Don't Touch My Petunia (The Holloway Girls, #2) by Tara Sheets  
The Holloway Girls are the perfect way to turn a frown right side up. Sheets lights up the heart with these irresistible stories of laughter, love and family. Emma had her chance to bake up some magic, now it's Juliette's turn to spread some love. Don't Touch My Petunia uses whimsy to wake up the heart and wisdom to appeal to the mind. Prepare to get lost in the addiction that is Tara Sheets. ( )

This is the second story about the Holloway Girls, this one being about Juliette. Even though it is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. In the small town of Pine Cove, the Holloway family have been known for their magic for generations. Juliette's gift is a green thumb, she can make things grow beautifully, healthy and strong. She is also able to make potions into perfumes using various plants and flowers. Logan has returned to town after serving in the armed forces. His uncle, who owns the flower shop where Juliette works, hires him to do renovations while he is on vacation. There is a past between Juliette and Logan and there are fireworks between these two. Juliette constantly pushes him away as he tries to draw them closer together. There were times I got really frustrated with Juliette thinking she was too hard on Logan and needed to open up a bit more, but as I learned about their past, I was able to understand why.

Tara Sheets brings us a heartwarming story filled with humor, love, and a special dose of magic. Pine Cove sounds like a quaint, beautiful seaside town, making the story even more charming, and a place I would love to visit. I really enjoy the Holloway Girls and look forward to reading the next book in the series, about Kat and her love of animals. The publisher, Zebra Shout, generously provided me with a copy of this book upon my request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own. ( )

Don’t Touch My Petunia by Tara Sheets
Book #2: The Holloway Girls Series
Source: NetGalley and Purchase
My Rating: 5/5 stars

The Sophomore Slump is a very real thing! The first album comes out and you LOVE the band, the second (sophomore) album comes out and you question your life choices. This phenomenon translates to the book world too; the first book in a series is amazing while the second book makes you a very sad panda and wondering if you can get those hours of your life back.

With that being said . . . . .

I LOVED Don’t Touch My Petunia, the second book of Tara Sheets’ The Holloway Girls series. There is no sophomore slump here and I am once again reminded that waiting a year between books is often worth the wait. From the opening lines to the very last page, I was highly invested in this story, totally engaged, and wishing I didn’t have to sleep and adult so I could read it all in a single sitting.

With the exception of her cupcake-making cousin, Juliette has no other family who truly cares about her existence. Her mother passed away when Juliette was a child and her father simply checked out because of his grief. Thankfully, Juliette is a Holloway and it is through her particular gift, the ability to connect with nature, that she has found contentment in her life. Her yard is a glorious, riot of color and greenery, her back-yard leads directly into her beloved woods, and her job in the local flower shop is a haven. In fact, Juliette’s long-term plans include buying the flower shop and enjoying her working environment for the rest of her life.

But, as the saying goes, “Man plans, God laughs.”

Intruding on Juliette’s life and plans is none other than Logan O’Connor, the boy (now delectable man) who broke Juliette’s heart a decade ago. With not so much as a backward glance, Logan walked out of her life, joined the military, and has returned bound and determined to ruin Juliette’s life and organizational plan. Logan is her boss’s nephew and while the boss is away, Logan has been tasked with completely revamping the flower shop and making large construction-like changes to the entire site. In one fell swoop, Juliette feels her life spinning out of control. What’s more, Logan is incredibly attractive, bossy, argumentative, sexy, intelligent, yummy, and infuriating.

With a healthy dose of denial on both their parts, Juliette and Logan try to find a way to work together. Juliette wants her boss impressed with her ability to run the shop on her own, Logan wants to get his work done with minimal interruptions from Juliette, and neither wants to admit they are crazy attracted to the other. Oh, and they may actually like each other. Though she won’t admit it to Logan, Juliette unexpectedly likes the modifications he’s making to the shop, and though he won’t admit it to Juliette (or himself) Logan likes the wildness Juliette brings to his life. With more than a few stumbling blocks, several misunderstandings, at least one capsized boat, and a tree house, Juliette and Logan have their work cut out for them if either is going to achieve their happily ever after.

The Bottom Line: I am so excited to have gotten an advanced copy of this book as it has been a highly anticipated read for me for quite some time! I was not disappointed 😊 This book checks off all the boxes for me: great characters, witty/funny dialogue, just enough drama to be entertaining, but not overwhelming and angsty, a good heat level for the overall read, some light paranormal bits, and most importantly, a damn good story! For me, this is a matter of quality over quantity. Yes, I love getting a lot of books from an author, but if they aren’t well-written then I’m going to give up. Tara Sheets has taken the time necessary to write, edit, and produce a fine book that I was happy to wait for and I will continue to wait as this fine series develops. ( )

A cute romance!

I liked the childhood-crush-all-grown-up aspect of the story; it made Juliette and Logan's romance a lot of fun to read. The decoy relationships here were little more than a distraction--it was crystal clear that Logan and Jules were going to be a "thing" from page one--but seeing Logan's crush on food grow stronger every time he went out with Bella thanks to the potion she bought from Jules was highly amusing. I'd feel sorry for the headache it gave him, but he kinda deserved it for continuing to agree to see her, so... ;) (Seriously, though--what was Juliette thinking with surfer dude? I mean really...)

Juliet's magic felt more integrated here than her cousin Emma's did in her book, which was a plus. Once again the conflict and black moment felt a bit more contrived than they had to (why hadn't Juliette told anyone--her boss and/or the guy she was falling for/working with there might have been ideal candidates--that she wanted the flower shop. if that was her life's dream? Not that they couldn't have guessed, but honestly, why should they have to???) and Juliette seemed like a perfectly responsible adult until the last 15% or so of the story, which made that whole bit seem a little off. Still, the resolution was sweetly satisfying, and the teaser for Kat's story (the bits here with her and Edgar the crow and Hank the (canine) Tank were some of my favorite parts) will pretty much ensure that I'll be making another trip to Pine Cove Island in the near future...

(#2 in the series but should also work fine as a standalone if you haven't read Don't Call Me Cupcake yet.)

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. ( )