You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
This was one of my favorite types of books. Historical fiction with some romance (clean) woven into the tale. Once I started reading this I could hardly put it down.
Throughout the book we follow 4 different women in 3 time periods. At first it was a little confusing to keep track of the cast of characters, but I quickly sorted out who's who and didn’t have trouble after that. I liked all the time periods and each of the women were strong individuals who had something about them that I admired.
The garden is wonderfully described and loved that it is based on a real life garden
Throughout the book we follow 4 different women in 3 time periods. At first it was a little confusing to keep track of the cast of characters, but I quickly sorted out who's who and didn’t have trouble after that. I liked all the time periods and each of the women were strong individuals who had something about them that I admired.
The garden is wonderfully described and loved that it is based on a real life garden
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I felt like this book could've been a touch longer. The loose ends seemed to all wrap up in the last 10% with little explanation.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I LOVED this book and it’s definitely going into my top 10 favourite books.
The writing was beautiful and all the characters were wonderful. There were a few mysteries about a few of the characters which made it fun and yes, they were very satisfactorily resolved by the end of the book.
As a fan of Beatrix Farrand (a real life early 20th century garden designer like Venetia), reading Venetia’s story was particularly interesting. I imagine some of the obstacles that Venetia faced are similar obstacles that Beatrix had to face in her career.
I only wish the gardens at Highbury House were real and that I could visit them! The author did a wonderful job at describing the garden in such a way that I could perfectly picture it in my mind.
I borrowed this book from my local library, but I’ll definitely be purchasing a copy for my shelves so I can read it again in the future.
I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!
The writing was beautiful and all the characters were wonderful. There were a few mysteries about a few of the characters which made it fun and yes, they were very satisfactorily resolved by the end of the book.
As a fan of Beatrix Farrand (a real life early 20th century garden designer like Venetia), reading Venetia’s story was particularly interesting. I imagine some of the obstacles that Venetia faced are similar obstacles that Beatrix had to face in her career.
I only wish the gardens at Highbury House were real and that I could visit them! The author did a wonderful job at describing the garden in such a way that I could perfectly picture it in my mind.
I borrowed this book from my local library, but I’ll definitely be purchasing a copy for my shelves so I can read it again in the future.
I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!
3.5
I really enjoyed how the garden tied together the different women in this story.
I really enjoyed how the garden tied together the different women in this story.
What a lovely story. Part of this story was set during wartime but I found it refreshing that it still mainly focused on the home front which was Highbury House.
This book reminds me a bit of Downton Abbey with the employees of Highbury House and the people who live there.
In 1907, Venetia is hired to design a garden on an estate. All the characters of this book will be tied together because of her garden, even more than a hundred years later.
In 1944, Diana is the head of the house at Highbury. She is a widow and raising her child alone after losing her husband. Her house has been requisitioned for use as a hospital for the soldiers. Diana’s house does not feel like her home anymore.
In this same timeline we also have land girl Beth and cook Stella.
Beth has wanted to find a home all of her life she is finally starting to feel at home working at Highbury.
Meanwhile, Stella has been working at Highbury since she was a teenager and wants nothing more than to leave.
In the current day, Emma is recreating the garden at Highbury. She wants to honor the owner’s requests to make it as authentic as possible. So they look for the original garden plans in order to rebuild. What they find is a set of drawings by Beth from 1944. This leads to them looking into some mysteries about the original garden.
Loved it.
My only constructive criticism is that it’s hard to keep the characters and timelines clear when you first start reading this. There’s three main characters in the 1944 timeline, one in 1907 and one in 2021. It just takes a little while to figure out where and who everyone is but then I got really into the story and thoroughly enjoyed it.
This book reminds me a bit of Downton Abbey with the employees of Highbury House and the people who live there.
In 1907, Venetia is hired to design a garden on an estate. All the characters of this book will be tied together because of her garden, even more than a hundred years later.
In 1944, Diana is the head of the house at Highbury. She is a widow and raising her child alone after losing her husband. Her house has been requisitioned for use as a hospital for the soldiers. Diana’s house does not feel like her home anymore.
In this same timeline we also have land girl Beth and cook Stella.
Beth has wanted to find a home all of her life she is finally starting to feel at home working at Highbury.
Meanwhile, Stella has been working at Highbury since she was a teenager and wants nothing more than to leave.
In the current day, Emma is recreating the garden at Highbury. She wants to honor the owner’s requests to make it as authentic as possible. So they look for the original garden plans in order to rebuild. What they find is a set of drawings by Beth from 1944. This leads to them looking into some mysteries about the original garden.
Loved it.
My only constructive criticism is that it’s hard to keep the characters and timelines clear when you first start reading this. There’s three main characters in the 1944 timeline, one in 1907 and one in 2021. It just takes a little while to figure out where and who everyone is but then I got really into the story and thoroughly enjoyed it.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
I am in awe of this book. First the cover...in all honesty I saw historical fiction and the cover and fell in love. Second, I cannot find the words to successfully articulate the impact the book had on me. I loved the three timelines and the different points of view from three very strong women. I really cared about all the characters that Julia Kelly created and that is truly a sign of a brilliant read.
The vivid descriptions in this book had my imagination on overdrive as I thought of the garden itself and the time and place the book was set in. I imagined the house and the clothes as well as the foliage it was very atmospheric throughout.
This is one of the best Historical Fiction books I have read...it's brilliantly, beautifully written and so well researched...This is a book that will remain in my heart for many years to come for so many reasons that it deserves all the stars.
Disclousure:
Thank you NetGalley, Julia Kelly and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.
#NetGalley