Nina Quinn runs a business called Taken by Surprise. Taken
by Surprise is a gardening company that makes over your
garden in one day and surprises you with the results. The
business is running smoothly and everything seems to be
looking up in life for Nina. That is until her ex
boyfriend Bobby McKenna asks her to go on a reality dating
show called Hitched or Ditched with him. Bobby and Nina
were happy together until Bobby got a job offer in
Florida. He moved to Florida to take the job and Nina
ended their relationship because it was too far a distance
to keep the romance going.
Bobby's cousin is a lawyer and needs to find out more
about the producer of Hitched or Ditched. Someone is suing
the producer for sexual harassment and Bobby's cousin
wants to look into the show behind the scenes. He asks
Bobby to go on the show as a contestant. Bobby can't think
of anyone he'd rather be on the show with and pretend to
be engaged to, other than Nina. After all they do still
love each other, what better way to get close again?
While contestants on Hitched or Ditched, Nina witnesses
several affairs going on that no one knows about. Will
Nina keep quiet about all that she sees going on or will
she get herself into trouble by investigating?
When someone ends up murdered on the set of the show,
there is new trouble for everyone. Who killed this
unsuspecting person? Should the contestants worry and
fear for their lives now that someone is murdering people
and leaving the body to be found on the set of the show?
In the mean time, Nina is raising her teenage stepson and
dealing with her confused feelings towards her ex husband,
Kevin. With the cameras constantly shooting her, and now
her ex boyfriend back in her life, how will Nina cope with
everything going on?
TROUBLE IN BLOOM was a light mystery with a touch of
romance mixed in. I was excited about the premise of the
characters being on a dating show, but was disappointed
when there weren't enough descriptions or even action to
make me feel like they were on a show. The dating show
never seemed to happen besides the cameras following them
around. There were a lot of characters to keep track of
and at times the writing dragged and was tedious. I would
have enjoyed the book more if the author had used this
wonderful premise more authentically by maybe doing a
little more research on how a dating show works. This
would have added to my enjoyment as a reader and made the
story more believable.
For a while it seemed landscaper Nina Quinn's life was
one big bed of roses. Her garden makeover business, Taken by
Surprise, was blooming. Her pesky ex was finally out of the
picture, and a hunky new beau, Bobby MacKenna, was in it.
But then the weeds started taking over when Bobby accepted a
job in another state, nipping their blossoming relationship
in the bud. However, he's back in town to appear with Nina
on Hitched or Ditched, TV's sleaziest reality romance
show, since they promised Bobby's lawyer cousin they'd help
him dig up some dirt on the show's producer. Then an
uncomfortable situation grows far worse when there's death
behind the scenes . . . and it turns out the only reality is
murder.
Nina would much rather be installing an
indoor garden at the dysfunctional local nursing home than
getting her hands dirty in this dangerous business. But if
she doesn't uproot a cold-blooded off-camera killer, those
invasive weeds may push her six feet under.
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