I was captivated by the description when I had initially learnt of this book, but this is not what you would expect. Not in a bad way. I was taken on such an aesthetic journey that I wasn't expecting to be in this story at all.

the idea was very good, but was emperiled by the characters essentially being cardboard cutouts. Clara kept making me think of Count Olaf, and the kids were just as generic. Honestly read a little MG. very good idea and good end, though. 3 stars. tysm for hte arc.

I listened to this as I drove up to the Catskills for the vibes and this was just much too slow and repetitive. It took ages for anything of note to happen and despite the slow pacing, there would be entire chunks of time that went by that are never discussed which made the story feel disjointed. The constantly shifting POV chapters also felt like it cut the momentum and pacing as you finally start to settle in with one character to then shift to a completely different view and setting and internal monologue.

Overall, the vibes just were there, the suspense and mystery felt too drawn out and I couldn’t enjoy this.

When Lily and Violet’s parents die, they go to live with their mysterious and diamond obsessed Aunt Clara. The girls are special and soon the estate is filled with ghosts.

I loved the story of two sisters going to live with their mysterious aunt. It had a fairy tale feel to it, which quickly became a ghastly tale. The two sisters really make the story, as they are both very unique but rely upon each other. Aunt Clara’s secrets are left to be exposed, and though the reader has an idea from the beginning what they are, it doesn’t affect the enjoyment of the story.

“Next to diamonds, I am fairly certain that a woman’s best friend is a well-honed ax.”

At the Bottom of the Garden comes out 1/28.

We have a spooky read hitting shelves and hitting a lot of readers high ratings, including mine! It’s a gothic novel about an evil woman who is a murderer and she becomes the guardian of two very unusual girls and at first she doesn’t want to take them in but things change as some discoveries happen. One of the little girls can even see ghosts so that was an interesting element. I’ve mentioned this many times but I love horror novels that focus on some creepy house or manor, castle whatever it is. I love it. This is set in the 1970s, has some dark humor mixed in. I mean we are following a not so good natured main character so I that was a unique POV.

It’s giving the wicked step sister 😂the author did a good job. The cover really caught my attention. I’m looking forward to seeing reviews on this after pub date.

#AttheBottomoftheGarden is a new gothic horror by Camilla Bruce. Atmospheric throughout, many thrills abound. When two young girls are left orphaned, they inherit some of their family's gifts. One girl can help the living, while the other can help the dead. Their Aunt Clara acts as their guardian, but she doesn't have their best interests in mind. There are many secrets she wants to stay buried. 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest book review. This is the perfect book to read for spooky season. A horrible accident happened and it took the lives of Lily and Violet's parents. Unfortunately their Aunt has decided to take them in. Aunt Clara has other motives (money) as why she is taking the girls. Clara is not a nice person and has a lot of ghosts living in her closet. What Clara doesn't know is the girls are able to see what her ghosts are (because of their special ability) and this can be detrimental to what Clara has planned and she cannot have the girls ruin what she is after.

I have been seeing this book everywhere and was very happy to be approved. This book is familiar in the setting but has a unique twist that holds attention. Loved it and I have already been recommending.

At The Bottom Of The Garden by Camilla Bruce, this book is like a fairytale sorta. There’s the villain aunt Claire, who gets custody of the two girls after their parents go missing while climbing a mountain. At first, she doesn’t want to take them, but then, when she thinks of all their two inherit, she changes her mind. She takes the kids from a loving nanny to her coal and personal home in the country. Lily‘s 14 and Violet is nine. Lily has the ability to tell others emotions and violet sees ghost and she also has other skills in the paranormal. it will be her other abilities that mix things up at the old lonely cottage. Her aunt claimed she inherited from an elderly sick lady who she says she took care of and the old lady is one of the ghost, as well as an angry man at the bottom of the garden. Aunt Clara thinks she has everything under control until Violet figures out how to release the ghost from their present state. Then the book really takes off with lol moments. I do want to say I wish Violet would’ve had more interaction with the bird Elka because that was a nice touch. I was looking so forward to this book and finally I can honestly say it didn’t disappoint. I don’t want to say much about the ending and the other ghost and all that happens just know if you love fairytale type stories with great villains you will love this book. Oh, I forgot to mention, her aunts maid in the homes longtime caretaker who also may or may not have ulterior motive for staying there. #NetGalley,#RandomHouse #CamillaBruce, #AtTheBottomOfTheGarden,

Set in the 1970s, conniving Clara thinks that opportunity is knocking when she becomes the guardian of her orphaned nieces. What she hasn’t planned on is that sisters Lily (14) and Violet (10) have some secrets of their own that make getting her hands on their money a bit more challenging than what she expected.

I like dark humor, so I found the chapters from Clara’s POV amusing. I loved the chapters from Lily and Violet’s POVs. I thought the sisters were really interesting, and I would enjoy reading a sequel about them.

"A murderess becomes the guardian of two very unusual girls in this mesmerizing Gothic novel from acclaimed author Camilla Bruce.

Clara Woods is a killer - and perfectly fine with it, too. So what if she takes a couple of lives to make her own a little bit better? At the bottom of her garden is a flower bed, long overgrown, where her late husband rests in peace - or so she's always thought.

Then the girls arrive.

Lily and Violet are her nieces, recently orphaned after their affluent parents died on an ill-fated anniversary trip. In accordance with their parents' will, the sisters are to go to their closest relative - who happens to be Clara. Despite having no interest in children, Clara agrees to take them, hoping to get her hands on some of the girls' assets - not only to bolster her dwindling fortune but also to establish what she hopes will be her legacy: a line of diamond jewelry.

There's only one problem. Violet can see the dead man at the bottom of the garden. She can see all of Clara's ghosts...and call them back into existence. Soon Clara is plagued by her victims and at war with the gifted girls in her care. Lily and Violet have become a liability - and they know far more than they should."

A very interesting Henry James vibe!

A selfish woman discovers a way to get the money she needs to launch her business by taking in her two nieces when their parents die. She soon finds that the children have some special gifts and the ghosts of the people she’s murdered start to haunt her. I relived the perspective of the children and their powers, but the aunt is so unapologetically evil that she’s a bit cliche. Rated as 3 stars, it’s probably more like 3.5 and would have been higher if it had just stayed with the childrens’ perspective.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray for the opportunity to read and review At the Bottom of the Garden by Camilla Bruce. All opinions are my own.

Clara is the aunt to Lily and Violet. The girl's parents die in an accident and have to go and live with Clara. Did we mention Clara is the night the nicest and actually has murdered in the past to make her life easier and richer. Lily and Violet are rich and that is the only reason Clara has taken them on. The girls are bright and have supernatural powers unbeknownst to their aunt. Violet can communicate with the dead that are still around in Aunt Clara's house. Soon Clara is under siege by these ghosts and the girls themselves.

Camilla Bruce is a new author to me, and I asked to review this book because the premise really sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, I found this read to be a bit lackluster. The POVs are Clara, Violet, and Lily. The story reads young, while I initially thought it would be scarier, etc. This may be on me with misreading the synopsis. Some parts felt slow and a bit boring for me. I'm sure there is an audience for this one, but it isn't me. If you would like to give this one a try it will be available on January 28th. Happy Reading!!

I liked the gothic atmosphere and the synopsis of the story had me hooked. Unfortunately, the characters just weren't it for me. They are flat and uninteresting.

This was a fun ghost story. The writing seemed a bit YA for my liking. The story is told from three points of view which I enjoyed. Though this started strong, it just did not captivate me like I was hoping. It is a slow burn with haunted house vibes. Thanks to NetGalley Random House Publishing Group and Del Rey for an early EARC.

I felt like I couldn't fully get into this one - I echo the sentiment Aunt Clara felt like a caricature... Just over-the-top evil?

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: January 28, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

This book had such a hold on me the entire time. I loved how our author wrote in such a way that you felt as though you were there along the way, the characters felt real and relatable and unlikable (ahem…Claire…). I enjoyed the paranormal and eerie vibe this book gave off. We have Lily and Violet whose parents pass and they are left to go live with their aunt who has her mind set on banking on the girls inheritance. We see the garden that our said aunt has and the dead man below…they have gifts that we learn about throughout the book. I loved their characters, the girls.

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as Random House Pulishing Group — Ballantine, Del Rey

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for providing an ARC for review.

I was really excited by this book in the beginning. It felt like A Series of Unfortunate Events if the main characters were psychic and could communicate with the dead. I liked how the author was building Aunt Clara’s backstory, and enjoyed the building of tension as the children found more and more ghosts on the property.

However, I felt the momentum of the story started to stagger and fall apart about halfway through. No one is around to explain the girls’ powers until late in the story, and it felt like the world building was still being established in the epilogue. I didn’t understand why Dina couldn’t just call Mr. Skye and vouch for Lily’s version of events. Aunt Clara felt cartoonishly evil; I felt frustrated that that the author decided she was irredeemable and that her history with her mother wasn’t explained more. Why wasn’t there a safer way to perform a seance? Why was the only solution vengeance?

The tone of the story read as YA, which I don’t mind. However, the ending is dissonant with the rest of the story. To borrow the music metaphor, it feels like we ended the story with a discordant 7th chord instead of finding the tonic. I think that this can be a powerful decision, to end with unresolved tension and by making your readers curious or uncomfortable. However, I don’t think that this dissonance was on purpose, and instead I’m left thinking it was a mistake.

All that to say, I did enjoy this story. There were many fascinating, interesting elements of the story, and Violet and Lily felt like rich, unique characters. I just wish elements of it were stronger because I liked so many other aspects of this book.

This book got me at first, I was IN. I liked the vibes and the characters, specifically the two girls, and their powers were very interesting to me. I thought this would be a good haunted house horror story with girls who can see dead people and people's emotions at the core of it. Unfortunately, it lost me and it didn't get me back.

I 100% agree with people who say that Aunt Clara feels like a female version of Count Olaf. She's a despicable character, but she isn't written in a serious way. She's a murderer, she's vain and cruel, but I never once felt the gravity of how evil she was supposed to be. I was told she was evil, but she spoke and acted like a cartoon villain the entire time. How am I supposed to take her seriously? The ghosts were not scary at all either, though I liked the dynamic they had with the girls. No thrills or scares for me.

Overall, I was expecting one thing but got something entirely different. It read YA, it was silly instead of dark, and it dragged so much in the middle because a few out-of-pocket things happened and we spent so much time on that for no reason. I was hoping to love this, so I'm incredibly disappointed.

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

I would've liked this *so much better* if it was darker. When the ghost haunting started, I thought Aunt Clara was going to be driven slowly insane by them as karmic punishment for the things she did (but she wasn't even scared of them! Even though we're told she was at first, it didn't FEEL LIKE IT cause she didn't ACT LIKE IT. She acted like she was inconvenienced by them more than anything). I thought that she would have more depth and, when she started breaking due to the haunting, we would get more insights from her and maybe some regret or guilt though it would've been too little too late. I thought the girls' powers would be explored further. I thought, I thought, I thought.