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smutwalks 's review for:
Where You're Planted
by Melanie Sweeney
After hurricane damage forces her library to relocate into a tiny shed at the local botanic gardens, Tansy Perkins fears she'll be rejected for the government funding necessary to rebuild this vital community resource. Despite her mountain of troubles, Tansy has a sunny disposition and moxie for days so she Is willing to do whatever it takes to see the library thrive. Her first obstacle? Reconcile how the man who saved she and her daughter from rising flood waters and the garden's surly director could be one in the same.
Jack has preferred nature to human beings since his divorce. He will soon be taking over an even bigger leadership role at the botanic gardens and simply does not have time for relationships with other people, especially the Tansy Perkins shaped people who have invaded his space. Unfortunately for Jack, the Commissioner has tasked he and Tansy with joining forced to host a big family festival to prove to the community has fully recovered...which it hasn't. But the Commissioner promised to commit to funding essential flood-mitigation projects if Jack complies, and he will do what he must to protect his community from another inevitable natural disaster.
Jack and Tansy's passion for rebuilding their own public spaces is not only the flint that strikes a mutual understanding, but a deeper connection that neither of them can deny. Too bad there is just not enough public funding for everyone...
This is honestly a perfect contemporary romance for anybody whose tummy hurts and is mad at the government. Ok so it actually won't do anything about your tummy except possibly redirect the aching to your head because the government is inept and the fictional plot is too real. Please know it is taking every once of restraint not to turn this review into a plea for unconditional FEMA support in the midst of rapidly escalating climate change. I can do brave things!
Yes--your rage against the government will persist. But the budding relationship between Tansy, an eternal optimist who no reason to be optimistic, and Jack, a big 'ol grumpy anxious man who doesn't want to get hurt, is SO freakin' swoony! Oh also I dare you not to weep while Jack forges a bond with Tansy's daughter Briar. What I loved the most was the way in which both Tansy and Jack were able to shed light on how absolutely critical free shared public spaces are to communities. Tansy was willing to go to bat for any library patron, even the ones attempting to summon the devil, simply because the library is a space for EVERYONE. Jack was already passionate about maintaining the botanic gardens as a safe space for native plants, but Tansy's influence helped him expand the garden's possibilities.
This is my first Melanie Sweeney novel and oh my god???? I grabbed my phone to put a library hold on her debut novel so quickly after finishing this book that I almost dropped it. I absolutely loved the hell out of Where You're Planted, and won't be shutting up about it anytime soon.
Thank you to Penguin Group Putman for the eARC of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.