This one took me longer to read than anticipated. The cast of characters is honestly incredible and it gets started out wonderfully. For me it did drag in the early parts of the book after the characters are introduced. Honestly the debate about the dragons at the beginning of the text was quite boring, but I am glad that I stuck with it because it ended up being an awesome read! I would definitely recommend just push past the early chapters because it gets great after chapter 4 or 5!

Thank you to Ribbonwood and NetGalley for the ARC!

Adorable cottagecore fantasy cozy adventure! It was fun, adorable, engaging and a really fun twist and is great for people who want a found family story in the same vein as Dragon Tea Society. I think this was a little slow paced for my liking and didn’t really pick up until the Hal way point. Additionally I feel like Millie’s backstory wasn’t as fleshed out. I wanted more!!!!

Thanks again!

This was so quaint and cozy I loved it. Its such a magical concept of a botonist trying to save a tiny dragon from a deadly plant. Fern (the MC) was an excllent character. She was so practical and down-to-earth about things and how to tackle them. But was also just a lovely person, she was charming and full of joy and love for all things. She clearly loves her job and loves the flora and fauna around her. She has such wonderful relationships with the people around her I'd happily read more storis about her and her work and her general life.

And yet depsite being utlimately cozy, the carnivious plant did add the twist and edge to the plot you needed to keep the story moving forward. It almost added a horror element (if cozy horror can be a thing) and really kept the action and pacing up. This was a super enjoyable read and i'm excited at the way it ended as it leaves open further options to continue exploring in the world.

DNF @ 55% When I picked up this book, I expected a short cozy fantasy in which a spunky middle-aged botanist in Regency England solves a magical mystery involving a carnivorous vine and an origami dragon. Instead I got a tangled mess with half a dozen plotlines stretched out in a miserable cycle of the protagonist saying what she will do, then doing it, then telling someone she has done it, and then perhaps telling someone else, who suggests yet someone else for her to tell. All interspersed with banal descriptions of her doing everyday tasks like putting on her shoes and ruminating about how sad it is that society doesn't treat women as equals and why can't magic and science coexist?

I've been avoiding this book for a week now and it's time to throw in the towel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ribbonwood Press for providing an advanced ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Tilly Wallace and NetGalley for allowing me early access to an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I must say, I loved this cosy little fantasy read! Whilst the book itself is short in length, the story spares no detail. The premise of the story is a maliciously animated vine and a dragon forged from origami, whose lives are intertwined.

The story follows the character of Fern: a young but headstrong girl with an interest in botany harboured from her late father. Fern continues to cultivate her father’s work, living in the company of her two uncles, and continuously defying society’s expectations of what is “proper” for a woman. Fern is exactly the kind of girl you’d want as a friend- headstrong, intelligent and compassionate, with admirable empathy.

As the story of the dragon and the vine unfolds, we delve deeper into Drake’s Bend and the surrounding estates, where Fern must work alongside very demanding and opinionated men to save her friends from a terrible fate. I loved her, her interactions with other characters and the little references to greater literature (such as Macbeth) and science.

I eagerly anticipate book two and the found family / slow burn tropes that await us- two of my absolute favourites!

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of THE STORMBORNE VINE (Book 1 of the Leaf and Scale Regency urban fantasy series) by Tilly Wallace in exchange for an honest review. Fern Oakby lives in rural England on a small estate with her uncle and his good friend. Miss Oakby helps fund the estate by carrying on her father’s work with rare botanicals. When a rare magical storm converts a paper dragon into a real one, a Boston ivy into a Boston strangler, and ties lives and well-being of the two together, Miss Oakby begins a search for a way to sever the link in order to preserve the existence of the darling paper dragon because the carnivorous vine must be exterminated. In an era where women have very little power, the question is whether she will be allowed the time and resources to solve the problem.

I loved this book and ended up searching out other books by Tilly Wallace after reading this one. I recommend this book to fans of Regency era novels, urban fantasy, intrepid bluestockings, hungry plants, and endangered dragons.

#TheStormborneVine #NetGalley

#TheStormborneVine was a nice, cozy fantasy similar to cottagecore. It looked into themes such as trust and loyalty, and also what makes a life valuable. Filled with magic and some dragons, too, it brings wonder to a Regency time period. Four stars.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tilly Wallace for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Stormborne Vine coming out February 5, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’ve read a couple books by this author, so I was excited to check this book out. I really love cozy fantasies. I enjoyed the story, but it felt like the pacing was a little off. There was some repetition and slow spots. The second half of the book wasn’t as interesting to me. I thought Fern was a strong character, but the point felt a little hammered that she was different than other women. It would’ve been nice to see her make friends. I would check out other books in the series.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy fantasies!

I was promised a cute and cozy read, and I was given just that! This story and our protagonist were so endearing.

Were taken to a historical fantasy world that is tinged witha bit of magic, but still with all the classism and societal expectations you would expect from that era. Our MC has smashed those expectations during in incident that took place when she was trying to come out into society.

I loved the focus on a heroine who is not some naive teenager. But instead, has responsibilities and a job and bills to pay. She was such a witty and enjoyable MC to read about. I also thoroughly enjoyed the focus on botany magic. I had so much fun with that!

Overall, this was a wonderful cozy fantasy which stil held some takes that a loveable protagonist has to work through. The relationships were sweet, if lacking just a bit of depth to get me fully invested. But they were still nicely written.

I am giving this book 5 stars as I thought it was so cute and cozy. Magical plants, dragons, storms, and a sassy, spitfire, female protagonist hooked me from the very first page and I hope I get more along the way.

Fern is a single woman, with her trousers on, digging in the soil, tending her garden of rare and exotic plants. While living with her uncles, she makes her money by selling some of her more exotic blooms which are used for alchemy and other magical purposes. She also allows herself to be hired by others to help them with garden issues.

On one such expedition, Fern is called to the grounds of a man who has been having issues with a dead spot of ground in his wife's favorite part of the garden. Though unable to fully deduce the reason upon examination, she is forced to stay the night in the manor as a savage storm rages outside.

The next morning, several things have changed. A paper dragon becomes real, a Boston ivy becomes carnivorous, and there's another fledgling dragon trapped beneath a fountain.

Everything about this book made me smiles and want to sink further into the cozy, magical world being created. I can't wait to see what else happens for Fern and the rest of the characters.

4.5 stars

I was given an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book promised me a cozy mystery, and absolutely delivered. I love a historical fantasy that goes beyond the medieval landscape, and this regency-inspired world definitely piqued my curiosity.

In a society where she is expected to be quiet, restrained and dignified, Fern shuns expectations and pursues her passion for botany. However, when ancient magics awaken, her work becomes much more complicated, and she soon finds herself juggling dragons, man-eating vines, and unlikely friendships.

It did take me a few chapters to get into the flow of the worldbuilding, but once I did, I was hooked. It was so refreshing to read a story with such a strong focus on female friendships, and the bonds that are made between those outcasted by society. The magical undertones blended brilliantly with the regency setting, and I'm desperate to learn more about this world of ballrooms and dragons!

Books with similar vibes - The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst, Witchmark by C L Polk, The Curse of the Wolf King by Tessonja Odette, and Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett.

All Fern Oakby wants to do is take care of her plants and earn enough money to support herself and her family. But when a storm unleashes the kind of magic not seen for decades, Fern has to become a lot more active and has to start making some tough choices. The Stormborne Vine is a delightful little fantasy which strikes the right balance between reasonable stakes and coziness. Thanks to Ribbonwood Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If I had to pick a historical, fantastical realm to live in, perhaps it would be Europe teetering on the edge of Industrialisation. I'd imagine it still had that scent of magic to it, but also working its way towards electricity. Admittedly, for this period to be fun, you would have to be part of the upper class, otherwise it very much is not an ideal time. The Stormborne Vine is a Regency era novel, meaning it's set around the turn of the 18th into the 19th century. We have memories of balls, strict customs of what women can and cannot do, and yet also scientific exploration and whispers of growing industries. Tilly Wallace also adds a dash of magic into this mix, creating her own low fantasy world for this upcoming series (trilogy?). I tend to favour high fantasy, the difference being that high fantasy (sometimes also called epic fantasy), such as The Lord of the Rings, for example, creates an entire separate, secondary world, or storyworld, while low fantasy has the same kind of magical elements, but these take place in a storyworld that is based upon our own everyday, regular world. For low, think City of Bones. A case like Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia falls somewhere in between although I'd probably but it in low. For me, high fantasy usually provides the most escape but, in this current stressful time, I enjoyed Wallace's version of our own world, which infused it with magic and mystery.

Fern Oakby is eking out an existence for herself and her uncles through her botanical work after having a disastrous experience in high society. Now shunned by that society and considered "ruined", Fern prefers to wear trousers and muddy her hands keeping her plants happy and alive. So what, if she is also a little bit lonely. But then she's called to a nearby estate to uncover the cause for a dry patch. That night, a wicked storm turns a Boston ivy into a carnivorous plant, alongside some other mischief. It is not just the garden that is affected, however, but also the lord's sister, Milly, who lives a restricted, sad life under her brother's careful watch. Fern now has a variety of tasks in front of her, from figuring out the storm, the new monstrous ivy, her mysterious alchemist neighbour, Milly's situation, and even more I don't want to mention because spoilers. I did like Fern as a character, especially because she was not your stereotypical nineteen-/twenty-year old who has never seen the world. Rather, she is a woman with a past and a job, with longings and bills to pay, with secrets and responsibilities. Because the tone of The Stormborne Vine is, in my opinion, cozy and rather gentle, I happily followed Fern along without every really worrying anything bad would happen.

I haven't read any of Tilly Wallace's previous books and I mainly picked up The Stormborne Vine for the idea of murderous plants, completely missing the little dragons on the cover. As I mentioned above, I did really like the world Wallace created and will probably read the other Leaf and Scale books when they come out. I will say that there was a lot of telling, rather than showing, especially in the first third. The initial 30 to 40% of The Stormborne Vine take a lot of time to introduce us to Fern and the state of her life and almost all of it is told to us directly. This part also introduces story elements which will clearly form something of a longer arc across the upcoming books and while I liked seeing them, they did then get dropped the moment the actual plot picked up. There also is quite a bit of plot, which I only really realised when summing it up above. The book is definitely fast-paced, after the first third or so, and things move quite smoothly from one scene to another. However, it did feel a little rushed by the end and I couldn't quite move past the fact that some things still felt very open. I will say that the main story of The Stormborne Vine is indeed told in this book, it is not as if the questions regarding the storm etc. are left unanswered, but all the other elements Wallace introduces are left to keep you waiting for the next book. I will say that Wallace strikes an interesting balance between keeping the pace quick and yet giving a lot of detail. I always knew what Fern was wearing, even as she was rushing back and forth between different estates, or when the last time was she had washed. I do not know how Wallace managed it, but she did. I kind of wavered on the rating for this one. For me, a rating of 3 means that the book did exactly what I expected going in, but didn't necessarily blow me away. I know that for some, however, a three means it was bad, which The Stormborne Vine is not. As I did find myself getting more invested after the 40% mark and generally had a good time with it, I decided to bump the rating up.

The Stormborne Vine is a cozy, lovely little Fantasy which allows for a delightful escape from grim late-winter weather. Come for the monstrous vines and dragons, and stay for the delightful family vibes and newfound friends! I look forward to the rest of the Leaf and Scale books!

In the first book in the new Leaf and Scale series, readers meet determined spinster and brilliant botanist Fern Oakby, who supports her family with her knowledge of botany on strange jobs like this one, which involves a monstrous and carnivorous Boston ivy plant. When the solution reveals itself to be more complicated -- having come to life with an origami dragon whose life is bound to the plant -- Fern must confront the question about the value of life in her work to keep the plant from killing and keep a lonely woman’s origami dragon alive. An incredible, vibrant, and lively new start to a cozy fantasy series where magic lingers in this Regency England society, readers will love this fantastic new novel and its incredibly capable protagonist (and her unorthodox circle of friends and family). Fern is fun, intelligent, and capable, and the adventures awaiting her are sure to be exciting just like this first adventure. The uniqueness of this magic system and the possibilities for future novels make this a series to keep an eye on because Tilly Wallace has brought a new and fascinating magic system and fantasy world to life that readers are sure to love and devour with each new title.

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Leaf and Scale series. I got this as an eGalley from NetGalley to review..

Thoughts: This book has a lot of things I love in a cozy fantasy book, but they all felt a bit underwhelming here. There is a plucky heroine who makes her way in a science field, a wonderfully supportive home life, adorable dragons, a mysterious alchemist, and magic and danger. I should have loved this, but I found it repetitive, shallow, and predictable.

The story follows Fern; she has been disgraced in society and is quietly following in her father's footsteps by working as a botanist. When she gets called to a manor house to help figure out why part of the garden keeps dying, she ends up with a lot more than she bargained for. A strange carnivorous vine forms after a horrible storm passes through. Fern's life gets incredibly hectic as she is suddenly dealing with man-eating vines, dragons, and a difficult lord.

While I did like the idea of this, it felt unfinished to me. The characters are very cookie-cutter; they are what cozy fantasy characters should be like but didn't have much depth at all. Our main character, Fern, spends all her time running back and forth between three locations trying to solve this mystery and fix things at a breakneck pace. It should have been exciting, but it was very repetitive and a bit confusing. I was trying to figure out how she got between all these places that are hours away from each other multiple times a day on horseback. Also, why did she have to do so much back and forth? She was frantic all the time, which made it so I never got to know her as a character.

I wanted to love Fern, but her character just felt so shallow. She was like the cardboard cutout of what a rebellious botanist could be, but she just didn't have a unique personality of her own. This is a short book, but about half way through I found my mind wandering and realized I didn't care. Then, when the alchemist entered the picture, I thought, ah, here will be an interesting character. Unfortunately, he was also one-dimensional, stiff, and boring. The character with the most personality in this book is the non-speaking paper dragon...which is unfortunate.

When I started this book, I was excited. I was actually looking at Wallace's other series, Manners & Monsters, and thinking I should pick that up too. She was described by some as Gail Carriger but a bit less goofy, and I thought this will be great! In the end, though, this was just barely okay. There are good ideas here and some good sketches of what this world could be. Unfortunately, that is what everything; the magic, the characters, and the world felt like to me...an idea of a sketch but not well fleshed. I didn't hate this...I just didn't really like it either; it felt incredibly vanilla to me. By the end, I was left feeling vague disappointment because I was really looking for another fun and snappy Victorian fantasy author to read.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this was a bit disappointing to me. The premise is good, the idea behind the story was good, but everything felt repetitive, shallow and unfinished to me. This is like a sketch of a good cozy fantasy without any meat or depth. This is one of those situations where I really wanted to love this; I feel like there is a lot here I should like. Unfortunately, pretty much everything about this just missed the mark for me.

"Ok so first of all happy release day to Tilly Wallace and this amazing book!! To me it's literally the definition of a cozy fantasy that I read while curled up in bed. I loved the kind and caring yet bold and confident traits of the main character and the premise of the book in general. I highly recommend this to anyone who's looking for a quick and cozy yet incredibly entertaining read!"






*Review will be posted at @anas.bookish.corner on instagram at Wed, 5 Feb 12:00 AEDT - I couldn't add it to the link section so it's here.

This is a cozy story set in what feels like (alternate) 18th century England. However, magic and dragons are real! The main character, Fern, is a botanist shunned away from civil society.
It took me a while to get into the story but then I was hooked and couldn't put it down, especially once the first dragon made an appearance!

I loved the main character Fern and how she stands up for her beliefs and won't let ignorant men and the strict rules of her society regarding women stop her from living her own life. I would love to learn more about her backstory - and also her father's.
I am very intrigued about the magic and would love to read more about Squib and Euridice.

All in all this book is a very cute and cosy historical fantasy, that reminded me a lot of Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett and A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan. It felt like a warm hug and I'm in desperate need of more! I'll definitely keep an eye out for the next book in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Ribbonwood Press for the ARC.

This story was a nice little read with engaging elements. I think perhaps the author wanted the story to be darker than it read but all in all quite a nice read that kept me entertained on a slow day at work.

I liked the setting being in rural England, and, who can say no to a book about dragons?

This review was posted on my Goodreads account on Sunday 2nd of February.

I think I’m in my cozy fantasy era at the moment and Stormborne Vine definitely satisfied it!

I still haven’t made my mind up about the FMC Fern as while at times I found her to be delightful and string willed. I think her ‘otherness’ felt a little forced at times - we know she likes wearing trousers and the point didn’t need to be made as often as it was.

This is the perfect read for those looking for a regency era fantasy featuring witches and dragons (and who doesn’t love a dragon)

Well that was a delightful cozy fantasy wrapped up in a bit of feminism and a good Gothic plot of a woman being held captive by an "evil" man (how villainous he is depends on the reader I guess).

The first 40% does go slowly without much happening as readers learn about Fern and her life, but once she starts a job and meets Millie, things pick up and I was hooked from that point on. How could I not love a story about an origami dragon come to life, a murderous vine, AND an actual dragon in need of saving?

I'm looking forward to the next book in this series and hope that Fern will have cause to visit her local alchemist more frequently. Her kill him with kindness routine with the butler was thoroughly enjoyable.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Ribbonwood Press in exchange for an honest review.

Read this if you like: botany-related magic, pants-wearing Regency women, and little dragons!

I thought there was a lot to love about the world created in this book - the intersection of magic and science is always a hit for me, and dragons are always a good time. It was especially fun to see a tiny dragon being nursed back to health!

However, I often found myself annoyed by several of the characters. The FMC is not like other girls, and she won’t let you forget it. She doesn’t like dresses and only wants to wear trousers. I get it, I like pants too. But this protestation gets annoying the eighth time it’s mentioned. I also did not care for the domineering lord/brother and histrionic oppressed sister combo. Their interactions did not feel natural, and the animosity felt forced, in order for the FMC to have someone to “save” so she could ultimately be friends with them.

Honestly, your mileage may vary here. I feel like this is a solid cozy fantasy book that just didn’t resonate with me for some reason.