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Flowers? ✔ Butterflies? ✔ Books? ✔ Sounds like a perfect puzzle to me!

Yes, it’s another puzzle featuring flowers and butterflies. I wasn’t kidding when I said I love these themes on a puzzle. This time, we also have the added delight of it being a shaped puzzle with books! Shaped puzzles are such show stoppers, and this one is no exception. This is “Blooming Books” from Galison, which features the gorgeous collage-style art of Ben Lewis Giles.

This stunning puzzle features a heap of beautiful blooms and butterflies atop a stack of nine vintage-style books. With its fun random cut die, this shaped puzzle was a delightful mix of challenges. The puzzle itself took me a little while to get my head around. I felt like I was puzzling fairly slowly at the beginning but once I got into a rhythm, I made some pretty good time.

One piece of advice I generally follow is not to start with the edge of a shaped puzzle. Most of the time, it’s possible but can take much longer than usual. Often, the pieces don’t necessarily connect properly, making it easy for the edge to get nudged out of shape. For some reason, I ignored my own instincts and still tried to assemble the edge at the very start. I didn’t get too far—just some edges of the books and a few strands of grass—before I abandoned that plan of attack and started working on the books.

Working on the books turned out to be the right move. During the sorting process, I noticed that the floral pieces had a halftone pattern while the book pieces did not. This made it easier to sort the two main sections. To add to the ease, each book is a distinct enough color you could easily see which pieces belonged to which book. Each book is nicely designed with enough text to piece together small sections, and the lovely little lines with small gradients were incredibly helpful for figuring out the correct piece orientation. By the end, I found really enjoying the process of putting the books together. It was so satisfying assembling them and I enjoyed seeing that the artist put his name as the author of one of the books.

The flowers were certainly more of a challenge than the books. There isn’t a huge variety of size among the flowers and there were quite a few different colors. It felt reminiscent to putting together a busy puzzle. Still, there was enough variation in the colors that identifying which pieces belonged to which flowers was generally easy enough. The hardest part was finding them among all the other pieces, even with the full color sort I did. The pieces often had multiple colors across them which meant that if you were looking for an edge of red, you might have to check two to three other sorted color piles before finding it.

As I progressed, the puzzle revealed more of its charm. The vibrant flowers and beautiful butterfly designs contrasted with the vintage books, making each completed section a visual treat. The challenge of the random cut pieces added to the fun, requiring a keen eye and a bit of patience to fit everything together just right. I will note, that several of the pieces were a “push fit” on one side, which means that they were cut with a smooth edge that would butt up against another piece rather than interlock. This could be frustrating at times because until the pieces surrounding it were interlocked it was quite easy to accidentally nudge the two pieces apart. There was one section of the puzzle that I nudged out of place probably 8 times. It also made moving those sections a little difficult as they had to be slid across the table rather than picked up.

The quality of this puzzle met the standards I’ve come to expect from Galison. The pieces, although paper-backed, were decently thick and sturdy given the material. The random cut die-cuts were executed flawlessly, ensuring each piece was fully separated. The shaped outer cut was precise, resulting in an even border – this can be tricky for some manufacturers. The push-cut pieces added an intriguing challenge, though I found them a bit frustrating, especially around the edges, as they didn’t stay together well until the puzzle was completely assembled. The smooth, non-glossy finish enhanced the vibrant and beautiful colors without causing glare issues. I even liked the decision to make this a 750-piece puzzle rather than a 500 or 1,000-piece puzzle. I feel like it toed the line on not being too hard nor to easy.

Overall, “Blooming Books” was a delightful and rewarding puzzle experience. The combination of flowers, butterflies, and books, coupled with the shaped design, made it a standout addition to my collection. If you’re a fan of intricate artwork and unique puzzle shapes, this one is definitely worth adding to your wishlist.

Links & Details

Looking to put this puzzle together? Buy Blooming Books 750-piece shaped puzzle here.

More Shaped puzzles from Galison

Flower-Bombed Zebra 750 pcs – This one is gorgeous but definitely looks like it could be a challenge!
Jonathan Adler Shaped Lips 750 pcs – Galison makes several shaped puzzles in collaboration with the designer Jonathan Adler. They looks stunning, but spicy!
Party Pizza 750 pc – I didn’t realize that a pizza could look so pretty!
Daily Special 2-in-1 Shaped Puzzle Set, 625 Pieces – This one is actually two puzzles in one!
The City That Never Sleeps 750 Piece Shaped Puzzle – The art on this one is so cool. Love the NY theme – that rat!

Brand: Galison
Title: Blooming Books
Pieces: 750
Artist: Ben L. Giles