Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

Oh my God, this was incredible and terrifying all at once. Spicy, sweet and hardcore revolting, this sapphic horror novella breathes new life into the trope of obsessive love as a lonely young woman falls hard for a mysterious figure she meets at the fair.

Ro’s recovery from being betrayed by her ex-boyfriend, and the subsequent shame heaped upon her by her awful mother for the “failure” of that relationship, has involved moving to rural Georgia from New York City to accept an associate professor’s position at the only university in the area. Bookish and awkward, she isn’t good at making friends, much less lovers. But one day at a farmer’s market changes her life forever.

Ash runs a farm stand filled with the loveliest homemade goods, selling delectable cupcakes, luscious soaps and little plants from her own garden. Ro is just as taken by the products as she is by their lovely, luminous seller. She’s never been attracted to a woman before, but the more she gets to know Ash, the stronger her desire to be part of Ash’s seemingly charmed “waste not, want not” life.

Trouble is, Ash’s life is a lot more complicated than her carefully curated exterior would appear. Sure, any relationship takes work. But the more Ro discovers about Ash, the more she’ll have to decide what she’s willing to give and to take in order to attain her own happily ever after.

Is it weird how relatable Ro felt to me, and especially to my younger self at her age? Smart and self-conscious and eager to be loved, Ro is both dazzled and alarmed by Ash’s confidence and sometimes confrontational choices. She lets Ash get away with certain red flags, even as she herself acts in ways that are disrespectful to her partner but come from her own woundedness. Delilah S Dawson makes this all so easily understandable in the context of not only Ro falling in love but also her bisexual awakening, as she grapples with how her infatuation and the subsequent realization of a reciprocated romance interacts with her self-esteem and self-image and everything she knows about love.

There is so much to unpack in this brilliant look at not only the push-pull of relationships but also the realities behind the glamorization of country living in all its social media-friendly manifestations, whether it be in the form of cottagecore or trad wifery or everything in between. I was honestly really rooting for Ro and Ash. I guess we can’t always get what we want, as this book very terrifyingly shows.

Bloom by Delilah S Dawson was published September 3 2024 by Titan Books and is available from all good booksellers, including