Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Divining the Leaves follows a dual perspective of two cousins, Ridhi and Nilesh, as they navigate through a mystical realm of yakshas and yakshinis. Once friends, the two cousins come together after Nilesh’s family falls apart. When the magical realm becomes open to the cousins, they must work together to decipher the forests’ whispers and find their way back to their family.

While the writing was beautiful and captured the mythical feelings the author was trying to describe in the novel, unfortunately the story never felt fleshed out and was terribly slow to start. What should have been read as a new world with magic beings, immortals, and magic in the air came off boring. The synopsis was also slightly misleading, as I thought I was going to be reading more about mythology set in India, and not modern; instead, the story takes place in Atlanta, GA, with very modern technology (that does not elevate the novel in any way). There was folklore, which should have been interesting, but without a glossary, it felt like more work to sit there figuring out what different terms and beings were.

Reading from Ridhi’s perspective was a highlight of the book. The way she described everything she saw and smelled was beautiful and managed to slowly pull you into the story; but then the POV would switch to Nilesh, who could only talk about “how hot” another character was and had very little character growth.

Lastly, there felt like a need to include different representations of people. One character is only referenced along with her wheelchair, and limited mobility, while not explaining any more about her personality. There is mention how she used to not have limited mobility, but never any back story. There is not one point where her disability plays into any storyline and could have been removed with 0 change to the novel. The main character was also suddenly bi on the last page of the book. Both cases did not elevate the story in any way and pulled me from the story.

A generous 2.5 stars (rounded up to 3), because the descriptions of places, smells, and foods were beautiful.

“Her beloved trees must have sensed her frazzled nerves, reviving her, their presence as reassuring as a river of sunlight. if only she could sink into their comforting embrace.”

Divining the Leaves is a very whimsical book. It left me with a sense of wonder as I wandered through the pages, completely dreamy. Filled with beautiful descriptions, the story follows Ridhi and Nilesh (in a dual POV narration), who once were friends and are forced to reconnect when Nilesh has to spend a few days in Ridhi’s house.
Even though their beliefs are quite opposite, as Ridhi feels her connection to Nature –and to the folklore she comes from– contrary to very skeptical Nilesh, they have pretty similar reactions to the magical world (in which Nature rules) they enter and they bring the reader with them. Between their need of attachment and their ambitions, they discover that new world, and themselves during the journey, which makes of Divining the Leaves a great coming of age story, weaving personal growth by finding roots through their inherited culture. I loved to dive in all this folklore and court intrigues and how the author chose to do that, immersing the reader.

Thank you to the author, ColoredPages tour and HarperCollin children’s books for the eARC sent via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Rate 3.5/5

Not really for me, and im really sad about it. i wish it was but the plot was slow and nilesh was annoying making me want to drop this book every time i read his pov.

This is a unique story with portal magic and meddling gods. I love that the story is a dual POV but it's two separate lives that overlap but they aren't love interests. It's very refreshing. It shows the FMC and her love the earth and the magic that comes from that and the MMC who's just trying to find a way to escape his current life situation. I love that this is very "teenager" and it's nothing to explicit in romance or violence. The side characters are wonderful. The differences between the 2 family situations is very real to many people. Overall a pretty good story would definitely recommend for tweens or younger teenagers.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read this book.

[3.5 stars]

I have to start off by saying the world building in this book is incredibly enchanting and immersive. The care with which each detail is described is breathtaking. It was like stepping into a fairytale world steeped in Indian mythology and folklore, filled with otherworldly flowers and trees and delicious foods. I wished I could stroll through the Nigh Market and partake in its magical wares. Dance with the yakshinis adorned in their saris and lenghas crafted from flowers.

But the plot was very drawn out and the first half was so slow it didn’t really hold my attention. And Nilesh was pretty annoying and rude even before his family fell apart. Sure he finally had an epiphany in the last like 50 pages of the book that took some drastic measures. But the way he’d treated Ridhi before? There wasn’t enough apologizing or recognition that of how harmful his actions were. I enjoyed Ridhi’s character, she spoke to that part of me that yearned to run away to a magical realm when I was a teenager. I loved that she was unapologetically herself. The way her perfumes were described, I want one for myself. The overall message of connecting more with nature and the peace that it can bring really resonated with me.

Overall, I loved the nature focused world building but the plot was too dragged out for me.

Cue this, you have felt lost being around people due to being the odd one out, even possibly bullied, like don't we all introverts feel this at moments, and what if you have a true calling for something, which is worth more than any other thing in your life, what if you get an opportunity to leave all else for this calling, will you grab it with all your might then ?

For context, Ridhi (FMC) feels at home with nature, is a master perfumer at a young age, and believes in the magic of nature - tales of yakshinis and yakshas from folklore from her Mom, really hopes to become a yakshini herself and, in turn of surprising events, finds her way into the world. And there is Nilesh (MMC), usual playboy, ex friend of Riddhi, but is heartbroken and angry due to some family stuff. Nilesh comes across a yakshini, Kamini mysteriously triggering his entry into the same world of nature.

The story follows their journey into the world albeit with a lot of twists and turns. The writing was beautiful just like the subject of the author, flowery and earthy. As a fellow Indian, I could really connect with a lot of folklore parts which really brought fantasy to life, especially the beautiful descriptions of nature elements like flowers, trees, and fruits, setting up the background of the story.

The book had a lot of heart and layers which kept me hooked till the end, despite a few confusing twists and turns, because Nilesh could be easily misunderstood in the earlier chapters as he was just plain angry, but then as the story kept going, I could get him, his growth arc made the reading experience edgy but satisfying. Ridhi's character was a bit flawed too, which added even more depth to the story.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this one, got a good fantasy fix out of it.

This story took a while to get into but after some time I was invested in the outcome. Sometimes the pacing felt a bit off but it kept me intrigued. Although I liked the fantasy aspect of the story it felt like the story resolved a bit too easily. Still, it was a nice read that I would tell others to check out. 3.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

The cover is stunning, and that is what initially drew me in. I love a good YA fantasy, but unfortunately, this one didn't really hold my attention. I found the pacing pretty slow at times. The Indian folklore was fascinating and intertwined throughout, which I appreciated. I didn't realize that this story was going to be completely modernized, and it kind of took away from the fantasy element. I had a really difficult time connecting with Nilesh, but I did enjoy the FMC, Ridhi. I wish we got more explanation about HOW she was able to do the divining as it's in the title but there isn't much explanation for her abilities unfortunately.

DNF @ 35%

I hate to say that I’m not finishing this book. I really wanted to like this, I wanted to enjoy the heck out of this! But just like Thakrar’s other novel, I wasn’t enjoying this. The writing is very flower for one character and not for the other. That isn’t bad actually, it’s good because you can really tell the difference between the two and their mindsets.
The characters themselves just weren’t interesting. Our MMC is dealing with the divorce of his parents which I really felt for, but that doesn’t mean that his attitude and behavior is excusable. Our FMC seemed like a great character, I was just extremely bored. Bored with everything actually.
The plot sounds interesting when you read the description but in execution it wasn’t giving excitement. I do wish to read more of the Indian mythology so maybe someday I’ll come back to this or try other books. For now though, it’s gonna have to stay unfinished.

I give all my DNF’s 3 stars unless I genuinely disliked them.

This book has such a beautiful cover. And I love reading books with mythology from cultures I don’t know a lot about. There was a lot of mythology and characters from those myths spread throughout the story. The descriptions of the alternate world, the yaksha’s realm, were beautiful and created such vivid and colorful scenes in my head as I read. Unfortunately, I was actually a bit bored and had to push myself through the story. There were a lot of twists and turns, but not in a good way. In a way that I didn’t quite understand exactly what was happening or why something was happening. It was hard to believe that Nilesh would go so willingly into this other world with the way his character had been described, even with the horrible things he was dealing with as his family imploded. And then how Ridhi’s brother was so upset because she forgot to make cookies for his team? Once? Wow. I think it was a younger brother, but still, that was a little over the top for me.

As I said the mythology was interesting and led to some unique scenes, but overall I was unfortunately bored and had to push myself to finish, basically skimming towards the end almost just to get finished.

This had a great premise and I enjoyed the setting and storline. The two characters are interesting and work well in the story. I felt most of the story was told in the description and I really did not get much more in the story that really excited me much more but I still enjoyed travelling through it.

Recommended: for specific things
For lush descriptions of nature and magic, not for complex plot or characters

Thoughts:
This is a book that is mostly here for the vibes, and they are gorgeous. The story, the characters... those are a bit flatter. But boy, is it a pretty world to be in! The descriptions of the forest and creatures and magic is so incredibly engaging. It was so easy to imagine the scenes and items described, and I was completely immersed. And honestly, a bit longing, because they all sounded wonderful.

The downside is that the story was pretty lackluster. It took a long time for anything to happen, and by 50% of the way through I still didn't have any idea what the main conflict was meant to be. If you're coming to this for enemies to lovers romance, or for any romance, you are in the wrong place my friend. This was okay by me because I'm pretty tired of that trope, but there is no romance. There are scenes that are intended to be, they did not succeed, which is part of the eventual thin plot as well. As the story went on, things felt poorly explained at some times and awkwardly obvious at others. Things that I think were meant to be a surprise... were not. At all.

There are two main characters whose points of view we get, and I didn't really like either of them. It didn't feel like either of them grew very much in the story and the resolution felt abrupt and weirdly placed. There were two lines that collided at the end, which felt like it took away from both by making them compete for attention. Ultimately I didn't care, which isn't great for the big dramatic resolution.

There are themes of belonging at the heart of this, with Ridhi always feeling like an outside with other kids and desperately wanting to be part of the magical forest folk, and with Nilesh struggling to find a new normal after his parents split up. Interactions between those two are pretty limited though, which was a surprise as the blurb set it up like that would be a central element.

Overall this is an AMAZING book if you want something that will whisk you away to a magical location and fill your head with rich visuals of fields of flowers, fantastic night market goods, and delicious foods both real and imagines. But if you're here for any kind of compelling story or romance, well, re-calibrate those expectations.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for a free advanced copy. This is my honest review.

This book was not for me. It felt very ya in a bad way. The characters felt very young and immature. And the written felt like it had a lot of plot holes.

Two teens, a magical court, and a journey through a world filled wtih spirits drawn from Hindu and Buddhist folklore. The story follows plant-loving perfume making Ridhi Kapadia, a girl who yearns to find magic, and the popular Nilesh Batra, her former friend. Ridhi spends her days mixing perfumes and wandering into the local woods to listen to her beloved trees... and finds herself begging to be let into an enchanted kingdom from the yakshas. Nilesh on the other hand is tired of pretending to be happy, shocked by his parent's perfect marriage being a scam... and decides to end up on his former best friend's doorstep. Nilesh finds himself drawn into Ridhi's magical adventure and both of land in a magical court and find themselves on an adventure. I have to say I was initially intrigued by how beautiful the cover was and that this was going to be a magical fantasy read filled with mythology and folklore... but I can honestly say this book was a major miss for me. The book was a slow read, I felt like there was so much info dumping and less actual plot, and the characters just felt kind of bland. I never really found myself invested in either character or enjoying them. The story itself would be better suited for a middle grade fantasy reader. I just didn't really enjoy this and was left kind of disappointed because of the potential this story could have had. This story was unfortunately really boring and I just found myself sluggish throughout the time I spent reading it.

Release Date: March 4, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Divining the Leaves is written very poetically and I loved it, but the pacing was slow to start and I couldn't connect to the story. While I loved the writing style I felt that there was a lot of info dumping and more telling than showing. The folklore and mythology were wonderfully done and a great part of the story. While this wasn't my favorite book it was entertaining enough and I hope others enjoy it fully!

Couldn't finish. I didn't find this to be as promised. I'm disappointed because the synopsis had so much promise! I enjoyed Star Daughter, so it was disappointing not being able to finish Divining the Leaves

This is difficult to review. On one hand, I love the new approach to faerie stories and Ridhi Kapadia was a great character to follow in the story. She knows her passion and is a bit of a misfit among her peers for it. She loves her family but longs for more. On the other hand, you have missing plot and Nilesh Batra, our other main character who I was not a fan of through the whole story. Yes, he's a typical teen, but his arrogance grated on me seemed to think of nothing but a pretty girl. Ridhi's character development seemed realistic, as she finds a place for herself in the world, while Nilesh doesn't show any development until the very end and I felt like it came from nowhere (I mean, I could offer a possible explanation, but I shouldn't have to). Nothing really happened, until something did and it seemed like it came from nowhere. I did like the non traditional ending, but it seemed disconnected from the rest of the plot.

This book had immense potential, and I'm so sorry to say that it just missed the mark for me. It was extremely slow and dumped a lot of information and worldbuilding on you, but nothing really happened until later in the book. I did love the mythology and folklore - Hindu mythology is so cool. The other thing I was kind of annoyed by is the MMC. He was just... unlikable. I didn't connect with him. He frustrated me.

I did ultimately DNF this book at 55%. I am rating it 2 stars based on what I read.

This cover is absolutely stunning, I love the artwork! I think there was a lot of potential here, I just could not stand the MMC. I understand he was going through a lot, but he wasn't very likable and I didn't feel myself seeing change as much as I wanted to. I did love the worldbuilding and the incorporation of myth/folklore into the story.

I really wanted to love this book, but it just didn’t work for me. When requesting this book, the description sounded so cool—fantasy, magic, and folklore—but it ended up falling flat. It starts off so slow, and I couldn’t connect with the characters or the world at all. It felt shallow, like it never really dug deep enough to hook me.

The folklore and nature themes were interesting, and I can see how someone who likes slower, reflective stories might enjoy this. But for me, it felt disorganized and honestly, kind of boring. I’m bummed this one didn’t work out, but I’d still give the author another shot—there were good ideas here; they just didn’t come together this time.

Thank you NetGalley & HarperCollins Children's Books for the eArc.