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bookishmoment 's review for:
The Alchemy of Flowers: A Novel
by Laura Resau
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Eloise, mired in grief, walks away from her life and accepts a unique job offer in the south of France to live off the grid and tend a lush garden on a private estate. As with all opportunities, when it feels too good to be true, it probably is. A darkness lurks in the garden, and the "rules" for living inside the locked gates of the estate quickly begin to feel sinister. Is this truly the garden of paradise that Eloise so desperately needs, or has she made a grave error by taking this leap?
This novel is full of equal parts lush garden settings, decadent food writing (it is France, after all), and a lingering, creeping sense of dread. These things don't seem to go together on the surface, but in Resau's hands, it works beautifully. All these characters are flawed but most are extremely lovable. While some scenes frustrated me (I would not operate well among a group of people shrugging off some truly bizarre circumstances, for instance), everything comes together in due time. The nods to The Secret Garden and Eloise's incredible treehouse abode made the little girl still living in me gleeful.
Thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for the opportunity to hide away in this garden prior to the book's publication. Now, I'm off to the farmer's market to immerse myself in the townsfolk and shop for a bounty of local wares!
This novel is full of equal parts lush garden settings, decadent food writing (it is France, after all), and a lingering, creeping sense of dread. These things don't seem to go together on the surface, but in Resau's hands, it works beautifully. All these characters are flawed but most are extremely lovable. While some scenes frustrated me (I would not operate well among a group of people shrugging off some truly bizarre circumstances, for instance), everything comes together in due time. The nods to The Secret Garden and Eloise's incredible treehouse abode made the little girl still living in me gleeful.
Thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for the opportunity to hide away in this garden prior to the book's publication. Now, I'm off to the farmer's market to immerse myself in the townsfolk and shop for a bounty of local wares!