Full Bloom

Available August 5, 2025

The power to be seen. The power to be heard. The power to be adored. . .

About Full Bloom

Available August 5, 2025

The power to be seen. The power to be heard. The power to be adored. . .

A woman’s life is forever changed by a mysterious perfume in this stunning novel about ambition and untapped desire from the New York Times bestselling author of Ghosts of Harvard.

Reeling from a breakup and overlooked at her job as a lighting designer, Iris Sunnegren finds herself stuck, disconnected, and lonely in crowded New York City. Her wealthy friends are married and having babies, while she’s trying to pay for freezing her eggs. And the future she longs for feels out of reach.

Then, a mysterious neighbor, an older Frenchwoman, makes her a gift: a bespoke perfume.

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Praise for Full Bloom

Barnes & Noble Most Anticipated Fiction

“Francesca Serritella is a literary wonder. Atmospheric and lush, FULL BLOOM is is the story of Iris, so overwhelmed by life, only a miracle could set her free. With one spritz of an elixir, Iris is free to explore her potent past and visit the magical possibilities of her future. Serritella’s elegant prose includes a top note of originality, a middle note of pure heart, and a base note of self-discovery. A sensory feast for readers everywhere.”
—Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author

“Francesca Serritella’s Full Bloom is an absolutely gorgeous read — the perfect combination of romance, mystery and magical realism, with a vibrant cast of characters who will make you wish you were a part of Iris’s world. Here is a big, juicy story that will linger long after you’ve closed the book.”
—Sarah McLean, New York Times bestselling author

“I love FULL BLOOM. Charged with emotion, it is a masterful portrait of one of the most intriguing characters I’ve ever met. Iris grew up with heartbreak, encounters betrayal, and powers through it all with heart and bravery. Her adventures may or may not be the result of a seductive elixir concocted by her brilliant and eccentric neighbor, the exalted perfumer Rapacine. With elegant prose and an insider’s knowledge of New York City, Francesca Serritella has created a dazzling world that draws us in and makes us feel we are wandering the brownstone-lined streets and hidden gardens of Greenwich Village. She writes of Iris’s longings and desires, passion and regrets, and she understands the art and science o love. What a wonderful novel she has written!”
—Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author

Ghosts of Harvard

Best First Novel Finalist – International Thriller Writers

Philadelphia Magazine “Great Beach Read of 2020”

Amazon Editor’s Pick for “Best of the Month”

Goodreads “May’s Most Anticipated Novel”

Named a “Thriller that Will Have You on the Edge of Your Seat This Summer” by PopSugar

Named an “Addictive New Thriller” by Book Riot

Teen Vogue Book Club Pick

Parade Magazine’s Best Thriller & Mystery of Summer

Best Books of 2020: Boston.com Reader’s Pick

Favorite College-Set Thriller of All Time – Audible.com

Praise for Ghosts of Harvard

Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post

“A sweeping and beguiling novel … ventures into territory that is rarely explored these days…. [Serritella] takes readers on jaunts into forgotten graveyards and spooky ‘whispering wall’ corners’….”

—Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post

Library Journal (starred review)

“Vivid and engaging…this book begins as a thriller and ends as a story of personal growth and redemption.”

—Library Journal starred review

The New York Times Book Review

“Edge-of-your-seat tense . . . Fans of Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah and Chris Bohjalian, meet your new issue-based page turner. You may need to use a few precious paper towels to mop up the tears.”

—The New York Times Book Review

Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

“Every time I thought I knew where Ghosts of Harvard was heading, I turned out to be wrong. Part mystery, part ghost story, part psychological thriller, this novel is all entertainment.”

—Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

David Baldacci, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Ghosts of Harvard is written with a masterly, focused hand, belying the fact that this is Serritella’s debut novel. A triumph in every respect.”

—David Baldacci, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Ghosts of Harvard is so many things—a rumination on grief, a glimpse behind the ivory walls of a famous institution, a poignant look at mental illness, and a powerful story about the ghosts that haunt us all.”

—Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Jon Land, The Providence Journal

“The Ghosts of Harvard presents a postmodern gothic tale wrapped in the fabric of a traditional thriller, with sterling results. A magnificent mix of the Henry James classic The Turn of the Screw with Donna Tart’s The Secret History.”

—Jon Land, The Providence Journal

About Ghosts of Harvard

On Sale Now in Paperback

In this page-turning and affecting debut from New York Times bestselling author and columnist, a Harvard freshman becomes obsessed with her schizophrenic brother's suicide. Then she starts hearing voices...

Cadence Archer arrives on Harvard’s campus desperate to understand why her brother, Eric, a genius who developed paranoid schizophrenia took his own life there the year before. Losing Eric has left a black hole in Cady’s life, and while her decision to follow in her brother’s footsteps threatens to break her family apart, she is haunted by questions of what she might have missed. And there’s only one place to find answers.

As Cady struggles under the enormous pressure at Harvard, she investigates her brother’s final year, armed only with a blue notebook of Eric’s cryptic scribblings. She knew he had been struggling with paranoia, delusions, and illusory enemies—but what tipped him over the edge?