What to expect from this book
• Dislike to Friends to Lovers
• He falls first
• Forced Proximity
• Single Mom
• Fun Side Characters

I seen the cover of this book and was really drawn in. It was a really cute and fun read, I love a good single parent book and this one definitely delivered. I loved the bickering between main characters and the whole dynamic they had. Loved Tansy being the stubborn one and wanting to do right by her daughter and do it herself even though I was begging her to accept jacks help by the end. The way that Jack cared for Briar was really cute and I love they’re both plant and outdoorsy nerds

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for letting me read a free copy of this book in exchange for a review

This one got to me!! It reminded me of Emily Henry in the best way. It felt like a layered, complex romance between two real people. I love how it wasn’t filtered or fake, but felt like Tansy and Jack were fully fleshed out characters. The “will they or won’t they”, “enemies to lovers” vibes were immaculate. Thank you for warming my heart!

[Thank you to G.P. Putnam and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.]

When a once-in-a-lifetime hurricane damages the public library, Tansy Perkins and the remaining staff is forced to relocate into the adjacent county botanic gardens. She's shocked when she discovers that the man who rescued her and her daughter from the rising waters is the garden's assistant director, Jack Reid. Jack and Tansy keep butting heads because he's focused on his plants while she's focused on her daughter and the library. But when they need to work together on the Spring festival, their truce leads to sometime more.

—

Oh. My. God. This is the kind of book you're going to try to read slowly because you don't want it to end.

Tansy and Jack are both stubborn people who have built these walls for self-preservation after being hurt by people they loved. Neither of them is looking for love, nor do they think they want it, but there is this undeniable pull between them. Yet they're still hesitant and it's so believable because it's scary to open yourself up to the possibility of being hurt again.

Things between them don't start off great but once they drop their shields a little bit, they are so gentle with each other. At their cores, they're both caretakers who don't know how to let others take care of them.

The story is rounded out with so many loveable side characters and since it’s mostly set in the botanic gardens, it’s got a small-town feel (even though it takes place in a large city).

This was really sweet. A children’s librarian and director of a botanical garden clash as they are forced to share a work space after a devastating hurricane.

Tansy and Jack are a great match and it was fun to watch as their antagonistic banter transforms into something else. I think readers interested in enemies-to-lovers and found family plots will enjoy this.

Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

This was very sweet!

I thought that the depiction of post-hurricane life and recuperation was very well done. I like leads that don’t have it all together and this showed that super well.

Some of the conflict in this was frustrating for me but made sense for what we’re told about the characters.

Child characters can be hard to write but I loved Briar! She was the best.

I wish there was more of a resolution in regard to Tansy’s ex and his place in Briar’s life.

But! This was a good, easy read with some sweet romance!


Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for the eARC!

Beautiful writing that took me right into the story. The characters Melanie crafted intrigued me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved this!! I was immediately drawn in by the description and it didn’t let me down. this was such a sweet romance and it felt so relatable especially with the journey both characters took. I also love Melanie’s writing. It has so much heart to it. I will definitely check out her other works! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I loved this!! I was immediately drawn in by the description and it didn’t let me down. this was such a sweet romance and it felt so relatable especially with the journey both characters took. I also love Melanie’s writing. It has so much heart to it. I will definitely check out her other works! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

4.25/5 stars
It's pretty niche, but when done correctly, I love reading about two absolutely hardheaded people falling in love. Again, it has to be done RIGHT for this to work, and in this case, it absolutely does. You see, Tansy, our FMC, knows how to take care of herself. She's been doing it for the past eight years by juggling her librarian duties between her single-mom responsibilities. That is until a horrific hurricane not only sweeps out her town's library but also her home. Rebuilding her life along with a valued public resource isn't easy, but it's especially difficult when her temporary location, the botanic gardens, is managed by the bullish and overworked park director, Jack.

Both stubborn as two mules, they really ended up balancing each other out in a sweet, sweet way. Tansy, with her fierce need for independence, and Jack with his apprehension to let anyone else in his life. And I especially loved reading Jack (a secret softie) and his love for Tansy's daughter, Briar, bloom throughout the story.

Many thanks to G.P Putnam's Sons, NetGalley, and Melanie Sweeney for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Five stars

Cannot believe I waited this long to read a Melanie Sweeney book! This book caught my attention right at the beginning. From their meet disaster, to their bickering that turned into flirting and everything in between - every aspect of Tansy and Jack’s relationship had me melting! Melanie writes characters with depth and charm and she doesn’t skimp on her side characters’ development either! I couldn’t get enough of the community she’d created around our MC’s. I want more! Gimme Kai and Ian’s novella! Gimme Marianne’s unlikely and unsuspecting romance! Gimme a second generation for Briar! I want it all!

Heartwarming and emotional romance. A rivals to lovers, single mom storyline that also had a wonderful found family feel to it.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for Where You’re Planted to come out July 8, 2025.

Great read! Tansy is the epitome of resiliency, strength and determination. I loved seeing her relationship with Briar and how she loosened the reigns throughout the story. The slow burn between Tansy and Jack was wonderful and the timeline felt appropriate/not rushed!

I also appreciated the brief mention of male infertility. That’s not something that’s often talked about in books and we need more representation!

I'm a sucker for books about librarians, add in swoony, grumpy, anxious MMCs whose love language is acts of service and I'm a goner FOR SURE. This sophomore, dual POV, enemies to lovers post-hurricane romance set in Houston stole my heart from page one and I just COULD. NOT. GET. ENOUGH!!! I could go on and on and on about how much I fell for Tansy and Jack and the rest of their library/garden found family but I'll spare you. All I can say is this is likely to be a very favorite book of 2025 for me and I can't wait until I can hold a physical copy in my hands. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!!!

CW: anxiety, panic attacks, depression, infertility

My community went through two back-to-back hurricanes last year so I wanted to read this book as soon as I saw the blurb. Then I stayed up late into the night to keep reading the book. Loved it. I loved Jack and their gardens and all the coworkers from the library. Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC! I’m not sure I would have picked this up on my own but thoroughly enjoyed it.

this was a good booK! I liked this romance and how it was not over the top or unbearable. I think it was well written, and kept me entertained the whole readthrough. I enjoyed it!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Ah I loved this. As a fan of Melanie Sweeneys debut novel Take Me Home I was excited to read this arc, there was no sophomore slump! This was a beautiful story of resilience and learning how to let someone in. Living in Florida I know all too well the affects hurricanes leave not just structurally but emotionally. Tansy and Jack had banter and sweetness. I liked that they didn’t make Charlie more of an issue. Overall it was a great read.

WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED is the perfect blend of realness and romance I want in a love story. I was deeply invested and caring for the Jack and Tansy throughout the story from their "disastrous" first meeting during an actual natural disaster. Tansy mistakes Jack's stressed behavior as him judging her, resulting in an enemies vibe between them, also turning to rivals when they are forced to share their workspace as Tansy's library branch has been relocated to the botanic gardens.

Tansy is feisty and combative while Jack is bossy making their tension delicious. Forced to work on a spring festival together, they find themselves drawn to each other despite their reluctance. They both feel they can't commit to relationships as Tansy is focused on her daughter and afraid of depending on someone, and Jack after a failed engagement has given up on love. So after an intense kiss has them both feeling unsettled and realizing their deeper feelings, they have their reasons for avoiding each other. But how long can until they realize together is where they're meant to be (planted)?

I really enjoyed watching their relationship bloom (pun intended) and the emotional depth and growth between the two. And for Tansy to see how wrong Tansy initially was about Jack. Jack not being only a great gardener but how well he tends to the people he cares about most. I loved the symbolism of Tansy's name and Jack's hat that shows how safe and comfortable Briar felt around Jack from the very start! I love this author's work and can't wait to read whatever she grants us with next!!

Many thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Although this is a work of fiction, it was rooted in reality. I felt the pain, trauma and panic in the wake of a devastating natural disaster that the author captured through her characters. We’ve seen so many more of these events within the last decade even.

I appreciated reading a romance between two 30-something’s that have lived a bit. A young single mother who was still figuring it out years down the line and a divorced man still grappling with the life he wanted by then but didn’t/couldn’t have.

Because the book is mainly set in the botanic gardens, there is a small town feel even though they are technically set in a major metropolitan city.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited for this book after reading Melanie's debut last year. I loved the library/garden setting and careers for our MCs. I loved how they met. And I loved the enemies to lovers. I will say the beginning wasn't super strong and I was worried the job nemesis vibes wasnt working but I ended up liking the book and how their relationship developed. I loved the male MC -- I'm a fan of the grumpy guy falling so hard and fall hard he did!

Since the very first glimpses and glimmers I saw of this, I have known I would love it. And oh did I love every moment.

Melanie absolutely blew this out of the water. I couldn’t put it down. I was tabbing as I read, and at one point I just wrote “HELP” on one of them.

Within the first few chapters, I already felt like I’d known Tansy and Jack for ages. They’re both so real and raw and complex, with messy histories that have caused them each to carve safe little lives out for themselves. Both of them have created their own little found families, who are just as tight-knit, important, and real as any family by blood.

Tansy’s relationship with her daughter, Briar - as well as Jack’s relationship with her - is just as important as the romance. In fact their entire lives are just as important as the romance, and it’s all the more beautiful for it. How can you not root for people that feel already like old friends? How can you not wish for them to find themselves in each other?

Their hesitancy is relatable and believable. Their rivalry made me laugh out loud and made the falling so much sweeter. They both have reasons to proceed with caution - some realer than others - and they approach each other with such tenderness and vulnerability even when there are bits of them they’re afraid to reveal. Both of them are caretakers who don’t know how to let themselves be taken care of - a combination that could lead to hostility (and sometimes does) but that ultimately results in a sort of competitive softness that made me both laugh and cry.

I could write more but there is actually a character limit so I’ll leave you with this: you better put this on your TBR right now I’m being so serious