This really felt nostalgic in a way like revisiting Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden and The Little Princess all in one go.

You will fall in love with our MC Harriet Hunt and your heart will break over and over for her. But she is a true heroine of her own story and what a harrowing, powerful, yet beautiful story she has.

If you love a little bit of magic with a true underdog story with true love and beautiful selfless friendships sprinkled in, you will love this book!

I read several reviews before I dove into this book, and I was looking to be disappointed. I am glad I chose to read this book for myself. I loved Harriet's garden, and my heart was torn for Harriet. I am a gardener, so this title caught my eye. I found that this is the best-written book I have encountered this year. The author did a marvelous job and I would love to read more from her!

I received a copy per Netgalley, I was not obligated to leave a positive review.

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt - Chelsea Iverson

Wow, this book blew me away! So grateful to Netgalley for approving me for this arc! It gave me some Eleanor Oliphant vibes, but mixed with magic, and Victorian England. It was so descriptive, and visually alluring. The prose was amazing, and it was really well paced. Christian is, well, I’ll let you find out what Christian is! Let’s just say, his behaviour isn’t particularly Christian … I loved Harriet’s character, I loved her development and her friendship with Amelia. I loved her witchy links with the garden, and the magic that imbued her plants. Eunice is so sweet, and a truly wonderful cousin & best friend! I also loved Greenwood, and his particular love for cooking breakfast foods. I was not expecting the ending whatsoever, and I was so pleased that after all that; we got a HEA! I implore you to read this once it’s published in December, because it was a complete delight to read, and I’m so grateful I got the chance. I’m very glad I ignored the other reviews for this book, because I found it to be a beautiful, really well written book, with very dark undertones, but ultimately a wonderful example of female rage and empowerment! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Trigger warnings - domestic violence, survivor guilt, attempted rape, child abuse/cruelty,

The main character is this story is somewhat reclusive, staying home to tend to her mysterious garden and avoid the outside world. The deeper story in this one is the way that people avoid dealing with hard memories and can get stuck in avoidant cycles. The main character is somewhat naive, so she makes choices that I cringed at for her, but ultimately you could see it was due to her own experiences in the past.

I liked the positive focus on friendship between women in this one, and how that can help sustain us.

Harriet Hunt has lived her entire life at Sunnyside under the oppressive thumb of her father, who has recently disappeared, giving her what should be her first real taste of freedom. And while her very best and only friend, Eunice, has recently moved away Harriet has found herself being courted by a hansom young man, something she could never have ever dreamed of while her father was at home. And while Eunice has some apprehensions about Harriet's young man, Harriet has agreed to marry him, if only to stop that Inspector from coming by and asking questions about what happened to her father. She knew she shouldn't have told Inspector Stokes they had argued that evening, but she did and now he's convinced that something very sinister is happening at Sunnyside and that Harriet is at the heart of it.

This is essentially any other book with a young woman who comes into money and the evil scheming men around her who plot to get her thrown into an asylum. Except the girl can control plants. Which simply wasn't enough to save this from being predictable to the point of not holding my interest for about 85% of the book.

Overall, I think people will enjoy this because of its predictability. However, that's the reason I found myself bored. It was too predictable, which I found was a waste of adding in the whole sentient garden thing. I would have loved to see that portion of this be something more than a euphemism of Harriet's anxiety.


As always, thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC!

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt shows us some of the truest horror is found in the mundanity of living with a monster in the house. Every time Harriet tries talking herself out of taking her husband's abusive behavior seriously I wanted to scream!! Christian's lurking presence on every page (with that of her father layered underneath) made this read feel claustrophobic in the best way.

On another note, Harriet's musings on misogyny felt a little too aware of modern feminist language to a borderline anachronistic degree. I appreciate a journey of self-awareness in a protagonist, but the several explicit declarations of personal freedom in the face of objectification felt like a very modern understanding of gender + society! Not a deal breaker by any means, just a personal pet peeve.

All around a neat little gothic horror to join the "woman barely clinging onto sanity in old creaky house" literary universe.

Be aware this is a negative review. I went into this book having the complete wrong ideas. I don’t really know what bothered me in this book, it could be that it has too much description which did not keep my focus. I wanted the book to have a little more magic and I really did not expect this book to go in the direction it did. I skim read the last 20% because I was DESPERATE to be done with it.

This was a both cozy and a little dark. Strange and yet simple at times. Conflicting writing at times...not really sure how I feel about it now that is done?
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Such a fun read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Immersive and lush, The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt truly lives up to the expectations set by the title, as we’re introduced to Harriet, the titular character who is a little too strange for Victorian society, and her equally strange garden, whose wild sentience keeps her bound to her empty house. When an inspector comes sniffing around for information about her missing father, she soon realises that being a young woman alone in the world is a dangerous thing, but perhaps the charming and handsome neighbour who’s taken an interest in her can be her salvation. However, as she soon realises, not all that glitters is gold.

The creeping sense of danger that follows Harriet throughout the entire novel, pressing in on all sides from multiple different sources, made her small tastes of hope and freedom truly addicting. The curiosity and protectiveness of the garden is beautifully contrasted against Harriets own fear of losing control, further adding layers to the prison of her mind that keeps her bound to Sunnyside, will broken by both the men in her life and her own guilt over her past.

When everything comes to a head, Harriet’s escape from the house and her husband takes place in truly explosive circumstances, and her courage to seek help from her friends is what finally helps secure her freedom. Harriet’s journey from a peculiar recluse to despairing wife to a woman surrounded by love and brightness was very compelling, and I really enjoyed myself throughout the whole book.

While this story deals with themes such as grief and guilt, the cycle of abuse, and the fears that keep you in bad situations, it is more than anything a story of hope, healing, and finding true freedom. While I’ve thankfully never experienced parental or intimate partner abuse, I hope that anyone who resonates with Harriet’s story has been or will be able to find strength and the room to bloom freely from any constraints.

Content warnings: Domestic abuse (physical and emotional), child abuse and neglect (mentioned), death of a parent, rape (implied and attempted), forced institutionalisation (mentioned), injury by fire.

Harriet lives alone in her family home because her mother died and her abusive father has mysteriously disappeared. She has a magical connection to her wild garden where the plants respond to her moods and protect her from the outside world. Facing difficult questions bordering on accusations around her father's disappearance, along with rapidly declining finances, she accepts a proposal of marriage for protection and security.

I found this book slow to get into as the opening chapter was mainly prose with a lot of description, perhaps too much. I really enjoyed the interactions with the garden, but there was so much description that it slowed the story down and reduced suspense.

My main issue was that I felt as though I had read this story before. I knew what was about to happen and how it was going to end. That is not to say that it has been copied, just that it's been done so often before that it needs a point of difference. The magical garden should have provided that but it still felt as though it needed something else.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. My opinions are my own.

Harriet Hunt has a green thumb and she loves the plants growing in her rambling garden at Sunnyside House and she’s had more time to devote to it since her father Clement left. Harriet didn’t have a good relationship with her dad and he’s a bully, he did mention visiting a relative and she hasn’t missed him at all.

Harriet’s garden is a wild and over grown place and it’s full of ivy, trailing roses and an old plum tree. Harriet is shocked when she's questioned by a nosy inspector and he’s making it sound like her dad met with foul play and she’s to blame.

Harriet is vulnerable and never been on her own before, she meets Mr. Comstock, after a short friendship and he suddenly proposes. Harriet marries him and thinking Christian will give her the love and security she’s always wanted. Talk about jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire and she's made her situation worse.

I received a copy of The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt by Chelsea Iversen from NetGalley and Sourcebooks in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not normally a fan of magical realism and fantasy fiction, however I enjoyed this book and I felt compassion for Harriet and she's an eccentric and likable woman. Three other characters in the novel were kind, her cousin Eunice and maid Amelia and Mr. Greenwood and I hated two. At times it's a dark and eerie narrative and about controlling behaviour and greed, mystery and secrets. I felt Harriet's garden protected her and had a life of it's own and four stars from me and I recommend.

Well written and intriguing.

Likable characters and lovely imaginations. The ‘peculiar garden’ was just that, peculiar with a high sense of loyalty.

After Harriet Hunt's mother died she is left to live alone with her father who doesn't understand her or her connection to the sentient garden on their estate. Now her father has disappeared and although she is happy to be free from him with her garden, she finds herself at the center of a relentless investigation by the local inspector. The story is set in a time when women have few rights and are sadly reliant on the men in their lives. Vulnerable, she agrees to marry to gain protection from the inspector. But her husband isn't what he seems either. It was hard to read about Harriet being treated as an outcast in her community because she was seen as different. Fortunately, she finds true friendship with the women who ultimately provide the needed support and stability to overcome the situation she has found herself in. The story is beautifully written with a message of female friendship and hopefulness.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Harriet is a young woman in the…1860s, I believe?, whose abusive father has disappeared. Because of her unusual and somewhat magical relationship with her garden and her now vulnerable status as a woman living alone, she marries a seemingly charming young man in order to avoid being committed to an asylum by a suspicious police officer. But her husband is also not what he seems and she may be in even worse trouble now. This was good, although I am not a huge fan of abusive spouse stories as a rule. SPOILER ALERT: There was one scene toward the end in which Harriet was surrounded by vengeful plants as her husband and father fought that I really liked: A woman rising to her feet, powerful for the first time in her life, preparing to take on her abusers while backed by threatening, wrathful plants. Amazing. 3 stars

4.5 Stars

Harriet Hunt’s life hasn’t been easy, her mother, the only one who ever gave her love, has been gone from this world for what seems to her like forever, the only one who ever really loved her, that is, except her garden. It is not your average garden, it seems to have a mind of its own, weaving here and there, creating what, to her, almost feels like family, this garden that gives so much to her, it is her place of solitude, the place she feels more at home.

There’s a strange man who keeps trying to get in touch with her, as this story begins, who weaves in and out, trying to determine where her father is, which she has no answer for. A man she meets declares his love for her, and soon after they marry, and her life changes.

There’s a sprinkling of magical realism in this story, along with an aura of darkness, although this is not, over all, an overly dark story. It’s a story of discovering one’s true self and finding a way to happiness through embracing her true self, as well as the magic of her garden, and the magic within herself.



Pub Date: 03 Dec 2024


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Sourcebooks Landmark

It's strange how a book can feel cozy and a little dark at the same time. 3.5 stars. It hits some slow moments but the end is worth it.

Beautifully written tale of a young woman who some see as odd and her magical garden. Bit of a slow start and the pacing was much slower than I generally like, but it worked for the time period.

Fair warning: our young woman faces abuse and neglect from her childhood on and some of the passages dealing with past or current experiences can be tough to read through. My heart broke multiple times for some of the things she had to endure at the hands of those closest to her.

I admit that I absolutely fell in love with Harriet's garden and it made me want to talk to my plants more!
All in all, I liked the book and glad I read it. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity.

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt was everything that I wanted from Weyward that I didn't get. In this book Harriet, a young sheltered girl, lives with her father at their estate called Sunnyside. Harriet's father has been missing for 6 months and Harriet has no idea where he is. He has threated to leave her to go to Denmark, but he didn't tell her where he went. An inspector has shown up and suspects Harriet of fowl play. This is a story of a young girl who is forced to make bad choices for her limited options and her fear of leaving.

I enjoyed this novel and although the plot was a bit predictable, it was still a great read. Harriet represents many women of her time who were misunderstood and treated poorly. If you enjoyed books like Weyward or are looking for something witchy you should pick this one up. The preorder is now available.

Interesting premise and beautiful writing!
I found Iversen's prose dreamy and enticing, pulling me into the story of Harriet and her magical garden. I particularly liked the last quarter of the book, where we find the answers to all the mysteries as well as see Harriet really stretch and grow.

I could have used a trigger warning; I ended up skipping over parts concerning Harriet's father. It was a little too intense for me.

I really liked her cousin, and I found those scenes the most refreshing.