Entangled, how the hell do y’all keep putting out all these wonderful books. I mean seriously. I wasn’t expecting this to be as cute as it was. Thank you for sending me an eARC.

Omg this WAS SO FREAKING CUTE YALL.

Quill—oh the poor baby. Riddled with anxiety and feelings about a boy he knows he shouldn’t.

And Liam—sweet sweet Liam. A boy undoubtedly infatuated with the weird boy next door with green hair and eyes.

I’ve never fallen faster and harder for two characters. This was such a sweet and thoughtful concept and sooooo well executed.

And let’s not even talk about the COVER. I literally just finished Your Blood My Bones and the cover is similar to Evergreen and I LOVE IT. covers like that are *chef’s kiss*

sooooooo

All that’s left to ask is: are we getting more of Liam of Quill? Cause if not I respectfully demand we do.

This book wasn't so much my personal cup of tea, but it was really a fun read. For anyone who loved mlm romance, fantasy, and interesting magic systems, this would be a perfect fit.

We start with a 17 yr old dryad named Quill. He's the only male dryad ever born. He's disgruntled, bored, awkward, and lonely. Then we meet Liam. He's handsome, flirtatious, and adventurous. We're taken on a wild ride as Liam helps Quill finally get out of the house and see the real world. The human world. This story is full of mystery, awkward moments, miscommunication, hard lessons, and behind it all, love. It had twists that I didn't see coming, it kept me guessing and intrigued til the end. Would love to read more about these characters.

Evergreen by Devin Greenlee-

This is a retelling that is loosely based on The Secret Garden. It is a coming-of-age story with some fantastical magic sprinkled all over. It was a nice change from the types of books I generally read. I rated it a 3.5 stars, (rounded up to a 4.)

Quill is a seventeen year old, half dryad male who has never left his apartment building or seen the world outside of his magical garden. He’s an anxious fellow, who dreams of having the freedom to see and experience the human world. Quill just wants to be “normal.” His mother and sister are the only family he has and they’ve done their best to protect him and have kept him isolated because they feel he isn’t quite ready for human interaction. This all changes when Liam and his father move into the apartment next door. Quill has a run in with Liam and an unlikely friendship blooms…

This is story of a blossoming friendship between Quill and Liam. There are adventures and challenges. There are awkward encounters, ups and downs and an awakening of sorts. Quill experiences things and feelings that he’s ever had before. I really liked watching the development of Quill as an individual. He learns a lot about family, loyalty and what loving people truly means. His appreciation of his mother and sister and even Liam, is a beautiful thing. He really comes into his own when Azazel is introduced to the plot.

I wish there would have been more backstory, or lore. More details to understand dryads, their powers and the importance of nature and its relationship with humans. We get a basic understanding when we learn a little bit about his mother but I think it would have added so much to this story. I would have also liked to have seen more magic in the garden. As it stands, the story is a good one. The plot and mystery were decent. The ending was a little sad, in my opinion. I’d comment more on that but I don’t want to spoil the book. This was an enjoyable read and the writing itself was very good, very strong. I’m interested in seeing what the author releases next.

I received an advance reader copy and am leaving my review voluntarily.

Little Shop of Horrors meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers. This tale blossomed with an exciting plot that had me on the edge of my seat. The ending, I definitely did not see coming. Highly recommend.

Quill yearns for a respite from the family's gardening legacy, and the fact that, as the sole male dryad among a lineage of females, he possesses only the physical attributes of his kind but lacks their magical abilities. For years, he's been confined indoors, unable to experience the outside world. When the new neighbor Liam finds him, he’s introduced to the outside world. Yet, an escalating danger arises as mysterious intruders infiltrate the family garden, leading to disturbances among the once-docile plants.

“Evergreen” by Devin Greenlee is a fantastic coming-of-age fantasy book. I absolutely love the characters, all of them. Quill was my favorite, especially since he was awkward but also outspoken and defensive at times. I liked how shelter and innocent he was, and the experiences that he’s new to in the book. Quill and Liam romance was so adorable, I was fighting for them the whole time. The lore was unique and perfectly explained. The cover is absolutely perfect. 5 out of 5 stars.

Seventeen year old Quill has never been out in the real world but that's just what happens when you're the first male born dryad, sans powers, and your family is tasked with keeping a vast secret garden that resides in a pocket world in closet in your apartment. With his green hair and sarcasm, Quill thinks he's ready to step out and experience everything. That's when he meets the new boy-next-door Liam and everything changes. There's an intruder in the garden and a human boy winning over his affections - what Quill does next will determine the entire future of his family and his life as he knows it.

This book was great, truly. The characters come to life easily - I've already mentally cast the role of Liam in the non-existent movie version of this book. Quill and his family are fantastical and rightfully so - they're supposed to be. They're not human and they come off just as beautifully written as their garden does. Devin Greenlee does an exceptional job of bringing both the characters and the places they're inhabiting to such life. I could see the flowers and the fruit trees and that ever suspicious conservatory. But I think what I loved most was how Quill and Liam's sexualities are celebrated rather than ever experiencing a point of shame. That just doesn't happen in this book and it's about damn time people stopped equating queerness to a need for shame.

I will say that there are decidedly two parts to this book and it very much is made clear around the halfway point. This is possibly unintentional but without the first half the second half would suffer so they very much need each other. You spend the first half of this book meeting Quill and his family and Liam and discovering the world with Quill, from seeing his first film to making his first friend. The first half of the book is very much stepping out into the world with Quill and finding all of the things he finds there with him. The second half is where the action ramps up, where all the little things come into play that you may have not seen within the rest of the book but it does work. The second portion of the book is much faster, much more action packed but it needs the first half - so they very much work hand in hand.

I was convinced several times through the first half of this book that I knew who the intruder was. It kept switching until I was surprised by what was actually happening. Unexpected, yet it totally makes sense. I wish there was more about the true villain and how it operates weaved into the first part of this book but that's just the reader in me wanting more. Because, at the same time, I could say at the end I want more of what comes next for Quill and his family and Quill and Liam.

Definitely a good read, easily devoured.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read this lovely book!

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Evergreen is everything I expected and more.
We follow Quill a dryad teen with no powers who feels trapped by the worries of his mother and his family’s expectations. But then he meets his new neighbour, Liam, and everything changes.

It’s a story full of love and growth. Understanding oneself and untangling one’s feelings and thoughts is not always an easy task. It shows us the importance of valuing those around us and how maybe the most important things are not those at plain sight.

This book has a fantastic premise and I think it could have done better if it had gone through some deep developmental edits. Unfortunately, as it stands now, I was disappointed.

The concept of a dryad family running a floral shop and caring for a magical garden? Fantastic, very cottage core. And I really did enjoy the idea of Quill - a half human half dryad who desperately wants to be normal, but I beyond those things I struggled.

The chapter length, repetitive scenes, and (kind of cringey) dialogue were reminiscent of high school creative writing endeavors. I’ve read a lot of YA in my time, but regardless of subject matter or audience age, I still generally expect the writing quality to hold up. Personally, I don't think it did here.

Beyond simple word choice and writing style, the plot felt choppy in many places; for example there was a lot of focus put into Quill and Liam's nightly drives - these scenes began to feel repetitive by the second trip and genuinely annoying by the third - but everything in between their dates seemed rushed and not evenly weighted. Based on the premise, I expected the plot of this book to center around Quill, his family of dryads, and the magical garden. Instead I third wheeled for dates with a love interest that, honestly, I really hated at worst and made my physically cringe at best.

I also felt a lack of connection from these characters. The way they dropped into the story felt like reading fanfiction, specifically in the way that you are expected to already possess knowledge of the characters' personalities and just follow the “AU” story. I yearned to know so much more about Quill than we were told in passing conversation between him and Liam. I would have loved to spend some more time diving into Quill and what really makes him tick.

I truly struggled through most of the pages after the 75% mark. Firstly because the storyline went from zero to feral with no build up (at no point did I feel like the ending made sense in relation to the beginning of this story). Secondly, because most of the writing was simply not that interesting to read.

I honestly feel that this book had so much potential, but it just did not work for me.

A tender and utterly heartfelt debut novel, with magic bursting from the pages. There's so much to love here, in the magical world and especially the relationships: from Quill's complex family situation to the budding romance between him and Liam.

This was a strong debut novel, but still clearly a debut. To start with the things that impressed me: the magic system and characters. I was blown away by the development of the dryad magic and world. It was layered and nuanced, and information was well delivered over the course of the story. Alongside the magic, I also loved the characters. Quill was a great narrator and main character. He felt his age, and had great complexity. He also had amazing relationships with his mother, sister, and Liam, packed with love but also tension that made them very real. Of course, I found the romance adorable. I did not want to leave Quill and the magic when this book ended. However, there were things that I struggled with while reading the book. I felt plot wise that the entire thing was a bit rushed, and could have been slowed down to allow for more character development and a deeper dive into Quill’s family’s past. It also felt like there were some loose threads left unresolved at the end. But I would still recommend this book as a fun, quick, magical read.

The writing style of lovely and flows very well.

This story wasn’t for me though.
It had far more of certain contents than is my personal preference.

What a beautiful story. This is about a boy Quill, whose magical family hides him away for his own protection. When his mother allows a new neighbor to move into their building, Quill and newcomer Liam meet and sparks fly.

Now, experiencing things he has never experienced before, finding adventure with Liam, he finds a comfort in the other boy. He has never had any magic of his own, though his mother and sister tell him it will come in time.

But, fearing an intruder inside of the garden that holds their family’s magic upends everything his family has worked so hard for for so long.

Quill trusts Liam, but what is really going on? Is it all just too coincidental or is Liam someone who Quill can’t trust?

This was so beautiful. I loved Quill and Liam’s story. I loved the incredible nature magical element to this story and it was such a fun and modern take on The Secret Garden.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

What a cute and magical story! I really appreciated the romance and how it moved realistically rather than the Insta love we sometimes get, especially when the romance is a subplot. I also enjoyed the magic system and learning about the plants.