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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. I enjoyed picturing the beautiful gardens created by Sadie, Sam, and company throughout the course of this early 20th-century romance. It was refreshing that Sadie was more interested in horticulture and carrying on the family business than in marriage or money.
hopeful
lighthearted
This book was beautifully written. Enjoyed the audiobook and physical copy. If anyone is ever in the mood to read a book set in the gilded age filled with whimsical and history, this one is it!
hopeful
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
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:
Complicated
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-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
I’ll start by saying that I am NOT a fan of historical fiction, so I really struggled getting through this book. That being said, it was a really well written book! It took until about 3/4 of the way in before I finally felt fully invested in the characters, but I really feel that it was due to the setting (late 1800s America). The picture that the author painted was beautiful. I think if you enjoy historical fiction, romance, feminism & plants then this is the book for you!!
I’ll also add I kinda wish Sadie had ended up marrying Harry. I feel like that would have been more realistic, because let’s be honest… most men of that time didn’t care what a woman wanted. They barely viewed women as more than livestock.
I’ll also add
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Death of parent
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I may have the brownest of thumbs, but at my "mountain home", Biltmore, the garden and grounds crew are nothing but spectacular, and it's really because of them that I have any context for the plants, hybridization language, and most importantly, the landscape architecture that so delights Sadie Fremd. Joy Callaway's delightful foray into her personal family heritage gives both heart at Sadie doing what she loves, whether for pay or simply because it's needed, and heartbreak at the constraints of societal pressure to set aside "childish hobbies" to marry well so that her husband, whoever he may be, can be her father's successor. And what you have can be quickly lost, as Gilded Age splendor contrasts with both the (economic) Panic of 1893 and the tenement living with its lack of anything green and growing in the cities.