Deidre Griffin is the downtrodden, overworked, underappreciated manager for her brother, Tag—a successful New Age motivational talk guru. Things start to fall apart when a cute guy accidentally walks into her hotel room and catches her wearing her granny panties, Deidre’s micromanaging brother starts getting on her nerves, and her ex-sweetheart, Mitchell, reveals that he is getting married to his present girlfriend—who is pregnant.

One night, after “a long, rejuvenating drink” (of vodka), Deidre decides to become a replacement for the Dancing With the Stars contestant who has dropped out of the contest and checked into Rehab. Since it is a ‘Viewers to Choose Last-Minute Replacement’ contest, Deidre uses her managerial talents on her brother’s website, and writes a letter as Tag, to appeal for votes. As luck would have it, the scales suddenly tilt the other way: Deidre is voted on as the contestant, Mitchell has second thoughts about marrying his girlfriend after she miscarries, Tag reconsiders how he has mistreated her, and the stranger reappears in her life.

Claire Cook has written a feel-good story about a woman who is suddenly lost but puts herself back on the map. Cook’s characters are diverse, well-rounded and funny. Deidre is identifiable in her dreams for a bewitching romance, a ‘be there for everyone’ attitude and a strong desire for chocolate--“Not Skinny Cow chocolate but something rich an decadent.” The childhood events that have shaped Deidre to become the wallflower in the family are humorously revealed in Deidre’s flashbacks—for example, in the recollections of the marijuana plants tucked near the tomato plants, or when Joanie became the family dancer over Deidre.

Wallflower in Bloom is an entertaining and sweet story of a woman who is doing it all—for everyone else—and finally, deciding to do something for herself, takes to the floor with heartwarming results.