At the Bottom of the Garden combines mystical realism and horror into a perfectly twisty story about two magical girls adopted by their serial killer aunt. There were so many things about this story that I liked. The entire premise of the two sisters having opposite powers that directly affect the plot was great. The writing in general of this book was well-done, the aunt was appropriately horrible, a self-centered sociopath that really can't understand why no one sees her perspective. It was a full and complete story that felt like it came full circle.

Honestly, the only reason this is not rated higher is because I was not ready for the body horror. And I am still not sure why it was necessary - maybe to make the abuse of the girls powers more horrifying? I just couldn't get past it. This is definitely a preference on my part though, because otherwise I really enjoyed this story.

Overall, I think this was a very original genre bending novel that kept me enraptured the whole time. Many a horror fan will love this story. I will continue to read works by this author and think that they are talented writers and storytellers that many a reader should enjoy.

Camilla Bruce’s At the Bottom of the Garden is a gothic thriller laced with eerie supernatural elements, centering on Clara Woods—a remorseless murderess who unexpectedly becomes the reluctant guardian of two orphaned girls. The novel weaves a compelling tale of greed, ghosts, and survival as Clara’s dark past collides with the uncanny abilities of her nieces, Lily and Violet.

The novel’s greatest strength is its protagonist. Clara is unapologetically ruthless, making for a refreshingly amoral character whose motivations, while self-serving, are intriguing to follow. Her pragmatic acceptance of murder is both chilling and, at times, darkly amusing. The arrival of the orphaned sisters complicates her life, particularly when Violet’s ability to see and interact with the dead threatens to unravel Clara’s carefully concealed secrets.

While the premise is gripping, the novel has its shortcomings. The choice of a first-person narrative works well for Clara’s voice but may not appeal to readers who prefer a broader perspective. Additionally, while the children play a significant role in the story, their voices lack the distinctiveness necessary to make them feel like separate, fully realized characters. Their dialogue and thoughts often feel too mature for their ages, making it difficult to differentiate between them outside of their supernatural abilities.

Overall, At the Bottom of the Garden delivers an engaging, atmospheric read with a sinister protagonist and a haunting premise. Though the execution falters in some areas, particularly with character distinction, fans of gothic thrillers and supernatural suspense will likely find it an intriguing, if imperfect, experience.

This book reminded me a lot of Hansel and Gretal, or a fairy tale like that. This book was a little out of my comfort zone, but I thought it was a decent book. The story itself, I can definitely see people being drawn to and the writing itself was good. I think it’s definitely worth a read and I’d like to read more from this author.

A haunting read that I found to be a quick and easy read that definitely piqued my interest of the gothic and paranormal.

A fairly standard haunted Gothic, but a good one nonetheless.

This follows a traditional gothic structure, but does an unusually good job with some of the supernatural elements. I liked the way Bruce explained the girls’ talents, both how they were able to use them and what the cost was.

Clara is a good adversary, mostly because you can see why she became what she was even if you still can’t excuse any of it. To that end, I really appreciated the way this book ended, going a route that many authors shy away from but that is almost always the right call.

Violet is a particularly well drawn character in that she’s immensely comforting yet somehow also creepy, and that fits perfectly with who she is and what she can do.

Though this isn’t the eeriest or most atmospheric of Gothic novels, I thought the sense of place was well-rendered and the pacing satisfyingly done.

I dud not get a chance to finish the whole book, but DID enjoy what i did get to read. I will be purchasing it very soon to finish and add it to my collection.

Title/Author: At the Bottom of the Garden by Camilla Bruce

Page Count; 368

Publisher: DEL REY

Format: digital and physical arc

Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author:: The Witch in the Well

Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/9780593724965

Release Date: January 28th

General Genre: Gothic, fantasy, horror

Sub-Genre/Themes: Murderess, custody, buried secrets, orphans, "I see dead people"

Writing Style: Multiple POVs

What You Need to Know: A murderess becomes the guardian of two very unusual girls in this mesmerizing gothic novel

My Reading Experience: The book has a great premise, orphaned sisters are picked up by their wealthy aunt who murdered her husbands and buried them in the yard. The girls have paranormal gifts and can commune with the dead which threatens their aunt's ability to hide her secrets and maintain her lifestyle. The setup starts well enough, the author establishes multiple POVs and the characters while also giving the reader a tour of the house where the girls will live with their aunt.
The story loops back on itself sometimes. The development is a little slow (not yummy Gothic slow, just slow, slow). Aunt Clara is over-the-top selfish and villainous. She reminded me of Cruella DeVille, which is fine, but it did affect the level of investment. I thought the girls were interesting and I was hoping they would be good, strong protagonists like Marricat and Constance, but they were underdeveloped and didn't get a real chance to shine against a formidable evil presence--the paranormal aspect just lacked depth, and the expected eerieness. The author telegraphs Aunt Clara's motives so the "twists" or reveals are expected. I was entertained enough to finally finish after multiple attempts to sort it out.

Final Recommendation: Perfect for fans looking for lighthearted, campy, psychological suspense and ghostly vibes for Spooky Season. Characters you love to hate, family drama, and just desserts.

Comps: A more unserious "Witchcraft for Wayward Girls", Lemony Snicket vibes, slight echoes of We Have Always Lived in the Castle,

I started this book thinking it was going to be creepy but got a warmer version of creepy. I enjoyed the book but found it hard to get through in places. The way adults in this book treated the children and or didn’t listen to them irked me but the main person that totally made me mad was the housekeeper.

Overall I liked the story and the writting.

3.5 stars. This book had great characters: it was so entertaining to read from three different POVs. I enjoyed entering into the minds of Clara, Lily, and Violet to get their takes on the events of the plot.

I would rate this higher, even loving the characters, except the plot dragged on so much. It got repetitive in the middle, rehashing the same topics over and over again. I think it was to emphasize just how cruel Clara was, but we already knew it from Chapter One.

Overall this was a really interesting read but slow in the middle.

Thank you to NetGalley, Camilla Bruce, and Del Rey Books for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this one more than I thought I would. This reads a bit like a dark fairy tale where two young orphan girls are sent to live with their evil aunt. I really felt for the girls here and what they were going through every step of the way. This was written beautifully and one of those stories that I easily visualized playing out before me. While I am not normally drawn towards fantasy books, the description alone drew me in, and I don't regret it for a second. The characters, atmosphere, and plot were powerfully and meticulously delivered. Even the ghosts were fully formed characters. This was a brilliant story that will stand out among this years upcoming reads for me. Four stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC.

At the Bottom of the Garden by Camilla Bruce is a well written novel, so vivid, the writing style is so engaging!
Such a fun and quick read for me.
The mystery and Gothic fiction totally hooked me from the start.
The chapters are told through alternating POV, Clara, Lily and Violet which I totally loved.

The nitty-gritty: A trio of ghosts seek their revenge in this atmospheric but uneven story.

At the Bottom of the Garden was just OK for me. I loved some of the ghostly elements, and the overall story idea was intriguing, but the execution didn't quite work. What appears to be a more serious plot—two orphans are forced to move in with their selfish, unfeeling aunt—has many oddly silly moments that just didn’t fit the tone of the story. It didn’t help that the aunt comes across as a caricature of a villainess, a bombastic, unappealing woman who I hated from the first chapter. The orphans, fourteen year old Lily and nine year old Violet, were the best part of the story, and I thought Camilla Bruce did some interesting things with ghosts and hauntings.

Clara’s half brother and his wife have disappeared on a mountain climbing expedition, leaving their two young daughters without a guardian. Clara just happens to be their only living relative, and so she reluctantly agrees to take them in, simply because the girls are due to inherit a huge fortune once they turn eighteen. Clara wants to start a diamond jewelry design company, but that takes money. Maybe there’s a way to finagle the inheritance away from them, and if anyone can do it, it’s Clara.

Lily and Violet are distraught at losing their parents and having to leave their home to move in with an aunt they don’t even know. Aunt Clara’s house is run down and filled with dead, taxidermied animals, and for some reason, Violet can hear them calling to her. She can also see a very angry man (a ghost) at the bottom of the garden, who appears to be stuck and is trying to get out. When Violet realizes that the man is asking her to help him, she sets loose a flurry of vengeful spirits, all who seem to be going after Aunt Clara. 

The story starts out strong with a few mysteries. Why are there ghosts in Aunt Clara’s house, and who are they?  Why can Violet see and communicate with them, and why does Lily seem to have the ability to see people’s moods and auras? I loved the idea of the sisters having paranormal gifts, unbeknownst to Aunt Clara (at first, anyway), and the details about how Violet “releases” the ghosts were fascinating. Eventually we find out their agenda, mostly through flashbacks told in Clara’s first person narrative. The first half of the book is filled with creepy ambiance and some unsettling descriptions of the ghosts, so the haunted house vibe was strong.

I also enjoyed the characters of Lily and Violet, two young children who have to rely on each other because they’ve found themselves in an awful situation. Neither one knows why they can see and do the things they can, but they use their abilities to help them deal with living with Aunt Clara, and they always stick together and support each other no matter what.

Clara, however, almost ruined the story for me. Yes, she’s despicable and has a questionable past, and I didn’t mind the “evil aunt” persona. Unfortunately she comes across as a bumbling woman who doesn’t know how to handle her nieces. For some reason, she’s obsessed with diamonds, a trait that I just couldn’t wrap my head around, it was so odd. Her antics come across as comical rather than diabolical, especially the scenes where one of the ghosts won’t let her eat, and food goes flying as the ghost flings it away before it gets to her mouth. There are several flashback chapters where Clara explains her sad childhood, perhaps suggesting that she is the way she is because of her horrible upbringing. But honestly, I couldn’t dredge up any sympathy for her, so those chapters were sort of dull.

The middle section stalls as Clara, Lily and Violet seem to be caught in a loop, performing the same things over and over, and it isn’t until the last section when the story gets back some momentum. Clara and Lily make an interesting discovery that explains their abilities, and I did like the way Bruce resolved everything. So not my favorite of Camilla Bruce’s work, but it won’t stop me from reading her next book.

With thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

3.5 rounded up. Overall an entertaining story and I really liked the paranormal elements and the balance of life and death throughout. I think the ending could have been better fleshed out more, but nevertheless it was a quick and engaging read! A big thank you to Del Rey for a gifted Netgalley arc in exchange for my thoughts, and a big thank you to my friend Colleen for buddy reading this with me!

Overall a 3.5 star! I, personally, like a tongue in cheek narrator like Clara. Though I feel some people may not. I thought the story premise was intriguing with the 'sighted' children and ghosts. Unfortunately, I ended up being a bit disappointed in the ending (especially as I had basically predicted it from the halfway point). I was hoping for additional character development. I do think this book will find its niche audience, and I would read something else from this author in the future as I did like the premise and the character voice.

At the Bottom of the Garden is the first book I've read by Camilla Bruce. I have two of her previous books in my towering TBR pile, and I'm thrilled to know I have more of her work to read. This book was billed as a gothic novel; however, I found it to be the perfect adult fairy tale! It seemed a bit slow moving at first, but then I got sucked into the story and had to race my way to the end to find out what happened. I just adored this book!

Clara Woods is an unrepentant killer. If she has to take a life here or there to enrich her own, so be it. There's an overgrown flowerbed at the bottom of her garden, and here lies her deceased husband. She thought he was resting in peace, but she was wrong. Her recently orphaned nieces Lily and Violet arrive in her life, having lost their affluent parents in a mountain climbing accident. Their parents wanted them to go to their closest relative, and unfortunately that relative is Clara. She doesn't want the children, but thinks it would work to her favor, as she wants to get her hands on their assets so she can achieve her dream of having her own line of diamond jewelry. There's a few problems, however, beginning with the fact that Violet can see the dead man at the bottom of the garden. She can actually see ALL of Clara's ghosts...and can call them back into existence. In no time flat Clara is beleaguered by all of her victims, and her wards have become liabilities, knowing more than they should.

This book started as a nice little tale of two children suffering from grief after the loss of both their parents, and the awful relative who becomes their guardian. But soon it grew into much more than that; it morphed into an adult fairy tale with an evil witch (Clara), the innocent princesses (Lily and Violet) and the ghost and goblins (Clara's victims). The story was great, but it was the characters who made it so appealing. Clara was a perfectly horrid woman with no morals. Her husband became a problem? She killed him. Apparently that was Clara's favorite way to deal with her problems - killing them. The number of her known victims increased as time went by. She wanted nothing to do with her half-brother's orphans, but decided she could use them to refill her coffers so she could turn her dream of "Clarabelle Diamonds" into reality. But they weren't malleable as they first appeared. The youngest girl, Violet, was 9 years old. She was able to see the dead and not only that, but call them into existence. She could hear them "ask" for things in her head, and she wanted to help them. That didn't always end up being a good idea, especially where Clara's deceased husband was concerned! As more dead were called into existence, the more danger the girls were in - not from the dead, but from Clara. Lily was the older sister, 14 years old. She was my favorite character, though I liked them all. Lily, a talented violinist, was able to "see" people's emotions from the colors they emitted. She was very protective of her younger sister, but often became exasperated by her; just why couldn't Violet send the dead away as easily as she called them?! She wanted to get Lily away from Clara, especially when Clara forced the younger girl to perform at seances in order to earn the money Clara demanded. Calling the dead wiped out Violet and put her in danger, and only Lily could bring her back to health. You will never see tadpoles in the same light again! I also enjoyed Dina, who was Clara's housekeeper and was extremely kind to the girls, and Irpa the raven (Violet's "familiar friend") and Fredric the red squirrel (who was Lily's). I won't give away any secrets as to what the girls were and how they triumphed; I will never ruin the stories I review for anyone. You definitely need to read this book and discover your newest favorite fairy tale!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Ballantine, and Camilla Bruce for allowing me the opportunity to read this book ahead of its publication.

I enjoyed this book, and even though I'm sure we weren't meant to like Aunt Clara, I liked her as well. It was a bit slow going, and there were moments that felt like all momentum halted. But once I sank into the book without distractions, I was in it and was able to get it finished pretty quickly. I also enjoyed the multiple POVs, and I really welcomed them as Clara slowly descended into madness/paranoia. Lily and Violet were the stars of the show, though, and their bond and abilities were what caught my attention and kept me reading.

I thoroughly look forward to reading more of Bruce's works, as this was my first impression of her writing style. I have a few people in mind who I think would like this story and I am looking forward to being able to discuss it with them.

Thank you again to NG, RHB, and Bruce for this opportunity.

When Aunt Clara chose to take her nieces, she did not do it out of love for them. SHE did it solely for how she could benefit. She wanted their money to create something for herself. She had a fascination with diamonds and diamonds she was determined to have. Once she had the girls though her whole world changed. Not only were the girls outspoken but they had special powers. Ones that Aunt a Lara was quick to utilize. What she did not expect was how her very existence would deteriorate within months. Aunt Clara had secrets, ones that could be detrimental to her life. Once Violet released the ghosts she could see Aunt Clara was in for a shock.
Never have I despised a book character as much as I did Aunt Clara. Not only for her attitude but that she felt no remorse for her actions. She felt her life or lack of what she felt she deserved was the fault of others. She was perfectly fine with causing distress to Violet and Lily. Even when faced with the consequences of her actions, Aunt Clara felt others should want to help her regardless of how it might affect others. I was glad the girls were able to find out what gift they were given and Aunt Clara hot her just dessert.

What a wonderful creepy and sweet book! I was so into this. I really loved these little girls and how they made their life work.
I will read everything by this author!

3.5 / 5 stars

This book is very campy and a little silly, but I'm not mad at it.

Clara Woods has dreams of designing her own jewelry line -- Clarabelle Diamonds -- but despite her passion, she lacks the necessary finances. Her problems seem to be solved when her wealthy brother dies during a mountaineering accident. He didn't leave her an inheritance, but his orphaned daughters need a guardian. And that role comes with a stipend.

Lily and Violet Webb don't necessarily want to live with their Aunt Clara, but they have no other living relatives. Both girls have psychic gifts that have grown stronger since their parents' deaths. Lily can see people's emotions as auras and knows when Aunt Clara is lying. Violet senses the dead and can feel them asking her to set them free. However, when she unwittingly unleashes the ghosts of Aunt Clara's murder victims, their wicked guardian concocts schemes to cash in on Violet's gift for her own gain.

The early chapters of At the Bottom of the Garden reminded me so much of A Series of Unfortunate Events (the fact that the younger sister is named Violet likely only encouraged that comparison). I have read other reviewers who also felt strong similarities between Count Olaf and Aunt Clara -- both are attempting to exploit orphans for their inheritance, and their antics feel cartoonish at times.

Once I realized that the novel seemed to be going for this now campy tone, I was fine with it and had fun reading. However, I am a little surprised that this book is not being marketed as YA. I think that many readers will be discouraged by the tone of they aren't prepared for it.

Overall, this book was a fun and quick read for me. The gothic setting, psychic sisters, and ghost shenanigans were enjoyable elements for me. The villain feels like something out of a made for TV family movie, but if you can be cool with that then this book can be some lightweight horror fun.

At the Bottom of the Garden by Camilla Bruce

Synopsis: “Clara Woods is a killer - and perfectly fine with it, too.” Clara takes in her ultra rich nieces after an unfortunate accident kills both of their parents. Despite having no interest in children, she is interested in their trust funds. But then literal ghosts from her past start appearing and drudging up bad memories. Are the girls more of a liability than she assumed they would be?

Okay I know we’re not supposed to like Clara but like I loved her? This book was on the slower paced side, and it took me awhile to get through but I throughly enjoyed it and the three three viewpoints between the girls and their aunt. It’s a story of resilience, justice, and maybe just blurs the line of morality. This one comes out 1/28 and if you’re not into scary books, I didn’t find this one scary at all.

Thank you @randomhouse and @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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