Thank you @netgalley, Camilla Bruce, and Random House Publishing Group for this arc kindle copy of At the Bottom of the Garden. 5 stars all around for this fantastic read. I freaking loved this. The story starts off strong with the cynical Aunt Clara, acting as the closest living relative of two recently orphaned daughters from her passed brother. She accepts the girls as part of her grand scheme to getting rich and leaving behind a legacy since they have a hefty inheritance. She’s one ruthless bitch who is willing to do anything (really, anything) to get what she feels she has earned. As the story unravels, we learn that the two girls have some supernatural gifts, and they can help the living and dead with their woes…but they accidentally unearth their Aunt Clara’s dirty secrets and the real entertainment begins. I would describe this book as a mix of Lemony Snicket’s with a little Matilda mixed in. We even get our own Miss Honey. I will definitely be reading all things Camilla Bruce now. 10/10 would recommend #atthebottomofthegarden

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of At the Bottom of the Garden.

I enjoyed the author's previous book, You Let Me In and the premise of At the Bottom of the Garden was intriguing, I was pleased my request was approved.

Sadly, this didn't meet my expectations for a number of reasons:

1. Long-winded exposition from the three main POVs, Lily, Violet, and the mean old aunt, Clara

2. For a narrative revolving around supernatural abilities and ghosts, the narrative was dull and tedious. There was no urgency or suspense, no excitement or drama.

3. Lily and Violet's voices sound familiar and I found it hard to distinguish between the two and remember who was older.

It also didn't help that I hoped this would be a dark, macabre, witchy tale and it was anything but.

The writing is good, but the story tragically boring and slow.

Lily and Violet are forced to move in with their Aunt Clara when their parents die. Clara is a horrible person and only wants to be the children's guardian because of money. Greed of is not Clara's biggest sin. Oh no, she is a murderess. As Lily and Violet try to escape the grips of Aunt Clara, they discovery they have some very unique abilities that come with a price.

I really love Camilla Bruce's writing and this book was no different. The story moved at a good pace and gave off gothic horror vibes. The chapters are told through alternating POV, Clara, Lily and Violet, as we learn all of Clara's bad deeds and the gifts the girls possess. The ending was truly satisfying!

I haven’t had the pleasure of reading this author before, but I absolutely will be because this was such a great time.

This creepy, revenge fueled story Is inventive and engaging. The characters are all so multi-faceted, with their own unique voices, personalities, and morals.

When two young sisters fall into the care of their money hungry aunt, they begin to discover the trail of hatred that lurks behind her, among those she has wronged. In her drive to build her business, she will stop at nothing to secure the funding, even if that means becoming guardian to her young nieces in order to scoop up their inheritance.

Soon, she learns that these girls have a unique ability and sees dollar signs in her future. This was a wild ride. I enjoyed the atmosphere, the pacing, the vibe. So. Good.

At the Bottom of the Garden* by Camilla Bruce is a deliciously dark and twisted story that blends elements of gothic horror with a gripping psychological thriller. Clara Woods is no ordinary widow; she’s a killer who has long buried her secrets—quite literally—beneath the flower bed at the bottom of her garden. But her carefully constructed life begins to unravel when her two young nieces, Lily and Violet, arrive after the tragic death of their parents.

Clara’s motivations are clear from the start: she’s not interested in playing the doting aunt but rather in gaining access to the girls’ assets to fund her dream of creating a diamond jewelry line. But Violet has a terrifying gift—she can see the dead, including Clara’s buried past. As ghosts begin to resurface, Clara finds herself in a battle of wits and wills with the girls, who know far more than they should about her deadly secrets.

Camilla Bruce masterfully creates a tense and eerie atmosphere, where every shadow and whisper feels charged with impending doom. Clara is a fascinatingly complex character—cunning, ruthless, and unapologetically self-serving—yet you can’t help but be drawn into her twisted world. The dynamic between Clara and the girls, particularly the supernatural tension with Violet, adds layers of suspense that keep you guessing what will happen next.

The pacing is steady, with moments of creeping dread that build to a chilling climax. Bruce’s writing is sharp and evocative, painting a vivid picture of a garden that’s far from a place of peace and tranquility. While some might find the story a bit dark for their taste, it’s precisely this macabre edge that makes it such a compelling read.

*At the Bottom of the Garden* is a thrilling journey into the mind of a woman who will stop at nothing to protect her secrets, even when the past refuses to stay buried. Fans of gothic tales with a supernatural twist will find much to enjoy in this haunting and suspenseful novel.

#AttheBottomoftheGarden #NetGalley

This is definitely a slow burn, dragging out the suspense a little bit too much in places for my taste. I was hoping Aunt Clara would have some sort of redemptive quality to her, but overall she's just a horrible character that I didn't really care about. The ending of the story unfolds to reveal that we've been given little tidbits on how it'll all end like a breadcrumb trail. Overall I felt this story was fine.

When an accident on K2 takes their parent's lives, 9 year old Violet and 14 year old Lily are uprooted from their lives to go live with their estranged Aunt Clara. Aunt Clara has never met her brother's children and could have gone her entire life just fine without meeting them, until she realizes the monthly stipend she will be given for housing both children. Motivated by greed she feels she is owed by her once spoiled, now deceased brother, she takes in the children. Little does she know, her nieces are "gifted" and are about to unleash her dark secrets to the world if she can't control them.

Told in alternating chapters between the point of views of Violet, Lily, and Aunt Clara, the story slowly unfolds to reveal Aunt Clara's past and the "gifts" the two girls possess. This is definitely a slow burn, dragging out the suspense a little bit too much in places for my taste. I was hoping Aunt Clara would have some sort of redemptive quality to her, but overall she's just a horrible character that I didn't really care about. The ending of the story unfolds to reveal that we've been given little tidbits on how it'll all end like a breadcrumb trail. Overall I felt this story was fine. I'm not a huge fan of slow building stories, especially stories that don't give the full details. I wished they would have elaborated a little more on the girl's gifts, which is part of why I didn't rate this book higher.

An interesting if uneven story about family and ghosts and revenge. When Lily and Violet are orphaned, their grasping, vile aunt Clara takes them in, interested in the fortune they'll inherit. But the girls begin to develop supernatural powers, revealing Clara's worst crimes--and soon all three--plus Clara's employee Dina--are desperate for a way out. Having the villain POV is a nice twist, and the overall story is satisfying.

This book was creepy from the very first paragraph. Right away, we're in the head of a morally bankrupt character, told in the first person point of view. I was swept up in the prose, in the atmosphere, in Clara's worldview. It was all fascinating, like a car crash I couldn't look away from, and I needed to know what was going to happen next.

At the Bottom of the Garden is a bit like a dark fairy tale, where you see through the eyes of a villain, but know that ultimately, they will likely get their comeuppance. You're reading to see how it will happen, how things will start to unravel for them, both wanting them to see justice but somehow rooting for them to succeed at the same time.

We also get to see bits of the story through the child characters' (Lily and Violet) points of view, and this juxtaposition with Clara's viewpoint was particularly engaging. Honestly, from the second I picked this book up I couldn't put it down. While I wouldn't call it scary, I think this is a perfect addition to anyone's spooky season TBR.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A great premise about witchy youngsters and their murderous, grasping aunt, but there are some real problems with this book that I just couldn’t get past.

The first-person point-of-view is easily the most difficult to write well. It’s mostly about creating a character that readers want to be inside the mind of, and having that mind make sense. This book has THREE first-person characters, two of whom are children who sound a bit too much alike, and the third is a slimy, self-righteous, self-obsessed murderer. There wasn’t enough personality written for any of the characters, and neither Lily or Violet or even the two combined was enough to balance out Clara.

I was immensely frustrated by the amount of story that was wrapped up in telling instead of showing, unnecessary dialogue, and repetition. Most of these problems could have been fixed with a change in POV, letting us see things happening instead of having each character explain them.
The epilogue was a weird infodump stuck onto the end—it was nice to know some of the reasons for the girls’ powers, but some of those details could easily have been woven into the plot.

So, yes, good idea (and great blurb, honestly), but it fell short for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an ARC of this book.

*Note to publisher: I have rated this book on GoodReads, but my review will be published two weeks before the release date.

A lighthearted horror following two young girls navigating newfound spiritual abilities while overcoming the struggle of a greedy caretaker with a dark past.

This story was immersive, fast paced, and easy to digest. The writing flowed easily and the tiny bits of foreshadowing added really helped bring the plot to a satisfying end.

I rated it 4 stars because while it was great book, I only give the privilege of 5 stars to books that I think about for days, weeks, years after, and truly alter my brain.

I really liked this book and enjoyed getting a story from bad persons pov! I loved all the characters, I felt like the dialogue flowed really well, and it was JUST creepy enough without giving me nightmares! A great read!

A murderess becomes the guardian of two teenage witches!

This book reads like a fairytale, but instead of a greedy, selfish step-mother we have Aunt Clara the greedy aunt with her own set of ulterior motives. Clara Woods jumps at the chance to adopt her two nieces when her brother and sister-in-law die in a tragic mountain climbing accident. Clara has never cared for her brother or his family, but she quickly puts on a false front as she tries to figure out a way around her dead brother’s will. She eagerly agrees to bring the girls into her home at Crescent Hill to keep the money flowing her way. Clara is obsessed with diamonds and she’ll do anything to get her hands on her nieces newly inherited fortune. She has already cooked up a money-making scheme to allow her to create her own legacy, Clarabelle Diamonds. Full steam ahead, she’s so sure she can get this money she hires a designer to start working on the diamond designs!

But her nieces see through her deception. Lily and Violet are young witches. Both with special powers recently enhanced when their mother passed away. Violet can see the dead. Ghost of dead animals and even people call out to her for help. Which is rather unfortunate for Aunt Clara as Violet has seen a man pacing the garden in one of the flowerbeds at Crescent Hill.

As the older sister, Lily feels the burden to keep her younger sister safe. She has four more years until she can claim guardianship of Violet and Aunt Clara’s home offers the only guarantee to keep the girls together and stay out of foster care. Lily has a secret witchy skill of her own. She can see a person’s true emotion revealed in vibrant color on a person’s skin. So, when Aunt Clara is telling the girls she’s sorry she missed the funeral due to surgery, all while her skin is shimmering lime green, Lily knows Aunt Clara is lying.

As Aunt Clara’s buried secrets begin to reach out to Violet for help, the girls no longer feel safe in her home. The house at Crescent Hill has become a battleground.

I enjoyed reading this book. The author crafted a modern-day fairytale with likeable characters and a sinister counterpart.

Thank you Netgalley, publishers, and author for giving me the chance to read this wonderful book.

I liked this story a lot. There was a bit of a "Practical Magic" vibe happening, but only if the story remained when they were children. Oh, and if you like a complicated, awful woman. I'm a little amazed with the author making me able to feel bad for Clara, our antagonist. No where does she come off as sympathetic and yet, when I read her childhood, I got a glimpse of why someone might turn out like that.

There were only two things that I think take away from the story; the pacing (which slows down in the middle), and the sisters voices. I got their character chapters mixed up a lot, because it was a bit difficult at times to distinguish from which viewpoint I was reading, they just both sounded the same (even though the chapters were named after them, it was just difficult).

I'm a little embarrassed by this, but I always thought the saying was, "If you thought (this), you have another thing coming." I learned thanks to this book that it's "think"..."If you thought (this), you have another think coming." And it really does make way more sense. SMH

Clara finds herself thrust into a new life as guardian to her nieces, Lily and Violet, after a tragic accident claims the lives of her brother and sister-in-law. She sees her nieces as keys to increasing her wealth, and ultimately helping her start her diamond business. Lily has an extraordinary gift, she can see colors and smoke around people, revealing their emotions or true nature. Violet, on the other hand, has the unsettling ability to encounter the dead. Among the spirits are the ghost of Timmy, Clara’s deceased husband, and his mistress, Ellie and Miss Lawrence. Clara recognizes Violet's unique ability to communicate with the dead and begins to market her niece as a medium. The girls know the situation with the ghosts and their aunt will only get worse. Will they be able to escape?

Interesting premise. I however struggled to connect and get invested in the writing style and overall story. It fell a bit flat for me. I would still recommend it if you find the premise interesting. Had a lot of merit but unfortunately not for me.

This book was okay. I just really think the overall flow was not there, and I could not get truly into the book.

When Lily and Violet's parents die in an anniversary mountain climb, they are sent to their aunt's home in the country. Aunt Clara doesn't care for people, much less children and an uneasy truce between the family members is set. What Clara doesn't know, is that Lily and Violet have powers - they can see feelings and spirits. Before long Clara needs to hide what happened at the bottom of the garden! Fun horror story from the talented Camilla Bruce!
#camillabruce #atthebottomofthegarden
#randomhouse #delray #ballantine