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A review by booksinbreweries
The Alchemy of Flowers: A Novel by Laura Resau
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Ugh. I wanted to like this one. I really did. As someone who actively left home in Denver to chase a dream in Europe after a divorce this sounded amazing. However… the minor little things include an absurd amount of time spent on food descriptions, flower explanations, and goddess summaries, which all just felt like too much layered like it was on top of so little plot. The book could have been half the length and not lost much. However my biggest problem is that it’s SO focused not just on family (as I expected from the summary) but childbirth. Pregnancy. Infertility treatments. Bearing children. As someone who does not nor has ever wanted children I really wish I had known this would be a book in which the FMC believes that producing offspring is the only natural way that women’s bodies work, because then I could have avoided it.
Ugh. I wanted to like this one. I really did. As someone who actively left home in Denver to chase a dream in Europe after a divorce this sounded amazing. However… the minor little things include an absurd amount of time spent on food descriptions, flower explanations, and goddess summaries, which all just felt like too much layered like it was on top of so little plot. The book could have been half the length and not lost much. However my biggest problem is that it’s SO focused not just on family (as I expected from the summary) but childbirth. Pregnancy. Infertility treatments. Bearing children. As someone who does not nor has ever wanted children I really wish I had known this would be a book in which the FMC believes that producing offspring is the only natural way that women’s bodies work, because then I could have avoided it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, Pregnancy