Here’s an alphabetical guide that highlights what you need to know about this intriguing new novel

Consider this a Blossom cheat sheet. However, also consider this spoiler alert: If you haven’t read Blossom in its entirety, you may discover details here that you may want to have revealed to you later.

A April 18, 1906 is the day this first installment in the Blossom Trilogy culminates.
B Brock St. Clair and Blossom Sun are two sides of the novel’s love triangle.
C Chinatown is home to Blossom , but her restless spirit may not be contained by this world of honor, traditions and boundaries.
D Clarissa Donohue is the epitome of Victorian womanhood, with her finely perfected social skills and her attention to detail in the home. However, something important may have escaped her attention.
E Earthquakes, or what the Chinese refer to as “the stirring of the Earth Dragon,” continue to have disastrous effects on San Francisco.
F Fortune cookies are practically a character in Blossom , driving the direction and fate of the novel’s human characters.
G Grand Ma Ma is grounded in the past and wrestles with the new ways of her cherished granddaughter.
H Hurdy-gurdy music boxes can be large contraptions in saloons or small hand-held entertainers.
I Iris is the name that changes everything Blossom thought she knew about her family.
J Jewelry is featured throughout Blossom , whether it’s a cherished cameo brooch or a diamond-encrusted wedding tiara.
K Kites are best flown from the hilltops above San Francisco, as Brock and Blossom discover.
L Love triangles are always a geometric relationship challenge. The love triangle in Blossom is no exception.
M Mahjong brings elderly Chinese women together to exchange gossip involving Chinatown’s residents and their activities.
N Nob Hill is home to the elite who do their best to escape the clutter and clamor of the raucous boomtown below.
O Ostrich feathers playfully adorn fancy hats, but also work hard dusting homes. The Cawston Ostrich Farm in South Pasadena, Calif., will play a big role in the future of the Blossom Trilogy.
P Pickle castors are a must-have service piece for the dining room of any Victorian hostess. A new bride in this period might receive numerous pickle castors as wedding gifts, much to her dismay.
Q Queue-wearing Chinese men were common at the turn of the 20th century. However, these tightly braided pigtails were trimmed off before long.
R Rice bowls are a staple of the Chinese dining experience. One special rice bowl belongs to Grand Ma Ma. She describes it in the context of China’s legendary Mt. Penglai … the land of the Eight Immortals. It was a place where there was no pain and no winter. Jewels grew on trees. And rice bowls never emptied … no matter how much people ate from them. The bowl described in Blossom reminds all restaurant visitors to be grateful for what they have.
S Sketchbooks are a place to express one’s creativity, as well as to uncover another piece of one’s past as Blossom discovers.
T Twin Peaks is where Brock is most happy, that is until the day that he comes across fortune cookies and a captivating girl who makes them.
U Urns can hold flowers and ferns, but they also can be a tool of destruction and even death.
V Red Velvet Cake is Brock’s favorite comfort food. Clementine, his cook from Atlanta, makes it best … and always at just the right time.
W Whorehouses are pleasure palaces to be sure. Maison Bijou holds extraordinary pleasures for Brock’s younger brother, Austin.
X X marks the spot on a special sycamore tree on Twin Peaks.
Y Tie Yick general store is a meeting place that introduces Blossom to a whole new world.
Z Zelda, the housemaid, is the second person Blossom readers encounter. But their time with her will be short.