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.

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."