I thought the characters were very relatable and liked how they realistically let one another into their life and complimented one another. Love the found family aspect of it. Behind all his grump, the MMC is someone we all hope to find…a man who loves deep.

Tansy is a librarian whose life gets turned upside down by a hurricane in Houston,TX. The library floods and they have to move into a shed at the botanical gardens. The grumpy assistant director (and plant lover), Jack, is not happy about the new visitors and is dealing with his own issues also.
Both have to work together on a plan to get funding for their respective jobs, and they come to a truce even if there are some qualms on both ends.

I remember exactly where I was when Hurricane Harvey hit. It was a disaster for so many Texans, and this story gave us a look at what it may have been like for some people.

This story was a little on the slow side for me, but I really enjoyed the growing connection between Tansy and Jack. Tansy is a single mom just literally trying to stay afloat, and I really felt for her. One thing that was kinda eh for me was her “I don’t need help” mentality. Like sis please take all of Jack’s help when he’s offering lol. I really loved seeing Jack open up, because he was very closed off to any relationship after his divorce years ago. This mentions infertility issues, and it hurt my heart when there was any mention of it with Jack.

This was a cutesy &heartfelt spring read.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

3.5

I really enjoyed Melanie Sweeney's previous book, Take Me Home, so I was excited to give her upcoming release a read. While Where You're Planted was good, it just didn't quite reach the same level as Take Me Home, in my opinion. The characters and story were well-written and interesting, but I didn't feel the pull to keep reading. I wasn't invested enough to see what would happen next.

I'd definitely read another book by the author.

A beautiful story that emphasizes community and a swoon worthy enemies to lovers romance. This book was a treasure, a treat, and a delight. I laughed. I felt the feels. I’m so glad I read this book.


I voluntarily read an early copy.

This is a cute fun book that will make a great beach read! I loved the story and the characters. Love the grumpy sunshine trope!

When Houston gets blasted by a hurricane resulting in a 1,000 year flood, Tansy encounters Jack not once, but twice, in her attempts to save everyone and everything important to her. The flood destroys everything, including Tansy and her daughter Briar’s home as well as the library where Tansy works. Fast forward a few months into the recovery, Tansy’s library gets a temporary (shed-like) home at the local botanic gardens where Jack happens to be the director. The two of them can’t stop getting in each other’s way and they’re not thrilled about it. But when it becomes clear that this could be a mutually beneficial arrangement for both of their organizations, they agree to a truce. What Tansy doesn’t know, however, is that Jack has also applied for the restoration grant that Tansy is banking on to save her beloved library. So has Jack and Tansy fall deeper into their enemies to lovers trope, shit goes bust when the truth about the grant is revealed.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️

I am so thrilled to have had the opportunity to read Melanie Sweeney’s sophomore novel! I loved Take Me Home and I really enjoyed Where You’re Planted. One thing Sweeney does really well is create a lot of nuance and depth in characters who have had a rough go of it. I loved that Tansy was so fiercely determined to not be a damsel in distress and also was a complete mess. While she got in her own way so much, it was clear where her heart was coming from and why she behaved the way she did. This isn’t exactly a positive trait but one that was relatable - she reminded me a lot of myself and my own mom in that regard. I loved the blue collar heart of this book and the grit of the middle class on display. It really told the story of how a community needs each other in order to survive, even when one member thinks they can carry the world on their own shoulders.

Let’s not overlook the fact that Jack also tried to carry the world on his shoulders. I like that they were both burnt by life and both carried that pain in their own stubborn ways. I loved this line from Jack: “After my marriage fell apart, I became too fucking much of the worst parts of myself.” It seems that this was quite true for both of them, Tansy’s life having fallen apart slowly then all at once over the course of Briar’s life.

The relationship both MCs had with Briar was such an excellent backdrop for this book. I think single moms will feel quite seen in this one. The protectiveness, the fear, the anguish of co-parenting — Tansy exuded those so well. I loved that Jack and Briar were so much alike - it made it so easy for him to relate to her and set her at ease.

The found family in this one was wonderful, the cast of librarians were such a bright spot in this one.

My nits on this book were that Tansy held onto her “I don’t need no savior” act for a little bit too long. I know that’s kinda the point of the grand gesture, but Jack tried the grown-up way (talking and clear communication) multiple times with her first before the grand gesture and she didn’t relent. That got a little old for me.

🫡Tropes deployed: enemies to lovers, natural disaster recovery, found family, forced proximity, single mom, messy FMC, grumpy MMC

4.5 / 5 Stars
This book is my new obsession which I plan to re-read many times over. In “Where You’re Planted,” we meet Tansy and her daughter, Briar, in the middle of a hurricane. They luckily get out, but their home, the local library (where Tansy works), and their spirits are severely damaged. The library gets temporarily moved into a shed in a botanic garden where Jack, the grumpy and bullish gardener who rescued Tansy and her daughter, works with the hopes that somewhere, somehow there will be new funding to rebuild the library. Until that time, Tansy and Jack must work together. They don’t see eye-to-eye on anything, except that they secretly think the other is incredibly attractive. They may bicker, but all of their angst and longing is hard to contain. So how will this end? In disaster or something newly built?

I absolutely adored the characters in this book. Melanie Sweeney has an amazing way of creating depth in all of her characters, whether they were the main character or the amazing band of side characters (which PS, I could read a whole book of Kai gossiping – they are a true delight). It felt so important to read about how a natural disaster not only physically impacted the characters, but how it also emotionally impacted them. There were so many layers of feelings and reading how the disaster shifted or exacerbated these character’s emotions and personalities was really incredible.

Beyond the disaster, these characters were fun and swoon worthy and hot. Tansy and Jack have a really fun dynamic and seeing their relationship blossom was perfect. This was the type of book I stayed up reading until 2AM because I was so drawn in. There is also a passage about how hard it is to change deeply ingrained beliefs that I will think about for a long time.

I highly recommend this book. Melanie Sweeney is an auto-read and auto-buy author for me now.

Thank you to Penguin Group (Putnam) and NetGalley for providing this eARC! All opinions are my own.

After a thousand year storm ravages Houston, Jack and Tansy are forced to share space when neither have the budget to fully repair their workplaces. Tansy’s library is destroyed and Jack’s botanical garden is on its last leg when the county commissioner decides that the library will temporarily be housed in a building on the garden’s grounds.

Neither Tandy or Jack are happy about this. Their initial meetings and subsequent interactions have been icy at best and confrontational at worst. But Tansy’s 8 year old daughter Briar has been overcome with anxiety in the months since the storm. And suddenly the person who is making her feel safe and understood is the grumpy, burly garden director.

I love a (future) step-dad book. There are some great ones out there and this would definitely be on the list. When a guy falls hard not only for a woman, but for her kid, I’m all in. I really enjoyed “Take me Home,” this author’s debut, but found myself loving this one even more!

I received this ARC via NetGalley. It releases July 8, 2025 so add it to your TBR if you like a single mom, grumpy/sunshine, work-place enemies to lovers with great banter.

This was so sweet and cozy and colorful feeling. We looooove a good grumpy sunshine filled with a FABulous slow burn (the spice was spicing). And oh how unbelievably relatable and lovable are these characters 🥹. The storyline sucked me in and I didn’t want to stop reading.

Even though this was sweet, it also told the harrowing journey of rebuilding your life after disaster. The toll that takes on your mental health and a realistic view of what the road to discovering your “new normal” looks like. I really appreciated the attention to detail regarding the issues people have to face post natural disaster. This feels like one of those stories that (especially given the current state of our country right now) was written at the perfect time. It shows how important things like a community library are, or a beautiful botanical garden that can act as your place of respite in the loud and busy world we live in. How needed these places are in our local communities.

very interesting premise and storyline, but the two main characters kind of ruined the whole reading experience for me, the mmc was just too "grumpy" and the fmc felt a little too immature, overall I just didn't like the two of them together and their interactions.

Not vibing with these characters, or even the story line really, which makes it so hard to want to continue. I remember starting Sweeny’s other novel, Take Me Home, and immediately being invested (and I ended giving it 5 stars), so I’m bummed about this one not working out.👎🏼 We’ll try again with her next one!

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for the eARC!

I adored Melanie Sweeney's book, "Take Me Home". It was one of my top reads of 2024, and I read about 100 novels a year. So, I was super excited to receive a copy of "Where You're Planted". I have to be honest that I have struggled to connect with this book. I love stories and books set in Texas, but maybe my trauma of living through the hurricane might be influencing my opinion of this book. I am having trouble finishing. I wanted to love it, but I am more in a "like" place with this book. Solid 3.5 stars for me.

I was so exited to receive an ARC for Where You’re Planted by Melanie Sweeney. I really enjoyed Melanie’s first book, Take Me Home, and I love that she is a local author to me. While reading this book, I quickly resonated with the story because I am all too familiar with enduring hurricanes and their aftermath. My first home with my husband was located near a creek that easily floods the neighborhood, and multiple trees fell on it during a terrible storm. We had to replace our kitchen, drywall, floors, and furniture. In addition, I could easily picture the gardens described in the book because we visited Mercer Arboretum often (which I was excited to see mentioned in the Author’s Note as the inspiration for the location in the book). In addition to relating with the plights of the main characters, I found Tansy’s need to be an “independent woman” (and not be a damsel in distress) refreshing. She is a single mom who pours her time and energy into raising a little girl all on her own. Putting herself on the back burner while trying to save her library branch from permanent closure. She meets Jack, a gruff gardener at the botanic gardens where her library was relocated after it flooded during a category 4 hurricane. She is determined to make it on her own, but Jack insists on helping her rebuild her library and her love life. Very well written. Great character development. Had me tearing up and remembering my experiences rebuilding from catastrophic hurricanes, and the sense of community when neighbors were helping one another overcome the destruction.

Where You’re Planted releases July 8, 2025. Hoping for a local author event where I can get a signed copy 🤞🏻.

4.5 🌟

we are so back! i was so sat from the beginning of tansy and jack’s love story + I really enjoyed the characterization (throughout the book even for the side characters!) like I truly think I loved every character i met in this book??

similar to another review I saw, it is indeed nearly perfect and I think a great rep for neurodivergent x neurotypical (ish) couples in a way!

also one thing about me i’m going to love when a family gets found like HELLO!

thank you so so much to netgalley & penguin group putnam for this arc to review!

An ode to Librarians and Plant Daddies alike, I fell in love along with Tansy and Jake in Melanie Sweeney’s Where You’re Planted. Full of humor and heart, as well as a rag tag bunch of loving friends and family, Where You’re Planted had me from page one.

Goodreads review

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am a sucker for a book involving libraries and librarians. I feel such a kinship with other book lovers so I’m sure that influenced my rating. I was excited to read this because I enjoyed her previous book, Take Me Home. I love when a book has flawed characters that are earnestly trying who you can root for. I really liked the found family aspect of this book and building up a community. Add in a sweet romance and it’s the cherry on top. The relationship with the daughter melted my heart. I will definitely be reading more of Sweeney’s future novels.

This was such a sweet surprise 🥺
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While I felt like it took a bit to really get going, I was falling in love with the characters and this world by the 50% mark. Jack is the perfect grumpy and hot mmc, and I loved how sweet he was to Tansy. While I liked Tansy for the most part, it was a little annoying/frustrating how she was SO unwilling to accept help from others. My two favorite things are plants and books, so I was in my happy place 📖🌿. I also liked the messages in this book about the importance of nourishing our communities, and the real world problems it presented.
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I loved the tension that slowly built up between them, and their relationship felt authentic and natural. Also, the spicy scenes were so well-written/thought out, and I felt like it actually brought them closer together! I was literally kicking my feet !!
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Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really really wanted to like this book. I hate writing disappointing reviews. I was honestly just so bored. I didn’t really enjoy the characters, the detailed sex scenes, and I just wasn’t rooting for anyone. The writing felt somewhat lacking and I would have DNF if it wasn’t an ARC.

Where you’re planted by Melanie Sweeney
First I want to thank you to NetGalley, Melanie Sweeney , and GP Putnam and sons for ARC.

📚: it follows Single mom librarian Tansy have to share space with Jack the world’s grouchiest gardener at country botanic garden after a hurricane temporarily shut down her library. When they have call truce to work together on spring festival, they start caught feelings for each other. So they had to decide to define their relationship or stay focused how to rise up funding that helps library and garden needs.
Release date July 8 25

💭: I enjoy reading this read book, love Tansy and Jack relationship during whole book. I love Jack relationship with Briar. I totally understand Tansy points of view with “help getting”. I didn’t find that annoying (some people found that annoying) I love how they talking mental health on both sides. My favorite chapters is 30.

4.50 ⭐️

Melanie Sweeney’s *Where You’re Planted* is a delightful contemporary romance that follows Tansy, a dedicated single mother and librarian, whose life is turned upside down when a devastating hurricane ravages her beloved library. Seeking a fresh start, she relocates to a picturesque botanic garden, where vibrant blooms and lush greenery paint a serene backdrop.

Here, she finds herself reluctantly teaming up with Jack, a thoughtful and nurturing gardener with a passion for nature. As they collaborate to organize an enchanting spring festival, their initial resistance to each other begins to melt away. Their interactions are filled with clever banter and genuine laughter, gradually revealing a deep emotional connection that neither of them expected.

Amidst the challenges they face, both personally and in the community, the story beautifully explores themes of resilience and the power of community support. This small-town romance serves as a heartwarming reminder that sometimes, love can flourish in the most unexpected places, much like the flowers that bloom in the garden, enriching both their lives in surprising ways.