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Your next favorite book
is waiting.
by L.C. Chu
Rooted in memory and steeped in magic, The Library of Flowers is a radiant exploration of family, identity, and the expectations we inherit, perfect for anyone who has ever carried the weight of a legacy―and dared to make it their own.
For centuries, the Hua women have held sway over the courts of emperors and billionaires with their magical perfumes able to stir hearts and ensure fortunes. And in every fifth generation, an eldest daughter is born with the rarest gift of all: the ability to summon true love.
As a long-awaited fifth daughter, Lucy was supposed to be the miracle her exacting mother had been waiting for. But when her magic failed, Lucy fled Vancouver, her legacy, and the expectations that had nearly broken her. Now, years later, she runs a tiny perfume shop tucked away in Toronto's Kensington Market―crafting beautiful, perfectly ordinary scents and keeping her extraordinary past firmly behind her. That is, until a death in the family brings her home...and saddles her with an unwelcome inheritance: the centuries-old Hua family register, brimming with secrets, formulas, and forgotten truths.
As Lucy unravels the stories of the women who came before her―including the mother whose complicated heart she never could understand―she must confront the tangled threads of love, power, and identity...and ask herself whether her magic was ever truly gone, or simply waiting for her to decide for herself what it means to be a daughter of the House of Hua.
"[The author] grounds the novel with relatable themes centered on immigration, family legacies, rekindled friendship, and familial pressure and expectations...an emotionally rich novel infused with magic. An excellent addition to any fiction collection." —Library Journal (starred review)
"An alchemical tale of family and self-discovery, with notes of pure magic. Perfect for fans of Asian American stories, compelling female characters, and witchcraft" ―Booklist
This information about The Library of Flowers was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Lily Chu loves ordering the second-cheapest wine, wearing perfume all the time, and staying up far too late with a good book. Her books have been recommended in the New York Times, and her rom-com debut, The Stand-In, was named Target's Book Club Pick for May as well as an Amazon Book of the Month and Apple Best Books of May.
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