State, she’s eager to leave it and the cold weather to head for the desert. Her only regret is leaving her sister and three-year-old niece behind. Lily arrives at Alec’s house to find two other women summoned to help him. Rose Macklin was once the social director at Alec’s hotel, and Willow Sanchez is like a daughter to him. They join forces to help him, lovingly accepting his nickname for them—the Desert Flowers, similar to the well-known Charlie’s Angels. As Lily forms her friendship with the other women, she becomes intrigued with the man the hotel company has put in control of the transition. Brian Walden is a war veteran who has never married and is someone who Lily finds, to her delight, she can talk to about most anything when they meet up for early morning walks. Disaster strikes them both as they’re falling in love. Lily ends up having to raise her niece, and Brian is left with a son he never knew he had. It seems only natural that they turn to one another for help, and Lily wonders if this is as Alec might have planned all along. A series for those who love stories about strong women facing challenges and finding love and happiness along the way. Be sure to read the other upcoming books in the series: Lily, Willow, and Mistletoe and Holly Other series written by Judith Keim are receiving a lot of love: The Hartwell Women Series, The Beach House Hotel Series, The Fat Fridays series, the Salty Key Inn Series, the Chandler Hill Inn series, and the books in the Seashell Cottage Collection.
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Desert-Flowers-Lily-Sage-Book-ebook/dp/B08YB884SD
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-desert-flowers-lily-judith-keim/1138982456
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-desert-flowers-lily
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Judith_Keim_The_Desert_Flowers_Lily?id=BAEiEAAAQBAJ
Add to Goodreads & BookBub:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57377659-the-desert-flowers---lily
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-desert-flowers-lily-the-desert-sage-inn-series-book-2-by-judith-keim
Vikki’s Musings
Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the complimentary digital copy of Desert Flowers – Lily by Judith Keim. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this novel. My opinions are my own, and nothing has influenced my rating.
Desert Flowers – Lily is another well written women’s fiction book by Ms. Keim. The pacing pulled me in from the first page to the last. The author’s descriptions of the setting also helped to keep me engaged.
Lily Weaver is the female protagonist, and she is a strong character, which she shows throughout the story. Her love for her misguided sister is unconditional, and her protectiveness for her adorable niece is touching. When she meets the hero, I enjoyed her willingness to let it play out.
Brian Walton is the hero, and he has many of the qualities I want in a male lead. When he learns he has a son, he accepts the responsibility, although he’d never wanted to become a father. He’s a man I could admire.
The romance between Lily and Brian goes smoothly, both accept the other as they are, not trying to change them. While there are very few conflicts for them to overcome, I enjoyed their love story.
The central theme of this novel is the strong bound between Lily and her sister. No matter that her sister keeps making bad decisions, she never truly deserts her, even though she does attempt to use tough love. I could feel her heartbreak when Monica makes the final decision to meet her abusive ex which ultimately leaves her three-year-old motherless. Lily shows her strength when she readily accepts custody for her niece.
The willingness of Lily and Brian to work together as a team as they form a family for his son and her niece is heartwarming. Other readers may find the lack of true conflict less than what they enjoy, I liked the low angst between them and felt it showed the chance of an abiding love that would stand the test of time no matter what fate or life had for them.
If you enjoy women’s fiction with a strong romantic element with engaging characters, then you will love Desert Flowers – Lily as much as I did. Ms. Keim always delivers a novel that is sure to grab me from the start. Happy reading!
Author Bio:
I’ve loved stories and reading from the time I played “Librarian” with my sister as a young girl. Living in a relatively small town in upstate New York, reading became a way to experience the world in a way I couldn’t otherwise do.
Many a hot, summer afternoon was spent reading, sprawled on the front-porch “glider”, escaping to a time and place far from there. My mother was an avid reader, some might suspect to keep her sanity while raising three active children – especially when my brother was doing experiments with his chemistry set!
Books were always present – being read, ready to go back to the library or about to be discovered. Information from the books was shared in general conversation, giving all of us a wealth of knowledge. Perhaps that is why I was drawn to the idea of writing stories early on.
I particularly love and write novels about women who meet unexpected challenges with strength and find love along the way. A child or dog in the story is a plus.
As J.S. Keim, I’ve written middle-grade fantasy stories for kids. I especially like to write about kids landing in unexpected places, meeting characters real and fantastic, and learning to see the world in a different way.
A hybrid author who both has a publisher and self-publishes, Ms. Keim writes heart-warming stories. Her books are based, in part, on many of the places she’s lived or visited and on the interesting people she’s met, creating believable characters and realistic settings her many, loyal readers love.
Presently, I lived in Boise, Idaho with my husband and our two dachshunds, Winston and Wally.
Social Media:
Website: https://judithkeim.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Judith-Keim-184013771644484/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/judithkeim
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/judith-keim
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judithkeim/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/judykeim/
