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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
I read as much as I could, but I just couldn't get into this story. I saw other reviews that make me think continuing is worth it, but I just couldn't. There was nothing happening in the first 41% that drew my attention to finishing it.
I wanted to like this, I really did, but I just couldn't get into it.
I wanted to like this, I really did, but I just couldn't get into it.
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Of Earthly Delights is a YA romance with fantasy elements. To get into them would be to spoil the whole book, so I won't. It is ultimately a love story between a city girl named Rose and wealthy gardener, Hart, that blooms the summer before their senior year after a wave of loss and grief hits them both. It is tragic and has enough of a nod to The Secret Garden to be worth mentioning. The prose is lyrical, often beautiful, but there's a heavy handedness to the story telling that gives away the main mystery conflict a bit too soon, making it feel anticlimactic. The verb tense often reflects fast-forwarding through time, which results unfortunately in more telling than showing when the showing is really where the writing sings. This is a fast read, but the vibe is unsettling, and overall this was not for me. I think it would most appeal to the teen romance crowd, and the writing is strong enough to merit recommending.
Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co. for this ARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent
Minor: Torture
A sentient garden of wishes, hopes, and dreams, this telling was forgiving in its expectations. I felt listless in love as our blooming hopes and dreams took a dark turn into 'the secret garden that tried to take me'. Every page held a grim touch of horror that I felt drawn into and somehow I wanted more from the experience of it all. By the end of part one, it's safe to say I felt trapped in this tales ivy tangles. This story was nothing if not a platform for the yearning of that which you cannot fully grasp.
Out the gate I was captured. I don't typically relate to stories that centralize on an artist main character, despite bing an artist myself, perhaps it's just too close to home. This take however, I didn't mind.
I genuinely believe this is the kind of story that could be even better on a reread, and I look forward to what Goldy has to give us next.
Out the gate I was captured. I don't typically relate to stories that centralize on an artist main character, despite bing an artist myself, perhaps it's just too close to home. This take however, I didn't mind.
I genuinely believe this is the kind of story that could be even better on a reread, and I look forward to what Goldy has to give us next.
4.5 stars rounded up!
I didn't have many expectations going into this book. I'm a huge fan of gothic YA novels, and this ended up having such an interesting concept.
Rose is the new girl, about to enter her senior year of high school, when she meets Hart. They're immediately connected, and Hart becomes her romantic interest, ignoring the fact that his sister, Heather hates her. And I mean she HATES her, and Rose has no idea why.
Hart and Rose's romance begins, but there's something odd about the garden at his family's mansion that is...off to say the least.
This book was a book I could NOT put down. I was crying at the end of Rose's first section of the book and into Hart's, confused, throughout, and felt like I was being mended back together in the end. The only reason I'm not giving this novel five stars is because I was able to guess a lot of twists, however that didn't make this less enjoyable.
I didn't have many expectations going into this book. I'm a huge fan of gothic YA novels, and this ended up having such an interesting concept.
Rose is the new girl, about to enter her senior year of high school, when she meets Hart. They're immediately connected, and Hart becomes her romantic interest, ignoring the fact that his sister, Heather hates her. And I mean she HATES her, and Rose has no idea why.
Hart and Rose's romance begins, but there's something odd about the garden at his family's mansion that is...off to say the least.
This book was a book I could NOT put down. I was crying at the end of Rose's first section of the book and into Hart's, confused, throughout, and felt like I was being mended back together in the end. The only reason I'm not giving this novel five stars is because I was able to guess a lot of twists, however that didn't make this less enjoyable.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
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:
No
This was a good read, but what was that ending? You really just left it like that? How? I need to know more.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Unexpected gothic vibes. But the first half of the story, feels like a typical budding high school romance, hints at more to come. But the back half? Obsession and grief.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I finished this book so fast. I LOVED THIS. The book at first I felt was interesting but a little slow, like where is the gothicness, where is the tenseness.. but LET. ME. TELL. YOU. When it gets to Hart, everything is explained in the craziest way ever. I’m trying to find words to describe this amazing plot twist without giving away half the book but the concepts of grief and the garden, the magic aspect. Agh! It was so GOOD. It was so captivating with this amazing cover and when I got to reading it I couldn’t put it down. At first I was a little annoyed at not being spooked by the book but then the plot twist turned everything on its head.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I definitely enjoyed this book and didn’t want to put it down once I started reading. I did expect more botanical horror elements out of it and the dialogue felt unnatural and juvenile at times, but I was still captivated by the mysteries of the garden and the poetic imagery and descriptions.