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Title details for Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire by Margot Berwin - Available

Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

A Novel

by Margot Berwin
Cassandra Campbell
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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In the heart of New York City, hidden in the back room of an old Laundromat, are nine rare and valuable plants. Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire tells the story of this legendary garden, and the distance one woman must travel—from the cold, harsh streets of Manhattan to the lush jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula—to claim what is hers.
Lila Nova lives alone in a plain, white box of an apartment. Recovering from a heartbreaking divorce, Lila’s life is like her home: simple, new, and empty. But when she meets a handsome plant-seller named David Exley, an entire world opens up before her eyes. Late one night Lila stumbles across a strange Laundromat and sees ferns so highly-prized that a tiny cutting can fetch thousands of dollars. She learns about flowers with medicinal properties to rival anything found in drugstores. And she hears the legend of nine mystical plants that bring fame, fortune, immortality, and passion.
The owner of the Laundromat, Armand, presents Lila with a test: if she can make the cutting from a fire fern grow roots, he will show her the secret of his locked room. But Lila is too trusting, and with one terrible mistake she ruins her chance to see Armand’s plants. The only way to win it back is to travel, on her own, to the Yucatan.
Deep in the rain forests of Mexico, Lila enters a world of shamans and spirit animals, snake charmers, and sexy, heart-stopping Huichols. Alone in the jungle, Lila is forced to learn more than she ever wanted to know about nature—and about herself. An exhilarating journey of love and self-discovery, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire brings together mystery, adventure, and heat, in every sense of the word.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 16, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781415964323
      • File size: 239853 KB
      • Duration: 08:19:41

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Berwin's novel combines elements of chick-lit and magical realism. After an unpleasant divorce, New York career woman Lily Nova is looking for something different. Seduced by a local green grocer--as much by his good looks as his exotic plants--Lily has no idea she's about to be catapulted into an adventure of magic, danger, and romance in the far-flung rainforests of Mexico. Cassandra Campbell's jaunty narration brings all the qualities of a fun summer read to this nosegay of a novel. Campbell creates a heroine with pluck and verve whose quest to uncover the nine plants of desire becomes a metaphor for tending to the right things in one's life. D.G. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from February 16, 2009
      Berwin delivers a bangup debut packed with adventure, betrayal, love and, naturally, rare plants. New York ad woman Lila Nova, increasingly disillusioned with her job and the city, becomes enchanted by David Exley, a handsome guy selling plants at a green market. Soon, she's hooked on him, and her budding fascination with tropical plants leads her to a Laundromat that has a rare fern displayed in the window. Proprietor Armand quickly befriends Lila and gives her a trimming from the fern to take home, telling her if it forms roots, he'll show her the nine special plants he keeps in the back room. When Exley sees the fern trimming, Lila tells him about Armand's special plants, and soon the plants have been stolen and Exley has disappeared. Armand guilts Lila into coming to Mexico with him to find replacement plants, and there's magic, romance, greenery and greed as Lila and Armand venture through the Yucatan, hooking up with potential love-interest Diego and running into the devious Exley. It's a fun page-turner—escapist and wonderfully entertaining.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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