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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
What I was expecting? Dark gothic romance, but more YA.
This book was not that.
It was an immediate request because of the title. It’s one of my favorite paintings and I added it to the back of my bookshelf cleverly hidden behind the hardcovers to represent what exactly they mean to me. I was hoping this book matched the mesmerizing and enigmatic masterpiece that portrays the Garden of Eden, Earthly delights, and Hell… I was not disappointed.
This is so twisty and I truly did not expect any of the events past 38% in.
This is a story about love, loss, and obsession. In none of the ways you will expect.
From the first few pages in Goldy sets the atmosphere as surreal in a gas station at night, arguably a definitive liminal space. I wrote this before I knew this was 100% a liminal space.
Rose, Hart, and Heathers destinies are entwined so deeply it’s driven them mad.
I really can’t even explain much about this book without giving it all away, let’s just say I am floored. I am shocked, disturbed, and gutted by this book.
Amazing. Easily would have been 5 stars if not for minor things.
This book was not that.
It was an immediate request because of the title. It’s one of my favorite paintings and I added it to the back of my bookshelf cleverly hidden behind the hardcovers to represent what exactly they mean to me. I was hoping this book matched the mesmerizing and enigmatic masterpiece that portrays the Garden of Eden, Earthly delights, and Hell… I was not disappointed.
This is so twisty and I truly did not expect any of the events past 38% in.
This is a story about love, loss, and obsession. In none of the ways you will expect.
From the first few pages in Goldy sets the atmosphere as surreal in a gas station at night, arguably a definitive liminal space. I wrote this before I knew this was 100% a liminal space.
Rose, Hart, and Heathers destinies are entwined so deeply it’s driven them mad.
I really can’t even explain much about this book without giving it all away, let’s just say I am floored. I am shocked, disturbed, and gutted by this book.
Amazing. Easily would have been 5 stars if not for minor things.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was good, I liked the themes it played with. The true core of this being is: how far are you willing to go for the ones you love? Ultimately this a book about grief and how it consumes us.
I didn’t go into this book thinking half the book was going to be a romance, and romances aren’t typically for me. I liked the atmosphere of this book and I did really like the ending. This book had an interesting story and characters but it felt a bit slow.
I think if you love romances and books on grief you’d like this !
I didn’t go into this book thinking half the book was going to be a romance, and romances aren’t typically for me. I liked the atmosphere of this book and I did really like the ending. This book had an interesting story and characters but it felt a bit slow.
I think if you love romances and books on grief you’d like this !
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Moldavsky pulls you in with beautifully written prose and somehow never lets you in to the story. The short chapters help to push this one along, but I think I've seen this film before.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have an entire note on my phone full of my emotions while reading. If it didn’t have a ton of spoilers I’d include it. Lots of yelling. Lots of questions. Trying to figure out what was happening because I knew that other shoe was gonna drop I just didn’t know when or how. And boy. It fucking dropped. I was captivated. Pissed that I couldn’t figure it out quickly enough.
…it was amazing and I highly recommend it but only if you go in blind.
Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, and Goldy Moldavsky for an eARC copy of Of Earthly Delights in exchange for my honest review.
…it was amazing and I highly recommend it but only if you go in blind.
Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, and Goldy Moldavsky for an eARC copy of Of Earthly Delights in exchange for my honest review.
excuse my while i pick my jaw up because WHAT WAS THATTTTTT. let me stop and say thank you netgalley for this arc. anyways!!! i was a little confused at the begging of this and unsure where it was going, but this had me on the edge of my seat when i started to realize Something Was Up. you’ll think you know what’s coming next, and you’ll realize you have absolutely no clue until the moment it’s revealed.
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
Going to be very careful to not reveal anything, but wow. I thought this entire book was great. It took me til twist #1 for me to understand everything fully I had read. I went back and re-read some of the earlier portions which made everything make sense. And then happily finished this book. It's a really good Gothic romance young adult novel. Think of "The Secret Garden" mixed with "The Haunting of Hill House."
"Of Earthly Delights" follows teenager Rose Pauly. Rose has newly arrived from New York to Meadow Falls Connecticut. Rose is angry about leaving her life behind in New York and runs out of her house after a fight with her father and arrives at a gas station store. And after a "meet cute" is run into by Hart Hargrove. Hart invites her to a party and there she runs into a young woman named Heather who seems angry at Rose's arrival. Rose leaves confused, but can't get her mind off of Hart. And then she ends up making a new friend named Lowell who seems just as obsessed with Heather. They arrive at one of the Hargrove famous parties at Hemlock Hill and for both Rose and Lowell that party changes things for both of them.
I definitely liked the characters we are introduced to in this one. I felt at times though the writing was so confusing and I was getting so confused (until the reveal) and then you start to get what was going on. I am still going to give the book 4 stars for that just because it was hard to muddle through because I kept thinking the writing style was weird in places because of the tenses the author chose to use. Once you get to the 59 percent mark the book starts to really find its rhythm. Things are explained and you get to fully understand what has been going on in the Hargrove family and the rest of the book, blooms open for you (yes that was a bad pun intended.)
The setting of Hemlock Hill though was really interesting. I could picture the house, the gardens, the maze, everything. The setting felt very much alive and was very much its own character. I also liked that there are hints throughout this book about what that garden was really about.
The ending leaves you wondering, but I think I know what happens next. Definitely interested in hearing everyone's thoughts about this one.
Going to be very careful to not reveal anything, but wow. I thought this entire book was great. It took me til twist #1 for me to understand everything fully I had read. I went back and re-read some of the earlier portions which made everything make sense. And then happily finished this book. It's a really good Gothic romance young adult novel. Think of "The Secret Garden" mixed with "The Haunting of Hill House."
"Of Earthly Delights" follows teenager Rose Pauly. Rose has newly arrived from New York to Meadow Falls Connecticut. Rose is angry about leaving her life behind in New York and runs out of her house after a fight with her father and arrives at a gas station store. And after a "meet cute" is run into by Hart Hargrove. Hart invites her to a party and there she runs into a young woman named Heather who seems angry at Rose's arrival. Rose leaves confused, but can't get her mind off of Hart. And then she ends up making a new friend named Lowell who seems just as obsessed with Heather. They arrive at one of the Hargrove famous parties at Hemlock Hill and for both Rose and Lowell that party changes things for both of them.
I definitely liked the characters we are introduced to in this one. I felt at times though the writing was so confusing and I was getting so confused (until the reveal) and then you start to get what was going on. I am still going to give the book 4 stars for that just because it was hard to muddle through because I kept thinking the writing style was weird in places because of the tenses the author chose to use. Once you get to the 59 percent mark the book starts to really find its rhythm. Things are explained and you get to fully understand what has been going on in the Hargrove family and the rest of the book, blooms open for you (yes that was a bad pun intended.)
The setting of Hemlock Hill though was really interesting. I could picture the house, the gardens, the maze, everything. The setting felt very much alive and was very much its own character. I also liked that there are hints throughout this book about what that garden was really about.
The ending leaves you wondering, but I think I know what happens next. Definitely interested in hearing everyone's thoughts about this one.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was a joy to read. The writing style is very unique, it really throws the perspective of time out the window. I had a guess of what was going on towards the beginning of the book, but there were still twists that I wasn't expecting and definitely things that happened that I didn't see coming. I loved that part of it was told from Rose's perspective and part of it was told from Hart's perspective, but not changing every chapter or so like many dual perspective books do. The only part I didn't like about this book was when it ended. I wanted so much more. I wanted more lifetimes with Rose and Hart and Heather. They were wonderfully written characters that really drew me in and kept me intrigued and entertained.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
ARC Review of “Of Earthly Delights” by Goldy Moldavsky
⭐ 5/5 Stars
⭐ 5/5 Stars
“That summer, Rose and Hart came together in a kaleidoscope of colors.”
A darkly romantic YA gothic thriller with a splash of magical realism, “Of Earthly Delights” follows Rose Pauly, a teen artist ripped from New York and dropped into a mysterious new world. When she meets the charming and enigmatic Hart Hargrove, their star-crossed romance blooms inside the secretive garden behind his family's mansion - but love this intense never comes without thorns. This story is equal parts romance, mystery, and emotional gut punch.
Wow - I’ve never enjoyed having my heart torn apart so much, and willingly so. This book completely immersed me in its atmosphere: eerie, beautiful, and emotionally raw. It made me feel like I was right there with Rose, swept up in something intoxicating and terrifying all at once. Grief, love, and obsession pulse through every page, and the plot twists hit with the weight of truth you don’t want to admit.
The characters in this book are so distinct and unapologetically themselves. Rose’s yearning and creative spark, Hart’s intensity and mystery, the garden’s uncanny allure. I loved Goldy Moldavsky’s vivid and emotional writing and how they threaded clever clues and foreshadowing through the writing without ever giving too much away. The tension builds so expertly that I never saw the twists coming, and when they did... I was wrecked.
If you love atmospheric YA with sharp writing, haunting themes, and a romance that burns beautifully dark, Of Earthly Delights is for you. Go in blind - and prepare to be completely consumed.
I was generously provided an e-ARC by Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group / Henry Holt and Co. via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own ♡
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
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 Gothic horror romance that ripped my heart out of my chest. Rose has moved to a small town from New York City, a town that her father grew up in. When she meets the handsome Hart Hargrove, a boy almost too perfect to be true, Heather slowly learns that Hart and his twin sister Heather harbor secrets buried deep within the garden walls of their family home. Goldy Moldavsky's writing here is lush and beautiful, while still being palatable for the young adult audience it's designed for. The twist in this book has seeds planted throughout but it doesn't make the blossoming of this novel and its twists any less enjoyable.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the e-Arc for review.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the e-Arc for review.