It's 19th Century England, and Harriet's Father has disappeared. Her Mother passed away when she was young and she's doing her best to keep living in the family home on her own, selling anything of value and enjoying her new found freedom, especially in the garden that she has a very special connection with. However, a young woman can only get by for so long on her own before people begin asking questions, the debt collectors close in, and the funds run out.

I adored Harriet and I loved the connection she had with the flowers and plants in the garden. I do wish we'd seen even more of that through the book, but I loved exploring her connection to the flora around her. There was a mystery that ran through the story, as Harriet tries to find her Father, and there's also an undercurrent of tension and unease that builds steadily as it progresses. I was almost instantly hooked by this book, and by Harriet's character, and I really struggled to put it down.

I will flag however, that although it's described as a cosy fantasy, I'm not sure that really fit 'the vibe' for me. There are some heavy topics, and it's worth checking the trigger warnings before reading, especially if you find domestic abuse a difficult topic.

I listened to the audiobook (narrated by Anna Burnett) which was fantastic and wonderfully told.

This book has some wonderful themes of a character finding her own voice and power in the middle of what feels like a hopeless situation. The slightly spooky, Victorian era vibes would make it a perfect October read. That said, I would check the content warnings below for certain readers, as the main character Harriet goes through some brutal experiences (some of which felt gratuitous to me) to advance the plot. The middle third of the book felt like it plodded along a bit as we waited for Harriet to make the connections and find her strength, but it resolved well. I loved seeing her realize the resources she had at her fingertips all long, as well as the friendships she had-both known and those that revealed themselves.

The audiobook narrator was absolutely fantastic though, and made it a perfect listening experience!

CW:

Parental abuse, SA, attempted SA, murder, institutionalization

Thank you RB Media for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Let me start by saying this is the first fantasy book I’ve read in a few years. It was the perfect thing to get me back into reading this genre!

First, I loved the narrator! The thing that truly brings an audiobook together is the narrator and Anna Burnett did a wonderful job!

It was so beautifully written, and Anna captured the essence of Harriet so well that through her voice I could feel the sadness of Eunice’s departure affecting her. There were tears shed during this chapter on my part, I was completely and utterly moved.

I thought the novel was beautifully descriptive and captured the garden so well in both its kind and wicked ways. I really enjoyed the murder wink game chapter and the added fun, suspense it brought to the novel!

Overall, this was an amazing novel. I found a powerful statement in it on changing yourself to please other people. As well as the power women possess once scorned.

“Being a woman means being constantly vigilante”.

Thank you to NetGalley, and RBmedia. Chelsea Iversen, you have found a fan in me.

3.5 stars

I wanted so much more from this story. It actually took me longer than usual to read it because the other books I was reading kept pulling my attention away.

The first half of the book felt repetitive and I believe could have been condensed to allow the story to focus more on Harriet and her garden . The last 50-75% pulled me in and I enjoyed it much more.

I wanted the story to have more about Harriet’s garden. Specifically, how its behavior mimicked Harriet’s emotions.

The narration was amazing.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Audiobook/Book Review 📖🎧🪴

Thank you so much partner @bookmarked @recordedbooks for the gifted copy and audiobook.

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt
by Chelsea Iversen
Narrated by Anna Burnett

About the book 👇🏽

A lush, enchanting story of a woman who must use the magic of the fantastical plants that adorn her crumbling estate in Victorian London to thwart the dark plots of the men around her...

Harriet Hunt is completely alone. Her father disappeared months ago, leaving her to wander the halls of Sunnyside house, dwelling on a past she'd rather keep buried. She doesn't often venture beyond her front gate, instead relishing the feel of dirt under her fingernails and of soft moss beneath her feet. Consequently, she's been deemed a little too peculiar for popular Victorian society. This solitary life suits her fine, though – because, in her garden, magic awaits.

Harriet's garden is special. It's a wild place full of twisting ivy, vibrant plums, and a quiet power that buzzes like bees. Caring for this place, and keeping it from running rampant through the streets of her London suburb, is Harriet's purpose.

🪴 My thoughts:

Not what I was expecting but surprises can be good! It was a little darker than I was ready for but the author is a beautiful writer. With the writing and fantastic narration by Anna Burnett, it set this story up for an overall enjoyable read. I ended up mostly listening to the audiobook over reading the physical book because I just loved the narrator. I also really enjoyed the idea of a magical garden and I thought that this story was done well. I highly suggest checking the content warnings if there’s subject matter you’re sensitive to, otherwise this is a pretty atmospheric read! The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt is out NOW!

Happy reading 📖🎧🪴

This is a gothic, low fantasy mystery with magical realism.

Harriet's father has gone missing and the whole town thinks that she has something to do with it. The people in town have always seen her as a very odd woman, especially since Harriet is always spending time in her magical garden that responds to her emotions.

When a new neighbor moves in next door, she thinks that she has finally found someone who can accept her for who she is. However, this new man in her life begins to control Harriet just as her father once did. With help from her new friends and her garden, she begins to gain independence and learns to fight for herself while facing the many challenges of being a woman in a male dominated world.

I really enjoyed this book! The writing style reminds me of A. G. Slatter's gothic fantasies which are some of my favorite books. The magical garden in this
book also reminds me of the one in In the Shadow Garden by Liz Parker which is also a good one :)

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style and every character had their own distinct personality. I really liked the narration as well, it was very smooth and easy to listen to. Anna Burnett did a great job. I definitely want to read more books by this author in the future!!

**Make sure to check TW before reading.

Thank you to NetGalley, RBMedia, and Chelsea Iversen for this book in exchange for my honest opinion!!

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt follows the titular character, Harriet, whose father has gone missing leaving her alone. She rarely leaves her house and instead spends time in her garden, a place that she has a special relationship with. Harriet meets a seemingly charming man and decides to get married but people aren’t all that they seem and she finds herself in a dangerous situation. How will she get out?

I really enjoyed this book. I listened to the audio and Anna Burnett’s narration kept me invested in the story the whole time despite it having some slower moments. I loved Harriet’s connection to her garden. It added a layer of magic that I always enjoy. I love how this book delved deep into heavier subject material. I was expecting this to be much more cozy but it took some dark turns.

This book was pretty average for most of the book. I was enjoying it but I wasn’t loving it. But the way it ended felt so perfect, it really raised my enjoyment of the book! This is a book that has a lot of feminine rage but on a sort of quiet way that I don’t see often and I think it really worked for this story.

I would recommend this to people who enjoyed Weyward or The Magician’s Daughter from last year.

I enjoyed this book from beginning to end and recommend reading it for yourself! A beautiful and powerful story filled with magic. This book is a powerful example of feminine rage against being used, ignored, or neglected by men and society. It's about what it means to be different than expected societal constraints and how to find our strength here.

This was a book I really wanted to love. I don't often read summaries before I dive into a story, but I glimpsed the first few lines about "a lush, enchanting story of a woman who must use magic..." and I knew it sounded right up my alley for reading.

I give this book 3.75* but will round up to 4 since I can't give partial stars and don't want to round down to 3.

This book had so much potential with the allure of magic and a woman finding her way among men who are plotting against her. The issues I ran into were the magic was scarcely referenced and though it seems Harriet has had this "garden ability" nearly her entire life, she seems completely in the dark about what she can do and the magic she holds.. her naivety and helplessness starts to grate on my nerves as she seems to be able to do almost nothing for herself. She is able to go out and pawn or sell items from around the house to keep them afloat month to month, but after her father disappears, she acts as though she is completely helpless and ends up marrying the first man who even shows vague interest in her because she is scared to reveal anything about being alone.

She does have a cousin and a female maid do enter the picture which seem like stronger females for her to take the lead from, but she still floats through life, almost waiting for someone else to come along and save her from herself. We don't get a lot of resolution until the very end and I do feel as though some of it was rushed and not fully explained. We spend the whole book wallowing in self-pity with her but do not get time to share in the joy when things turn out for the best.

The plotting and planning as well as her mother's hidden secrets are fun storylines but I do wish Harriet had been a stronger more independent character.

What if your green thumb was so good that you could control your entire garden? That is the focal point for this Victorian Era story. Harriet Hunt is a quiet girl who really only has one friend, Eunice. With her father missing (and Harriet the main suspect) and Eunice moving off to the country with her husband, Harriet finds her self attracted to the almost too perfect Christian. As time progresses, she starts to wonder if Christian is more like her father than she thought.

I was intrigued by the idea of this story but ultimately it left me feeling as if I was consistently waiting for the next thing to happen. Personally, I felt as if the first couple of chapters could have been combined. It wasn’t so much that the story took a while to get started, but rather it felt as if I was given too much information. I know this might be a pro for other readers. I personally felt like I was internally wanting the story to “get to the point”.

I developed such a love hate relationship with Harriet. Sometimes I really loved how she put herself out there and didn’t care what people thought about her. Other times I struggled to understand why she ignored so many red flags from the people around her. Ultimately, I was able to understand that the abuse her father inflicted upon her did much more than just physical damage.

I loved every interaction with Christian’s cousins. Can I have a whole book about the two of them? The dynamic and confidence that they gave Harriet was amazing. This was my favorite part of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for this opportunity to review.

I’ll begin by saying that this book was not for me.
Having read the blurb i thought this was going to be a cozy, magical realism book, so i expected the magical part being more relevant to the plot. I also didn’t like the narrator, in fact i couldn’t always follow along. If i had the physical version i would have probably enjoyed more, but since i didn’t i wasn’t even connected to any character.
For anyone interested in this book by the plot i would suggest reading it, and not listening to the audiobook.

A fantastical exploration of coming of age after long term abuse. Iverson's magical garden world and Anna Burnett's emotional narration hooked me from the first thirty seconds. I devoured this book in one day.
Iverson takes a heavy complicated subject, infuses it with magic, and produces a beautifully dark cozy story that keeps you reading. While I thought I knew what was going to happen from the first chapter, there were some surprises that caught me pleasantly off guard.
The main character, while often frustrating, was extremely well written and relatable for people with PTSD from long term abuse. The development of her relationship with people and the garden are very well written and beautiful.
I also really loved the exploration of how gender plays a role in abuse and recovery.
Overall, a hauntingly beautiful historical fantasy that leaves you feeling positive after a roller-coaster of emotions.

What a cute, unique story. It’s like The Secret Garden all grown up. Of course as all grown up things, there are secrets we have to find the answers to on our own. What a fun journey!

Chelsea Iversen's The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt is a haunting and empowering tale that blends historical fiction with a touch of dark fantasy. Set in 19th-century London, the story follows Harriet, a woman grappling with loss, debt, and a patriarchal society that seeks to control her. Harriet’s garden, her only refuge, soon reveals an eerie magic that mirrors her inner strength and emotions. As she uncovers secrets about her father’s disappearance, Harriet must face both the dangers of the outside world and the mysterious power rooted in her sanctuary. Iversen weaves an atmospheric narrative full of suspense, resilience, and a touch of the supernatural, making it a gripping read for fans of gothic and feminist fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Loved this book. Great narration and one heck of a story. I absolutely devoured this book within one day. I couldn’t put it down.

The perfect amount of dark, gothic, botanical that I've been reading lovely. It was a lovely story and I can't wait to recommend it to friends!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was ok in my opinion. If anything this book was very depressing to read. I just couldn't find myself getting engaged with the characters or the plot, unfortunately.

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt is a story of finding your voice and independence.

Harriet is a woman controlled by horrible men in her life, and her frustrations are mirrored in her wild untamable garden. There were some items of violence that were a bit difficult to read but I thought this was a wonderful story of found family and the power of friendships. The end of this novel really brought everything together and I loved how all the stories wrapped up.

I would say this is very light magical realism/fantasy. It has the feel of a cozy fantasy for fans of that genre.

I enjoyed the narrator, and I was lucky enough to be able to follow along with the digital copy. I finished it but the story just fell a bit flat for me and had to keep going back and reread or found myself not following along. I was expecting more development and it Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC and ALC
3 Star

This book was so beautifully written, and the characters were endearing (if they were supposed to be…). There are definitely plenty of dark elements to the story - from the loss of parents to the powerlessness women experience. Harriet’s character development was wonderful to read, and I loved that her garden was basically its own cast of characters. All in all just a really lovely book.