"The Enchanted Greenhouse" ~ Sarah Beth Durst Book Review
Marvelous spells woven together to bring to life natural wonders, dreams, and community; the ultimate cozy fantasy glittering with love in many forms.
Rated: four & a half out of five stars
Disclaimer: I do my absolute best not to disclose any spoilers of the book, but I may unintentionally provide some leading information. I am sorry if I give anything away! I only hope to speak with other book lovers by picking apart the wonderfully intricate bones of novels which have fed my soul. With all love, you have been forewarned. <3
Enchanting Novel - Synapsis
This novel follows Terlu, an intelligent and outgoing librarian, who set off for the capital, Alyssium, to find her purpose; however, her time there was more challenging and isolating than expected. So, naturally, Terlu decides to break the [ridiculous] law to cast a spell - a spell to bring to life her new friend Caz, a formerly insentient spider plant. Unfortunately, despite causing no harm, the capital condemned her to an eternal fate as a statue; that is until she unexpectantly awakens alone in the cold snow of a seemingly remote island. Before long, she realizes she isn't as alone as it would seem, having stumbled across a grumbly, yet handsome and kindhearted, gardener and the marvelous wonders of the magical greenhouses of Belde. Terlu was given a second chance at life, and for a purpose: to help save the fading magic and to protect the creatures of Belde. Filled with second chances, growth, learning to trust, finding love and community, and following one's own heart this book is teeming with light.
Ramble Bramble - A wonderful Story
Such a cozy fantasy with wholesome messaging throughout the story, oh how I enjoyed this book. Now, to reemphasize before we commence, I will do my best not to give too much of the book away, yet I am human and I'm just excited to pick apart the craft with you all, so tread with caution! Anyways... let's start at the beginning, shall we? The curse of being "statuefied" is hardly a just punishment for a rather harmless crime; a crime committed out of loneliness, yes, but done also with the good intention of giving the gift of life to another (formerly "insentient" spider plant, who was rather delighted to be alive I would have you know). This single act is utilized as the pendulum guiding most of Terlu's actions/choices, for despite the fear inflicted from this trauma, Terlu continues to follow her heart and to do what she believes is the right thing to do. Life, or more often people, can be unjust and a bit cruel; however, it takes a courageous character to go against the current to fight for what you believe in, even or especially when, one fears facing consequences. Even so, when faced by difficult circumstances, we have the power to form our own perceptions to favor seeing the good or the beauty in life, rather than to allow our past traumas control our present or our future. Terlu was, understandably, paralyzed by the fear of becoming a statue once again, yet she continued to grow past that fear and instead of allowing it to dictate her decisions (in a negative cycle), she used it to shape her perspective into gratitude, "There was so much to learn and so much to do. And so much to eat and feel and think and be! It still left her breathless sometimes to think how close she came to missing all of this, to never even taking a full breath again, much less having a full life," [pg. 350]. The circumstances were not "fair," yet they arguably were the catalyst to lead Terlu to live and fully experience life for the first time with this second chance. With my own personal experiences, I quite resonate with this sentiment, and I think we all have our own jaded pasts that may not be our faults but ultimately is our responsibility what we do with it. I for one would rather look for the beauty in life and appreciate it all the more for having known the decay all too well.
Continuing on that note, we all have our own past baggage, yet it they do not define who we are. Sarah Beth Durst did a wonderful job at highlighting the individualistic key moments which shaped the characters into who they are, while emphasizing the power of choice and how the characters used their pasts to guide their change for a better future (I won't go into too much detail here so you may get to know the characters yourself). Each character, in their own way and on their own timelines, grew beyond their comfort zones for the greater good of saving the island, of community and helping others in need, and for the betterment of themselves. Even so, the author deliciously described how we all can still make mistakes and cause harm to others despite having honorable intentions. It does not matter what the intention was, if someone is hurt/impacted, then they are hurt [period]. What matters is how you choose to grow from such mistakes by taking accountability, meeting that person with where they are (communicated needs/boundaries), and by changing/adjusting for the future accordingly.
Perhaps my favorite messaging in the novel is this: we all can still love and be loved, flaws and all. We don't need to become this "perfect" person and heal completely from our pasts before we are able to love others and be or simply receive, love ourselves. Healing, learning, and growing is a continuous journey with no end date, but rather a life-long process of shedding and becoming. We are all inherently worthy of love as we are for love isn't something to be earned; it is a gift to be felt and cherished. I know this could be a challenging concept to accept (I still struggle myself; trust me I am writing a whole series dedicated to it), but as I've said before, all good things in life take time to evolve. For now, we can still be loved and seen as we are while we strive to heal and grow. This quote in particular I admired for displaying the humanness of hurt over time, how it molds us, and yet how we can [be seen] love and be loved flaws and all:
"Quietly, he asked, 'Who hurt you?' She froze and looked at him. 'I didn't say...' Closing her mouth, she swallowed. She didn't know how to answer that. It wasn't as if she'd had a grand heartbreak. She had no real trauma to explain why she was the way she was. It was more just years' worth of little cracks in her heart, like in the glass panes of the failed greenhouses. Her family loved her, but she never really found her place with them on Eano. And the library... She never truly fit there either. She drifted through life, wanting and reaching but never having, always feeling just a little lost and just a little empty and just a little lonely," [pg. 227].
The rest of the scene is touching (and painfully relatable...), just read it! I could pick this apart more, yet nobody wants that and besides, I have more messaging topics to discuss in length, so sit tight and let's continue...
So, for the moment you truly all have been waiting for: the bloody romance, oh yeah! The romance in this book was so tender, innocent, and intimately human. I eat that shit up! I don't want all of the raunchy bits (they have their time and place, but not here), I want the raw and gentle buildup of attraction to connection with all of the messiness slathered in between. Sarah Beth Durst marvelously created a partnership where the characters are slowly growing on their own, while growing and healing together; characters who don't "complete" each other but better one another. If you want to pick this up for the cozy romantasy alone, then I promise you will not be disappointed.
This book was not only riddled with romantic love, but of love in many different forms: for passions/interests, new friendships, family, nature and all of her creatures, for life, and community. In particular, I appreciated the author's emphasis on community through two key messengings: [1] we are stronger as a community and can achieve greater feats (such as saving and restoring an island) together, and [2]* we do not have to go through things alone, even personal challenged or periods of growth. What makes the author take on community in an uniquely uncommon manner though, would be her focus on human (or other sentient beings) kindness and common decency by helping others simply because it is the right/moral/decent thing to do. When someone, or something, needed help, the characters didn't question or turn away, but jumped in to offer what help they were able to give. This concept may seen mundane or common knowledge, but I think it is too often overlooked and is a character trait we need to adopt more of today, and everyday for that matter.
*I certainly will dedicate a whole story on the idea of community in the future, so I will keep this section short here but just know you will not miss out, it is in the works lol!
Finally, I want to touch on the concept of second chances, mainly in life. Our lives hardly turn out the way we imagined, not exactly, yet there's truth to the saying that we can change our lives at any point. However, I don't agree with the concept completely starting from scratch, because you still need a foundation to build from; the soil of your past holding the seeds you want to nurture for the future (seeds of change inspired by your past, the seeds that sparked a reason to change in the first place). Memories and experiences are powerful, where some may be enough alone to push for a change, while others need a good shove to finally make a lasting change. Terlu needed to be turned into a statue to finally realize the change she needed to make to fully appreciate and experience her second chance in life (or rather another life within a lifetime):
"She'd given Terlu a second change. And I'm not going to waste it. If she could be useful... if she could have a place here... if she could have a purpose... that was worth any amount of effort. It was why she'd left her family and her home island in the first place, and it was what she'd failed to find in the Great Library of Alyssium... She did not say out loud: Because I need to. She needed her second life to matter," [pg. 122].
Closing Thoughts
Alright, I'm sure you've all had enough of me talking about the same book, so I'll keep this section short and sweet to wrap up my whole ramble bramble:
magical & unique world & creatures
realistic, original characters
cozy & heartwarming storyline
marvelous messenging throughout
I only wish the plot had higher stakes, or more of a build up to them (i.e., failing greenhouses, unjust laws, a crumbling empire, the unknown state of loved ones...)
Thank you for listening to my book review, I hope you enjoyed my ramble and are inspired to pick up this book, or any book at all :) I loved this romantasy and not only do I now have my own copy, but I'm already itching to read it again after editing this review lol.
Please feel free to contribute to the conversation (but try not to give away any spoilers in the comments!) and I'm sure I will have more random book reviews to come in the near future. Also, if you have any suggestions of story topics you would like for me to write about, I would love to hear from you.
Aaannnd, if you have been inspired to get your own copy of this book, then please use the link below for every click helps me to continue to provide free content to you all! As always, thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a magically delicious day.
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