London 1923

Saffron Everleigh is well on her way to fulfilling her dream to become an esteemed botanist like her late father. After earning her botany degree, Saffron was hired as a research assistant by her father’s friend Dr. Maxwell. Surviving in academia is never easy, especially for a woman in science in the 1920s. Luckily, Dr. Maxwell has always been supportive of Saffron and her aspirations.

After a dinner party ends in a gruesome poisoning, the police fixate on Dr. Maxwell as their primary suspect. Determined to prove her mentor’s innocence, Saffron begins her own investigation complete with nosy questions, multiple break-ins, and perhaps a poisoning or two.

I’m really excited about this new series! I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set in 1920s academia before, so that was a new perspective for me. I like Saffron and Alexander and am interested to see what happens next for them. I also love Elizabeth and hope she’s a little more involved in Saffron’s future investigations.

*Trigger Warning for sexual harassment in the workplace and attempted sexual assault.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a good read! The story was interesting and easy to follow, the characters were realistic, the romance was a nicely done slow burn and by the end of it, I was pining for their first kiss to finally happen.
Growing up on Nancy Drew books, this takes on all the elements that that series misses and twists them up into a lovely bow. I highly recommend this book and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Saffron Everleigh follows in the botanist footsteps of her father -who died during the First World War-, but before that worked as a university professor as a botanist.

Saffron has yet to graduate and has been hired as an assistant to Professor Maxwel. It is 1923, the beginning of the 20th century and the universities are still a male stronghold. It is therefore not easy for Saffron to finish her studies. Her proposal for a project is brushed aside, Dr. Berking is much more interested in Saffron as a woman and assaults her. Something that is covered up.
At a party celebrating an upcoming expedition, Ms. Henry, the wife of expedition leader Dr. Henry, is poisoned and Professor Maxwell is blamed. Saffron has gone to great lengths to prove his innocence, even by experimenting with a new poison. She gets help from Alexander Ashton. But her search for the true culprit is not without danger.

It's a cozy crime, with a lot of detective work within a university. The location is well worked out so it is not difficult to visualize everything. Saffron is a nice character, although you don't get to know her very well. Just like the other characters, who play a clear role, but the motivations of what they do and why remain in the middle. It is therefore mainly about solving the mystery and in the meantime we, as readers, learn something about, greenhouses, and how things went within the university and the preparations for an expedition to Brazil to discover and research new plants.

A fun story, which is easy to read and has an exciting denouement.

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons was a quick read that tied together aspects from historical romance and mystery-thrillers. It follows Saffron, a research assistant in the botany department of London University in the 1920's as she works to unravel the mysterious circumstances under which a faculty member's wife was poisoned. The mystery was intriguing and the incorporation of botany and plant poisons into the plot was what compelled me to reach for this book in the first place.

Overall, I thought the plot was solid. It played with darker themes but tied in light-hearted moments to push the story forward. I didn't necessarily see the need for a romantic side plot but I enjoyed it nonetheless. There were parts of this book that felt overly dramatized but I think that a lot of this came from how the characters were written compared to the actual plot itself. I would have loved to see more of the academic side of things play into the story because there were moments where I forgot that this was all taking place in a university setting. I know that Saffron was limited on her ability to move within societal parts but I think that with the incorporation of the second perspective of a male character, I would have liked to see him delve more into those things. It was surprising to me, though, just what Saffron was able to get away with. I think that this is more of a personal problem I have with mysteries like this, I just don't understand how any of these characters get away with meddling in investigations and come out of it with seemingly no consequences! But I digress.

In terms of the characters, I did unfortunately think they were all flat or caricatures. Saffron was a "not like other girls" academic and her roommate was a girly socialite. Saffron had issues with a member of the biology department who behaved highly inappropriately in an over the top way and we had little understanding of how that dynamic played into any parts of the day-to-day runnings of the department. I think that's what a lot of it boiled down to. There were numerous characters who all seemed to be able to fit into the same sort of role but as readers we were expected to see them as these fully fleshed out individuals. From a surface level, I thought that this book was fine but looking deeper into it, I can't help but wish I got more out of it. The "whodunnit" aspect was a unique follow-through and it was interesting to piece together the mystery as I read.

I would recommend this book to fans of lighter historical novels. If you've previously read and enjoyed books like The Lost Apothecary, or any books by Kate Quinn, this may be worth checking out.

☠️ That cover! I love covers like this… and it has a creative title to boot!

☠️ Initially I was drawn into this story; however, and sadly, I quickly lost interest. I never really engaged with the plot or the characters. I thought the story was a bit too repetitive and the characters were cliche and stereotypical. Everything just felt a little flat to me.

☠️ Saffron (our protagonist) is a pioneering female in a STEM field dominated by men (at the time)!! I love that! I should have loved her… but I found her a bit too one-dimensional and a tad boring. I’m actually a bit devastated I didn’t engage with her more.

☠️ Despite my negatives, the book isn’t terrible. I don’t regret reading it and I will gladly read this author’s next book with zero reservations.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an arc of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I received a copy of this book pre-release from NetGalley for an honest review. The cover art for this book was beautiful and definitely drew my attention. However, I found the story to be slow moving. The story was set in a university where Saffron Everleigh was carrying on her father’s legacy in the field of botany. The scientific references were detailed and well researched. Saffron becomes involved in the investigation of a poisoning at a dinner party when her beloved mentor is accused of the crime. I wanted to like this story but I found it to be slow moving and a bit predictable.

I received an early copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity.

I jumped into A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons based mostly on the cover and title. I knew there was going to be something special about this book. I heard no hype and went in with zero expectations. Once I started, I finished it in two days.

Kate Khavari's debut novel is an engaging mystery that maintains the reader's interest throughout. Saffron Everleigh finds herself investigating a poisoning to clear the name of her boss. She also cares a lot more about finding the truth than the detectives.

Soon she has the charming Alexander Ashton as her assistant as they leave no room un-examined to find the motive of the guilty party. From the mysterious incident, it keeps the reader guessing both the identity of the culprit and their motives. An impressive debut and promising start to a new series.

Review will also be shared on Twitter and posted to Amazon after publication.

London. 1920s. Botany. Female heroine. I had high hopes for this book but unfortunately could just not get into it. I found it rather slow and dull, and I didn’t the think the character development was very good. For some reason, I couldn’t stop picturing Alexander as a older man, even though he is not.

The cover is gorgeous. Sadly, this book is just a pretty face.

I received this book as an ARC, and this is my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books.

I’m always ready to read a story set in London, it feels like the perfect place for a poison based mystery. And in the 1920’s which has that temporal intrigue. As a research scientist (although in medicine not botany), I thought the realism of scientific inquiry and competition as well as the romance were cleverly intertwined. The character development was detailed and believable and the science authentic.

I was pleased to see that there will be a sequel to clever book coming in 2023!


Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher, Crooked Lane Books for a copy of this book.

The Botanists Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari
Thanks to Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC.

Saffron Everleigh and Alexander Ashton are the main characters in this charming historical fiction. Saffron tries to free her wrongly accused mentor with help of Alexander.
I liked the story, unfortunately we are suspecting almost from the beginning real poisoners. In my opinion Saffron was a bit naiv and acted like she did not think at all sometimes. However really enjoyable read.
3,5 ✨ of 5

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons is the perfect book for those rainy days in November where you just want to curl up in front of the fireplace with a cup of tea and a good book.

This dark academia mystery set in the 1920s tells the story of Saffron, a research assistant who's trying to clear her mentor of murder accusations by investigating the case together with smart, handsome, witty scholar Alexander Ashton.
For all those that love a good love interest with dark hair and a traumatic past: Alexander will be right up your lane.

But seriously, this book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, I trusted no one and was genuinely clueless about how it would end.
The characters are written with beautiful attention to detail and their relationships with each other are wonderfully human.

The only reason this is a 4-Star-Read instead of 5 are the few grammatical errors like missing words or wrong tenses that popped up a few times, and the ending left me feeling a little unsatisfied - I wished it'd have been just a little more rounded off.

Still, this was a wonderful read and I'll definitely add this to my physical collection once it's officially released.

Historical fiction meets a whodunnit murder mystery. Main character, Saffron Everleigh, was likeable, smart, determined. I liked the focus on her struggle with being taken seriously in the male dominated academic setting and the inclusion of poisonous plants. Unfortunately, the plot was slow moving and ultimately underwhelming. Great cover though!

Excellent read, full of mystery, suspence and danger....lots of very serious danger! This story is set in the 1920s and brings in a variety of themes: along with the obvious title subjects: widely ranging from: woman's budding liberation in a misogynistic environment to post war shock syndrome coping mechanism theories. I am so grateful for NetGalley for offering me to read this book. Looking forward to reading more from Kate Khavari in the future.

This was a really fun book and I am actually excited for book 2! A bit of The lost Apothecary vibes if that was your thing. The characters were well developed and it was a different time period than I usually read. IT was something different and I loved branching out! A huge thank you to Netgallery and Kate Khavari for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinions!

A botanist's guide to parties and poisons introduces us to Saffron, a research assistant and up and coming botanist. While attending a party the hostess is passes out and is whisked off to hospital. Much to Saffrons dismay, her mentor is arrested for poisoning Mrs. Henry, the wife of the upcoming expedition leader, something Saffron refusing to believe. The police has one lead, a plant no one will go near that her mentor, Dr Maxwell, has in one of the University greenhouses, as the attempted murder weapon.
Saffron with the reluctant help of Alexander Ashton, set about finding out what really happened that night. Will she uncover the truth before the criminal sets sail away from punishment or will she find herself in mortal danger instead?

The title hooked me so hard with this one and I was so excited to start it. Firstly, it is very well written. It flowed, it didn't drop the pace and it not once lost my attention.
Saffron is one heck of a young lady. Following in her dead fathers footsteps and working at the university that he worked for, she has very large shoes to fill. Being a woman in that time too, shows the level of courage and perseverance she had to have to make it to where she was. I felt the character development was very well done and I loved watching her meet the challenges she faced and the relationship blossoming with Alexander.

I felt the rest of the characters could have done with some of the same level of expansion. We learned very little of Alexander and nothing of the other characters. I don't know if that was done on purpose or not but I felt it would have rounded the story out more having more details on the lesser characters.

I felt there were some loose threads in the story that needed to tightened and they were left kind of hanging. It doesn't take from the story at all though, it literally just would have strengthen it in my opinion. Building a well rounded character base, is one of my top 3 things for a 5 star book.

I loved the whodunnit element that ran through the whole book! It has me guessing the whole time.
The author really weaved a tale of early blooming love while never losing sight of the base storyline. It was cleverly executed with a delicate balance in the writing. The plant knowledge was fascinating and really added to the dynamics of the book.

If you love a good mystery with a twist of romance.... This is the book for you.

4.5 stars out of 5.

An enjoyable mystery and characters. Continuing my post-WWI binge. The university setting on the precipice of an expidition in the 1920s is indeed a song ride with potential and Khavari takes advantage of it. The romance is played with a decently light hand. There are characters waiting to be developed further, like the inspector, the sergeant, Saffron's roommate, and the new department head. There's a hint of familial intrigue at the end to keep us wondering until the next book.

Content warning for sexual harassment and (spoiler) the hint of potential rape, although it doesn't happen.

I received an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review via netgalley.

3.5 stars. I liked this one. Set in the roaring 20s, saffron is one of a handful of women working in University College. Her mentor is accused of poisoning the wife of a colleague. She sets out to find out who did it and uncovers more than a simple poisoning. Love how she and Alexander get along and enjoyed his they solved it. He’s a reluctant partner but still… looking forward to reading more of their adventures.

Thank you Crooked Lahr Books for the arc.

I have returned from London, University College… 1923. I suppose I’m happy to return for Christmas, but I just loved clicking my heels around the North Wing with Miss Everleigh and her tall, dark and reserved biologist and partner-in-solving-crime. | #gifted ⁣⁣⁣
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@authorkkhavari created such an atmospheric, 𝙛𝙪𝙣 murder mystery, and I deeply appreciated the journey of a female scientist as she navigated the “too-familiar feeling of living under a magnifying glass” —as well as darker corners of the female experience. ⁣⁣

This one also gets 10 pts extra credit for the two flirty nerds. 🤓
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Book two is in the works, and I cannot wait to see what the curious Saffron Everleigh gets up to next! 😍 🌱🌿 Plant lovers and fans of #historicalfiction and #darkacademia should not miss adding this to the TBR.
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Thank you to @netgalley for this eARC.

2.5 stars
I was really disappointed in this book, unfortunately. The story focuses on Saffron, an amateur botanist and research assistant hoping to break into the men's club that is the University College of London and become more than just an assistant. However, at a fancy dinner party, one of the guests is unexpectedly poisoned and the blame falls on Saffron's mentor Dr. Maxwell. Obviously Saffron knows her mentor didn't do it but with the police refusing to believe her she starts investigating the mystery herself. Luckily Saffron is aided by a friendly yet mysterious researcher setting up what could be a cute romance. The summary sounded promising and the cover was beautiful but everything else was just meh.

The writing was clunky and everything was overexplained. There was a lot of summarizing of scenes that had just happened. I didn't feel any excitement reading this book or any nervousness about the outcome of the story. I also got characters confused because besides Saffron and Ashton everyone was else was pretty one-dimensional. Also, this may just be a pet peeve of mine but in the first few pages, Saffron was continuously named even though she was the only character in the scene (ex: Saffron emerged, Saffron stood in the doorway, Saffron smiled, Saffron entered the room). I think the author was going for a specific vibe writing this way but it just took me out of the moment a little bit.

The romance between Saffron and Ashton was cute but again a little bland. Overall this was a miss for me but other people might enjoy it.