Unfortunately not for me. In a world with SO many books being published, I just don't see this as a must in our collection.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. The idea of a garden come to life felt really magical and different. However, I think I just personally found the main character hard to connect to. While I understood her why as to the choices she made, I often still found them personally annoying. However, in a way I suppose that's how the reader was supposed to feel- while it made it hard to get through for me personally, I think that's just a reflection on not having patience for a character who was clearly a severely unguided young woman. It was fantastic character building in that way, and definitely something interesting to think about in terms of my own lack of patience with the character!

Amazing, this book was a masterfully crafted, haunting tale that was both deeply unsettling and breathtakingly beautiful. Its dark, jarring narrative was a testament to the unyielding resilience of the human spirit, shining a light on the capacity to persevere in the face of unimaginable horrors. A truly gripping and thought-provoking read that will linger long after the final page is turned.

Interesting premise with historical fiction and fantasy elements. Harriet has always known she was different with a well tuned understanding of plans and her ability to call on them in her time of need.
There are parts of Harriet’s past which are slowly revealed to the reader. After her mother’s death she is treated incredibly poorly, until he disappears.

I enjoyed the writing in this book but found some sections were overly repetitive and the pacing felt a bit off which reduced the suspense leading up to and at certain events.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc of this book in return for my honest review

This unique atmospheric mystery keeps one reading throughout, drawing your interest into the troubled life of Harriet Hunt.

This story follows Harriet Hunt, a young woman who is living alone following the disappearance of her father (who is a piece of shit). Society already deems her an outcast because she is a ~strange~ woman, so living alone creates even more drama for Harriet. Add to this a new neighbor/suitor (aka another piece of shit), and Harriet's ability to communicate with her garden, and you get a story that is a mix between The Secret Garden (the evil and gothic version), Weyward, and a Jane Austen novel. Or if you don't like Austen you can pick a similar female author of that era.

There are some whimsical and enchanting moments in this book. HOWEVER, the majority of the book is really tough to read. The amount of abuse that Harriet endures is heartbreaking. Some of the scenes are quite vivid and I had to take a break for my own sanity. She's been abused and isolated for so long that her practical and emotional intelligence is stunted. Because of this she ends up in some difficult situations that were frustrating to see her go through. This worked though because I was very invested in the outcome of her story.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC; I'm rating this 4 out of 5 stars. The one issue I had was the pacing of the first few and the last few chapters. The buildup was too slow and the resolution felt rushed, but I did enjoy this book regardless!

What an absolutely intriguing book from start to finish! Harriet was quirky, quiet and interesting. Loved her friendship with Eunice. I love magical realism . I feel that it was a perfect amount of mustery as I had no idea what Christian was up to. Not everyone starts out with the life they want but you can dream and one day have the life you want! Beautiful book and message.

This book confirms how much this author is talented. The plot, the characters, the writing style are top tier. How things are described and narrated really put the reader in the book.

"She felt herself snap. Men took and took and took and took, and it wasn't even that they didn't care. It was that they didn't see her. They didn't see that she had a will of her own. They didn't see that she had choices. They didn't see that she was a person, just as they were."

Harriet Hunt is a lonely young woman with very little autonomy in this world. All around, men want to make her decisions for her. She starts off living with her overbearing, highly abusive father, who mysteriously disappears one day. Then, she's being questioned by local authorities who are highly convinced that she's had a hand in it, or at the very least, she's too crazy to live on her own. Christian Comstock comes into her life, ready to marry her in a quick, whirlwind romance, and he appears to be her knight in shining armor - the key to her freedom, to her finally appearing "normal" to the outside world. Unfortunately, rather than a key, he ends up being another padlock on the cage she's lived in her whole life.

Through it all, she has a special connection with her garden, full of ivy, brambles, and more. The garden seemingly checks in on her, saves her from precarious situations, and above all else, understands and comforts her.

I loved the author's writing, as well as the way this book immerses you in the setting. Through even the most dreary parts of the book, there's a whimsical fairytale vibe I really enjoyed ,While I thought the first half of the book was a bit slow, I could hardly put it down in the second. Harriet starts the book as a naive girl that simply wants to be loved and accepted, but ends it by finding her true power - first with the help of her garden and her friends, and then within herself. I didn't initially pick it up with the knowledge that it was going to have such a moving undercurrent of overcoming abuse, misogyny, and grief, but that's what ended up making it really special to me. Harriet deserved her happy ending and more.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt is a dark and beautiful low fantasy story about a chronically abused woman with an unusual affinity for plants. The story opens shortly after the sudden disappearance of Harriet’s father. Harriet is pawning off her father’s possessions to get by when one day, she is visited by an Inspector who seems to want to find her guilty of violence against her father. Terrified and unsure of how to prove her innocence, she begins searching for proof of his life. In the course of trying to search him out, Harriet meets Mr. Comstock who is charming and kind and in very short order wants to marry her. Flattered and thinking her marriage to a respectable man will save her from the further scrutiny of Inspector Stokes, she agrees to the match. But when things seem to be too good to be true, they usually are. Mr. Comstock has an ugly side, and it becomes apparent his intentions for Harriet has some sinister, ulterior motives. In order to save herself and her beloved garden, Harriet must unravel the plot against her before time runs out.

Gosh, this book was gripping and dark and jarring and absolutely beautiful story of inhuman resilience in the face of unspeakable evils. It was difficult at times to stomach— but this book is the triumphant phoenix song of Harriet Hunt and I simply loved it.

I’d like to thank Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book, mainly for the aesthetic involving nature / the natural world, but also the fact that the plot line was enjoyable. I think the length of this book really worked for the plot, had it been any longer, I think it would have just dragged a little bit. Definitely wouldn't mind having a physical copy of this book once it's published because I enjoyed it and the cover is stunning.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Something about this story just gripped me and would not let go. Are there moments that are a hot mess? Sometimes. Did I care? No, not really.

Chelsea Iversen did not commit the cardinal sin, which is to be boring. This is not a boring story. There is movement in each chapter, and most of the time the chapters ended in such a way that I wanted to continue just to see what was going to happen next. Lots can be forgiven if an author can be interesting and make me interested in their characters and plot.

First up, things that I loved:

I loved that this story engaged my brain enough to wonder where she was going with it and if there was something going on for me to read into. Sometimes a story is just too straightforward, hit you over the head with it, but there were some mysteries here that I felt excited to solve. I highlighted things in my Kindle copy that were linked to the overall mystery for me-I wasn't always right with where things ended up, but it was fun to play along.

I enjoyed the magical realism here. There wasn't a point in the story where I felt totally comfortable, because it felt that at any time, Harriet's world could be ripped from her. The magic felt unsteady and unsafe, which I think was the point.

Now for what I didn't enjoy:

There was a moment in the story, maybe 70ish% through, that I thought "Man, is our girl Harriet existing here just to suffer?" Which, to be fair, could be part of the point/themes of this story as well, and if so, I see you Ms. Iversen! But sometimes it felt that there was suffering for the sake of suffering, and so that we as a reader knew that she had suffered greatly. She does receive some growth, but growth that feels directly tied to her suffering in a way that feels uncomfortable.

There are also moments when the story and plotting feels clunky. It can sometimes feel like we are all mere pawns in this game. (Again, this could just be on theme?? Not sure how tricky our author is; if this is on theme, well executed honestly.).

The themes in this story are kind of dark, and there are some trigger warnings that I don't see anywhere that would probably be helpful to see. In this story we're dealing with: themes of abuse/domestic violence, men's ultimate power over women, strong women finding their voice, a woman finding control over her emotions/emotional regulation, nature, friendship, and love. I want to stress that if reading about violence toward women, particularly as it sits in the domestic violence realm, is triggering to you, proceed with the knowledge that that happens here but <spoiler> that it is resolved in a HEA for our main girl. </spoiler>

Overall though, as I said before, LOTS can be forgiven if your story and characters are interesting, and for me, I was thoroughly entertained the entire time. I wanted to solve this mystery, I wanted to see the ending, I was pleased with how the climax then resolved itself.

Kudos to our author. For a second book, I think she's still working out some quirks in her writing, but I would definitely be interested in reading more from her. She's got some interesting ideas that are fun to read.

Some quotes I loved:

"Logic would have to prevail for now, for she and the garden to remain protected. She must sacrifice some wildness in order to remain the keeper of this place."

"The noise she had thought was her house intent on driving her to madness was only her garden wanting her attention. But her smile wavered at the sight. Even though her garden made her feel safer than any place else, there were sometimes small moments like this one that unsettled her. They were a comfort-those leaves, those rosebuds, those thorns-and yet, they were the most frightening thing about her."

Rate: 4.75
Absolutely loved this book. And couldn’t stop thinking about it when I needed to put it down. I didn’t know much going into it and it surprised me with so many twists, turns and character developments.
The fantasy portion really brought the book to life and I could feel the emotions the author was conveying.
A book about overcoming self, obstacles and so many hardships.
I would love to see this book turned into a movie!

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me this advanced read for my honest opinion.

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt, by Chelsea Iversen begins with Harriet, a lonely young woman with a scarred face, who has been abandoned by her abusive, hateful father and housekeeper. She lived alone, in her home, for six months avoiding creditors and wondering where her father ran off to. Harriet’s life has been tumultuous as her father blamed her and her “peculiar” ability to control plants, flowers and trees, for the death of his wife, and Harriet’s beloved mother. Then one day she receives a visit from a local inspector who has been looking for her father and he threatens her with the knowledge that her father planned to send her to an insane asylum because she was a “hysterical” woman. As Harriet decides to determine where her father has gone off too, she combats her fear of the outside world (other than her garden) and travels to visit her former housekeeper. The housekeeper was as abusive and mean as her father but will eventually prove herself to be on Harriet’s side. Although the housekeeper has no real help for Harriet at the time, shortly after the visit, she browbeats Harriet into taking her teenage daughter as a maid. From there Harriet’s life begins to look up as she befriends the young girl, Amelia. Amelia helps Harriet in so many ways, she becomes a much-needed friend especially after Harriet’s best friend moves to the country, she helps Harriet look for her father and encourages Harriet to step out with the neighbor man who begins to take an interest in Harriet Through all of this, Harriet has kept her garden in control around all of these people who are new in Harriet’s life but that changes. Mr. Comstock shows much interest in Harriet and even offers to help her with the inspector, who is still looking for her father. After a short time, Mr. Comstock asks Harriet to marry him, and while she doesn’t love him, she knows being married will bring her respectability. Unfortunately for Harriet, her husband turns out to be just as cold and abusive as her father was, and Harriet will eventually realize that he married her for her money. Money that she did not know that she had, but that her father and Mr. Comstock, his accountant, did. In a turn of events, Amelia turns out to be her half-sister, her father returns, and Mr. Comstock and her father are taken care of by her magical garden. Harriet flees to her best friend in the country in the company of Mr. Comstock’s cousin. There, Harriet finds love and acceptance in more ways than one. The pacing and plot of this story are well done, the author keeps you guessing about certain events throughout the book, many until the end. Harriet’s character is strong but doesn’t know it as she deals with many of the issues women had to deal with in the late 1800s or early 1900s because men had control of their lives. I loved the way the story deals with magic, and how Harriet comes to love herself and others along the way. This book is intended for adults who like general fiction or just a little bit of fantasy/science fiction and historical fiction and is a wonderful read for people who meet that criterion. I highly recommend this book. I gave it 5 stars. If was a fast read and Harriet is a sympathetic character. You will find characters to hate and to love throughout the book.

Overall, this is a whimsical book; a great read that will have your emotions rocking as your cheer for Harriet and curse those who try to define her to their definitions of woman.

Thank you to NetGalley and SourceBooks Landmark for the ARC. The opinion is my own.

A gothic tale of a woman who has been isolated by her now missing father since childhood and whose only friend, her cousin Eunice, has to go away, leaving her to be alone with no friends in sight. It's a very low fantasy and slow paced which turns fast paced during the second half of the book.
Harriet Hunt has a peculiar garden indeed. The plums that grow there make you sleepy, the flowers turn to her when she comes and if she loses control over the garden bad things may happen. Her father's disappearance was a blessing to her, at least until her reclusive ways as a young unmarried woman known to be odd and wrong in all the neighboorhood starts bringing the wrong type of attention to her.

Despite the name, the garden, while always present if only in Harriet's thoughts, is not the focus, as one might expect by the name of this. Instead it is Harriet's inter-personal relationships and the evolution of her character over the length of the book that is the focus. There is no explanation of why the garden reacts this way to Harriet but personally that doesn't bother me. The twist at the end that explains why the antagonist did what they did was a bit weak personally but also did surprise me so I have a bit of mixed feelings. I did really like Harriet's discovery of positive relationships contrasting how she had been treated before and how, in the end, she wasn't as alone as she thought.

All in all, I really liked it and I think the author improved her pacing (though the first half is a biiiit too slow I think) from her last book.

Helen Hunt has been locked away in the house by her father and is considered by the villagers. Her cousin
Eunice ,her only outside contact with the outside world, will be moving to take care of her husband's aunt.
With the disappearance of her father six months ago, the police are investgating the case and consider Helen
a suspect. Due to the protection the garden provides her, Helen is afraid to leave the garden untended.
The man she marries has a hidden objective that bodes ill for Helen. Helen, along with her maid and the help
of new acqauiatances, seeks to break free and take control of her own life.
Story of having faith in oneself and knowing who one can trust.
#ThePeculiarGardenofHelenHunt #SourcebooksLandmark #NetGalley

Local recluse Harriet Hunt has spent her life shut away in her own home, growing fond of her wild and free garden as her father hides her away from the world. When her father mysteriously disappears, eyes fall to Harriet as a suspect. In an attempt to draw suspicion away from herself, Harriet marries the seemingly perfect Christian Comstock. But not all is as it seems, and Harriet soon finds herself caught in the dark schemes of her husband. As Harriet desperately tries to avoid being forcefully admitted to an asylum, she must hone a power she has kept buried since one fateful night which forever altered her life.

This book is a lovely mixture of historical fiction and fantasy. The plot kept me intrigued and I found myself unable to put it down during the last half of the book. I loved Harriet’s relationship with her garden and seeing her come into her power. However, the pacing of the book felt inconsistent and I wished there was a little more tension held out across some parts of the storyline. Overall, this book is still intriguing and fantastical, perfect for readers looking for their next historical fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Chelsea Iversen for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Stay tuned for the release of The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt on December 2, 2024.

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt follows the titular character as she has to come into her own as a young woman in 1800s England. Harriet is different. She knows that. Her father knows that, and that's why he's left her behind. She's glad he's gone; it means she can be as eccentric as she wants, including tending to her abnormal garden. However, an investigator comes poking around, clearly implying that she had something to do with her father's disappearance, and then her only friend and connection to the outside world declares she moving away, and Harriet realizes that she's going to have to act.
Harriet is an intriguing character. She's very mysterious at the beginning, and the workings of the garden are given as breadcrumbs. It's a good mystery, too, with a lot of layers. The writing was a little dense at times, being historical fiction, but it was still very readable.

I loved this book. Beautiful writing, plot and characters, not to mention an incredible descriptive garden. I felt so warm reading about the element woven of friendship, companionship and loving emotions. The garden itself felt like a main character and I loved it so much.Reading about Harriett and experiencing with her some of her pain felt raw and emotional, beautifully written. I can already see how Im going to gift a copy of this book to,

3.5 stars. I wasn’t expecting this to be so dark, but there were some very upsetting parts dealing with abuse and neglect that were difficult to read about.

This was hard to rate, because for the majority of the book we didn’t see much personality at all for Harriet. I think some internal dialogue would have helped this immensely, but mostly we just read about her not knowing what to say or do in each situation, and it was frustrating.

The ending really turned this book around for me, and I liked how everything turned out. It ended on a happy and uplifting note that made the whole book seem better. By the ending I felt like we finally got to know Harriet and feel hopeful for her future.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!