Petals of Blue: Part One: Wilted Duet, Book 1

“Beautiful, dark, chaotic, scary, wonderful, maybe even a little unpredictable? And you know what? No matter how unbalanced the scales can get sometimes between the good and bad, you still f***ing crave it. Want more of it. Beg for more time with it. Worship it.” ~ Felix A lot of us readers want that epic groveling heartbreak story. Where the guys mess up and she makes them work for it throughout the book and doesn't give in until the end. Honestly though, that's not how life is for most. When the groveling happens people can go through a whiplash of emotions. It's not always easy keeping the people who hurt us at arms length. To me, this wonderful book really shows us how those emotions come into play. Blue is strong, loyal, and vulnerable with her emotions. Roman, Declan, Jared and Felix all hurt her when she really needed someone. She used her past to grow into the person she now is. One thing Blue didn't account for is that when you grow up trying to protect those closest to you, along with your heart by trying to turn your own feelings off, is that when you're forced to face everything those feelings will push to consume you. Y.V Larson has definitely written a book for the ages with Petals of Blue, and I, for one, can not wait to jump into book 2. The cliffhanger we get slipped at the end is one that will ruin you and have you begging for more.

I’m finally reading this duet after reading the first book in Violet’s duet. Ahh!! I wish I would’ve read this before but that’s okay. The boys that abandoned Ericka, are now grown men. They found their missing piece but she’s not Ericka anymore. She’s Blue. Ericka died a long time ago and now the guys have to grovel and earn back the trust they lost so many years ago

There was nothing wrong with the book, it just wasn't really what I was looking for. It is RH, slow burn, a little dark. The ongoing evolution as Blue starts to adjust to the guys is believable. It's well written. It just didn't really keep my attention. It does end on a VERY large cliffhanger. At the time of this review the sequel is out-I just don't know that I care enough to read it. YMMV

I devoured the first half of the Wilted Duet and now I’m left absolutely empty waiting for book two. Y.V. Larson knows how to hook a reader, and this story had me glued to my screen from the start. Blue/Erica is one BAMF. She’s endured so much and sacrificed even more to get where she is today. Her friend group is incredible, fiercely protective, and loyal to the core. And her relationship with Violet? I adore it. Blue stepped into the role of parent and raised her with so much love and strength. Her history with the four boys, (Roman, Felix, Declan, and Jared) adds so much emotion to the story. Roman is the quiet, tortured soul who finds comfort in baking. Felix is the alpha jerk who is possessive, dominant, and impossible to ignore. Declan gives full bratty golden retriever energy with a knack for stirring up trouble. And Jared is the golden-retriever-hearted high school math teacher who adds sweetness to the mix. They ghosted her senior year, leaving her to fend for herself and grow up far too fast in ways no child should ever have to. Watching them grovel and fight to earn even a sliver of her trust is deeply satisfying. And that cliffhanger? Absolutely brutal, but I have no doubt the wait for part two will be so worth it.

This was emotionally exhausting. I loved the FMC most of the time. Occasionally there were some moments when I thought the writing was too superficial. Not enough details. The guys all kept getting blurred in my head. Like they were not unique enough in each of their own ways for me to tell apart. But the author does a good job of writing the pain and trauma of the FMC. Overall I enjoyed it and will be reading the 2nd part.