3.87 AVERAGE


Well, this was just lovely. WWII books are everywhere right now so I'm glad this was so much more and expanded through multiple generations. The imagery was dreamy, characters were endearing, and made me want to go outside and plant some stuff! I loved that the house and garden was the common thread throughout the whole story and connected characters without being super obvious. Just a delightful, easy read perfect for springtime!
lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

There was so much going on with this - 5 characters and 2 timelines! - that it was hard to keep track of who was whom doing what for awhile, and then once I had it, with so many changes to the focused character it didn’t have enough time to develop. 

The idea was nice - a garden that spanned multiple generations with pieces of history missing - but it just felt a bit flat or the characters felt inconsistent becuase they changed quickly or felt a little out of character with so little information. 

It was absolutely a perfect book. Beautiful setting, 3 time periods, 1 garden, characters with so much depth. I typically do not like books that bounce between time settings, but this book was so well crafted. I loved it! I found myself reading very slowly to not miss a single detail. I wanted the book to just keep going. I'm excited - NEW AUTHOR!!! and best new book of 2022.

i didn't think i would like a book about a garden so much. :) this was a lovely book, and i felt the three storylines were so well done! it's hard to choose a favorite - they were all vital to the story. great book.

This book was pleasant to listen. The main plot which centers around a particular garden is interesting and I enjoyed learning about the estate acquisitions that occurred during WWII. I also enjoyed the description of the layout of the garden and the different flowers placed in each one.
Unfortunately, I felt that this book had too many perspectives. I do enjoy a book with multiple perspectives, but with six different characters in three separate timelines it was difficult to provide any depth to the characters. Listening on audio, it took quite awhile for me to be able to establish which character was narrating in which time period.
Overall, it was good, but could have been better as a series perhaps.

Very nice, especially if you like gardening as I do.

Audio format

I liked the idea of this book - a stately garden in England - but following 3 women through 3 time periods and all the multitude of people in each time period it was just too hard to keep track of everyone and hard to keep track of what was going on.

The book simultaneously follows the lives of women from different decades affected by a garden: the garden’s creator at the beginning of the century, a few women in the forties while the home is converted into a war hospital, and a modern day gardener trying to restore the garden to its original glory. The author does a good job of holding my attention with a fairly boring premise. I absolutely hated, however, the death and miscarriage at the end. So unnecessary. Yeah— I get that it is heavily foreshadowed (winter garden symbolizes death, it’s locked and gives off creepy vibes in modern day storyline). But it was too neatly and quickly wrapped up at the end. Also maybe I was just super not in the mood for dealing with imaginary characters’ grief.

Told in three alternating timelines spanning from 1907 to the present day, we follow five women whose stories all intertwine around the setting of the beautiful Highbury House.

This is an absolute treat of a historical fiction novel, in a beautiful setting which was just what I needed. The stories are each expertly woven and although it took me a few chapters to get all of the characters straight in my head, once I did I loved each of the character’s stories.

Normally in a story from multiple perspectives and/or timelines I will have a favourite but that wasn’t the case here, as I adored each of their stories equally.

I will most definitely be looking for more books written by this author.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and to Simon & Schuster for the e-copy of this book.