Saffron Everleigh is back, along with her best friend Elizabeth and her boyfriend Alexander Ashton, who is meeting her (very wealthy) family for the first time. Elizabeth’s family, who live next door, have taken in a fraudulent medium who is somehow inducing hallucinations during her seances. Meanwhile, Saffron is trying to solve the mystery of what her father was working on before he died, so she can appease the man who is blackmailing her - and posing as her grandfather’s doctor!

This is the fourth installment of Saffron’s story, and it might be my favorite one. There are a few different mysteries with multiple layers, and this keeps Saffron very busy. I adore this series, but the third installment bored me with too much of Saffron figuring out her romance with Alexander. He’s finally learned to be supportive of her, even when she’s doing risky things, which is especially important when almost every other character is judging and berating her for wanting a career, leaving the house, etc. Now that they’re firmly established and comfortable in the relationship, the dynamic between them is much less cringe, and we can all focus on solving mysteries.

It’s definitely necessary to read all the books and to read them in order, as there are a lot of call backs and the character development arcs are long. The complex mysteries, botanical angle, and accurate yet empowering treatment of Saffron’s character within the historical context make this a series worth committing to.

I have absolutely loved this series! I am a huge fan of Saffron and Alexander.

I can’t wait for the next book in their series and I really hope there is more! I also enjoyed more of Elizabeth’s story in this book.

Great read and I highly recommend you start with the first of the series and enjoy!

This is the fourth book in Kate Khavari’s delightful The Botanist's Guide series. We’ve witnessed a lot of character development — Saffron Everleigh, once more of woe-begone STEMinist in clearly misogynistic 1920s London, has been promoted to researcher, is more confident and very knowledgeable (no Google image identification for her, so it’s to the microscope she goes), and seems to have matured significantly. We knew she was estranged from her family (she lost her first love, Wesley, during WWI) and Wesley’s spunky sister Elizabeth, was also estranged from her own family since an “incident” three years ago, had also been in London, although Saffron has found a new love with fellow researcher Alexander and Elizabeth’s most recent disastrous affair concluded in the previous novel.

“Rituals and Revenge” is truly a sequel to book three, “Society and Secrets.” We had a preview of her cranky grandfather demanding her return to the family estate and the mysterious Bill Wyatt, posing as a doctor, was introduced. This one picks up as Saffron and Elizabeth are arriving back home in Bedford, with Alexander (an unexpected guest for her family) in tow.

Saffron’s background had been extensively hinted at in the past, so now we have a book of more family drama than scientific discoveries. Her family hasn’t seen her personal growth in the past few years, so they’re surprised at her ability to be a capable, independent person (and draw a gun). The villain is known, so the suspense of this tale is how Saffron and her friends will thwart him and have a family reconciliation by the end. I’ve come to love Saffron so much — keep the series going! 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Michael Lee and Grace have green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Alas, Solandra xolotum, Saffron’s violently yellow-green xolotl vine (fictional but fun), does not make an appearance, but is remembered as what poisoned Alexander in the past. I appreciate author Khavari’s explanations regarding datura and birthwort. I know a lot about jimsonweed, but birthwort is limited to a small area of the eastern US, so it was a new poison for me.

Thank you to Crooked Lane and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Saffron is summoned home to her grandparents estate where she finds a previous foe caring for her ill grandfather. Luckily she brought both Alexander and Elizabeth with her as the stakes escalate. A marvelous book in a series that just keeps getting better.

The latest in this excellent 1920s set series sees a change of scenery for Saffron and friends, as they travel to her family home outside London in response to a family health crisis and the presence of a mysterious figure who had threatened Saffron in a previous book. Family drama combines with the longer standing mystery to make a tense, suspenseful plot. I enjoyed the switch to address family issues that had only been hinted at in earlier books, and the character growth in this one felt very real and believable. I like that the author tackled that growth head on instead of letting things slide and remain unresolved, which can annoy me when done in other series. The ending will be especially meaningful to series readers. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are entirely my own and offered voluntarily.

I see enjoy this unique and fun series. Saffron is a wonderful character and in this story we also follow Alexander who is equally compelling. Saffron heads home so this story takes place primarily at Ellington, which was an interesting change. A great mystery and enjoyable read

A Botanist’s Guide to Rituals and Revenge is the latest Saffron Everleigh mystery by Kate Khavari. I really enjoyed this book. I think it is my favorite one yet in the series. There is lots of action, character development and we get to meet Saffron’s family. The characters are so well developed and the setting and descriptions are very realistic. I feel like I’m right there in the drawing room of a British manor post WWI. There were really two mysteries in the book and both were very twisting and turning and hard to figure out. I’m still not sure I understand the solution of one of the mysteries, but it was still interesting to read. I really enjoyed the end of the book and I hope the series will be continuing.


Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. All opinions are my own.