3.5 stars

This was good. Reflecting back now, the audio wasn’t my favorite, but the story was intriguing and twisty. I imagined this to be magical realism, but the mysterious components were done well. It was slow, but overall I enjoyed it.

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Title: The Peculiar of Harriet Hunt
Author: Chelsea Iversen
Page Count: 309
Format: Audiobook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book Number: 42
Dates Read: 3/18-24
Review:
I received this free advanced copy, I leave this review voluntarily.

Another magical realism novel that sucked me in. It's a slower read, but I started to really enjoy the characters and story. The ending was one I did see coming, but I enjoyed it all the same. I will be buying a copy, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes magical realism.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an alc!

i am soft dnf’ing this for now — i am too consumed with sunrise on the reaping and cannot invest any emotional energy into an audiobook right now, but i may return to this read

as for the narrator, i’ve been enjoying their narration so far!

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt was a decently entertaining story about a girl, wandering alone in her house and garden. I wanted to feel the magic of this story, but I couldn’t quite connect with Harriet, and the story was a bit heavier than I’d anticipated. Still a worthwhile read when you’re in the right mood.

Anna Burnett does a decent job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Chelsea Iversen, RB Media, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

THE PECULIAR GARDEN OF HARRIET HUNT by @chelseaive is a story of a woman coming into her own in a world that tries to suppress her. Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher, @recordedbooks for the audio ARC.

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Harriet Hunt has not seen her father in weeks. He left her alone with his sizable debts without saying a word. She spends her days cultivating her sprawling enchanted garden that keeps her company, knowing this may have been the reason her father fled. When she is swept off her feet by a charming Christian Comstock, she agrees to marry quickly in hopes that tying herself to a man will relieve her of her troubles. Instead, Comstock becomes increasingly cruel and domineering forcing Harriet to cull her garden even as she hears it screaming in pain.

This was my second Iversen novel and I am enamored with the fierce female characters she brings to life on the page. Her stories focus on female agency in everyday ordinary women with extraordinary gifts. I was invested in Harriet's journey as she learns she will need to choose between financial security and personal atonomy. I thought this felt a bit like a mashup of WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE meets WUTHERING HEIGHTS. I loved the feminist urges, the poisonous plants, and the increasing understanding of the power of self.

If you want to be enchanted by a woman and her extra-special garden as they fight the patriarchy together, give this one a go.

From the cover to the inside, the book pulled me in and didn't let go. I felt for Harriet and her garden. The emotional rollercoaster with twists and turns you didn't see coming. Look forward to move by Ms. Iversen!

Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

It’s a unique plot, but I could kinda guess what would happen so it felt like it was trying to have mystery but it didn’t. Cute atmosphere though. It’s just not incredible and I felt like zoning out at points.

No shade being throw on this garden but it wasn’t what I was in the mood for and I just wasn’t vibing. May this book bring joy to someone that is not I.

This wasn't for me. I think it was wrong book/wrong time. I appreciate the world building attempt and do think the writing was good, the content just wasn't engaging.

2/5⭐

This was just not for me. I didn't like the story and characters in general.

The narrator needed time to get used to her.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to this book. Harriet is an outcast and I loved her. The narrator was fantastic and the story was great.

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. I gave it some time to sink in and develop an opinion of what I just read.

At its core, It’s the plight of a women who is doing just fine on her own, but feels the need to marry when her father disappears, which upended everything. All of this is right up my alley.

But, this is why I pause:
There is promised magical realism tied to her garden. I really wanted to explore this more. It felt like the magic of the garden was thrown in here and there. Such a missed opportunity to really elevate the story.

If the garden was a main character and interacted more with the story, a a promised by the title and cover story- this would have been a five star read.

So I’m going with a 3.5 star rating and rounded to due to the excellent audio narration.

4.75

Harriet Hunt finds herself alone in a dilapidated estate after her abusive father’s sudden disappearance. She lives a reclusive lifestyle to avoid suspicion and to protect others from the manor’s sentient garden that protects her and feeds off her emotions against her will. Harriet has lived most of her life grieving her mother and trapped with a father threatening to send her to a mental institution, so this newfound freedom is hard for her to fathom. In an attempt to solve the mystery of her father’s whereabouts and clear her name, she has to learn to trust again when a charming suitor promises to help.

This is a beautiful mix of magical realism and domestic thriller and it definitely went in directions I wasn’t expecting. This whole atmosphere is super lush and I loved the connection and relationship between Harriet and the garden. Harriet lacks confidence and the ability to stand up for herself at the beginning of the book due to a traumatic upbringing and the garden has grown to protect her from those who wish to bring her harm. I’ve never read a premise quite like that so I was invested from the first page.

Harriet as a main character is very complex and I think the author has done a great job or showing how trauma shapes people and how victims fall into cycles of abuse. I found her really loveable and it’s gut wrenching when you discover things aren’t going the way she deserves. The villain of this story was pure evil and my heart was RACING at times. This book does contain themes of domestic violence and sexual assault, so fair warning, and I wasn’t genuinely scared of the perpetrator. I also appreciate that the author didn’t take a traditional thriller route with such a heavy topic, this book allows the reality of domestic violence to speak for itself.

Always a big plus, the ending is VERY satisfying and the message was clear without being on the nose.

As for the audiobook, I really liked the narrator for the first 80% or so and then towards the end you can hear A LOT of swallowing which kinda of gave me the ick.

Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia | Recorded Books for this Audio ARC Copy!

I do not know what I expected from this book but it was nothing like I expected. I heard it was like Emily WIlde's but it was nothing like that at all for me. I enjoyed the story but it took a while to get into, the pacing was a bit off and some of the filler at the beginning could have focused more on the garden, but I do understand the authors reasoning.

This is not a story of a beautiful garden and a neurodivergent girl who has some struggles in her life. This is a window into the trauma and cruelty that so very many women have faced at the hands of men through history. How women are faced to make important and impossible decisions based on their situation because there is literally no better option and how hard it can be to escape those decisions, and those horrible men.

All in all I enjoyed this story, and though it could have been tightened up in some places, it is still an impactful and worthwhile read.

Harriet Hunt is alone in her home. It's been months since her father suddenly disappeared after railing about his financial woes. He has kept Harriet isolated all her life, hating her strangeness, same as her mother before her, who was a gentle and kind person. Harriet's strangeness is a powerful connection to the plants in her beloved garden: her emotions affect the plants, and whenever she's upset or feeling threatened, the plants respond by growing ferociously or moving near what threatens her.

A policeman shows up, threatening her with the asylum unless she can tell him where her father is. Harriet has no idea, but tells him that her father left for Norway. When attempting to post a letter later, she meets an attractive young man and his friend. Harriet gets to know the young man better, and quickly marries him when she realizes that the marriage will protect her from the policeman's questions and threats. Of course, this proves disastrous, as there is more going on around the naïve Harriet, involving her fortune, and she soon finds herself in danger. Her only ally is a young woman whom she was forced to employ by her father's former cook, who held Harriet in contempt all her life for being unusual.

This book by Chelsea Iverson took a little too long to really get going. It was obvious what was happening from the novel's outset, then later between Harriet and her new husband. Harriet's extreme, enforced isolation growing up proved an easy predictor of her relationship mistakes, as well as her too easily given trust to clearly malicious people.

I did like Harriet's connection to plants, and could easily tell where the nasty men in her life ended up.

I liked the voice work of Anna Burnett (I switched back and forth between the book and audiobook), and thought her work elevated the book from predictable to moderately enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Sourcebooks Landmark and to RBMedia for these ARCs in exchange for my review.

3 1/2 stars. A slow burn book with a slight magical feel. Although it had lovely writing, it did take a bit to really get into the story.

I adored the parts with the garden. I loved that mystical element however it ended there and was never really explained or embellished upon. Was it just Harriet who had the ability and if so, why?

Harriet herself was a hard character to love. She's had an awful upbringing and her new life is not much better but there's not a lot to like about her. I wanted to like her, know her, feel for her but she just...was.

The author has a beautiful, descriptive writing style and the idea of the book was brilliant. It just needed a bit more happening in the middle to keep me fully engaged.
The narration by Anna Burnett was very well done.

There is a good book in here somewhere. The concept of a sentient garden is so unique and creative!

The pace did plod along at times. Harriet seems awfully passive for a main character. I was frequently frustrated by her lack of action - it felt like it was mainly other characters or events outside her control that moved the plot forward.

Abandoned by her abusive father months ago, Harriet Hunt is all by herself on the family's estate and has only a cousin and a magical garden for company. When her cousin moves away, she accepts a hasty marriage proposal and finds that she might never be able to leave Sunnyside House alive. Aided by her garden and her housemaid, Harriet sets out to uncover what happened to her father and learn a secret that her mother took to her grave.

This book was so painfully slow in parts, but I liked the concept of the book and the elements of magical realism. It seemed like the action was very stop and go throughout. The audiobook narration was a bit plodding with many unnecessary pauses; hearing the narrator trying to quietly smack her lips was odd.

All in all, a fascinating tale...but could have been better executed.

3.5 stars.

Tw: domestic violence.

There’s a quiet yet undeniable power in this book that had me thinking about it long after I’d finished it. Like a song you can’t quite get out of your head, and which you find yourself absentmindedly humming throughout the day.

Harriet and her garden just stick with you.

First, I must say that Anna Burnett was the perfect choice for narrator! I don’t think I’ve heard her work previously; she was captivating. Something that was different with her versus other narrators I’ve heard, is that she did not dramatically change her tone or accents for each character. And yet somehow it just…works. Every character felt unique and - BONUS - there was no dreaded “man voice” taking me out of the moment. She was truly excellent.

As for the story, it follows Harriet Hunt, a young woman who’s been isolated her entire life. She’s living alone in a large house after the death of her mother and disappearance of her abusive father. Her only company is her sentient garden. The plot quickly kicks off when an inspector comes around asking questions about her father and a handsome new neighbor wants to court her.

Although written in third person, this FELT like a first person POV, which I love! I felt what Harriet felt and never felt detached from her character or the plot. Her social awkwardness was understandable given her isolation. That made her choices more understandable rather than frustrating, which I find happens often. I also love that the romance was a true plot driver versus an inauthentic contrivance. And thank you, Chelsea for not shoving unnecessary spice down our throat!

I absolutely love Amelia! Out of all of the secondary characters, she had the most depth, and I wish we could see more of her. The remaining secondary characters were a bit flat for me, but served their roles and moving the plot or Harriet’s character growth forward.

The pacing around the revelation on how Harriet‘s mother died, as well as her father‘s disappearance was handled well. It wasn’t rushed, nor did it drag on unnecessarily.

At first, I felt that the third act was anti-climactic. Things happened TO Harriet versus her, making them happen. Even her escape was a product of other people helping her versus her helping herself. However, after a few days, I realized that it could not have happened any other way. Harriet’s conflict had always been in believing in herself, that she deserved love and happiness, and in recognizing what those even were. It was never about beating the bad guy. When I look at it that way, the ending is perfect. Especially the final two chapters!!! <3

I will absolutely recommend this book to my book friends and can’t wait to read Iversen’s backlog!

I loved Chelsea Iversen's The Witches at the End of the World so I jumped at the chance to read her newest title, The peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt.

We find our protagonist, Harriet, wandering around her home in Victorian London, after her father left to visit relatives and never came back. Harriet has never quite fit in with stolid Victorian society and so she's happy to while away her days, working in her garden.

What at first seems like a peaceful life for Harriet, soon turns tragic, as she's suspected of being behind her father's disappearance. She quickly takes up with Mr. Comstock, who she thinks will help her navigate these troubled waters. But Comstock is not what he first appears to be to Harriet and she is once again dragged under the spell of men's influence in the lives of women in Victorian England.

There were some weak spots in The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt, especially plotwise. The narration of the audio version was perfect and I would highly recommend reading it in that format. I think the narration managed lulls very well and improved on the pacing.

This is a fun, if at times uneven, fantasy story and a great exploration of women's rights in fiction.