Published July 8, 2026 by Bookouture

Provence, 1919: When Elodie Sinclair is sent from Boston to a glamorous finishing school for socialites in training, she is determined to do all she can to rebel. Setting up The Wildflowers Club with best friends Genevieve and Lucille, the women make secret plans to escape their insufferable conversation classes. But just weeks later, a terrible scandal leaves the women reeling. And Elodie Sinclair is presumed dead.

2025: Looking for a fresh start after her drawn-out divorce, Rae Morgan finds herself in a crumbling clifftop manor house in Provence. The mysterious elderly owner, Madame Devereaux, speaks of a glitzy charm school and the tragedy that closed its doors. Though she refuses to say any more… until Rae finds a slip of yellowed paper titled The Wildflowers Club Vows left with the keys. Intrigued, Rae knows there is more that Madame Devereaux wants her to uncover.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed the dual timelines of this story and Elodie and Rae’s story was equally intriguing and heartfelt. Rae’s dedication to finding out the mystery of what happened at the charm school and to Elodie kept me fully engaged in the story, and as the story unfolded, I kept thinking about which direction this story could go. I was pleasantly surprised by the conclusion and have been thinking about this story for days after reading it.

There are sad, and extremely emotional moments in this story including a tragic injustice that happened to Elodie that happens in society not just in those days but in today’s as well. I felt deeply distressed and heartbroken for Elodie. I will be thinking about her story for a long time.

Rae had just gone through an all too public divorce and her husband had no shame whatsoever in his public treatment of Rae. Wanting to escape it all and heal, she finds herself in Provence and the new owner of the school Elodie was a student at! Not long after she starts renovations, she begins to discover clues about its past. The more she digs, the mystery unfolds… I felt this mystery to solve is what she needed to heal from her own tragedy and it really adds to the story of resilience, hope and new beginnings.

A deeply atmospheric, emotionally compelling woven story that will transport you to time and place.

Stephanie

I obtained an ARC from the pubslihers through Netgalley for an honest review.

Side Bar: I must caution the reader that there is a rape scene in this story.