Meet Jack. Jack doesn’t have any time for your nonsense.

Meet Tansy. She is nonsense.

But after a devastating hurricane rips through Houston, and the library where she works, Tansy is about to become Jack’s nonsense.

Jack is the director at the Botanic Gardens, adjacent to the ruined library. When the gardens are back up and running, Tansy and her staff are offered a small shed on the property in which to run a very pared down version of the library. No one is happy, but everyone has to make do.

Jack is perhaps the grumpiest grump you’ll ever meet, and he certainly doesn’t want Tansy setting up story time in his garden or encouraging scavenger hunts along his paths. Kids, amirite?

And yet she does.

This accidental collaboration brings the community together - until funding can be found and assets separated.

But somewhere along the line, Jack’s heart starts to show fissures as he spends more time with both Tansy and her daughter, Briar.

However, Tansy doesn’t want or need to be saved, and her fierce independence can also be seen as stubborn and difficult, and pushing Jack away feels safer.

Despite him swearing off love after heartbreak and her inability to trust, it soon becomes apparent that Jack and Tansy might find just what they need in each other.
__
For fans of grumpy/grumpy (fight me - they’re both grumps!), forced proximity, a man who falls for a mom and her kid, plus kittens, search no more!

Sweeney gives background that this is based on a true story - the hurricane, destruction, and shared space - which only makes it sweeter.

The characters will grow on you, messy though they may be, and in the hands of Sweeney, flawed people face tough situations with grit and communication. There’s wit and swoon and spice and banter. And hard earned love. I do wish Tansy had let go of her “I don’t need a savior” complex sooner, but it did lend itself to a delightful grand gesture.

The found family vibes are strong here - throw in a cute kid, and there’s a lot to like.

Vibe check: The Hating Game and The Grump Whisperer.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I fell in love with Melanie' Sweeney's writing with Take Me Home. I could not put that book down. As soon as I saw she would have another title, I stalked NetGalley to request it. I may or may not have squeaked when I was approved.
Sweeney's writing, her character voices, her build up of chemistry between characters, and her flowing and fluid descriptions keep me engrossed in her writing from the beginning of her stories until the end.
This particular story is personal to the author (as per the note she wrote at the end). It focuses on loss after a natural disaster and how people deal with that loss. It also shows the devastation attached to such disasters. This story is filled with heart, found family, and healing after trauma. The entire story shows the resilience of those who are forced to recover from such trauma, what they do when they are presented with circumstances beyond their control and how they come together to heal.
Tansy prides herself on being an independent woman. She doesn't want hand outs and she truly does not want anyone to take care of her. These things make her feel beholden to those who present them. She chooses to embrace her struggles, leaning on her own tenacity and determination to persevere despite her circumstances. The hurricane she encounters is not her first bought with struggles in life, but it upends her and her daughter to the point of making them both feel worried and scared. But her stubbornness often puts her in situations that can be self-sabbotaging.
Enter Jack, a grump if I've ever met one. A man who has faced his own struggles in life and has chosen to be more of an isolationist rather than embrace those around him. His surliness keeps him at arms length from people, despite them trying to nudge their way in. But when he does love, it's fiercely, as you can see with his sister, Amy, and his best friend, Omar. There is nothing he would not do for them. When his life collides with Tansy, he's not sure what to make of her. They butt heads from the get go, making enemies of each other. But that does not preclude them from forming feelings for each other. Try as they might, they just can't seem to stay away.
I absolutely adored all the side characters in this book. Kai, with their freeness. Irma with her want to maintain her youngness despite others worrying for her at her age. Melanie, who has a penchant for saving things, animals in particular. Briar, Tansy's daughter, who wiggles her way into Jack's heart, despite his rough exterior. Ivan, who is Jack's right hand man and the only one who Jack is willing to share anything with. The entire brood is one big found family with so much love you can feel it coming off the page. The way these people support and uplift their friends is something else.
Sweeney kept me enthralled from the first chapter when the storm looms and Tansy is out rescuing birds and has her first encounter with Jack. You could see the sparks right then and there. And, while the book is certainly focused on the romance, that is not the only thing that is happening. We learn about libraries and parks and how they are important to communities. We see the struggles such places have to stay open, to have enough funds to ensure those in the communities can take advantage of the programs they have to offer. Sweeney shows their importance in healing communities and bringing people together in times of need.
This book pulled every emotion out of me. There were parts with amazing banter where I was laughing out loud. But there were also parts where my eyes burned with tears I didn't want to shed in public. And then there were the times my chest felt tight because I could feel the characters panic when things were turning bad.
Sweeney creates characters and a story where all the imperfects become perfect. Where the differences in people become their assets. Where you see how important communities and being open minded are essential to health and growth. Where you realize you can be self-reliant but can also accept help from others because they want to feely give it, not because they want anything in return. It's about taking care of yourself, and others, and finding balance. This story is real and raw, full of humanity and heart. It will stick with me for a long time. I will gladly read anything Sweeney writes.

4.5 stars rounded up. Melanie Sweeney has followed up her wonderful debut with another book full of heart and healing and beauty. ‘Where You’re Planted’ explores layer after layer of the challenges in life, remaining strong in unexpected circumstances, and learning how to open up and lean on others when life gets too heavy to carry alone.

Tansy is an Independent Woman. She’s a single mom to Briar who is trying to keep her head above water, both figurative and literally when the book begins in the middle of a hurricane with thousand-year flooding. She is a woman to be admired for all her tenacity and determination to persevere in the face of adversity. She is creative and resourceful. She is also relatable in her internalized feelings of failure and fatigue from trying to do it all alone. She verges on self-sabotage thanks to her pride, but it makes the breaking down of her walls throughout the book that much more impactful. It shows how much she heals over time from everything in her past that made her feel like she had no other choice but to do it all on her own. And an important player in that healing is Jack.

Jack is grumpy and gruff. Jack is a man I could relate to in his reactions to stressful situations elevating the gruffness and his anxiety. He also has his own backstory as to why he leans heavily into self-preservation and not allowing anyone to get too close. He and Tansy’s immediate clashing personalities blending into a partnership is a beautiful journey in healing, and it is particularly touching to see it happen for Jack. What I find most endearing is that, at their hearts, neither of them changes who they are but rather evolve together into stronger, happier, and emotionally healthier versions of themselves.

I will happily continue to read anything Melanie Sweeney wants to write. Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons via NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and to PRH Audio for the ALC.

This was a really cute and charming enemies to lovers romance. Melanie Sweeney is a beautiful writer. I absolutely loved the chemistry between Tansy and Jack!

Furthermore, Brittany Pressley and Christian Fox are a dream for the narration of this book! Seriously, I hope these two collaborate more in the future! If you love romances that will sweep you off your feet (and make you laugh out loud multiple times!), I highly recommend this book! I can't wait for Melanie Sweeney's next book!

When this started, I had no clue how these work rivals could work out their differences…but doing so made such important changes in their own lives!!

Go-getter librarian Tansy and gruff garden director Jack have both their jobs upended by a hurricane striking their town, moving her library onto the ground of his botanical garden. In typical romcom fashion, once they learn to work together instead of against each other, they start to make a big difference for themselves and for their community!

This was so sweet, emotional, and inspirational - the perfect lil easy summer read for a yellow reader! Going on the emotional journey with Tansy from losing everything in the storm and having to care for her 8 year old daughter all by herself and losing her workplace, all to learn that it’s okay to need people sometimes was so lovely - and a good reminder!!


Thanks so much to Melanie Sweeney and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Perfection!
Maybe I’m biased because I grew up in Tansy’s world and can vouch for everything from the hurricane fears to addictive Shipley’s donuts, but this book just checks every single one of my romance boxes. Just go ahead and add Jack Reid to your list of book boyfriends now because he IS the grumpy bossy hot plant daddy you need. Whether he’s rescuing flood survivors in his boat, arguing over available space for the library’s storytime that won’t involve his gardens being trampled, or crushing hard for the whirlwind self-reliant librarian Tansy, Jack is is the distant rugged outdoorsy type personified.

Jack and Tansy’s disaster-cute involves him saving her not once, but twice during a hurricane, fueling their animosity towards each other when Tansy’s library branch sets up as a pop-up inside Jack’s botanic gardens. As all romance readers know, friction creates sparks that fly when conflict turns into chemistry. Surprisingly, the catalyst is Tansy’s daughter Briar. God I loved seeing her and Jack together. Kids can be such a miss in books, but Briar latches on to what’s safe and this translated into the most natural relationship between her and Jack. From the beginning I wanted their relationship just as much as I wanted a physical relationship between Jack and Tansy.

Melanie Sweeney writes perfectly imperfect characters so well. Tansy has had to provide for herself and Briar and is terrified that she might need rescuing—the thought of having to trust her career, her home, her child and her love life to another person makes her feel vulnerable in the most excruciating way. Tansy keeps the circumstances of her flood-ravaged home hidden from coworkers and has difficulty asking for help, even when it’s freely offered. In the same way, for all his surliness, Jack panics at the idea of public speaking. He has stopped living for himself since his marriage ended, under the guise of not being a “relationship person.” He doesn’t open up easily to his sister Amy and has wrapped his heart in caution tape, not even considering the idea of dating.

This book has the absolute best chemistry. Partially it stems from it being quite awhile since either Tansy or Jack have been intimate with another person, but also because when they allow themselves to give in to each other, it just unlocks a part of each of them that needs to be seen, touched, and loved. This translates into scorching hot sex. Having an uninterrupted week of all-the-orgasms ™️ should be part of every couple’s getting to know you phase.

I think the other thing I really enjoyed was how plausible the entire story felt. There were no big bad enemies, although Tansy’s relationship with her ex is at time frustrating. I found myself laugh-crying at Amy’s meeting Omar, I literally looked up videos about bee sex while reading (IYKYK), as well as what the paper bush plant looks like. Anytime an author can create such a vivid sense of place in my head, it just draws me closer to the characters that exist there. The library and botanic gardens were this for me. I can say without a doubt that the romances Sweeney writes are full of humanity and heart. I cannot wait to read more from her in the future. I received an early copy from Putnam. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Steam: 🪭🪭🪭

Jack
Smells like: Hard work and sweat, dirt and sunscreen, the crispness of a tomato plant

Tansy
Smells like: Lemonade in your tea, airy line dried linen, paperbacks and pencil shavings

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam: G.P. Putnam's Sons for the chance to read an advanced copy of this sweet and charming romance. I loved the characters single mom and librarian Tansy and Jack, the gruff botanical gardens director. They had a prickly start, and then it grew to romantic tension and then to love. The two are forced to work in close proximity to each other after a massive flood destroys the library on the outskirts of the gardens. Temporarily, they move a few librarians and resources into a space inside the gardens. As Tansy and Jack's romance builds they both must navigate their individual issues with not relying on others and being closed off and not open to love.
The story was cozy and light to read. The gardens setting was relaxing and picturesque. I enjoyed the perspectives changing between Tansy and Jack. Tansy's best friends and librarians were funny and entertaining. This was a lovely story of community, found family, and being able to be self-reliant but also allow others to help support and love you.

When a hurricane hits Houston, Tansy's life is uprooted - both her home and the library branch where she was serving as interim manager suffered catastrophic flooding. Without flood insurance, she and her daughter Briar are forced to live in a half-finished house while she saves up to make needed repairs. And her library branch is temporarily moved into a shed in the botanical gardens. Jack, the groundskeeper at the gardens, is not happy to have the librarians and their patrons taking over his space. Until her discovers how they can help each other - and how Tansy can help him learn to love again.

I loved Sweeney's last title "Take Me Home" so I probably went into this one with higher expectations. It's probably petty, but I was put off on page one with the names Tansy and Briar. Then Jack's feelings towards Tansy seem to turn on a dime for no real reason, and I did not get the chemistry between the two. The setting took me out of the story - most botanical gardens I've been to are flat, parklike grounds with a combination of indoor and outdoor settings. The descriptions read like more a national park/state park setting with bluffs and wild vegetation (there is a map in the front, but it was hard to flip back and forth when reading in digital). Also, the original branch of the library was already on the botanical gardens property, so why didn't Jack and Tansy already know each other or have some kind of relationship?

Honestly, I almost DNFed this one several times in the first 100 or so pages but I stuck it out because I liked her first book so much. Reading the Author's Note at the back, I felt bad for not loving a book born from the author's personal history with a natural disaster, but it doesn't change the fact that I wasn't really a fan. Hopefully her next book will be better for me.

Overall: 3/5
Spice: 2/3

This book made my children’s librarian heart so happy! Jack and Tansy were a delightful pair, and I love that the book was loosely inspired by real events!

✨WHERE YOU’RE PLANTED by Melanie Sweeney✨

TAKE ME HOME was one of my favorite books of last year, and Melanie’s sophomore novel did not disappoint!!! This is such a beautiful story of resilience and growth, and I absolutely could not put it down.

When a hurricane floods Tansy’s home AND the local library she runs, things feel dire, especially when the library is forced to move into a glorified gardening shed in the nearby botanic gardens. Even worse: she has to work with the super grumpy gardener who saved her and her daughter from the flood the night the hurricane hit. Tansy doesn’t want to relive that night, and she certainly doesn’t want to interact with Jack on a daily basis. But here we are!!! Tansy and Jack must work together to save the library and the garden, and lo and behold……..working together isn’t so bad after all.

Some little details I loved, in order of increasing niche-ness:
🎨Arts and Crafts
🍴Dinner Parties
💧Water Heaters
🔨Drywall Repair
🦊The Disney Robin Hood Fox

WHERE YOU’RE PLANTED is out on July 8!

4.5 star

✨I really loved this rom com that doubled as a social commentary and had all the heart! The importance of public spaces in a community including gardens and libraries were brought to life in these pages by the delightfully grumpy botanic garden director and the effervescent children’s librarian who were thrown together to share space after a devastating flood.

✨Houston author Melanie Sweeney is fast becoming a favorite for me. Think Katherine Center with spice. Everyone knows I prefer closed door romance, but it was easy to skip over the parts that aren’t for me without taking anything away from this lovely story.

✨I loved the Houston setting, the lovably quirky cast of characters, the found family, and the enemies to lovers workplace romance.

✨A personal note: The inclusion of the Peggy Martin rose (IYKYK) was so personal and real for my Gulf Coast living, hurricane and flood surviving soul. My own Peggy Martin is climbing a trellis in my backyard. 🩷

🌿Read if you like:
✨Enemies to lovers
✨Workplace romance
✨Grumpy sunshine
✨Found family
✨Anxiety rep
✨Houston settings
✨Open door romance
✨Angry girl rock/female rage songs

I was fully invested in this story, until the third act breakup. I thought Tansy and Jack were a great enemies to lovers representation. The spicy scenes were so good. But enter the ever polarizing third act breakup. My problem with this one was how incredibly stubborn and resistant to help Tansy was. It became repetitive and honestly, annoying. As a self-proclaimed “strong, independent woman” myself, there is growth and maturity in knowing when to not only accept a little bit of help, but in also recognizing that maybe, just maybe, someone wants to be there for you as a partner, not as your savior.

4 🌟

Can someone please build me a little library in a garden?!

This romcom was so so cute! My favorite part was not how Jack and Tansy came together for each other but the way they came together for the community. The way they both worked, usually together, to build back their community after a devastating hurricane had me falling in love with them.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

I was given the opportunity to read Where You’re Planted by Melanie Sweeney as an eARC from Putnam that is publishing on July 8th, 2025

This grumpy x sunshine romance follows single mom Tansy and introvert Jack, who are diametrically opposed from the beginning, but are forced to work together to make the park operate efficiently after a hurricane relocates Tansy’s library to the botanical gardens.
____________________________________________

My favorite character in the book was Tansy. I loved that she was a resilient woman who was having to learn to accept help from other people, she had to so much on her own for so long that relying on people wasn’t really an option. The storyline follow the organic unfolding of Tansy and Jacks relationship, but still touched on how to fit Tansy’s daughter into the relationship dynamic, while giving Jack space to cope with emotions left over from a previous relationship.

The book had an overall positive and heartfelt tone, but still made time to touch on the very real after affects of a natural disaster like a hurricane, and how its destruction ruins the lived of people in its path.

This had some of my favorite tropes, grumpy-sunshine, protective MMC, single-parent, and found family.

Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Where You're Planted is a heartwarming grumpy-sunshine romance set against the charming backdrop of a botanical garden and a small-town library. The story follows Tansy, a determined single mother and librarian, and Jack, a gruff gardener with a soft side he keeps buried deep.
When a hurricane forces Tansy's damaged library to temporarily relocate to a shed at the gardens, she and Jack-who don't exactly get along-are suddenly stuck working side by side. What really made this book shine for me was the witty banter between Tansy and Jack. Their clashing personalities made for some hilarious and heartfelt moments, and I especially loved watching Jack slowly open up and show a more tender, vulnerable side. That said, I did find myself occasionally frustrated with Tansy's insistence on doing everything alone and not accepting help, even when it was clearly offered with good intentions.
The supporting characters were a delight-Kai, Marianne, and Irma, the other librarians, added so much warmth and humor to the story. The group scenes at the gardens/library were some of my favorites, full of community spirit and cozy chaos.
I'd definitely recommend this book to fans of grumpy-sunshine dynamics, slow-burn romance, and anyone who appreciates a good garden setting. It's a funny, feel-good read that plants itself firmly in your heart.

This was a strong concept and was engaged with the world and romance element that I was looking for and enjoyed from this type of book. The characters were everything that I wanted from this type of book and was engaged with what was happening to them. It uses the public library and botanic garden locations perfectly in this and was everything that I wanted. Melanie Sweeney has a strong writing style and enjoyed how everything worked with the characters and this storyline.

Jack and Tansy meet during a hurricane where he berates her for being out to save her library’s birds. He then rescues her again later once her home has flooded and she, her daughter, and neighbor need help. They’re not off to a great start when they realize that her library is temporarily being housed at his botanic garden due to the flooding. Both of them hope to rebuild and restore their buildings.

I loved this story! I loved the main characters Tansy and Jack. Grumpy Jack was so funny when he would banter with Tansy. I loved how quirky and independent Tansy was. I loved how much depth both characters had and how their own struggles from the past really affected them. Tansy’s daughter, Briar, added some humor as well. I loved how she latched onto Jack so quickly. It was so sweet to see the grump be so kind with her.

The found family with the librarians and Ian from the garden were also a lot of fun. The characters were very unique.

I really enjoyed the ending as well! It was just a sweet story overall!

Thank you to Melanie Sweeney, NetGalley and G P Putman’s Sons for the early copy! This book releases on July 8th!

I liked this way more than I thought I was going too. Maybe it's because enemies to lovers is my favorite romcom trope or maybe it's because the FMC is a librarian and so am I, so I felt like I could relate. I wasn't quite sure about the story from the beginning, but as I kept going, I knew it was going to be a good one. I really like Melanie Sweeney's previous book Take Me Home, and this one didn't disappoint. I loved the premise of a library within a garden area and the grumpy gardener...it all was just swoon-worthy!

Thank you to Putnam for the advance reader copy of Where You’re Planted by Melanie Sweeney.

The community Tansy lives in experiences a hurricane that damages her place of work, the library, and the home that she shares with her daughter. Tansy is rescued by Jack, gardener at county botanic gardens and these two don't get along. Jack and Tansy end up forced to partner together as they plan the spring festival.

This book is a slow burn and for me it took me awhile to get into it but I’m glad I kept reading as the story really picked up for me. When it did, I couldn’t put the book down until I finished. Tansy is a great leading character.

If you enjoy a rivals to lovers, forced proximity romance, this is one to check out!

This was such a beautiful slow burn book. I loved the dynamics with Jack and Tansy (I mean...give me a grumpy botanical garden worker any day of the week) and I loved their meet-disaster. More than anything, what Melanie does so well is build up the tension in a way that makes the pay off so great. These two took a while getting there, but when they did, it was so earned.