3.75 stars
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

In a futuristic Paris, a writer moves into an apartment where all the tenants are being watched and monitored. It will take Clarissa and her quick-thinking granddaughter to try and figure out what is going on. In between the chapters, there are hints as to what pushed Clarissa to leave her second husband.

I appreciated that our protagonist was a grandmother. So often protagonists tend to be in their 20's and 30's trying to figure out life. #tatianaderosnay has always been an up-and-down author for me in terms of liking versus loving. But she has certainly created a very memorable read in her latest novel.

#erinrossreads2021 #readersofinstagram #goodreads #teachersandbooks #stmartinspress #netgalley #marchbreakread


Goodreads review published 04/04/21
Publication Date. 23/02/21

Tatiana de Rosnay’s works of historical fiction have always impressed me. This was very different from them. Set in Paris, it takes place in the future. I loved the clever ways in which the author created a future, such as the destruction Eiffel Tower and the holographic image that replaces it. I found this to be very interesting. I liked the main character, Clarissa, who was an author and living in a futuristic artists’ apartment building completely run with artificial intelligence. The story takes a sinister turn when Clarissa begins to suspect that the apartment and all its perks aren’t what they appear to be. I felt like the ending was left slightly unresolved, but overall I really enjoyed this and found the plot to be interesting and refreshing.

I will read anything Tatiana de Rosnay writes; I've read most of her backlist and was excited to approved for this title. This was so so far from anything she had written before - however, she remains true to many of her common themes: Paris; family relationships; and vivid settings.

I enjoyed Clarissa's story; however, my only compliant is that we got more closure around C.A.S.A.. We never got confirmation around what they were hoping to do - or any closure related to whether they were successful. While I loved learning Clarissa's story - both with her husband, and her returning to the safety of her first husband - it would have been eerie to get a bit more information there.

Overall, I will continue to read anything Tatiana de Rosnay writes!

Clarissa Katsef is an author living in Paris in the not-too distant future. She has left her husband and is thrilled when her application to live in an ultra-modern apartment building exclusively for artists is accepted. Now she can concentrate on her next book and enjoy the tranquility of her new home. But, almost immediately, Clarissa feels uncomfortable in her apartment and she has the feeling that someone is watching her.

Flowers of Darkness deals with many themes. Climate change, relationships, growing older, advancing technology…these are some of the issues that help weave this story together. And, I found it all fascinating. The characters were interesting and varied and I enjoyed the interactions of Clarissa and her granddaughter. However, at times the story seemed to drag a bit and it was a little easier to put down than I would have liked. The revelation near the end was quite unexpected and it gave me a jolt. This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but I think it’s probably time for me to read other novels by Tatiana de Rosnay.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. The concept and idea of it was super unique, but I had a very hard time connecting with the characters and it felt like 2 storylines were competing for the attention. I also have NO idea why the book ended the way it did :(

In a near-future Paris, writer Clarissa Katsef finds herself abruptly in need of a new start and a new home - and seems to find both in the ultra-modern C.A.S.A. residence for artists. But there's something rotten under the sleek, shiny exterior - and Clarissa can't shake the feeling she's being watched...

Tatiana de Rosnay's latest book is an eerie dive into a city and a world emerging from a series of disasters and teetering on the brink of even more, through the lens of one woman who, reeling from a personal disaster, stumbles into something even more troubling. This similarity to Mrs. Dalloway - done here in a darker, grimmer palette than in Woolf's day through London - is no coincidence, as Clarissa Katsef takes her pen name, her literary inspiration, and the name of her disturbingly watchful virtual assistant from Woolf's classic. These aren't the only literary allusions and layers to be found bound up in the short but tight story - Daphne du Maurier and Romain Gary, and perhaps others I missed, are accounted for - and the result is an exquisite, unsettling gem of paranoia, grief, artistic creativity, and the search for tranquility and a room of one's own, as the world crumbles beneath one's feet.


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance review copy!


Content warnings: Infant loss, discussion of suicide, substance abuse.

Thanks Net galley for the arc but this was a dnf for me. I have read her other books but just could not get into this one.

Wow this is a tough review for me to write because I really loved the book until I realized that it just stopped and there was no ending. Like not a cliffhanger not an open to interpretation, just no resolution of the story whatsoever. It felt like I was missing half the book I was in shock.

When I think of Tatiana De Rosnay I think of Sarah's Key which was an incredibly powerful book for me. It shattered me and rebuilt me and is one of the few books I've ever reread. That is also to say that when I think of De Rosnay I think of historical fiction, so to experience her writing about the future was very intriguing. And the whole thing was incredible because even though it was future set it didn't feel like a sci-fi book it still felt like a historical fiction book. The way she described the aftermath of attacks and the rebuilding of Paris was like I could believe they had actually happened. The future tech was believable and not outlandish. I was really enjoying reading. However I have to come back to the fact that the book just stopped. I mean sure she was at Toby's place and she felt content but that was a momentary thing. We never found out what exactly was making her I'll and if she recovered. We didn't really find out who and what casa was although she had her theory there was no confirmation. We have no idea what was in the mug or what happened to neighbor was he killed or in hiding? We don't know if she ever went back to her apartment if she resolved things with her daughter, where she went next. It just stopped. I don't mind a little bit of mystery or unresolved content in a book but this was too much left unsaid. A story has a beginning middle and end. But this story just ended in the middle.

<i>Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy.</i>

I think the best way to describe this novel is literary fiction with a dash of mystery and suspense mixed in. I got some <i>1984</i> vibes from the whole novel. <b>You don't know who is watching you or recording you.</b> Overall, it was a unique and quietly compelling novel. The premise was unusual (<i>in a good way</i>) and the setting was unsettling.

It had lies, secrets, betrayal. But most of all it was a book about the pain of lonliness and sorrow. There was hope mixed in, but the main character, Clarissa, definitely had some demons and scars that she carried around with her throughout the story, and she needed to find away to deal with the ugliness that plagued her.

I would say a weakness of this book is it felt a bit <i>unfinished</i> and lacked some substantial <i>world building</i> needed for a futuristic, dystopian society. That being said, I do think the writing and literary elements included in the novel did create a tense and suspenseful atmosphere that made the reader uncomfortable and claustrophobic.

Not a fast, compulsive read, but a literary take on consequences of Artificial Intelligence.

Flowers of Darkness was simply fan-tas-tic! This is my first Tatiana de Rosnay book and it will definitely won't be my last. I will not waste my time giving a synopsis as there are so many things I want to talk about. I inhaled this book; I related on so many levels. First off, I enjoyed reading about protagonist's Clarissa Katsef's bilingualism. I could tell that author de Rosnay is herself bilingual because one cannot write about it unless you grew up speaking more than one language. Our brains get wired differently. Sometimes we can't even tell what language we speak as the selection of the language spoken depends on so many factors: who we are talking to, how we feel, where we are located,.. It is a real blessing to be able to switch from one language to another, and I command Ms. de Rosnay for writing her novels in English and in French. I also found the C.A.S.A residence fascinating: what are they after, how they function, why they select some artists and not others? I was a little disappointed that there was no resolve about two characters related to that place; I wish I had know what happened to them, who they were really. But it's ok, I will use my imagination instead.. It is also worrying to witness Paris and the rest of the world in such a devastating state. I had my worries since the beginning of the pandemic, and the book did not tame my anxiety about our future.
Another very interesting topic was Clarissa's romantic relationships with her two ex husbands. Two husbands, two polar-opposite stories, both interesting and realistic. And sad.

I don't want to divulge all the topics I enjoyed reading about so, all I am going to say is that this book made me question myself: how would I have reacted if I were Clarissa? I asked myself this question quite often and I loved Clarissa and her granddaughter's strong personality. no shadows of doubt, no weakness, no subservience, just the type of female characters I love meeting.

I am giving this book a well-deserved 5 stars for the quality of character development, originality of discussed topics, balanced dosage of mystery, thriller, and fiction, and last but not least a successful description of Paris which made me feel like I was in Paris, but not quite the Paris I know.

Bravo Tatiana de Rosnay!

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martins Press for this e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.

I've been haunted by Sarah's Key for years and I wondered if this book would have the same effect. It did - and yet it didn't. It's a very different book. The writing had me mesmerized and kept me engrossed in the story. It was 'out there' but yet fairly easy to imagine it happening in the future. I held my breath to see what would happen next. And then - - for me - - the ending was disappointing. It just seemed to abruptly end without the complete resolution I expected. It's a good book - but the ending brought it down from 5 stars to 4 stars for me. Still a good rating.

A book that left me thoughtful. This story is about Clarissa Katsef. She is a writer who is having a hard time writing her next book. Fortunately, she is in one of the most enigmatic and inspiring cities in the world, Paris. In this city, Clarissa occupies a modern apartment from which she can appreciate the beautiful view of all of Paris. However, the moment Clarissa moves into this apartment, she felt that someone might be watching her. She has had problems in the past, so perhaps she may feel a level of paranoia. Therefore, Clarissa assigns her granddaughter an investigation. The objective is to investigate a high-tech building, which will help Clarisa to be calmer. In addition to these problems, Clarissa feels that her husband continues to be the person who intimately knows her. I liked this book, as Clarissa is a very mysterious character. There were times when I was paranoid too. The most he wanted was Clarissa's tranquility. Feeling being watched by someone else is terrible. It is a novel that requires patience, as events do not happen quickly. I enjoyed the author's writing style. It is the second book I've read by Tatiana de Rosnay, and I don't regret it. I thank NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review

Who is CASA? What are they about? This is a book about the near future in Paris. Clarissa takes up residence in a place where artist can live together. This book was just ok. It did not grab me like I hoped it would. Not sure how if I would look for this author again.

Synopsis: Clarissa is a 60-something year old author living in Paris who has recently left her second husband and is desperate to find an apartment. Several years previously Paris, London and Venice had been the victim of attacks and landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Sistine Chapel and Big Ben no longer exist. Climate change has caused extreme heat waves and the extinction of insects, birds and bees. Clarissa eventually finds a “smart apartment” in a high-rise whose residents are all artists. She moves in immediately but soon starts to regret her impetuous decision when she finds cameras in almost every room, is required to take special vitamins and submit to a medical check each day and a virtual assistant who is annoying and intrusive. She confides her fears to her 14-year-old granddaughter who tries to help Clarissa find some answers.

My thoughts/What I Liked:
• A story where the protagonist is neither a young adult, a 40-55 year old or an octogenarian. It is rare to find a book where the protagonist is a woman in her 60’s.
• The realistic narrative of what climate change has wrought.
• I found the descriptions of the smart apartment very intriguing.

My thoughts/What I Didn’t Like:
• Clarissa signs a legal agreement to rent prior to reading it. A few days later once she is concerned about her privacy and is fearful, she decides to read the contract and the regulations at that point. Really?????
• The recklessness of Clarissa putting her grandchild in danger. If she was that terrified of living in the apartment, she could have moved out immediately into temporary lodging until she could find another apartment.
• So many loose threads were not explained by the end of the book.

I gave this book 3/5 stars. I liked the premise but I think there are just too many problems with the storyline to give it a higher rating.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is now available at North American booksellers.

This is a bit of a departure for the author, who has written several books in the historical fiction category. Instead, this book is set in the future in Paris. Something catastrophic has happened, and parts of the city were destroyed and being rebuilt. Clarissa, a struggling author, has just left her husband, and secures an apartment that is ultra modern. I love that her virtual assistant she names Mrs. Dalloway. She feels she is being watched and her granddaughter tries to help her figure out what is going on. This story feels more science fictiony and I struggle a bit with that genre.

An intriguing premise, and interesting storyline, although I feel like its been done numerous times before. Heroine has life drama, needs to move, finds a home that seems too good to be true. Realizes quickly that something sinister is afoot, enlists family member to help her figure it out, the end.

The mystery around the home was interesting enough, although I truly struggled with the fact that Clarissa knew nothing about the apartment's contract or what was expected of her before she moved in. I realize she was "traumatized" and rushed, but seriously? I would have liked to have seen more interactions between the building's occupants, and have some of those relationships explored a little bit. For example, Jim Perrier's character could have played a more prominent role. Overall, it just felt like a lot of opportunities to explore some interesting areas further were missed or ignored. And then there's the piece between Clarissa and her husband Francois, and her reasons for leaving him. I get the connection to the overall storyline, but all it did was just leave me rolling my eyes in disappointment that the author even went there.

I generally enjoyed Clarissa's character, although there was something a bit off-putting about her that I was never quite able to pinpoint. I also enjoyed her granddaughter Andy, although she was honestly a bit unrealistic in her actions and mannerisms. Other than those two, they never went into enough detail on the other characters to really form an opinion.

The nail in the coffin for this book for me was the ending. MUCH too open-ended, with absolutely nothing being resolved. Literally nothing. I'm usually okay with being able to "create my own ending" to get my closure, but this just felt like my copy of the book was missing the last chapter.

I went into this review thinking it was 3 stars, but as I wrote it, I realized that the only thing I liked about this book was the general premise and a couple of characters. The execution of the premise, and that wretched ending, really only make this a two-star book for me.

In a future Paris irrevocably altered by terrorism and climate change, writer Clarissa Katsef moves into new, modern high tech housing for artists. Weekly health checks and constant video surveillance are a small concession for a place of refugee away from her second husband after she learns after she discovers an appalling secret. Within weeks, she begins feeling lethargic and exhausted, with old grief surfacing amidst her current suffering, and she begins to think C.A.S.A., the organization responsible for the artists’ housing, does more than simply monitor. Her teenage granddaughter resolves to help her investigate, but Clarissa questions whether her symptoms are the result of nefarious deeds, depression, or aging.

Flowers of Darkness is incredibly fascinating, with its depiction of a near future, post-Brexit world without bees and with even more extreme climate change, as well as the impact of living in a “smart” house—a parallel of the themes in Clarissa’s writing that position writers, namely Virginia Woolf, , in their intimate spaces. It also considers themes of grief, aging, secrets, and betrayal as well as the power of names and language (multilingualism, in particular). As much as I enjoyed these As much as I enjoyed these motifs, it was almost overwhelming in the relatively brief novel, and I wish the mystery of C.A.S.A. had been more clearly resolved.

The writing is lovely and full of literary allusions, and the slow burn creates a simmering tension, plus the work off Clarissa’s daughter is an interesting nod to de Rosnay’s last novel. And, once again, there is a feline companion, here named Chablis.

3.5/5
I thought this book was quite interesting. It had a very dystopian feel to it which is so different from Tatiana de Rosnay's other books. Set in futuristic Paris, the protagonist, Clarissa Katsef, moves into a very high-tech, very modern apartment after leaving her husband when she discovers a very hurtful secret he was keeping from her. This apartment actually sounded pretty cool, complete with wonderful views and a voice-activated assistant, named Mrs. Dalloway by Clarissa, that's like a super-powered Alexa. Awesome, right? Well, maybe not. One of the reasons I don't own an Alexa speaker is because I feel like it would constantly be spying on me and listening to everything that is said. That's how Clarissa started feeling not only with the built-in assistant but there were also cameras installed in her apartment for "security" reasons. Her fourteen year old granddaughter, Alex, whom I loved, while staying with Clarissa is the one who noticed clicking sounds and other strange happenings. That set Clarissa to wondering if she was being constantly watched and if so, why? And how could she leave this place only after living there for a few months and having signed a lease?

While the writing was good and mysterious and the story kept my interest throughout most of the book, the ending left me a bit disappointed. I guess I was expecting something different, something more. Something that would have left me saying, "Wow!" But it left me saying, "Huh? That's it?" Good concept. I just wish the ending would have done more for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy.

I finished "Flowers of Darkness" by Tatiana de Rosnay several days ago, and, yet, cannot get it out of my head. My mind keeps swimming back into Clarissa Katsef's world.

Clarissa is a writer and a woman scorned. Luckily, she is given the opportunity to leave her cheating husband and live in an artists' residence for cheap rent, great views of Paris, and nothing to do but work on her new endeavor: a book written in English & French simultaneously, as Clarissa herself thinks & speaks in both of these languages fluently and fluidly.

However, there seems to be an unspoken catch. Isn't there always a catch when something seems too good?

The world Clarissa lives in is set in a future, sadly, not too many years down the road from us. This world is without plants and bees. This world has massive heat waves where people must barricade themselves inside so as to not roast on the streets like pieces of meat. This world has artificial intelligence. This world is always watching - and they're watching Clarissa and her fellow artists quite closely. But Why?

"Flowers of Darkness" touches on so many events in our current lives and the lives we fear we may find ourselves in in the near future. I felt almost bombarded with issue after issue in our main character's life. And had this book been written by a less experienced author, it would have been too much. However, de Rosnay crafted her story in such a way that it wasn't overwhelming, but instead made you feel compassion and anger and fear and suspicious. It made you FEEL.

I love stories with a Happily Ever After. I'm even okay with a Not-too-Happy After, but all the loose ends are at least tied up. This book? It's ending was...happy? It was...satisfying? Not *all* loose ends were tied up, but they were enough? I think this is why I can't quite let go of the story: I still have questions. (I will say, however, that it isn't like another book I read not too long ago that ended in such a way that I threw it across the room.) And while I do have these questions, I can still walk away knowing Clarissa and her life will continue on in a scary, future world where people are still continuing to love and care about one another.

Solid 4.5 Stars

A Huge THANK YOU to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Eerie near-future literary fiction

I usually love Tatiana De Rosnay's books. This one unsettled me a bit. It is set in the near future, a near future that, unfortunately, is very believable in the technology, sociology and anthropology of Ms De Rosnay's Paris. I found the plot a bit too 'literary' for my taste; I am certain that I missed a lot of the references to Virginia Woolf;s works, since I really don't care for literary fiction. However, I kept reading especially because of the imagined near future world.

Thank you to the publisher who lent me an e-arc via Netgalley, with no obligation. This review is optional and my own opinion.