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About Blossom
(Book 1 of the Pearl Girls Series)

With her music career tanking, her childhood sweetheart MIA in Afghanistan, and a cold war raging with her mama, the last place Bay Laurel LaFleur wants to go is home for Christmas. After the loss of her twin sister years earlier and her sudden breakup with Scott before his last deployment, old wounds between Laurel and Violet are bound to break open when she makes an appearance in New Hope. 


Left with nowhere else to turn, Bay retreats to her family home, where she stumbles over clues that unravel the mystery of her mama’s long-held secrets—secrets that could tear the LaFleurs apart. With both her own and her mama's mistakes laid bare, Bay battles to bring her family back home to each other, to blossom.

Acoustic Guitar

“Bay knew something about last times. Her life had been full of them, after all. They were wild, reckless things. Violent, unpredictable. Especially the ones you didn’t see coming.”

Notebook and Pen

Early Praise for Blossom

“In the world of the Pearl Girls, family values and true love combine with long-buried secrets to create a place that is distinctly southern. Heron deftly weaves a story of heartbreak, betrayal, sacrifice and ultimately, redemption, into an unforgettable debut that will earn her a spot in readers’ hearts.”

~ Kristy Woodson Harvey, National Bestselling author of SLIGHTLY SOUTH OF SIMPLE

"In BLOSSOM, Gina Heron weaves a story that’s as Southern as sweet tea. Fans of romantic southern fiction will adore this vivid and beautifully told tale about how shadows from our past can have a long reach into the present."


~ Kimberly Belle, author of THE ONES WE TRUST, THE LAST BREATH, and THE MARRIAGE LIE

“From the first, I loved these broken characters in the first novel of the Pearl Girl Series, with their grit and soul. Set amongst the ruins of a family that has suffered the loss of many dreams – one daughter drowned, the other struggling to stay afloat in her survivor’s guilt - and the heartbreak over a missing soldier. The journey home touches a lot of raw nerves as the characters in BLOSSOM struggle to find faith in one another – and in themselves. I laughed at the bittersweet and brave exchanges between the main character and her mother, cried at the soft visions of a ghostly sister who reveals the truths that hold this family together, and celebrated the hard-won redemption of a soldier who believes he’s lost his soul to trauma. Love wins in this novel. It’s a pearl, for sure.”


~ Kimberly Brock, author of THE RIVER WITCH

"I'm a sucker for beautiful words that come together as an engrossing story and make it impossible for me to put down a book. Many times those beautiful words create a novel more literary than commercial. Heron's debut novel, Blossom, manages to be both of these things, magically creating a literary reading experience inside of a page-turning plot. Blossom is the story of a homecoming, but more than that, it's the story of how we find a sense of home inside ourselves.


Blossom is a brilliant novel that will deeply move your soul. Heron is an author to watch." 


~ Suzanne Palmieri, International Best-Selling Author of THE WITCH OF LITTLE ITALY, THE WITCH OF BELLADONNA BAY, THE WITCH OF BOURBON STREET, and THE WITCH HOUSE OF PERSIMMON POINT

BLOSSOM is a heart-warming story about when to stay and when to go, the true meaning of family and home, and how childhood friends Bay Laurel LaFleur and Scott Murphy begin to blossom. From the beginning, I found myself cheering for them and anxiously turning the pages, which crackle with tension and genuine emotion as Bay and Scott find their way.

~ Heather Bell Adams, author of MARANATHA ROAD

“With resonant themes of war and homecoming, safety and threat, and tradition and choice, this heartwarming story will appeal to anyone who has struggled with whether the battles thrust upon us should be the ones we choose to fight.”


~ Kathryn Craft, award-winning author of THE FAR END OF HAPPY and THE ART OF FALLING

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