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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While I typically do not read love stories, I was fascinated with the historical premise of this book. @joywcal knocked it out of the park with this historical fiction novel. This book is a love letter to flowers, gardens, and parks. It also has a strong message about creating community and transcending the socioeconomic standing that you are born into. My flower loving heart could not love this story more, so of course I’ve already pre-ordered this book and recommend either the book or audiobook!
Thank you @harpermusebooks and @netgalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you @harpermusebooks and @netgalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This title has been sitting on my NetGalley shelf for a minute, which normally never happens, and I’m glad I waited to be in the mood for it. I don’t usually reach for this particular niche of historical fiction so I wasn’t sure how I’d like it, and I ended up loving it.
Right out the gate I enjoyed the setup of the Rye/NY society, the Fremds, the love interests/marriage prospects, the nurseries. I was rooting for Sadie through and through and the way the plot unfolded was so satisfying. It took me longer than usual to read a book this size but looking back, all the details were so purposeful in painting the bigger picture, mirroring characters and events, I really can’t complain.
The dialogue was fantastic. Especially the conversations between Sadie and all the high society characters, those seem so easy to make boring and exhausting to get through, but they were done just right. Sadie’s conflict between having to get married and her ambition to inherit the nurseries she’s so passionate about, all with the dash of forbidden love was just *chef’s kiss*.
The one thing that caught me by surprise was the overarching conversation on class, poverty, homelessness, really just human misery caused by industrialism and capitalism at the time. Ultimately I was happy with how it all unfolded, but the way it all started made it seem like Sadie just had the romantic notion that upon seeing some flowers, people would be magically lifted out of the slums and poverty. As more details got revealed though, of the way the Fremds cared for their employees, Sadie’s growing disappointment in their peers, there came more nuance. I hadn’t known that public parks weren’t really for the entire public to enjoy, but just the upper class, and Sadie and Sam’s fight to give people fresh air and beauty was admirable.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Now it’s our turn to carry on their legacy, to bloom, to bear evidence of miracles to a hurting world."
This book was a combination of two of my favorite things, the Gilded Age and plants! This was my very first Joy Callaway story. I was initially drawn in by the gorgeous cover, and this definitely won't be my last Joy Callaway story. I was completely enchanted by All the Pretty Places. The story is based on Joy Callaway's own family history in rural Rye, New York. That's pretty cool!
The story is set during a time when ladies of the social elite were expected to bear children and host parties, not take over the helm of the family business. However this is exactly what Sadie Fremd sets out to do. She has no desire to adhere to the social norms, especially when they go against her hearts deepest desires.
The romance in this story is so bittersweet, teetering between hope and loss. I was never quite sure how it was going to end, or whether my heart was going to end up broken along with Sadie's.
There were so many things I liked about this story:
• The vivid descriptions of the landscapes allowed me to easily picture them
• The Easter message told through the colored tulips - this was new to me and I liked the symbolism
• The message of putting the happiness of others before your own
• How even the smallest act of kindness can profoundly affect another person
Read All the Pretty Places if you like:
gilded age
clean romance
inspirational stories
I am so happy to have discovered a new author to add to my reading repertoire! I've been hearing great things about her previous book,The Grand Design. I'm adding it to my list, is it on yours?
Thank you Joy Callaway, Harper Muse and Net Galley for the complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed here are my own.
This book was a combination of two of my favorite things, the Gilded Age and plants! This was my very first Joy Callaway story. I was initially drawn in by the gorgeous cover, and this definitely won't be my last Joy Callaway story. I was completely enchanted by All the Pretty Places. The story is based on Joy Callaway's own family history in rural Rye, New York. That's pretty cool!
The story is set during a time when ladies of the social elite were expected to bear children and host parties, not take over the helm of the family business. However this is exactly what Sadie Fremd sets out to do. She has no desire to adhere to the social norms, especially when they go against her hearts deepest desires.
The romance in this story is so bittersweet, teetering between hope and loss. I was never quite sure how it was going to end, or whether my heart was going to end up broken along with Sadie's.
There were so many things I liked about this story:
• The vivid descriptions of the landscapes allowed me to easily picture them
• The Easter message told through the colored tulips - this was new to me and I liked the symbolism
• The message of putting the happiness of others before your own
• How even the smallest act of kindness can profoundly affect another person
Read All the Pretty Places if you like:
gilded age
clean romance
inspirational stories
I am so happy to have discovered a new author to add to my reading repertoire! I've been hearing great things about her previous book,The Grand Design. I'm adding it to my list, is it on yours?
Thank you Joy Callaway, Harper Muse and Net Galley for the complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed here are my own.
If you love historical fiction with a little bit of forbidden romance this book is for you! Sadie is strong minded and meets her match going head to head with her German father to purse her hopes and dreams instead of becoming another woman of society. An excellent read, I could not put down. I was also surprised to find that the book is based on the Authors family history! Love that!
The only thing I may add, none to which the authors fault. The Harper Muse branding on every, single, page, and lack of actual chapter formatting was very distracting as a reader. Obviously it will not be in the finished copy but still it was far too much even for an ARC.
The only thing I may add, none to which the authors fault. The Harper Muse branding on every, single, page, and lack of actual chapter formatting was very distracting as a reader. Obviously it will not be in the finished copy but still it was far too much even for an ARC.