A fabulous cover! I was really keen to start reading this book but I found the character of Saffron as a modern, independent woman and the historical setting of the 1920s jarring in some parts of the story. This story had mystery, a bit of romance and transported me to 1920s London and I enjoyed it overall. If you like Deanna Raybourn's character Veronica Speedwell, this book is worth a read. I received an advance copy from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is about a female research assistant in a male dominated field. As one might expect in a mystery, she attends a party and someone drops dead. This leads her to use her skills to investigate. Her mentor is the primary suspect, and she wants to investigate and clear his name. I wasn’t as fond of the supporting character Alexander Ashton. Together they explore the plants on the grounds and in the greenhouse, using her knowledge to find the culprit poison. As expected, she solves the case. This was an enjoyable read with a email main character in a historical time when women were meant to look pretty and have fluff in their heads. Nice to see a bright, intelligent woman on the case

I looked forward to this book. The time period, female protagonist, academic setting, peaked my interest. But the story seems closer to a cosy mystery than a real, meaty, historical mystery. The lead character is more flighty than I expected. And the plot seems all over the place. That being said, it was pleasant, well researched, and the characters have room to develop.

Note: Thank you to Netgalley & publishers for allowing me access to this arc in exchange for an honest review! 

I absolutely LOVED this book! If you adore a mystery with a slow-burn romance between an intelligent botanist and a sexy biologist, you're in the right place By the end of it, I was impressed by Saffron's intelligent investigative skills and found myself wishing for a second book! Could this be one in a series rather than a standalone? If so, I'm here for it.

The Good Things
1. The cover and title are fitting and appealing to the eye. I wouldn't mind owning a physical copy to show off on my bookshelf.
2. The book is well-researched. The time frame and university studies seem accurate and fitting o the genres advertised. I didn't come across anything that was visibly far-fetched.
3. Saffron and Elizabeth's (her roommate) relationship is wonderful and sisterly. I need an Elizabeth in my life (apologies to my younger sisters for this comment - love you).
4. Alexander is an enigma and a mystery, and I want to know more.
5. The end of Chapter 13. LOVE. I highlighted seven sentences alone just in that chapter that I adored. 


The Bad Things
1. I have a hard time finding anything bad to say about this book other than that there were minor parts that were predictable. That being said, for those of us who love mystery stories, predictable -to a certain extent- isn't always a bad thing! 


My Final Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

#abotanistsguidetopartiesandpoisons #netgalley

I loved this thrilling tale of adventure and suspense. it was a great storyline, with funny characters and lots of emotions. I am a new fan of Kate Khavari and can't wait to read more from her!

Saffron Everleigh is a young woman working in a man’s world, she’s a research assistant to a professor of botany in 1923. The professor, her mentor, is arrested for when a woman is poisoned at a university party both he and Saffron are attending, and she is determined to clear his name.
I kept changing my mind between 3 and 4 stars on this one, I liked the main character but her constant bouncing from one poorly thought out theory to another became annoying and confusing. Her partner in solving the crime poked holes in each one in a matter of seconds. And, without giving anything away, why would he possibly let her go where she did at the end of the book? It just didn’t ring true to me.
I will definitely try the second book the author hints at in the end, and thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Great story, fabulous author with brilliant writing and plot. Highly recommend to others, and cannot wait for more by this author.

The cover is beautifully done and the story didn’t disappoint! The plot was full of mystery, suspense, and romance which definitely kept my interest. It was the perfect cozy mystery for a gloomy day!

3-

I keep getting drawn in to these ARCs with beautiful covers, great titles and premises but that end up - unfortunately - being underwhelming.

I love the combo of academic and 1920s setting, and the story is promising. At a university dinner party a woman is poisoned, and research assistant Saffron Everleigh finds herself embroiled in the investigation trying to prove her beloved mentor's innocence. The stakes are heightened since many of the people involved/suspects are set to go off on a 6 month long expedition in a few weeks.

Sadly I couldn't really connect with it and the writing felt kind of flat and clunky to me. The characters never really came to life and I didn't feel like I got to know them, and the story just didn't have that drive and excitement that you'd expect from a mystery. I actually put the book down in the middle of the denouement and didn't pick it up again for a few days, which is telling.

So, good effort, but overall this was just an okay read for me.

The story follows Saffron Everleigh, a research assistant to Dr. Maxwell in University College London. One night she attends a dinner event where all the academics are gathered when suddenly one of the professor’s wives dropped to the floor. Saffron’s mentor is accused of the poisoning and she’s set on proving them wrong before he gets put in jail.

So the preface is pretty straightforward. The male lead was also introduced very early in the book. I was hoping that they’d develop a partners in crime kind of relationship more than a love interest but I’m not too bothered by it. I just feel like he could’ve been a lot more even with his reserved personality. They also don’t really have that much chemistry. But I would assume this will become a whole series and we’d see more of Saffron and Alexander later on.

Other than that, I honestly don’t really like how impulsive and kind of reckless the main character is. She’s very chaotic in contrast with the male lead. I was also hoping to see more involvement from her childhood best friend & flatmate Elizabeth. I feel like that would be more logical considering the amount of trust they obviously already have for each other, but that’s just my opinion.

Overall, this was a bit on the slow side with characters that I find rather dull. I know academicians are FAR from boring people, so I was hoping to read about a bunch of colourful characters. I feel like if we had solid core personalities of each academician, it would definitely add another star to my rating. With that said, I rate this 3/5 stars. It’s also worth noting the gorgeous cover design by Nicole Lecht. Thank you, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was my most anticipated arc of the year but unfortunately I had to dnf it at 40% because I had several problems with it.

The mc was terrible. She’s the assistant to a botanist in the 1920s so gender plays a huge role here. However, the female empowerment and sorority was not executed well, at ALL. Saffron had HUGE pick me girl vibes and the author made all the other women in the book flat and superficial from moment 1 just to point out how smart and different this girl is. A few quotes from the book that I simply could not stand:

- “Animals and natives everywhere! Just waiting to creep up on you…” this is where I should’ve dnf’ed, at the start of Chapter 1. I took high offense as a Peruvian/latina because there was no need to ridicule natives & go with the archaic premise that they're "savages", which this book was persistent on portraying them as.
- The mc called older women “wilted flowers in silk and pearls”. WHAT. It’s 2022, what is happening. The author needs a heavy course on intersectional feminism.
- “She doubted Lady Agatha knew much about plant pathology.” The whole “I’m smarter than all the women here, boo hoo I should be smoking with the men” vibe was terrible. Her double standards were awful.

The love interest was extremely bland too, the couple had no chemistry and there was nothing particularly amazing about it. Also, the writing wasn’t gripping enough for a murder mystery and at times, it made no sense. E.g: The mc poisoned herself without any reasoning whatsoever. A mess.

I genuinely expected an hour-by-hour type of book like Knives Out's plot. Clue meets Great Gatsby. Getting to know all characters, being suspicious of everyone! I expected Stalking Jack the Ripper vibes, and was so disappointed. Being set in the 1920s had SO much potential with a female lead in science but with all those terrible takes on feminism and a horrible main character, I couldn’t push through.

London, 1923. research assistant Saffron Everleigh attends a dinner party for the University College of London. While she expects to engage in conversations she doesn’t expect Mrs. Henry, one of the professors’ wives to drop to the floor, poisoned by an unknown toxin. Dr. Maxwell, Saffron’s mentor, is the main suspect, having had an explosive argument with Dr. Henry a few days prior. As evidence mounts against Dr. Maxwell and the expedition's departure draws nearer, Saffron realizes if she wants her mentor's name cleared, she’ll have to do it herself. Joined by enigmatic Alexander Ashton, a fellow researcher, Saffron uses her knowledge of botany as she explores steamy greenhouses, dark gardens, and deadly poisons.

I very much enjoyed the character of Saffron. The chemistry between her and Ashton is a wonderful bonus in the book. I hope that we get additional Saffron Everleigh books in the future.

Thank you Netgalley, Kate Khavari and Crooked Lane Books for granting me this eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really wanted to love this book — just look at that gorgeous cover! — but sadly it just wasn't for me. One thing I did enjoy a lot about this book was the academia side of it, and this book is so unique — thank you Kate Khavari for writing something so fresh and new! This book will be enjoyed by so many others and will definitely be many people's new favourite, but the pacing and characterisation just didn't work for me.

As a scientist and an avid bibliophile, I very rarely get to indulge by live of both at the same time (there really is only so many resource guides and journal article one can read before going brain 🧠 dead). Thankfully, there have been authors recently that have carved out a niche that where they aren't afraid to delve into the world of science and in so doing they invite the reader to find the passion they have found by reading their stories where they weave fiction with fact, magic with science.
K. Khavari's story will not only try to blind you science, it will poison you with its potential.

A young botanist trying to prove herself and a broken man trying to find peace again, work together to try to prove a colleague's innocence after an apparent poisoning leaves a woman in a coma. In a time when the world is trying to piece itself back together, one woman must prove to the police, the university, to the man working by her side, and even to her best friend that she has not only the smarts BUT the know-how. She can find out not only which plant the poison is from, but also who is responsible. She just needs someone to believe in her

This story definitely had me from the beginning with its plucky female who is trying to pave her own path along side one her father walked. Their intimidating shoes to fill but she has always wanted to be like her father. The reader is able to get a sense of loss while at the same time a sense of pride and determination from Saffron as she goes about her life, interacting with others at the university being one of the few females in a male world.

The mystery and suspense is what drives this story. Don't be so easily distracted.
Though there is that hint of . . . dare I say 😏 romance in the air between Saffron and Alexander, I felt like it was more of a diversion than anything. Did it heighten the suspense of the reader by thinking something would develop between them before the end of the book? Yes. Anticipation?!? Yes. Frustration?!? Why, heck yeah! Think of this book as a historical fiction feminine scientist mystery (is that even a thing 😳 🤔 😄)

Now a few side notes. It was frustrated that I had to go like half the book without knowing WHEN the book was talking place. The descriptions were too general and ambiguous for me to narrow down a time-frame for most of the book. It wasn't until "the war" and "mustard gas" was mentioned that I was able to narrow it down to anywhere from early 1920's to late 1920's. I'm a person that creates a mindscape of the story as I read, almost like a movie I suppose. It was constantly changing as I couldn't place when. There are also a lot of descriptions of the plants but few of the people or environments. The author is going to assume you are able to fill in the blanks. Her focus is really on the mystery and the plants. I'm not saying it's a good or bad thing, just a statement. The mystery of this story will linger, not the people or how they were described to look. So if you are looking for a story that will linger, that has an ending that leaves you wondering . . .
You may want to try this one

** Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to review an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion **

I love a good cosy Mystery and this was exactly that. It was quite fast paced which I liked as some Cosy mysteries can be a bit slow. I loved the Historical aspects and the romance was just perfect background music .

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I enjoyed this book, the pace was decent, and things seemed to be wrapped up pretty neatly by the end. I also really like the twists and turns it took to get there. The only problem I had was with the characters, I had a hard time connecting to most of them.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. This book, as per summary, follows Saffron Everleigh who is in a race against time to free her allegedly wrongly accused professor before he's  locked away in jail forever. The story was every bit as thrilling as its summary, set in a cosy London background in the year 1923. As someone who loves historical fantasy, this was a joy to read. The characters were likeable, although they could be a tad more complex in order to give that edge. Nonetheless it was a great book to read to pass the time in a fun manner and I ate the story up even if it did have its pacing issues here and there but that's something that I know the author will only improve on.
Also, how cool is that title?!
Will definitely look into more books by the author.
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars!

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this mystery set in England in a university setting in the 1920’s. I don’t want to spoil the story but there are many twists and turns and the murderer was a surprise to this reader!

It wasnt my cup of tea but I will admit, the writting was lovely. I think the plot was solid but it was missing something but i cant pin point it. Im sure readers will fall in love with, it is a good book. Just not my favorite.

This is a historical mystery book about a woman named Saffron who is a botanist. At a party, someone is poisoned and her professor is arrested however she doesn't believe her professor sis such a thing and sets out to prove his incidence. I believe this is to be the first in a series of mystery books with Saffron. I think Saffron is a really fun protagonist. She is smart and determined to succeed. She was the best thing about this book. The other characters had potential to be interesting but in this first book seemed rather dull so hopefully they are developed more in the later books. Overall a nice cozy mystery with a plucky heroine set in the twenties with a dash of romance.