The Enchanted Greenhouse was as good as I thought it would be! I cried and immediately requested it at the library for my mom. This is such a fabulous companion novel to The Spellshop! Keep reading this book review of The Enchanted Greenhouse for my full thoughts.
Summary
Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.
This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She’s starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes—at least until she’s ready to sail home.
But Terlu can’t return home and doesn’t want to—the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. When she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing—causing the death of everything within them—Terlu knows she must help. Even if that means breaking the law again.
This time, though, she isn’t alone. Assisted by the gardener and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island—and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I had the highest hopes for The Enchanted Greenhouse and they were blasted through. Not only does this tell the story that we were all hoping about the origin of Caz, but it’s also a story about softness and (found) family. About the importance of intentions, community, and about characters who are so deep in their own isolation. My heart ached for both Terlu and Yarrow. The ways they are used to being alone, to bearing the brunt of their hurt alone. And the ways that they find themselves on the road to healing.
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The Enchanted Greenhouse has the elements we all know and love in this whimsical fantasy. There are sentient plants, romantic tension, and a story about the dangers of isolation. We can be so afraid of losing the things we love that we build walls to keep them inside, when we don’t realize we’re drowning them. And in some ways we can be so afraid of them surpassing us, outliving us, that we extinguish the spark. If we act according to our fears, we let them control us, control the now. There were some gorgeous moments about sensitivity and emotions I’ll let you discover for your own.
The Enchanted Greenhouse lived up to my hype and brought tears to my eyes. Find The Enchanted Greenhouse on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.