Winter in Full Bloom

Title: WINTER IN FULL BLOOM

Author: Anita Higman

Publisher: River North

July 2013

ISBN:    978-0-8024-0580-7

Genre: Contemporary

Lily Winter's wings are folded so tightly around her daughter that when empty nest arrives, she feels she can no longer fly. But Lily's lonely, widowed life changes in a heartbeat when she goes to visit a woman who is almost a stranger to her-a woman who also happens to be her mother. During their fiery reunion, her mother reveals a dark family secret that she'd been hiding for decades-Lily has an identical twin sister who was put up for adoption when they were just babies.

 Without looking back, Lily-with her fear of flying-boards a jumbo jet and embarks on a quest to find her sister which leads half way around the world to Melbourne, Australia. Befriended by imprudent Ausie, he might prove to be the key to finding her sister. But her journey becomes a circle that leads her back home to attempt a family reunion and to find the one dream she no longer imagined possible-the chance to fall in love again.

WINTER IN FULL BLOOM didn’t appeal to me based on the back cover blurb. The cover didn’t grab me either. So if you are someone who judges a book by the cover or by the backcover blurb (as must of us are) don’t! This book is so much more than it seems. It gripped me from the very first page. A very dysfunctional family—a long lost twin, a man who seems to answer all Lily’s prayers but he has is own pain to work through. Realistic characters that breathe in the pages of this book. A flutist. A painful hurt resolved… and trust restored. Beautiful story. I loved it. 5 stars.

Available in ebook and paperback. 305 pages.