Author: Kaylynn Bayron

Rating: 4/5

Darkness blooms in bestselling author Kalynn Bayron's new contemporary fantasy about a girl with a unique and deadly power.

Briseis has a gift: she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms with a single touch.

When Briseis's aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents decide to leave Brooklyn behind for the summer. Hopefully there, surrounded by plants and flowers, Bri will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they could never have imagined--it comes with a specific set of instructions, an old-school apothecary, and a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world that can only be entered by those who share Bri's unique family lineage.

When strangers begin to arrive on their doorstep, asking for tinctures and elixirs, Bri learns she has a surprising talent for creating them. One of the visitors is Marie, a mysterious young woman who Bri befriends, only to find that Marie is keeping dark secrets about the history of the estate and its surrounding community. There is more to Bri's sudden inheritance than she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it . . . until a nefarious group comes after her in search of a rare and dangerous immortality elixir. Up against a centuries-old curse and the deadliest plant on earth, Bri must harness her gift to protect herself and her family.

From the bestselling author of Cinderella Is Dead comes another inspiring and deeply compelling story about a young woman with the power to conquer the dark forces descending around her.

Okay. Can I just start off by saying that the cover is gorgeous? It’s literally one of the most stunning I’ve ever seen. I have no idea how to explain this but the magnificence of the cover ties in flawlessly with the beauty of the story that is being told. Nature is gorgeous and this author uses this to her advantage.

This book centres around plant-based magic which means that the author has to work extra hard to describe the magnificence that is Mother Nature. And let me just say, she doesn’t fail. This is a Young Adult novel, so the writing isn’t anything complex, but that doesn’t take away from this author’s ability to make it feel as if we are experiencing everything alongside Briseis. The first time she used her powers, I had literal chills because of the way the entire scene played out. I could picture the flowers she was describing, and the garden! Wow, it was all illustrated perfectly and I love books that focus so heavily on descriptions, especially if the setting plays a big role, such as the garden.

I’ve always been a sucker for elementalists and my favourite fairy from the Winx club was Flora. The fact that Briseishas those exact powers made me adore the story even more. She has a natural relationship with plants, making them able to develop at rapid speed. Cool, right? Briseis also has the most extraordinary relationship with her mothers, something you seldom get to see in fantasy books. They own a flower shop, but they don’t allow Briseis to use her powers to help their shop. That was the most precious thing I’ve ever witnessed. For me, Briseis is like a breath of fresh air. So many people can look up to her and all that she represents. I loved her and I loved her story.

I’m also going to squeeze the romance in here because it’s not much. It had insta-love and I wished that more time was spent trying to flesh out the relationship. The romance isn’t the central aspect of the story, which is fine, but it felt forced because it was just chucked in there. I’m excited to see what happens next.

It was a little slow, but it still didn’t disappoint. I understood why we needed to go slow, because this is Briseis’ story. She had to learn to overpower that apprehension of what other people would think of her. So, it may have been sluggish, but it helped me connect to Briseis a little more. I’m not going to dive too deep because I don’t want to spoil anything, but just know that this book is magical. Encountering the ghosts of her family’s past, an archaic manor and a secret garden – this is a story you wouldn’t want to miss!

This is a super sweet read, perfect for fans of Young Adult and Fantasy, and those who prefer more plot with only a sprinkle of Romance. Thank you to Jonathan Ball Publishers for sending me a review copy.