Soh Kam Yung reviewed The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst (Spellshop, #2)
A lovely cozy fantasy involving enchanted greenhouses, a lonely librarian and a handsome gardener
4 stars
A lovely 'cozy fantasy' about a former librarian who finds her skills put to good use when she ends up on an island with enchanted greenhouses that are failing, and she has to figure out why and how to stop it. Throw in a handsome gardener and a group of talking plants, and you have an enchanting story about recovering from loss, overcoming your fears and finding love and companionship among an unlikely group of people.
Terlu Perna was punished by being turned into a statue in the Empire's library for the crime of being lonely, and using magic to make a plant come alive for companionship. Years later, she wakes up human again on an island with only an uncommunicative (handsome) gardener who needs the help of a sorcerer to stop his magical greenhouses from failing. Terlu decides to help him by investigating the notes of the former …
A lovely 'cozy fantasy' about a former librarian who finds her skills put to good use when she ends up on an island with enchanted greenhouses that are failing, and she has to figure out why and how to stop it. Throw in a handsome gardener and a group of talking plants, and you have an enchanting story about recovering from loss, overcoming your fears and finding love and companionship among an unlikely group of people.
Terlu Perna was punished by being turned into a statue in the Empire's library for the crime of being lonely, and using magic to make a plant come alive for companionship. Years later, she wakes up human again on an island with only an uncommunicative (handsome) gardener who needs the help of a sorcerer to stop his magical greenhouses from failing. Terlu decides to help him by investigating the notes of the former sorcerer who created the greenhouses. In the processes, she breaks the Empire's laws against magic again by bringing other plants to life.
As more greenhouses fail, Terlu convinces the gardener to ask for help from his estranged family, now living on other islands. With their help, Terlu makes progress and may finally discover why the greenhouses are failing. But to stop it, she will need the help of the gardener, his family and a host of magical creatures who all call the greenhouse home.
In the process Terlu and the gardener find themselves falling for each other, and they would need each other to help heal their hurts over being left alone and living in a world that does not appreciate them for what they are.