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kellsbells374's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? No
5.0
beiiadonna's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
nerdyforbooks_'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
Parts of this book worked really well (the Greek mythology, family secrets, magic) and other parts could have maybe been leaned into a little less (it just has a tendency to be a bit too YA at times).
I do appreciate that I was able to turn my brain off a bit for this one & just enjoy the ride. Bri luckily isn’t the most annoying teenaged POV and for the most part is a pretty endearing teen just trying to find herself. I found myself getting sucked into the story without feeling it was too overly complex for the story.
However, there are a lot of secrets that aren’t explained. I get it takes this meandering trail in build up for a sequel, but we’re left with a rushed ending. Plus a book that felt like it could have use more myth & secret telling. They kinda feel like huge parts of the book that don’t hold as much page time as they should 🤷🏼♀️
I will give this book that I do want to know more. I need to know what happens next. You got me 😉 I’m gonna be real annoyed though if the second book doesn’t pay off.
I do appreciate that I was able to turn my brain off a bit for this one & just enjoy the ride. Bri luckily isn’t the most annoying teenaged POV and for the most part is a pretty endearing teen just trying to find herself. I found myself getting sucked into the story without feeling it was too overly complex for the story.
However, there are a lot of secrets that aren’t explained. I get it takes this meandering trail in build up for a sequel, but we’re left with a rushed ending. Plus a book that felt like it could have use more myth & secret telling. They kinda feel like huge parts of the book that don’t hold as much page time as they should 🤷🏼♀️
I will give this book that I do want to know more. I need to know what happens next. You got me 😉 I’m gonna be real annoyed though if the second book doesn’t pay off.
ohno_joreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
ellaturner's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? No
3.0
snowash's review against another edition
mysterious
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? No
4.0
chelseacounsell's review against another edition
3.0
Apparently I have a very different take on this book than many other reviewers do, which is that I loved the beginning, but feel like the ending took everything good away that the book had previously built up.
Things I liked in the beginning:
*Witchy black girl magic protagonist
*focus on plants, gardening, and botany
*an all-black cast of characters
*loving, queer parents, who actually support their child and take an active role in her life
*platonic male friend who is a goof, with no weird sexual tension
The beginning was like… Briseis inherits this manor and its gardens, but because plants act unpredictable around her she and her family worry that moving from Brooklyn to upstate New York might be a problem. Instead, Briseis is freed by her newfound isolation from crowds, and she makes a nice male friend. The main plot was a gothic mystery about Briseis uncovering secrets left by her dead family members from letters (many of them plant related).
I will say that anyone who actually gardens and reads this book needs to take any plant “facts” with a grain of salt, or magic, or suspension of disbelief. The book has bougainvillea growing in upstate New York, which isn’t where it grows (it’s not hardy enough for that zone). And also some poisonous plants in the book are hand-wavedly more poisonous than they actually are in real life.
SPOILERS BELOW
What the ending has, which I don’t like:
*parent death
*love interest with essentially a 200 year old Twilight vampire (an immortal being who is beautiful and uncannily strong)
*the whole gothic mystery is undermined by Briseis’s letters from her dead family having been a forgery from some rando
*the good platonic friend completely betrays Briseis, even holding a knife to her mother’s throat
All of these thematic changes really burned the book for me. I thought this was going to be a sweet story about healing in the face of trauma, because Briseis had previously struggled to make friends who knew about her plant powers in Brooklyn. I just wanted her to keep her friend and her parents and have a nice little life running a magical apothecary, but instead the second half of the book really descends into action thriller territory.
Just not quite the book of my heart.
Things I liked in the beginning:
*Witchy black girl magic protagonist
*focus on plants, gardening, and botany
*an all-black cast of characters
*loving, queer parents, who actually support their child and take an active role in her life
*platonic male friend who is a goof, with no weird sexual tension
The beginning was like… Briseis inherits this manor and its gardens, but because plants act unpredictable around her she and her family worry that moving from Brooklyn to upstate New York might be a problem. Instead, Briseis is freed by her newfound isolation from crowds, and she makes a nice male friend. The main plot was a gothic mystery about Briseis uncovering secrets left by her dead family members from letters (many of them plant related).
I will say that anyone who actually gardens and reads this book needs to take any plant “facts” with a grain of salt, or magic, or suspension of disbelief. The book has bougainvillea growing in upstate New York, which isn’t where it grows (it’s not hardy enough for that zone). And also some poisonous plants in the book are hand-wavedly more poisonous than they actually are in real life.
SPOILERS BELOW
What the ending has, which I don’t like:
*parent death
*love interest with essentially a 200 year old Twilight vampire (an immortal being who is beautiful and uncannily strong)
*the whole gothic mystery is undermined by Briseis’s letters from her dead family having been a forgery from some rando
*the good platonic friend completely betrays Briseis, even holding a knife to her mother’s throat
All of these thematic changes really burned the book for me. I thought this was going to be a sweet story about healing in the face of trauma, because Briseis had previously struggled to make friends who knew about her plant powers in Brooklyn. I just wanted her to keep her friend and her parents and have a nice little life running a magical apothecary, but instead the second half of the book really descends into action thriller territory.
Just not quite the book of my heart.
bookielover's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
queeneallie's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars rounded up. I could have done without the villain's monologue in the penultimate chapter and a liiiiitle deux ex machina at the end, but it had a nice cliffhanger to get me to read the second book. Maybe I'll just consider them one long story.