I really wanted to like this one, but it was not for me. I loved the source material as a child, but this one was just too boring for me. I needed it to move faster than it did. It was incredibly slow moving, and I just couldn't get into it. I liked the characters, and I felt like they were really well rounded. The atmosphere was incredibly well-written, and I liked the imagery used to describe the dilapidated Japanese gardens. I just feel like the pacing was way off.

COLLEEN CHI-GIRL REVIEW
Bookshelves/tags: 2023, audiobook, chicago-and-illinois, contemporary, fairytales-fantasy, japan, netgalley, read, women-centered, favorites

This was an amazing novel that I was lucky enough to receive by NetGalley, the publisher, CamCat Books, and the author, Amber Logan. I listened to it as an audiobook featuring Emily Ellet, a fantastic narrator. She, in fact, brought the words, places, and characters to life. I will follow this narrator, Emily Ellet, because her voice is unique and she is truly that good.

Amber Logan, what a beautiful novel - so heartfelt and inspiring. I loved your connection with the main characters (Mari, her sister, and her mother) living in Chicago. And when Mari travels to Japan, to the Yanagi Inn, I went there too in my mind. I was at peace and yet terrified at times, upset with some of the characters, happy with others. I loved that she was there on a photography assignment and the unpeeling layers of the past was exciting and interesting.

All in all, this is a 5 Star read...that I think so many readers will enjoy. There is a fantasy/ghostly character involved and it isn't my fave. storyline, but the author handled it well. Most novels written with fantasy/spirituality in this sense, I skip over and I came close to listening to this at a fast speed towards the end (involving the the fantasy), but again, the narrator's voice and wanting to know it all kept me going.

Thanks to everyone involved in getting this novel into an audiobook for those of us who prefer this format!!!

CamCat Books Publisher's Blurb: "Grieving her mother’s death, Mari Lennox travels to Kyoto, Japan to take photographs of Yanagi Inn for a client. As she explores the inn and its grounds, her camera captures striking images, uncovering layers of mystery shrouding the old resort―including an overgrown, secret garden on a forbidden island. But then eerie weeping no one else in the inn seems to hear starts keeping her awake at night. Despite the warnings of the staff, Mari searches the deep recesses of the old building to discover the source of the ghostly sound, only to realize that her own family’s history is tied to the inn, its mysterious, forlorn garden . . . and the secrets it holds."

GR LIBRARIANS - HERE'S A LINK TO ADD THIS LOVELY AUDIOBOOK TO GR:
https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Garden-of-Yanagi-Inn/dp/B0BBSLXPP3/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Beautiful. Just beautiful. The narration could not have been better. It was perfect. And the story was dramatic and weird. I love the weird.
Thank you for letting me listen.

Thank you so much for letting listen to this audiobook. When I read that this is a retelling of the secret garden, I knew I really wanted to listen to this story. I was positively surprised at how close the this story followed the original.

Not the book for me at all. Far too melodramatic.

The storyline sounded interesting being a re-telling of the classic Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson-Burnett. In this story a photographer, Mari, is given a grant to photograph the traditional Japanese Yanagi Inn where she spent time as a child.

Her mother has just died, her latest romantic relationship ended, her professional life not going where she wants. Despite her misgivings Mari accepts the grant and heads to Japan but when she arrives nothing is quite how she remembers. The owner of the inn is absent, the housekeeper actively hostile and Mari herself doesn't know what to photograph, where she is allowed to go or if anyone is on her side at all.

So here's my problem with this book. Why does Mari simply not ask questions? She's no idea why things keep happening or why everyone seems to know things about her or what's going on but she never asks anyone. She simply makes up increasingly ludicrous theories in her head this making herself more anxious by the second. This second guessing drove me to distraction as the narrator's voice became more and more shrill as Mari's anxiety increased.

The re-telling didn't work for me but then I loved the original. That made sense to me. This does not. As I said this simply wasn't the book for me but I can see I am in the minority so I'm positive it will do well.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance review copy.

The bones of this story are based off the classic novel The Secret Garden — but this story has grown to be it`s own story and incorporates Japanese traditions — and is a bit of a creepy ghost story . I enjoyed listening to this novel and the narrator did a good job — although the mispronunciation of some of the Japanese words — was annoying . This story holds its own and and is an interesting reimagining of the classic .

Thank-you to Netgalley and CamCat Books, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks for this Audiobook ARC . This is my honest review,

3.5 stars


Just a really lovely story.
I'm not sure if this was due to the characters or the narration, maybe both.
It touches well on grief, and has a little bit of mystery about it.
Then , for me, the added element of seeing how it uses themes/stories/names from the original The Secret Garden,
There's some really hopeful scenes in this, and a truly upbeat character that I couldn't help but smile at.

A very enjoyable listen.