Sometimes the only way to bloom is to break free
Jess has always followed the rules-marrying young, raising two children, and keeping up appearances in her small, conservative town. But when she can no longer deny the truth she's kept buried for years, she makes a life-altering choice: she leaves her husband and admits what's been growing in her heart-she's in love with her best friend, Pam.
Jess works at her aunt Louanne's beloved bakery café alongside Louanne's longtime partner, Vivienne. In their open, joyful home, Jess catches a glimpse of what life could be like: honest, messy, full of flavor-and love. But Jess's journey is far from simple. Her mother, Rebecca, clings fiercely to her religious convictions, shaped by Jess's devout grandmother, who once lived as a nun. Coming out doesn't just shake Jess's world-it sends shockwaves through generations of silence, shame, and expectation.
As Jess steps into her truth, she faces a reckoning: will she lose the people she loves most, or can something new-something extraordinary-take root in the aftermath?
Told through the voices of multiple generations, We Will Plant Birds of Paradise is a tender, richly drawn debut novel about queer love, family loyalty, inherited faith, and the radical act of blooming in your own time.
Praise for We Will Plant Birds of Paradise
"An authentic and heartwarming portrayal of two people finding love?and themselves?later in life. This is the kind of cozy, queer representation that I crave! This book is like biting into a cinnamon roll; it's sweet, gooey, and warms you from the inside out."
?Adora Crooks, author of The Pink Lantern
"Genevieve Rheams's pacy prose moves nimbly from humor to melancholy and back again. Filled with longing and light, We Will Plant Birds of Paradise is an enthralling novel about what it means to leave one life behind for another that awaits."
?Kevin Rabalais, author of The Landscape of Desire
