Den övergivna trädgården

by Kelly Bowen, Annika Sundberg (Translator)

Normandie, 2021. Att restaurera gamla slott är Isabelles specialitet. En dag står hon framför en förfallen 1700-talsbyggnad som väcker minnen till liv. Isabelle brukade leka i den övergivna slottsträdgården som barn och inser att hon nu får en möjlighet att upptäcka den mytomspunna platsens inre och samtidigt återknyta kontakten med sin syster. Är det nu de ska få redan på vad som döljer sig i slottet där ingen satt sin fot sedan nazisternas ockupation?

Normandie, 1930-talet. Det enda som tycks förena den unga Stasia och pojken Nicolas är vetskapen om hur ett krig kan krossa en människa. Men under sina möten i den övergivna slottsträdgården kommer de att dela mer än de anar, och platsen som är deras hemlighet kommer att spela en viktig roll när de själva tvingas hantera krigets fasor.

Efter succén med Den hemliga våningen (2022) kommer nu kanadensiska Kelly Bowens andra bok på svenska, Den övergivna trädgården. Det är en fängslande historia om förlorade hemligheter som kommer fram i ljuset, och om mod, kärlek och systerskap.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, World War II, Romance, Mystery, Contemporary

450 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2023

About the author

Award-winning author Kelly Bowen attended the University of Manitoba, earning a BSc & MSc in veterinary studies. She worked as a research scientist before realizing her dream to write historical fiction. Currently, Kelly lives with her family in Winnipeg, Canada.

Reviews

[Katie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The Garden of Lost Secrets falls in the WW2 historical fiction genre although it leans heavily on the fiction side as the characters and plot come from the author's creative mind. While certain facts about the war are incorporated into the story there's not going to be a big opportunity to learn anything new if that's one of your main goals. Early on though the story did hook me and it managed to be an interesting read.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot although feel free to check out the publisher's synopsis as that provides more details. Basically you have a young woman named Stasia who spends her summers at her grandparents' home in the French countryside. When the war breaks out, her life is changed forever.

It's a dual timeline story so the story alternates between the WW2 years and the present day in which Isabelle wants to renovate a chateau in France. She and her sister have drifted apart and she is hoping this project which they both can work on, might bring them closer together. Add an a little bit of a mystery and that's the basics of the plot.

Stasia and Nicholas were the characters I was most heavily invested in and therefore their chapters were the ones I liked reading the most. There wasn't as much development with the present day characters so their scenes didn't leave a lasting impression on me. The best moment of the book for me was the mention of pails. It's a beautiful sentiment and one I won't soon forget.

Thank you to Forever Books for sending me an advance reader's copy! All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Garden of Lost Secrets by Kelly Bowen
Historical fiction. Dual time line mostly during WWII, some 2022. A bit of romance.
Stasia spends her childhood summers at her grandparents farm in France. Nearby is the empty Chateau de Montissaire where the gardens are impressive, wild and peaceful. She meets a young man there who is angry and alone. She charms and befriends him until they are adults when university and military service sends them in separate directions. WWII has devastating results on the Netherlands and many countries. The story follows the two as they struggle to survive and make sense of the destruction and suppression around them.
In the current timeline, sisters Isabelle and Emilie grew up on the same farm and as adults, buy the Chateau for investment, repairing and refurbishing. The project brings them closer together as they learn some history of the building itself.

The horrors of surviving the war, the hardships, and the desperation are touched on from within Normandy, Amsterdam, France and a bit of Africa. Helping takes cunning and such bravery.
Strong female protagonist. Known as Briar Rose, Stasia is filled with grief and pushed to unimaginable lengths to help the Dutch Jewish people that are under siege by Germany and all its levels of soldiers.
This story had me enthralled throughout both timelines.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful dual timeline WWII novel, featuring Stascia, one of the most targeted members of the French Resistance, and years later her two estranged granddaughters, who work on mending their relationship while renovating a French chateau and discovering secrets about their grandmother.

Grand prose, a courageous tale, and family complications and revealings make for a compelling read perfect for histfic fans with a particular interest in France during WWII.

[Ashlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was perfection.

I absolutely loved this book. It was honestly one of the best books I have read in awhile. The author knows how to craft a beautifully heart-wrenching story. The characters and the storyline were so captivating that I did not want to put this book down. I love how the author brought the past and present together. This page-turning novel shows the horrors of war and is a must read for any WWII historical fiction lover.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really moving and heartbreaking dual timeline story about family secrets and one woman's vigilante resistance work during WWII.

I love stories like this one where we learn about parts of the past that have largely been unknown and books that highlight the courage and bravery of women during wartime. In this book a fictional character gets turned into a spy handle and a cat and mouse game with a Nazi turns life or death for all involved.

Highly recommended for fans of Kate Quinn and Kristin Harmel. I found this a bit slow to start/get into but once I was absorbed by these characters I couldn't put it down. Good on audio too!

[Libby Reidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

For readers of Kristin Hannah and Kate Quinn, this book is a must read. Set in the French country side prior to WWII, we are introduced to characters both in the present and the past. What connects them is an old chateau that is the crucial to the story. A beautifully written story that describes the bravery of the resistance and the horrors of the war. All this is bought together with two sisters who begin to renovate the chateau and discover who their great grandmother really was.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this. I've read a fair amount of women's WW2 fiction this year (entering my dad era???) and I've been quite impressed really at how author's do not shy away from depicting the atrocities suffered by civilians during the war. They've also served as a reminder how limited the US educational system is sometimes, as I've learned about multiple events that I either was wholly unaware of or had forgotten about, in this case the bombing of Rotterdam. (I cannot be the only person whose AP US History class only got up to WW2 and whose teacher decided to teach about the Pacific front instead because "you all know something about Europe anyway. But then that was a long time ago at this point so who knows the cut off point now.) I did think the present storyline in this book was pretty slight--I liked it, but it honestly could have used a bit more development if it was going to be present. Otherwise could have just been an entirely historical book.

[Mariam Salahudeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most impactful WW2 books that I have read. I love the pacing of the story and how events unfold quickly.
I am usually not one for romance in WW2, but this story tugged at my heartstrings.
One of the highlights of this book for me was how there was so much misinformation spreading around regarding deaths.
My interest did slightly dwindle when it came to the present-day parts of the story. But nevertheless, this is a brilliant book.

[Jesslyn McMahon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stayed up late, I woke up early. I sacrificed precious sleep to read this book and I have ZERO regrets.😍 It was incredible, and one that will stick with me for some time.

Fans of historical fiction, or those who don’t know their fans of it yet, go get this book when it releases. I was touched, I was moved, and I learned something along the way. I fell in love with Stasia and Nicolas and could not put this book down until I knew how it all turned out.

There were so many things about this book that I loved, but I think what I appreciated the most was the present timeline woven into the past so seamlessly. While restoring an old chateau, Isabelle is thrust back into the memories of tales told to her by her great-great grandmother, Stasia, during WWII. Flash back in time to Stasia and Nicolas as their stories unfold during that terrifying but defiant time. Pearls from the present are effortlessly revealed in the story from the past, and I really enjoyed the journey as the pieces come together. I also appreciated how they grew and changed over time, reflecting how much we don’t know our limits as humans until we are pushed to them.

Thank you to Forever Pub & Kelly Bowen for my ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was exciting, nerve wracking, at times heartbreaking, and also inspirational.
A Rouen boy and a Rotterdam girl fall in love before WWII and believe each has been lost.
They do what they have to do to survive during the war.
It’s people like Nicolas and Stasia who won the war and make stories like this spectacular because the characters are based in real people.
Don’t forget a chateau with a very special garden.
Bowen includes a thorough historical note in the afterward.
Thanks to Forever and NetGalley for the early read.

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.
Another thrilling dual time-line story from Kelly Bowen.
We alternate between the current day and WWII, our setting is Normandy.

The historical sections are very grim, as they deal with the realities of living under Nazi rule. The author does a good job of both personalizing and de-glamorizing the resistance activities.

While I enjoyed the modern sections, I was totally swept up by the historical story.

[Laurien Berenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is wonderful historical fiction. The characters come alive, the plot speeds along, and the ending satisfies. An altogether thrilling read.

[Camilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elska denne 😍 Gjorde det allerede frå første side! Har òg felt eit par tårer, så er du herved advart. Fleire hjerteskjærende scenar, men viktig for å få fram krigsbrutaliteten. Fantastisk skrivestil! Blir fast innventar i bokhylla det her 🥰

Leste boka på norsk, men fann ikkje den norske utgaven.

[Kelly Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from goodreads.
A compelling dual timeline story of WWII that takes the readers from Rouen, France to Holland and back again. From the French Naval (yes, France had a navy, who knew? And we thought they just had their super stupendous Maginot Line and an old General who sold out to the Nazis!) disaster in Algeria to a resistance cell in Amsterdam to an abandoned chateau in the 1940s and its restoration in 2022 we follow the brave actions of Stasia and Nicholas though the war years.
The book consists of 24 chapters and the good news is that I loved 23 of them, both the war timeline and the modern one. The brutality in some of the scenes is told with graphic honesty and historical accuracy. The bad news is that the other chapter, chapter 4, is terrible. I am a person who likes historical fiction to be heavy on history and light on romance and this chapter is so cliché, so insipid that it is as if a completely different author wrote it, like a writer of really bad Harlequin Romance novels. When we meet Stasia at age 15 she is a confident, intelligent, compassionate young lady who doesn’t take no for an answer. Later she becomes one of the Nazi’s most wanted resistance fighters for her stone cold ability to execute party members. But in chapter 4 we meet a vapid 18 year old whose “toes curl” at the sight of the boy she has known for several years… god, I HATE that ridiculous description, who the hell has their toes curl??? The whole chapter is filled with the same kind of inane language and innuendo. I would seriously recommend skipping this chapter in the book, skip it completely, you won’t miss anything important in the story and you might keep your lunch down! Several other romantic scenes in the book are handled much more in keeping with the tone of the book.
As this was an ARC there were several errors that will hopefully be corrected, like chapter 13 should be 18 June 1944, not July.
Thanks to goodreads for this book which I give a 4½ star rating. I really recommend it to lovers of good WWII historical fiction, just skip chapter 4!!

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book! I would have given it 5 stars, but won’t due to the misuse of God’s name.

“A person’s soul is like an empty pail and they can choose what to fill it with. Happiness and kindness are light and anger and sadness are heavy.”

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
The Garden of Lost Secrets was a massive disappointment, especially after I really enjoyed Kelly Bowen’s previous WWII historical fiction effort, The Paris Apartment. But this one had a lot of ideas, but none were given the chance to develop in a satisfactory way.
The one positive, which kept me from hating the book, was that Bowen does know her stuff, and I liked that she captured the war from two different perspectives, and showed how both Stasia and Nicolas were impacted. I really liked seeing Stasia grow as a person, becoming Briar Rose, and Nicolas as a contrast holding onto the memory of Stasia from before as a source of hope.
However, for a book billed as a “romance” on NetGalley, it didn’t feel like it was the central conflict. The confrontation about this after their reunion occurs way too late in the narrative, and then just a few chapters later, they’re both open to starting anew. It’s not a hearts-and-flowers ending, but it still felt too abrupt for my liking.
And the choice to add a framing narrative in the present was a massive mistake, as it felt massively underdeveloped by comparison. I can’t tell you a single important thing about Isabelle or her sister or whoever else was involved, other than that they’re the great-granddaughters of Stasia. I get what Bowen was going for, trying to establish Stasia’s legacy living on, but unlike other multigenerational dual timeline novels, I just didn’t feel like there was a purpose. This arc could easily have been cut and the novel reformatted to flesh out the historical characters and their relationships a lot more.
While I was severely let down by this book, it could be that I went in expecting something else based on my prior experiences with Bowen’s work, not to mention bringing my own preferences about this style of book into my reading experience. Most other reviews I’ve seen lean toward the favorable side, so I’d consider consulting varying opinions when deciding whether this book is right for you.

[Tanja ~ KT Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and filled with poignant prose. Kelly Bown has produced an award-worthy book about the strife of war, sisterhood, and how world issues intrude. Not a light faire but an earthy read to submerge yourself into. Plan on having this as your primary reading on the nightstand for days. Which this reader loves.

*ARC Provided by the publisher

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[CheriFries · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took a little break from reading WW2 books for a bit, and my “little” break turned into over a year! The Garden of Lost Secrets was the perfect book to reignite my love of Historical Fiction WW2. I was #gifted this book from @readforeverpub and I’m so so happy it ended up in my hands! This is also my first book from Kelly Bowen and it won’t be my last.

This story is inspired by the lives of 3 Dutch Resistance fighters in the Netherlands and France during the Occupation. While the names and basic story have been fictionalized, the bravery of what they were able to accomplish is very real.
This book is a dual timeline and although the focus of the book is on the past story during the war, I really liked having a present day perspective of the legacy that these Resistance Fighters left behind.

Kelly did an amazing job of showing how the War and all of its atrocities will strip the youth and innocence from a person. It must have taken an unbelievable strength of character to remain hopeful and resilient. When I read these stories I’m truly in awe of all the thousands of brave souls who never gave up, and who turned their devastation and anger into something productive which eventually changed the tide of the War.

In her Author’s Note, Kelly says that she does not soften the devastating details of these women’s experiences. Where much of her material was taken from interviews and memoirs it would be a disservice to their memory and to history itself to not give an accurate accounting.

For lovers of Historical Fiction I definitely recommend this one! The history, pacing, action, characters, & romance were all very satisfying!!

Content:
Language- 2/5
Steamy/Romance- 2/5
Violence- 5/5

[Dana K · Rating 3 out of 5]

{3.5 stars}

WWII had an impact on so many people's lives. Stasia is a young girl from Rotterdam who visits her grandparents' farm in France for the summer. While there she meets a young man and they form a friendship that leads to young love. When the war breaks out we follow them both, Nicolas goes off to serve in the war and Stasia finds a way to serve as well. They deal with all of the heartbreaks of the war and both fear for the other's safety as they are forced apart.

I liked that this was based on a true story, the truth of where it was headed was pretty predictable but I was definitely rooting for Stasia and Nicolas. I liked that while it focuses on the resistance, something there are countless books about, it covered the war in Africa, which I knew a lot less about. I also felt like the fact that the ripple effect of the treachery of the war was clear in Stasia and Nicolas. I think my main criticism of this one other than it covering a well worn topic, was that the present day time point didn't add anything to the story for me. I'd have preferred just living in the WWII time point. Still a lovely and powerful piece of historical fiction for anyone who enjoys reading about that era.

Thanks to Forever for the gifted copy. All opinions above are my own.

[Mermaidka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Takhle kniha mě vzala za srdce!
Byl to krásně zpracovaný příběh o válce. Nadějeplný a zároveň velmi smutný. Dějová linka z minulosti je psaná ze dvou pohledů Stasiina a Nikolasova. Oba pohledy se mi hezky četly a oba mě vzaly za srdce. Sledovala jsem jejich strastiplnou cestu "nekonečnou" válkou a doufala ve šťastný konec. Linka ze současnosti nebyla špatná, ale asi mohla být o něco lepší a čtivější. Přišlo mi, že postrádá spád, který měl děj odehrávající se v minulosti. Spíše se mi děj ze současnosti jevil jako taková oddechová vsuvka od té historické linky. Ale tak jako tak, mě tahle kniha chytla od první stránky a já se nechala unášet líbivým příběhem s nádechem romantiky, ale i také krutostmi války, a především odvážností některých žen a mužů.
Za mě rozhodně poutavé čtení

[Diana Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the chance to read an advance copy of The garden of lost secrets by Kelly Bowen. I enjoyed the author's previous book, The Paris apartment, that I requested her latest one. A dual timeline novel based during WWII and present day; the story of Stasia and Nicolas who lose each other during the war, and Stasia's granddaughters who are thinking of buying and restoring a chateau. The two sisters had grown apart and hope that the restoration brings them together. I enjoyed reading The garden of lost secrets, and while I did not find it as good as The Paris apartment, I do recommend to those who enjoy WWII dual timeline stories.

[Sarah (read.with.prncss1204) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Kelly Bowen’s The Paris Apartment, so when I received an early copy of The Garden of Lost Secrets I stopped everything I was doing to read it immediately. To say I was captivated is an understatement. I read this book in a matter of hours. From the Rotterdam Blitz to the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir, I learned about parts of WWII that I knew nothing about, and along the way, I fell in love with Stasia and Nicolas. Their story pulled me in and didn’t let go until it was over, and then I continued to think about it. If that’s not the sign of a five-star book, I don’t know what is.

My only complaint - I hate the cover. It doesn’t do this book justice or really cause you to stop and look. It should have featured the garden and the chateau, which are important to both timelines.

[Mary | maryreadstoomuch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pub date: 5/16/23
Genre: historical fiction
Quick summary: Rotterdam native Stasia finds herself a key player in the French Resistance during WWII; years later, her great-granddaughters will finally learn the truth behind their family.

I enjoyed this story a lot - the two timelines were nicely unified by the secret-filled Rouen chateau. The past timeline was my favorite - I loved following Stasia and Nicolas' friendship and subsequent work in the resistance and armed forces, respectively. Their star-crossed love story was sprinkled well throughout the narrative by Bowen. I also like the present timeline, which mixed family secrets, fairy tales, castle renovation, and sisterly competition. If you enjoy WWII fiction, this is a good choice!

Thank you to Forever Publishing for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[ANNETTE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book #2
I did enjoy The Paris Apartment and was excited about this book. The cursing and use of God's name was disappointing and brought me down .
I did like the fact the story was based on true facts . The duel timelines were easy to follow

[Katie | niftyreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite historical fiction.

[Kicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Så fin,sorglig hemsk men ändå vacker. Så många böcker om andra världskriget men tröttnar verkligen aldrig. Denna fick topp betyg

[Erin Conkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riveting story featuring fierce, strong and resilient female characters! I could not put this story down!

[Emma Thingsted · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a clean sweep. Five stars! This story was phenomonal!

[Jennifer England · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a bit to get into this but glad I finished it.

[Heidi Eriksson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jag slukade Bowens första bok, Den hemliga våningen, men den här saknade något.
Storyn är väldigt uppenbar, både den i dåtid och den i nutid. Största behållningen är inblickarna i Andra världskriget och framförallt kvinnornas roll i kriget. Boken är visserligen fiktion men bygger till stora delar på verkliga händelser.