Send Flowers - Emily Buchanan - ★★★

AUTHOR: Emily Buchanan

GENRE: Contemporary Dystopian.

PUBLICATION DATE: July 1, 2025

RATING: 3 stars.

In a Nutshell: Partly, a romance-drama about an influencer who thinks that her dead boyfriend has been reincarnated as a plant. Partly, a near-future dystopian climate fiction. (Could you guess the second genre from the cover?) Not a light read. Somewhat unlikeable characters, slow-ish pacing, a bit bizarre and meandering in its plot development. Highlights the perils of social media, but also portrays environmentalists in a slightly lopsided manner. Mixed feelings, not just because the plot didn’t go the way I thought it would.

Plot Preview:

Thirty-two-year-old Fiona, popular online as @FoliageFifi, hasn’t left her house ever since her boyfriend Ed died three months ago. All that she had worked for – her role as a green influencer on social media as well as the environmental activism she did jointly with Ed, is now ignored. When a houseplant is left at her doorstep with an anonymous note, Fiona is shocked. It is Ed’s favourite plant, a fact that she alone knew. Fiona puts Ed’s ashes in the soil, only to discover a few hours later that the plant has flowered. And is talking to her in Ed’s voice! Fiona reaches the only logical (Ahem!) conclusion: Ed is back. As a plant! She is now stirred into action, not just to keep this “Ed” alive, but also to fight for his legacy as an eco-activist. However, “Ed” seems to be more demanding in his plant avatar. Can Fiona preserve this new Ed without endangering her own life?

The story comes to us in Fiona’s first-person perspective.

I usually stay away from any book that even mentions “influencer” in the blurb. However, the whimsical claim about the return of a dead man as a plant was too tempting to ignore. Thanks to the cover and the blurb, I thought this would be a gentle exploration of grief and mental health issues after the loss of a loved one. But that is only a minor part of the plot. The actual story gets quite dark and disturbing.

Bookish Yays:

🌳 The portrayal of the dark side of a career as an influencer and the dangers of social media. Reminded me of all the reasons I dislike this new trend of relying on influencers and of people viewing “influencing” as a career.

🌳 The depiction of the struggles of making people understand your mental health issues – realistic even when the plot isn't so.

🌳 Fiona’s relationship with Ed is more than what is initially conveyed, and this adds much depth to the story. It wasn’t comfortable reading, I can tell you that. But such relationships also exist, and the writing shows it cleverly.

🌳 The complexities of returning towards normalcy after grief. Love how it is not shown as a step-by-step journey through the five stages but the more accurate back-and-forth-and-stagnant emotional path grieving people take towards healing.

🌳 Some of the supporting characters – interesting and morally dicey. Better than the leads.

🌳 The author’s note, which clearly shows her knowledge of certain issues faced by London and its climate activists.

Bookish Mixed Bags:

🌱 The content about deteriorating environmental conditions and their impact on ordinary citizens, the authoritarian government with its apathy towards everyone except the needs of the wealthy, the extreme activism… Honestly, at times, I found it tough to remember that the book depicted near-future England because many of the scenes reminded me of the present political scenario in another country. The only reason this is a mixed bag is because it depicts only one type of activism for the most part – the extreme protestors. So it feels incomplete.

🌱 The “Ed as a plant” theme begins in an interesting way, but the middle section really drags it out without taking it ahead. The book leaves it unclear whether this was magical realism or not, so you’ll have to read the book to make up your mind.

🌱 The content gets too preachy at times, but given that environmental awareness is the key driver of the events, I guess this is somewhat understandable.

🌱 That cover design by itself is right, but the style is utterly wrong for this novel. For the most part, the book isn't about Fiona’s grief so the cover doesn’t exactly convey the actual tone of the book. Most of the book isn't light reading.

Bookish Nays:

🌵 Fiona. I thought I'll be able to root for her as she's a grieving girl struggling with her loss. However, Fiona is mostly self-centred and fake and judgemental. Only a teeny part of her ill-mannered behaviour could be attributed to her grief, so I found it very tough to sympathize with her. This made immersing myself into the book challenging as the story is in Fiona’s first-person POV, and she isn't exactly a reliable or relatable narrator.

🌵 I wish I could say Ed salvaged the book, but he (whether as a man or as a plant) is a jerk. For the most part, he ended up annoying me despite his tragic death.

🌵 On that note, Ed’s death – yikes! It is a tad too voyeuristic and hence very disturbing to read. I simply didn’t expect such gruesome content given the cover.

🌵 Too much of inner rambling in Fiona’s perspective, quite a lot of which is repetitive and hence even makes the pacing slow. This is more applicable to the first half.

🌵 The plot dives into too many unrelated topics, making the structure messy. The middle is especially meandering. At many points, I wondered where exactly it was trying to go.

Overall, this debut novel does have its ups, but I think I expected a more calming book from the cover. Rather than highlighting the beautiful journey of healing, the plot stresses more on the climate activism part. This, combined with the behaviour of Fiona and Ed (when alive), made me frustrated and irritated with the characters as well as the book. That said, a part of the frustration, the one directed towards the political ignorance related to climate horrors and the call for drastic change, is probably justified.

Recommended, but not to those who want a light or soothing read. This would better suit readers looking for a mildly-dystopian climate fiction with magical realism that may or may not be there.

My thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Park Row for providing the DRC of “Send Flowers” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.