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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Where Your Planted is the meet-grumpy story of Jack and Tansy. They meet during a catastrophic hurricane and are later thrown together when Tansy's library, having been destroyed by the hurricane, is relocated to the botanical garden that Jack oversees.
I have lived through only one hurricane myself and have also lost my childhood library to a snow-collapsed roof. These incidents made the scenario of this book easy for me to imagine.
The initial banter between Tansy and Jack was top-tier. I love a grumpy-sunshine trope. Their emotional evolution was also masterful. Even the large cast of side characters was impressive. They were all distinct and they all brought something to the story. That's not always easy to do.
Overall, it was a great read!
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
I have lived through only one hurricane myself and have also lost my childhood library to a snow-collapsed roof. These incidents made the scenario of this book easy for me to imagine.
The initial banter between Tansy and Jack was top-tier. I love a grumpy-sunshine trope. Their emotional evolution was also masterful. Even the large cast of side characters was impressive. They were all distinct and they all brought something to the story. That's not always easy to do.
Overall, it was a great read!
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
This book is SO GOOD!! I fell in LOVE with Take Me Home when I read it last year, and honestly I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Hazel and Ash have such a special place in my heart! And Tansy and Jack are right next to them!!! This was everything I was hoping for and MORE! I’ve had the arc for a little bit, but Jessica Joyce mentioned it in her newsletter and if there’s one thing about me it’s that I WILL be taking a recommendation from her! and as ALWAYS she was right. Jack is so soft and sweet and he is GRUMPY but there is so much going on behind the scenes and Melanie really wrote him SO WELL!
JACK AND TANSY! The perfect grumpy/sunshine duo!! With their perfect little sidekick Briar!! I loved everything about all three of their stories! They were so complex and thought out and seeing everything unravel was so beautiful. I loved how Tansy was teaching Briar that they were independent women!!! Even if sometimes it was to their detriment, but the sentiment IS important! And Jack is the SOFTEST MAN ALIVE!! And seeing him fit so seamlessly into Tansy and Briar’s lives??
And not to mention the tension?? The BANTER! The kind of enemies to lovers banter was SO GOOD! From the start Jack and Tansy have such good chemistry!!! And the fact that they really could go full relationship mode for a week and then be done?? CRACKS ME UP! I love them deeply and honestly I’m going to have to read this one again!!
not only is this book beautiful, it also showcases how important libraries are! Which is so important and so prevalent. Throughout the book Tansy is fighting for her library and she never stops!! She helped build a community and she wants to continue especially after the hurricane! By the end, seeing everyone also rallying for the library warms my heart and I hope we can all do the same for our libraries!!!
Thanks to Putnam for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for giving me access to this ARC!
Where You're Planted by Melanie Sweeney is going to be released on July 8th. After a hurricane forces single mom Tansy to relocate her damaged library to the county botanic gardens, she clashes with grumpy gardener Jack, who once rescued her and her daughter from the flood. Despite their differences, they must work together on the spring festival, leading to an unexpected and undeniable attraction. But when a crucial funding opportunity pits their dreams against their growing feelings, they must decide if love is worth the risk.
I tried several times to get into this book, but I just couldn’t. The MMC wasn’t just grumpy—he was unnecessarily mean to the FMC from the start, which immediately pulled me out of the story. If I can’t understand the attraction or feel the tension, the romance just doesn’t work for me.
Where You're Planted by Melanie Sweeney is going to be released on July 8th. After a hurricane forces single mom Tansy to relocate her damaged library to the county botanic gardens, she clashes with grumpy gardener Jack, who once rescued her and her daughter from the flood. Despite their differences, they must work together on the spring festival, leading to an unexpected and undeniable attraction. But when a crucial funding opportunity pits their dreams against their growing feelings, they must decide if love is worth the risk.
I tried several times to get into this book, but I just couldn’t. The MMC wasn’t just grumpy—he was unnecessarily mean to the FMC from the start, which immediately pulled me out of the story. If I can’t understand the attraction or feel the tension, the romance just doesn’t work for me.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is my new obsession which I plan to re-read many times over. In “Where You’re Planted,” we meet Tansy and her daughter, Briar, in the middle of a hurricane. They luckily get out, but their home, the local library (where Tansy works), and their spirits are severely damaged. The library gets temporarily moved into a shed in a botanic garden where Jack, the grumpy and bullish gardener who rescued Tansy and her daughter, works with the hopes that somewhere, somehow there will be new funding to rebuild the library. Until that time, Tansy and Jack must work together. They don’t see eye-to-eye on anything, except that they secretly think the other is incredibly attractive. They may bicker, but all of their angst and longing is hard to contain. So how will this end? In disaster or something newly built?
I absolutely adored the characters in this book. Melanie Sweeney has an amazing way of creating depth in all of her characters, whether they were the main character or the amazing band of side characters (which PS, I could read a whole book of Kai gossiping – they are a true delight). It felt so important to read about how a natural disaster not only physically impacted the characters, but how it also emotionally impacted them. There were so many layers of feelings and reading how the disaster shifted or exacerbated these character’s emotions and personalities was really incredible.
Beyond the disaster, these characters were fun and swoon worthy and hot. Tansy and Jack have a really fun dynamic and seeing their relationship blossom was perfect. This was the type of book I stayed up reading until 2AM because I was so drawn in. There is also a passage about how hard it is to change deeply ingrained beliefs that I will think about for a long time.
I highly recommend this book. Melanie Sweeney is an auto-read and auto-buy author for me now.
Thank you to Penguin Group (Putnam) and NetGalley for providing this eARC! All opinions are my own.
dnf at 16%
Not vibing with these characters, or even the story line really, which makes it so hard to want to continue. I remember starting Sweeny’s other novel, Take Me Home, and immediately being invested (and I ended giving it 5 stars), so I’m bummed about this one not working out.👎🏼 We’ll try again with her next one!
Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for the eARC!
Not vibing with these characters, or even the story line really, which makes it so hard to want to continue. I remember starting Sweeny’s other novel, Take Me Home, and immediately being invested (and I ended giving it 5 stars), so I’m bummed about this one not working out.👎🏼 We’ll try again with her next one!
Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for the eARC!
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Publishing Group for an advanced digital copy of this book.
When a hurricane destroys the public library where she works, Tansy Perkins is forced to relocate to a shed at the neighboring botanical gardens. The space is less than ideal, particularly because Tansy is now forced to work under the grumpy assistant director of the gardens, Jack Reid, who also happens to be her arch nemesis (despite the fact that he rescued her and her daughter from the flood). Jointly tasked with managing the town spring festival, the two are forced to call a truce and work together. Will a newly formed working relationship change the way they feel about each other?
This book gets five stars from me purely because of the way it made me feel completely warm and gushy inside after finishing it. This was my first book by this author, and I loved her writing style. Her words were light and breezy making for a fast read, but were also infused with so much sentimentality and heart. My attention was snagged literally from the first page, and it was one of those books I both didn’t want to put down, and didn’t want to end.
The characters in this book draw you in and make you want to be part of their world…
Tansy- She’s tenaciously strong, and will do anything for the people she loves. Fiercely independent, she tackles life with the attitude of someone ready to overcome any challenge.
Jack- He’s rough around the edges and hardened by life. After overcoming heartbreak, he’s afraid to put himself in a situation that risks him getting hurt again. Underneath the surface though, he’s a loyal protector with a heart of gold who is willing to tear down mountains for those who he allows to actually get to know him.
While both Tansy and Jack are bewitching on their own, the cast of characters surrounding them are equally charming. This is a book with a strong found family vibe, and it expands on that by showing the beauty of a supportive community.
There is so much to love in Where You’re Planted. It is the perfect romance story if any of the following apply to you: You love characters with believable chemistry, you love a grumpy sunshine dynamic, you are a sucker for single moms with cute kids, or you just feel like smiling today.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
love how tender and tension-filled this is! what a delightfully grumpy man who loves plants and acts of service. what a headstrong, hyper-independent woman who loves her community and is doing her best for her daughter. the third-act conflict and resolution got a tiny bit too dramatic for me, but i did like the gestures.
Where You're Planted was a really special read. The relationship between the two main characters was believable (you know, in a romance novel kind of way!), and they were each fully-developed and interesting humans with flaws and trauma -- not one-dimensional at all, which I often struggle with in romances. I appreciated that this book included realistic, "real person" struggles with money and mental health, in a way that added depth to the people and their relationships without overpowering the warmth of the love story.
Beyond the main characters, this book also has so much other good stuff going on. The garden/library setting is wonderfully described and fun to get lost in, and the surrounding characters/community/family members were delightful and also critically important to the story. So often in romances we don't see the main characters have meaningful relationships with anyone other than the love interest, and that was absolutely not the case here. (My only critique, on that note, was that things felt a little bit unresolved with the Charlie situation -- but I suppose that's just how life is!)
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Beyond the main characters, this book also has so much other good stuff going on. The garden/library setting is wonderfully described and fun to get lost in, and the surrounding characters/community/family members were delightful and also critically important to the story. So often in romances we don't see the main characters have meaningful relationships with anyone other than the love interest, and that was absolutely not the case here. (My only critique, on that note, was that things felt a little bit unresolved with the Charlie situation -- but I suppose that's just how life is!)
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced