I feel like Rebecca Wells is sort of a one trick pony. I really liked Divine Secrets, and I mostly liked Little Alters (I read them out of order), And to me this felt like the same story being told. I like the characters, but it just seems to repetitive, they don't change or evolve that much. ( )

Boring. Usually this type of book is fun, but I just found the stories/chapters tedious. ( )

Jumps around too much, doesn't focus on main characters enough. Very choppy. ( )

Disappointing. I loved the original Ya Ya book: The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, as it examined the different strains of being a strong, loving woman. Among other things, anyway. Ya-Ya's in Bloom lacks the magic, is a pale reflection of Rebecca Wells' earlier work, and I found the central plot of a child being kidnapped unnecessarily dramatic. That said, the book is still an easy, accessible and enjoyable read, just not original or particularly meaningful.

"Little Altars Everywhere" was a little too harsh, but "Ya Yas in Bloom" was too sugary. This book was a little too happy to be from the same family as the other two books - it's like "Little Altars Everywhere" contains all the worst memories, "Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" contains the bittersweet memories and reconciliation, and this book only contains the ridiculously sugar-coated memories where nothing really went wrong. I just have trouble believing they are all part of the same family because they do not seem like the same people. Also it was kind of random to put those stories about Myrtis and Edyth Spevey in this volume towards the end - Edythe is only mentioned once in "Little Altars Everywhere" and it just seemed really out of place to bring in these characters at the last minute when the rest of the books are about other people. I still think "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" is the best of the three and the only one that really holds together well. The rest are just not organized as well.

Another thing that I did not like was the fact that out of the four Walker children, we only read the POV of Sidda and Baylor. It's like Little Shep and Lulu don't even exist in their adult life. All in all this book felt rushed, it really feels like an obligation to the publishers and/or public, and not at all a book that Rebecca Wells wanted to write. All of the crucial stories of Vivi and Sidda and most of the other Ya Yas have already been told, which leaves only space for random tales from the other kids' lives. Which is okay, but since we don't really know them (other than Sidda's perception of them), it's hard to care too much about them. ( )

Vivi and the Ya-Ya's are at it again, being in the center of attention again. This time it we see in the lives of other people in their crazy life. Baylor, Vivi and Big Sheps youngest son is the main person in this one, where Siddalee was the focus in the Divine Secrets.

I liked the book, didn't love it but liked it. It was good to see the interactions between the Petites and the Ya-Ya's as well as how the Tres Petites are now becoming the best of friends especially Lee-Lee, named after her godmother Sidda, and Roselyn, the granddaughter of Niece.

Now that I am done with this series its time to move on and finish another one, a goal in my life lol, finish the series' I've started. ( )