Just (Re)Read: BLOOM by Delilah S. Dawson
It’s no secret that I absolutely adore Delilah S. Dawson. She’s a fabulous human, a total badass of a literary pal, and a fiercely unapologetic writer who has an incredible knack for writing stories that peel back layers to expose the bleeding pulp of you—sometimes, as in BLOOM, quite literally.
BLOOM was the first book I ever read by Delilah, and something about now just felt like the perfect time to take another spin through its sickly sweet pages. Sometimes, you need to fall in love in ways that subsume and consume you, quickly and completely and mercilessly, and for that, BLOOM should climb atop your reading stack. It’s a short read, the kind that leaves you staggering (and I devoured it whole…again).
There is a love story here, and one of vengeance, of surrender, of consumption, of art and obsession and ruthlessness and tenderness. BLOOM has all the hallmarks of Dawson’s delicious writing—sharp, visceral prose; a vulnerable, relatable narrator; and a creeping sense of delightful dread that catches you in its jaws before you realize you’ve slipped between its lips—exactly what I imagine what tasting one of Ash’s cupcakes might be like.
Rosemary meets Ash at the farmers’ market. Ash—precise, pretty, and practically perfect—sells bars of soap in delicate pastel colors, sprinkle-spackled cupcakes stacked on scalloped stands, beeswax candles, jelly jars of honey, and glossy green plants. Ro has never felt this way about another woman; with Ash, she wants to be her and have her in equal measure. But as her obsession with Ash consumes her, she may find she’s not the one doing the devouring…
BLOOM is available from Delilah S. Dawson and Titan Books.
