Deirdre Griffin is the typical middle child. Her older brother, Tag, is a famous New-Age guru who has the world charmed with his wit and wisdom. Deirdre's younger sister Joanie is the princess of the family, always grabbing the attention when she can. And that leaves Deirdre to take up the slack for both of her siblings, thus making her feel like an invisible wallflower in her family, a role her family has just allowed her to assume. But that's all about to change!

Deirdre is Tag's assistant, and is literally on call twenty- four-hours-per-day. She lives in a converted sheep shed on his large New England seaside compound where his ex-wives, children, and the rest of their family live as well. And all is well, until one day when Deirdre has decided that she has just had enough!

She is sick and tired of living in Tag's shadow, being his personal assistant and minion. So she decides to change things in her own life around. In a fanciful moment, with courage fueled by Tag's expensive liquors, Deirdre takes the plunge and she hops on Tag's social media site and encourages his thousands of followers to vote for her as the wildcard replacement on 'Dancing With the Stars'.

Only one problem -- Deirdre can't really dance! But when she is selected to participate, she has no choice but to plug along with the plan to find her true self. And all too soon she finds out that she just might not be really not cut-out to be a dancer, and that she carries a bit too much weight. However, her partner, the handsome but strict Ilya is a marvelous, professional dancer who is able to help her learn. He has the patience of a saint. Deirdre realizes with five to six hours of practicing the same dance steps over and over and over every single day that she must somehow forget the "wallflower" part of her personality and really "bloom!" To her surprise, she learns that she does have it within herself to be the woman she wants to be.

WALLFLOWER IN BLOOM is absolutely, hands-down, Claire Cook's best novel to date. And with the new season of "Dancing With The Stars" resuming, this is a timely book as well. Cook's characters are delightful and quirky, and the storyline is fast paced and lively with just the right touch of humor and romance. Slip on your dancing shoes and enjoy a few spins around the floor with this charming novel!

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