3.71 AVERAGE

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional hopeful
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was such a great read! I’ll be honest, this book was not what I expected but in the best way ☺️ it was so lovely to see Ellie’s healing journey with her new family, along with how her presence helped them fully find their ways as well. I loved seeing her growth, renewed confidence in herself and newfound purpose. I did find myself tearing up during certain moments! And while my gut feeling was spot-on with Ellie’s, some of the twists were still fun to see revealed. The ending was simply perfect 🫶🏻

Infinitely grateful to NetGalley for entrusting me with an advanced copy of this wonderful story 🖤

Eloise is escaping her old life and failed marriage. She takes a new job as a gardener at the secret garden in France called Le Chateau du Paradis. When she gets to her new workplace she learns that there are several very important rules that absolutely cannot be broken. The most important rule is ‘no children are allowed’.

Eloise soon finds out how enchanting her new home is and how magical the flowers are there. She gets to know her co-workers and learns that all of them are also ‘retreating’ from the world to grow and heal as well. She befriends the handyman and they develop a connection of kindred spirits.

As time goes on, there are many odd things she thinks she is seeing. She thinks she sees a human child one day in the garden but deems this improbable because children are forbidden in the garden. She then assumes that it was just a wood sprite girl instead. Over the summer she learns more and more of the girl and as it turns out, she is human. She gets to know more about the girl and starts to fear for her safety within the garden.

Eloise breaks all the rules she made for herself and opens up her heart for a new family. The garden becomes dangerous and she needs to do all she can to work with her new coworkers to learn the secrets of the garden and find a way to escape the garden that had turned into a prison so she can keep her family safe.

This book was not what I was expecting at all, but I was pleasantly surprised. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this book and read it all in one sitting. I would definitely recommend this book to others but I would suggest you check for trigger warnings because child loss is one of the heavy themes of this book. 

I want to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins Audio for the opportunity to listen to the audio ARC for this book. As always, I am thankful for the opportunity.


Trigger warning: This novel explores themes of grief and fertility struggles, which are central to Eloise’s journey. Her path through loss, identity, and healing is written with sensitivity, but may be emotionally difficult for some readers.

The first half of this book completely enchanted me. The prose is lush and lyrical, the setting—a wild, magical garden in rural France—is utterly transportive, and the French language is woven in so naturally that it adds real depth. You can tell the author is fluent and has lived this experience.

Cassandra Campbell’s audiobook narration was also a standout. Her performance was beautifully nuanced, with distinct character voices that made listening easy and engaging.

Unfortunately, the second half didn’t quite hold together for me. The story lost focus, branching into too many competing plotlines, and the central romance felt underdeveloped—more proximity than chemistry. A few lines of dialogue also pulled me out of the story with their awkwardness. Ultimately, I decided not to finish.

That said, the author’s talent is clear, and this book felt deeply personal. I’d be open to reading more from her in the future, especially if future works are more tightly edited and streamlined.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

A 5 star book - beautiful, whimsical and wonderfully introspective.

First I will mention the narrator, I was so impressed by the beautiful warm voice that rose to the challenge of not only doing many different characters but also giving each a French accent. Very well done, it added so much authenticity to the atmosphere. It was easy to imagine the southern French garden and its magical ambience.

The story was beautiful as well, exquisitely blending themes of grief and healing against a backdrop of lush gorgeous nature. I enjoyed the magical realism elements (the twilight hour mystery, the messages from the plants in the garden, the lurking statues) and how the mystical aspects were weaved into the story, particularly the maiden/mother/crone motif and how it related to the main character's growth.

The main character's journey was emotional, immersive and relatable. I was not expecting such depth from the book's description, yet I'm so happy to see sensitive topics treated with such care and tenderness along with crafting a main character that is mature in both age and intellect.

The side characters were well rounded, with interesting backgrounds and their relationships were lovely to follow along. I loved the scenes where they'd all gather for outdoor late dinners with homemade food and they'd talk into the night.

The mystery of the story is slow to unfold yet I loved the pacing of the book. The story twists happen towards the second half, were fun to see and I as so glad they converged towards a happy ending for the FMC.

It's obvious this book was written with a lot of care, compassion and thoughtfulness. The FMCs journey was beautiful to watch unfold and I felt happy and sad along with her. I had *all the feels* listening to this book and I'm so glad that I picked it up..

Tigger warnings: infertility, illness, body image issues

This book was not exactly what I had expected! I thought it would be a bit more of a "fantasy" when I received this arc. There is definitely an element of magical realism but it stays more in reality then you would think. 

I think for a debut author this book was a great start! I really enjoyed the narrator I thought they brought the characters to life. 

I enjoyed the storyline with the focus on grief and loss. I do think the "romance" and the romantic scenes could have been done a bit better and some improved characterization would help with that! 

I received this as an arc and I think there needed to be a trigger warning in the description for this book. 

Thank you net galley for the arc, all thoughts are my own.
dark emotional hopeful 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: Complicated

A garden of healing, after divorce and infertility, found family, magic realism, and a little bit of gothic drama? I enjoyed this mix of enchanted healing medieval garden and modern gothic mystery. The lush garden sounded so lovely, I’ve been inspired to visit my local botanical garden museum. 

I listened to the audiobook, which was fun because the narrator used French accents when speaking English at times. It helped keep my mind rooted in France where it’s set. 

If you are open to magical realism (like Ashley Poston), are open to hearing about a difficult infertility journey and the healing thereafter, and can handle some spooky elements, check out this book! 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for this review.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The Alchemy of Flowers begins with Eloise, heading to France to be employed as the gardener at Jardins du Paradis. Her employer lives on an estate with a huge Medieval house, only partly restored. The person who links the employees to their employer is Antoinette and no one ever sees the Patreon. Eloise, who went through a divorce partly related to the inability to bear a child or adopt a child is uncomfortable around children. Paradis forbids children on the grounds. A huge wall keeps those who live there locked in and only Antoinette can let them out. Eloise immediately relates to her coworkers, two men and a woman, with different responsibilities. They have kind of a communal life style where they cook and eat together but live in separate little home, each modern enough on a place that is totally off the grid, to have some creature comforts.

The estate sells various products made from herbs and essential oils, flowers and herbs at a town market. Eloise is responsible for the plants, which are exceptional. There is a rule that employees must stay inside at dusk. There are other rules as well. Eloise tries to find out the reasons for them, but her coworkers are mum. They also won't share information about former employees who left suddenly. So, there can be a malevolent feel to the place, even though the day to day experience is very pleasant. 

Along the way, Eloise sees images of people or goddesses and she cannot discern if it is due to her imagination. She sometimes hears laughter. She talks to the plants ... and they whisper to her. The mysticism/magic adds to the story a gothic feel as do the sculptures all around. All in all, the characters, the estate itself, the unseen employer all make for a mysterious story and an evolving need to know what's real and what's not. It satisfactorily gives us that. Good book.
adventurous inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes

The Alchemy of Flowers is a modern adult reimaging of The Secret Garden, with loose elements of fantasy and mythology. In truth, I was seduced by a cool cover and promises of magical flowers. 

While there is a strong sense of whimsy and enchantment, there wasn't really magic in the way I was expecting. The main character had an unexplored ability to speak to flowers, but it's hardly ever used except as a way to give her plot-related answers. 

I found this to be very predictable, but the mystery is really more of a catalyst to Eloise's development. I am unfamiliar with issues pertaining to infertility or reproductive health, motherhood, body image and sexuality, all which is a major focus of the story and Eloise's character arc, so I maybe didn't connect in the way another reader will.

The writing felt a flat at times to the point where I was skimming sections here and there in the middle, but I enjoyed the descriptions of the teas and tisanes. I also wasn't completely sold on the romance, something about Raphael came off as lacking.

In essence, this book was not for me despite the pretty writing--I am not the target audience. I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher Harper Muse. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
emotional inspiring mysterious reflective 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: Complicated

This story follows 37-year-old Elloise as she navigates starting her life anew at an almost magical French Castle Garden.  A beautiful, in-depth look at a woman trying to heal herself from all of the trauma she has gone through, trying to rediscover her body. There is so much self-discovery, and the found family trope is so heartwarming.  The prose is so lyrical, whimsical, fantastical and down to earth. The writing makes you feel so connected to the environment set in the book, with really good descriptive metaphoric language use. I appreciate that the author put a focus on our side characters just as much as our main character. Getting the reader to understand that every single person has their reason for being where they are, that this mysterious place brought them all together and helped them in their unique way.  There aren't enough words to describe how complex and layered the characters and the plot are. The depth helps connect and sympathise with the characters.   Overall, this read brought so much insight into the complications and complexities of wanting to be a parent and the impact that personal experience has on a person's view, mindset and the world around us. The narrator did a perfect job with the accents, the French and the pacing.   

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