I really enjoyed this book. It kept me interested until the last page trying to figure out what was going to happen next. Great read!

I for one enjoyed this story. The magic in the garden that extended to the bourbon was a good way to get lost. It was a quick read, and one that pulled you in. I hated the younger brother and parents in the Bonner family. They were all truly horrid people. An author is talented when they can invoke feelings for a while cast of characters! I just found myself getting lost in the mystery and on the edge of my seat as they tried to unravel what really happened that summer everyone forgot.

As a Kentuckian, I loved this magical alternate of bourbon country. The atmosphere was spot on, the characters like my own stubborn family, and the story was very unique. This read reminded me of the magical realism Practical Magic as well as the historical quarrel between the Hatfield and McCoys.

Such a cute cover with a good, captivating story! I love grappling with the idea of whether I'd want to lose a memory, even a whole summer. I liked the connection and the easy love story. I liked learning about the family. I wish there'd been a bit more about how it all worked but I got enough to feel comfortable with the story.

This was a quick, easy read. I really liked it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

DNF at 11%.

I just couldn't get into this one, no matter how I tried. The premise sounded intriguing, but the execution was just not for me. This just reminded me once again why I don't read romance in general. What mystery and paranormal element there was to this book wasn't enough to keep me interested.

I didn't feel invested in the characters or their romantic trials and tribulations. I guessed the parentage of our female protagonist just by her description and her "malfunctioning" powers. And I wasn't invested enough to stay and see what made the whole town forget a day in their lives. Call me old and cynical, but I simply didn't care.

This is a case of it's not you, book, it's me, hence why I am not leaving a star rating on this.

PS: I received an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Magic, mystery, romance, a small town filled with secrets - In the Shadow Garden is that magical cozy read for those readers who are partial to mixed genre reads. I love that I got to read this one on one of my trips - being able to squeeze in uninterrupted reading time, added extra joy to reading this story.

Haywood family has special magical abilities and a special shadow garden. They can take people’s pain and grow plant it in their garden. Addison is the youngest Haywood, frustrated because her magic is not working the way it’s supposed to. The town is also famous for its bourbon made by the Bonners. When young Kaden returns to Yarrow, the two are drawn to each other. But why doesn’t anyone in Yarrow remember Kaden?

I loved the magic concept in this book, I love that the romance aspect didn’t overshadow other elements of the story, and the mystery at the heart of it was great! I would absolutely love to read more about Addison. This was such a cute, fun and engaging read - something to help your mind escape reality in the best way possible! Also strawberries that taste like chocolate and bourbon - sign me up please!

A huge thank you to Forever, Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review!

I wrote this book and need to clear it out of my netgalley queue! If you read it, I very much hope you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for requesting it!

This book was not really my cup of tea, but it was well written and would be so fun for the right audience

"They knew sorrow was no easy burden to bear. There was a powerful magic in pain - transformative, if you managed to survive it."

I love this book, and reading it while enjoying a good cup of hot tea improves the whole experience! The magic in Bonner Bourbon and the Hayward Shadow Garden was fascinating. How can someone’s emotion, especially pain, make things grow in a garden? How does the soil thrive with such a heavy emotion? It also makes you wonder why some people would drink their painful memories away to forget, aside from the magic. I really enjoy the dynamic of the Haywood family. They had a complicated past that no one can recall, yet they still worked together despite their differences and disagreements. Kaden Bonner and his connection with what happened in Yarrow 20 years ago was intriguing. It made you want to dig into why the community decided to all give up their memories together. The love story between him and Irene surprised me, but I was glad to know they had a history together. They were more connected, not just based on their history. I really liked the ending. The forgiveness in the story and how Kaden, in the end, was smart enough to give up something that once hurt and could potentially harm people in the future. The villains in the story were ruthless. I did not like them at all. The author did an excellent job with their characters. To take advantage of one person is cruel, but to take advantage of a town is just pure evil.

I absolutely loved this book. It was so charming and inventive. It is a great read for the summer and perfect for fans of Sarah Addison Allen.

This was the perfect fall read! Full of magic and mystery and family, I enjoyed reading this and look forward to seeing what this author does next!

A small town defined by a bourbon distillery and a magical garden, three generations of women residing in one house, a mystery from long ago, and a summer no one in town can remember form the framework of In the Shadow Garden. This one was refreshingly different from what I typically read.

The Haywood women take away pain by carefully untangling its roots over cups of tea before burying that heartache back into the magical garden behind their home. The Bonner family’s bourbon takes away offered memories during an annual festival every year.

There are different ways to handle remorse, grief, and heartache, but which is better for the town? Is it the careful removal that still leaves some memories to heal, or is it the surgical removal that leaves no trace?

When the long lost Bonner son returns to town and the youngest Haywood tries to save the magical garden, what happened twenty years ago during the summer with no memories begins to come to light.

I enjoyed the character growth and what felt like honest, not sugar-coated characterization. I liked that romance is woven into the story but that the familial relationships—with their ups and downs—are what really shine in this one. It’s a quiet, cozy read with lots and lots of magic.

I received a copy from Forever and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

There's something weird going on with the memories of Yarrow, Kentucky residents. In the summer of 1997, one man died and another left home indefinitely, severing all ties with his family. And no one in the town remembers what happened.

Magic is no stranger to Yarrow. The Haywood family can take the pain from those who are suffering and then gift it to their shadow garden, which thrives on sorrow. And the local distillery run by the Bronner family (the Haywoods' natural, mortal enemies) uses corn from the shadow garden to create bourbon that can make someone forget a painful memory. At the annual bourbon festival, people can choose to give up the memories weighing them down. But why did everyone at the '97 festival agree that they wanted to erase the whole season from their minds? The Haywood women and the Bronner who got away start poking around as the shadow garden starts to ail. Through multiple POVs, we see them embark on a quest to uncover the painful truths in their collective past.

In terms of mystery, I admit that I didn't find the secrets particularly tricky to unravel, even well ahead of their big reveal. So don't expect a puzzle or a thriller. And for the relationships, multiple POVs mean that the characters snap in and out of angst with each other at warp speed to keep things moving. Two romantic subplots and a strained matrilineal bond all get resolved with a wave of a magic wand (almost literally). No one has to engage in self-reflection or personal growth to reach these ends.

The story's message about feeling your pain and not trying to obliterate your negative feelings was just ok to me. For an issue with a lot of nuance, the book presents the options in a black and white/good and evil binary. It also throws a lot of trauma at the reader only to blaze past it in the interest of keeping the story moving. Content warnings: memories of physical abuse and neglect, emotional abuse and infidelity.

Here's the thing: I didn't hate this book. I just expected to be more invested in a witchy mystery, and I always have high expectations for character growth and relationships... which this book did not meet. Despite the content warnings, I think most readers will find it an easy, breezy read because of the tone and pace.

Thank you Forever pub and netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This took me a minute to get into but once I was in I was hooked. If you just pick this one up based on the beautiful cover you will not be disappointed. This book has it all small town magic, lies, deception, romance and murder. If you drink tea, you will love this book.

I look forward to reading what Liz Parker writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

The premise of this initially pulled me in but the execution quickly made this drag for me. We jump around through a number of different POVs between 2 families that centers around Addison mainly. There is magic and a mystery wrapped up in missing memories.

I found Addison to be INCREDIBLY naive through the entire book and continuously fell for dumb things, but that may be due to her insecurities brought on by the amount of distrust she feels from within her family because her magic does not align with theirs. I also found that bouncing between 5 or 6 different POVs was too many and got jumbled at times who was currently narrating.

The magic itself at work here was interesting and found the garden to be the most interesting thing in the whole novel.

In the Shadow Garden is such a beautifully written fantasy. The world-building is outstanding. The story is well written with an enchanting storyline and well-developed characters that engage from start to finish. The world is atmospheric and feels real with vivid descriptions and rich imagery. I cannot get enough. Highly recommended. Be sure to check out In the Shadow Garden today.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: cheating, death of a loved one (past), family tensions, physical and emotional abuse of spouse and child (past), fire (past), murder, funeral

Gosh, the writing in this was just gorgeous. This was a beautifully written, magical read, full of family drama, returning home and just family intrigue. I was turning the page learning more about the family garden, the bourbon, and just how these three families were intertwined, each page revealing more of the mystery. There was a soft thread of romance throughout as well, but the true romance was the love of family.

I loved that this was multi POV, twisting and turning the different parts of the stories and the different experiences of each family members. The chapters were shorter and filled with just the action needed. I adored the magic and just the auras and how they tied into the flowers. The magic system was just beautiful.

Steam: 1

In the Shadow Garden is a captivating novel that falls into one of my favorite book categories, where magic feels almost palpable and entirely plausible.

The Yarrow setting is breathtakingly evocative, with its fields of corn, barrels of bourbon, and shadow garden that appears almost black at night. It's a place that feels real and could very well exist.

The magic is equally enthralling, with tea leaves and the shadow garden among the various supernatural elements that imbue life in Yarrow with an otherworldly quality. The mystery of the missing summer that no one seems to remember adds to the book's allure, as our two main POV characters, Irene and Addison (mother and daughter), slowly unravel the threads of a dark secret.

At its core, the book is about the bonds between mothers and daughters, past and present, and the possibility of love both lost and found.

Overall, In the Shadow Garden is a spellbinding novel that seamlessly weaves magic, mystery, and family dynamics together. It's a must-read for anyone looking for a bewitching tale that will transport them to a world where magic is a tangible and wondrous thing.

In the Shadow Garden by Liz Parker. Pub Date: September 13, 2022. Rating: 4 stars. If you're looking for a whimsical small town cozy light mystery with a dash of magic, then this book is for you. The novel is centered around two families who are enemies, but intricacy woven together through various romances. One family has magical abilities and has a "shadow garden" that stores memories and feelings. This family had a death in the family long ago, but no one knows who actually killed him. Told in various voices between the families, the story is propelled from different perspectives and ultimately the mystery is solved. I really enjoyed this novel and its themes of magic, love, heartbreak, second chances and family growth. Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley #intheshadowgarden