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The Gardener's Wife's Mistress
From award-winning poet and author of Ghost Girls and Rabbits and Idle Hands comes a new novel about nature, grief, and the space we hold for loved ones long after death, no matter what they might have done.
Hayden Hill has always felt most comfortable with his hands in dirt, nurturing life. He designs natural spaces for others and comes home to his back yard, where he seeks refuge amidst the fruits and vegetables, flora, and shade-giving trees. When he finds himself suddenly a widower, his garden becomes the resting place for the ashes of his wife, Shelly, and he’s thrown into an unexpected vortex of pain, shock, and guilt. As Hayden struggles to survive the torment of each day and keep his landscaping company functioning, a directive in Shelly’s will leads him to the discovery of a shocking secret.
Fighting to find a path through the weeds of grief, Hayden meets his wife’s secret connections and becomes involved helping local, homeless teens cast out by their families for choosing to be who they are. Rocked by this newly discovered, complicated facet of Shelly’s life, he begins to question their marriage, her identity, his past choices, and whether anything he believed about his wife was ever true.
“Cassondra Windwalker’s contemplative novel begins with the sudden, challenging loss of a spouse… With its deliberate reflections on grief and loss, the novel The Gardener’s Wife’s Mistress evaluates endings, beginnings, and the connectedness of humans to nature.” ―Foreword Reviews
Hayden Hill has always felt most comfortable with his hands in dirt, nurturing life. He designs natural spaces for others and comes home to his back yard, where he seeks refuge amidst the fruits and vegetables, flora, and shade-giving trees. When he finds himself suddenly a widower, his garden becomes the resting place for the ashes of his wife, Shelly, and he’s thrown into an unexpected vortex of pain, shock, and guilt. As Hayden struggles to survive the torment of each day and keep his landscaping company functioning, a directive in Shelly’s will leads him to the discovery of a shocking secret.
Fighting to find a path through the weeds of grief, Hayden meets his wife’s secret connections and becomes involved helping local, homeless teens cast out by their families for choosing to be who they are. Rocked by this newly discovered, complicated facet of Shelly’s life, he begins to question their marriage, her identity, his past choices, and whether anything he believed about his wife was ever true.
“Cassondra Windwalker’s contemplative novel begins with the sudden, challenging loss of a spouse… With its deliberate reflections on grief and loss, the novel The Gardener’s Wife’s Mistress evaluates endings, beginnings, and the connectedness of humans to nature.” ―Foreword Reviews
218 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 15, 2026
3 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Cassondra Windwalker
25 books126 followersCassondra Windwalker earned a BA of Letters from the University of Oklahoma. She's the author of nine novels and three works of poetry who does her best to keep fed the menagerie of stray critters, cryptids, marooned kelpies, and lost specters. Born and raised on the red clay, she's wandered the sticky corn fields of the Midwest, the frozen seas of the Wild North, and frequently rests her wings where orange skies meet purple mountains. She enjoys interacting with readers, writers, and generally decent humans on social media.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 16, 2026
A beautifully-written story of grief and how we live after a loved one has died. Hayden's wife Shelly dies suddenly, and leaves behind a mystery and a second life that Hayden knew nothing about. The book is grounded in his work as a gardener, and how the cycle of life in nature informs his process of grieving. Hayden's feelings aren't toned-down or sugar-coated for the reader, but it also never becomes unbearable or wallowing, the author has paced and plotted this perfectly.
I particularly like that there aren't easy answers to the fundamental questions raised by Shelly's actions -- we can guess, but never know. I also appreciate how Hayden accepts help. It might be quite natural for him to shut himself away, but he tries not to do that, and we can see the impact that simple support can have.
Well worth your time, if you enjoy thoughtful character insight stories. Please look after yourself if you're living with a bereavement too.
This review is based upon a complimentary advance reading copy provided by the publisher.
I particularly like that there aren't easy answers to the fundamental questions raised by Shelly's actions -- we can guess, but never know. I also appreciate how Hayden accepts help. It might be quite natural for him to shut himself away, but he tries not to do that, and we can see the impact that simple support can have.
Well worth your time, if you enjoy thoughtful character insight stories. Please look after yourself if you're living with a bereavement too.
This review is based upon a complimentary advance reading copy provided by the publisher.
October 27, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Type Eighteen Books for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
Everything about this book interested me. From the cover to the title to the premise - it definitely sounded like my kind of book.
Grief is very difficult to write about, even for someone who has gone through their fair share of it I am not sure I could put it into words. But the opening chapter of this book, Cassondra has perfectly explored grief and all the emotions that come with it - anger, despair, longing, fear, sadness. It's not too much and it's very sensitive. It reads as if Cassondra herself has gone through it for it to read so naturally.
It's a very...introverted book, if that's the right word. It's mostly Hayden's thoughts, actions, feelings, decisions. It's minimal on dialogue and heavy on narrative, which I prefer as I really struggle to write convincing dialogue so I like it when I read a book I can really link to and this was that book.
I really enjoyed the link with flowers and plants, how emotions and feelings and experiences and grief and people are their own type of flora or foliage. And at first think, how can you compare someone to a rhododendron for example, but then you read it and it's really quite obvious. And the comparisons between grief and life after death and the circle of life and the natura world was just beautiful.
Hayden is a very good main character - I mean, he's practically on every single page. He feels very real, flawed, he's struggling, overwhelmed and lonely, and you just want to take his hand and tell him it'll be okay in the end.
Yes there are some difficult topics and it does ask some difficult conversations but it never feels like hard work. It doesn't overwhelm or overload the reader at any point, and so they can still enjoy reading it as entertainment as well as answering some difficult and controversial questions.
It could have been quite a depression book given its focus on grief (and other topics I won't spoil) and yes whilst there are sadder elements, overall I'd say it's got quite an uplifting feel about it, about continuing your life whilst keeping memories alive. About how life can, and must, go on after loss.
It is a relatively short book and quick to read. I read it in an afternoon as it was so absorbing. I loved Cassondra's style of writing and I will definitely keep my eye out for her other work.
Everything about this book interested me. From the cover to the title to the premise - it definitely sounded like my kind of book.
Grief is very difficult to write about, even for someone who has gone through their fair share of it I am not sure I could put it into words. But the opening chapter of this book, Cassondra has perfectly explored grief and all the emotions that come with it - anger, despair, longing, fear, sadness. It's not too much and it's very sensitive. It reads as if Cassondra herself has gone through it for it to read so naturally.
It's a very...introverted book, if that's the right word. It's mostly Hayden's thoughts, actions, feelings, decisions. It's minimal on dialogue and heavy on narrative, which I prefer as I really struggle to write convincing dialogue so I like it when I read a book I can really link to and this was that book.
I really enjoyed the link with flowers and plants, how emotions and feelings and experiences and grief and people are their own type of flora or foliage. And at first think, how can you compare someone to a rhododendron for example, but then you read it and it's really quite obvious. And the comparisons between grief and life after death and the circle of life and the natura world was just beautiful.
Hayden is a very good main character - I mean, he's practically on every single page. He feels very real, flawed, he's struggling, overwhelmed and lonely, and you just want to take his hand and tell him it'll be okay in the end.
Yes there are some difficult topics and it does ask some difficult conversations but it never feels like hard work. It doesn't overwhelm or overload the reader at any point, and so they can still enjoy reading it as entertainment as well as answering some difficult and controversial questions.
It could have been quite a depression book given its focus on grief (and other topics I won't spoil) and yes whilst there are sadder elements, overall I'd say it's got quite an uplifting feel about it, about continuing your life whilst keeping memories alive. About how life can, and must, go on after loss.
It is a relatively short book and quick to read. I read it in an afternoon as it was so absorbing. I loved Cassondra's style of writing and I will definitely keep my eye out for her other work.
August 5, 2025
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was a beautiful, tragic, and complicated novel, which makes it relatable for me as a reader. A great lesson on how we still love those we lose even when things are uncovered after they are gone. Hayden was a very likeable character and it was easy to understand how he felt at any given time, thanks to the great narration. Full of secrets and confusion, the plot had me shocked and fascinated by home Hayden would cope with everything. Despite grief, this is still a feel good novel that definitely has life lessons as takeaways.
September 29, 2025
“If life with you has her so overwhelmed that watering a plant would be one thing too many, you’ve probably got bigger problems than finding roes. But good luck!”
I devoured this book.! It was sad at times but very through provoking. When a man loses his wife; the wife who makes the budget, pays all the bills on time, holds all passwords to every website, sets up and maintains all the investment and retirement funds he finds himself scrambling to know what to do next in life. How to grieve, how to continue owning a business, how to love your family and friends..
As if grieving wasn’t enough the plot thickens when we find out what else the deceased was hiding. I was intrigued the entire time and can definitely say this was a “page turner”.
4/5 stars because the subplot thrown in with the city council issue just didn’t make much sense to me, as far as needing to be in the book. I felt it pushed it over the edge and would’ve loved to have focused on the main plot more.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!
I devoured this book.! It was sad at times but very through provoking. When a man loses his wife; the wife who makes the budget, pays all the bills on time, holds all passwords to every website, sets up and maintains all the investment and retirement funds he finds himself scrambling to know what to do next in life. How to grieve, how to continue owning a business, how to love your family and friends..
As if grieving wasn’t enough the plot thickens when we find out what else the deceased was hiding. I was intrigued the entire time and can definitely say this was a “page turner”.
4/5 stars because the subplot thrown in with the city council issue just didn’t make much sense to me, as far as needing to be in the book. I felt it pushed it over the edge and would’ve loved to have focused on the main plot more.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!
January 12, 2026
I received this book in exchange for a review. Over all I enjoyed this book. It kept me intrigued and interested. It had some plot twists that I didn’t see coming. It makes you keep in mind to be kind to everyone and just treat others as you’d like to be treated.
November 9, 2025
Book review: The Gardener’s Wife’s Mistress by Cassondra Windwalker.
Thank you to BooksGoSocial, Type Eighteen Books, and NetGalley for my gifted ARC.
Cassondra Windwalker’s The Gardener’s Wife’s Mistress is a quiet explosion—a lyrical, character-driven novel about grief, truth, and the deep tangle of what it means to really know someone. It’s one of those books that sneaks up on you. You think you’re settling into a slow-burn meditation on loss and end up knee-deep in emotional excavation, sifting through the remains of a marriage that wasn’t what it seemed.
The story follows Hayden Hill, a man most comfortable with soil under his fingernails and silence in his bones. A professional landscaper and deeply introverted soul, Hayden finds peace in nurturing life, in the design of gardens, in the rhythm of growing things. But when his wife Shelly dies unexpectedly, his world collapses inward. Her ashes are buried beneath a tree in their yard, and her absence plants something dark and unrelenting inside him.
Then, Shelly’s will drops a bomb.
In the wake of her death, Hayden discovers secrets she kept hidden—people he didn’t know she knew, causes she championed without his knowledge, layers to her identity he never glimpsed. Most notably, Shelly had been quietly helping LGBTQ+ teens who had been cast out by their families. These weren’t passing acts of kindness—they were deep connections, meaningful relationships, secret fragments of a life lived outside of Hayden’s awareness. It’s a stunning betrayal, not because of what she did, but because of how much she kept from him. Was she truly the woman he thought he married? And if she wasn’t, what does that say about him?
Windwalker takes her time exploring these questions, and she doesn’t force tidy answers. The prose is intimate and fluid, more interior monologue than traditional narrative. Hayden’s grief is not cinematic—it’s claustrophobic. And Windwalker nails it. Grief isn’t linear, and it’s rarely graceful. It’s ugly and repetitive and exhausting. And somehow, she makes that experience compelling, even beautiful.
What’s most striking is how nature weaves through every emotion. Hayden’s grief is mirrored in the earth around him: dry patches, overgrowth, diseased roots, sudden bloom. The metaphor isn’t subtle, but it works. Windwalker doesn’t use the garden as background—it’s a living, breathing metaphor that shifts as Hayden shifts. She links emotion to environment so effectively that by the midpoint of the book, a fallen leaf feels symbolic, a sprouting seed feels like a plot point.
The writing is tight and poetic, which makes sense considering Windwalker’s background in poetry. Some passages read like meditations, others like gut punches. One line that stuck with me long after I finished the book: “If life with you has her so overwhelmed that watering a plant would be one thing too many, you’ve probably got bigger problems than finding roses.” That kind of line doesn’t just move the plot forward—it stops you in your tracks and forces reflection.
Structurally, the book leans heavy on introspection. Dialogue is sparse. There’s no flashy action or rapid-fire pacing. Instead, it invites you to sit with discomfort, to breathe with it, to follow Hayden’s emotional unearthing with patience. For some readers, especially those who prefer plot-driven stories, this may feel slow. But if you’re drawn to character studies, especially those rooted in grief and moral ambiguity, this will feel like a perfectly paced unraveling.
Thematically, The Gardener’s Wife’s Mistress asks difficult, necessary questions: What does it mean to love someone you didn’t fully know? What does it mean to carry on after their secrets become part of your story? Can you still trust your memories of them? And how do you rebuild your life not from a place of closure, but from openness—an acceptance that some things remain unfinished, unanswered, unknown?
There’s a subplot involving local city politics that didn’t quite land for me—more of a narrative detour than a development—but it didn’t detract from the emotional core of the novel. At its heart, this is Hayden’s story. And it’s told with empathy, restraint, and a deep understanding of how loss is never just about death—it’s about identity, regret, guilt, and transformation.
What I appreciate most is that Windwalker never lets grief become melodrama. She gives Hayden space to fall apart, but also allows him to evolve. There’s no neat resolution, but there’s forward motion. A sense that healing is not a return to what was, but a planting of something new.
For readers who enjoy introspective fiction with lyrical prose, quiet tension, and deep emotional resonance, this book will hit home. If you’ve experienced loss, you may find echoes of your own journey here. And if you haven’t, this novel will still leave you with a profound respect for what others carry—what they bury, and what they grow from it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#TheGardenersWifesMistress #CassondraWindwalker #BookReview #LiteraryFiction #GriefLit #NetGalley #BooksGoSocial #TypeEighteenBooks #ARCReview #CharacterDrivenFiction #QuietFiction #GardenFiction #LGBTQThemes #PoeticProse #WhatWeLeaveBehind #LifeAfterLoss #NatureAndGrief #EmotionalFiction #Bookstagram #ReadMoreFiction
Thank you to BooksGoSocial, Type Eighteen Books, and NetGalley for my gifted ARC.
Cassondra Windwalker’s The Gardener’s Wife’s Mistress is a quiet explosion—a lyrical, character-driven novel about grief, truth, and the deep tangle of what it means to really know someone. It’s one of those books that sneaks up on you. You think you’re settling into a slow-burn meditation on loss and end up knee-deep in emotional excavation, sifting through the remains of a marriage that wasn’t what it seemed.
The story follows Hayden Hill, a man most comfortable with soil under his fingernails and silence in his bones. A professional landscaper and deeply introverted soul, Hayden finds peace in nurturing life, in the design of gardens, in the rhythm of growing things. But when his wife Shelly dies unexpectedly, his world collapses inward. Her ashes are buried beneath a tree in their yard, and her absence plants something dark and unrelenting inside him.
Then, Shelly’s will drops a bomb.
In the wake of her death, Hayden discovers secrets she kept hidden—people he didn’t know she knew, causes she championed without his knowledge, layers to her identity he never glimpsed. Most notably, Shelly had been quietly helping LGBTQ+ teens who had been cast out by their families. These weren’t passing acts of kindness—they were deep connections, meaningful relationships, secret fragments of a life lived outside of Hayden’s awareness. It’s a stunning betrayal, not because of what she did, but because of how much she kept from him. Was she truly the woman he thought he married? And if she wasn’t, what does that say about him?
Windwalker takes her time exploring these questions, and she doesn’t force tidy answers. The prose is intimate and fluid, more interior monologue than traditional narrative. Hayden’s grief is not cinematic—it’s claustrophobic. And Windwalker nails it. Grief isn’t linear, and it’s rarely graceful. It’s ugly and repetitive and exhausting. And somehow, she makes that experience compelling, even beautiful.
What’s most striking is how nature weaves through every emotion. Hayden’s grief is mirrored in the earth around him: dry patches, overgrowth, diseased roots, sudden bloom. The metaphor isn’t subtle, but it works. Windwalker doesn’t use the garden as background—it’s a living, breathing metaphor that shifts as Hayden shifts. She links emotion to environment so effectively that by the midpoint of the book, a fallen leaf feels symbolic, a sprouting seed feels like a plot point.
The writing is tight and poetic, which makes sense considering Windwalker’s background in poetry. Some passages read like meditations, others like gut punches. One line that stuck with me long after I finished the book: “If life with you has her so overwhelmed that watering a plant would be one thing too many, you’ve probably got bigger problems than finding roses.” That kind of line doesn’t just move the plot forward—it stops you in your tracks and forces reflection.
Structurally, the book leans heavy on introspection. Dialogue is sparse. There’s no flashy action or rapid-fire pacing. Instead, it invites you to sit with discomfort, to breathe with it, to follow Hayden’s emotional unearthing with patience. For some readers, especially those who prefer plot-driven stories, this may feel slow. But if you’re drawn to character studies, especially those rooted in grief and moral ambiguity, this will feel like a perfectly paced unraveling.
Thematically, The Gardener’s Wife’s Mistress asks difficult, necessary questions: What does it mean to love someone you didn’t fully know? What does it mean to carry on after their secrets become part of your story? Can you still trust your memories of them? And how do you rebuild your life not from a place of closure, but from openness—an acceptance that some things remain unfinished, unanswered, unknown?
There’s a subplot involving local city politics that didn’t quite land for me—more of a narrative detour than a development—but it didn’t detract from the emotional core of the novel. At its heart, this is Hayden’s story. And it’s told with empathy, restraint, and a deep understanding of how loss is never just about death—it’s about identity, regret, guilt, and transformation.
What I appreciate most is that Windwalker never lets grief become melodrama. She gives Hayden space to fall apart, but also allows him to evolve. There’s no neat resolution, but there’s forward motion. A sense that healing is not a return to what was, but a planting of something new.
For readers who enjoy introspective fiction with lyrical prose, quiet tension, and deep emotional resonance, this book will hit home. If you’ve experienced loss, you may find echoes of your own journey here. And if you haven’t, this novel will still leave you with a profound respect for what others carry—what they bury, and what they grow from it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#TheGardenersWifesMistress #CassondraWindwalker #BookReview #LiteraryFiction #GriefLit #NetGalley #BooksGoSocial #TypeEighteenBooks #ARCReview #CharacterDrivenFiction #QuietFiction #GardenFiction #LGBTQThemes #PoeticProse #WhatWeLeaveBehind #LifeAfterLoss #NatureAndGrief #EmotionalFiction #Bookstagram #ReadMoreFiction
November 24, 2025
📚The Gardener's Wife's Mistress
✍🏻Cassondra Windwalker
Blurb:
From award-winning poet and author of Hold My Place and Idle Hands comes a new novel about nature, grief, and the space we hold for loved ones long after death, no matter what they might have done.
Hayden Hill has always felt most comfortable with his hands in dirt, nurturing life. He designs natural spaces for others and comes home to his back yard, where he seeks refuge amidst the fruits and vegetables, flora, and shade-giving trees. When he finds himself suddenly a widower, his garden becomes the resting place for the ashes of his wife, Shelly, and he’s thrown into an unexpected vortex of pain, shock, and guilt. As Hayden struggles to survive the torment of each day and keep his landscaping company functioning, a directive in Shelly’s will leads him to the discovery of a shocking secret.
Fighting to find a path through the weeds of grief, Hayden meets his wife’s secret connections and becomes involved helping local, homeless teens cast out by their families for choosing to be who they are. Rocked by this newly discovered, complicated facet of Shelly’s life, he begins to question their marriage, her identity, his past choices, and whether anything he believed about his wife was ever true.
My Thoughts
A beautifully-written story of grief and how we live after a loved one has died. Hayden's wife Shelly dies suddenly, and leaves behind a mystery and a second life that Hayden knew nothing about. The book is grounded in his work as a gardener, and how the cycle of life in nature informs his process of grieving. Hayden's feelings toned-down or sugar-coated for the reader, but it also never becomes unbearable or wallowing, the author has paced and plotted this perfectly.Grief is very difficult to write about, even for someone who has gone through their fair share of it I am not sure I could put it into words. But the opening chapter of this book, Cassondra has perfectly explored grief and all the emotions that come with it - anger, despair, longing, fear, sadness. It's not too much and it's very sensitive. It reads as if Cassondra herself has gone through it for it to read so naturally. Hayden is a very good main character - I mean, he's practically on every single page. He feels very real, flawed, he's struggling, overwhelmed and lonely, and you just want to take his hand and tell him it'll be okay in the end.. Full of secrets and confusion, the plot had me shocked and fascinated by home Hayden would cope with everything. Despite grief, this is still a feel good novel that definitely has life lessons as takeaways.
Thanks NetGalley, Type Eighteen Books and Author Cassondra Windwalker for the advanced copy of "The Gardener's Wife's Mistress" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#TypeEighteenBooks
#CassondraWindwalker
#TheGardener'sWife'sMistress
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍🏻Cassondra Windwalker
Blurb:
From award-winning poet and author of Hold My Place and Idle Hands comes a new novel about nature, grief, and the space we hold for loved ones long after death, no matter what they might have done.
Hayden Hill has always felt most comfortable with his hands in dirt, nurturing life. He designs natural spaces for others and comes home to his back yard, where he seeks refuge amidst the fruits and vegetables, flora, and shade-giving trees. When he finds himself suddenly a widower, his garden becomes the resting place for the ashes of his wife, Shelly, and he’s thrown into an unexpected vortex of pain, shock, and guilt. As Hayden struggles to survive the torment of each day and keep his landscaping company functioning, a directive in Shelly’s will leads him to the discovery of a shocking secret.
Fighting to find a path through the weeds of grief, Hayden meets his wife’s secret connections and becomes involved helping local, homeless teens cast out by their families for choosing to be who they are. Rocked by this newly discovered, complicated facet of Shelly’s life, he begins to question their marriage, her identity, his past choices, and whether anything he believed about his wife was ever true.
My Thoughts
A beautifully-written story of grief and how we live after a loved one has died. Hayden's wife Shelly dies suddenly, and leaves behind a mystery and a second life that Hayden knew nothing about. The book is grounded in his work as a gardener, and how the cycle of life in nature informs his process of grieving. Hayden's feelings toned-down or sugar-coated for the reader, but it also never becomes unbearable or wallowing, the author has paced and plotted this perfectly.Grief is very difficult to write about, even for someone who has gone through their fair share of it I am not sure I could put it into words. But the opening chapter of this book, Cassondra has perfectly explored grief and all the emotions that come with it - anger, despair, longing, fear, sadness. It's not too much and it's very sensitive. It reads as if Cassondra herself has gone through it for it to read so naturally. Hayden is a very good main character - I mean, he's practically on every single page. He feels very real, flawed, he's struggling, overwhelmed and lonely, and you just want to take his hand and tell him it'll be okay in the end.. Full of secrets and confusion, the plot had me shocked and fascinated by home Hayden would cope with everything. Despite grief, this is still a feel good novel that definitely has life lessons as takeaways.
Thanks NetGalley, Type Eighteen Books and Author Cassondra Windwalker for the advanced copy of "The Gardener's Wife's Mistress" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#TypeEighteenBooks
#CassondraWindwalker
#TheGardener'sWife'sMistress
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
November 17, 2025
The Gardener’s Wife’s Mistress by Cassondra Windwalker
~ Lyrically written emotion driven intense deep dive into grief is what I experienced along with Hayden as I read about how he dealt with the loss of his wife and all that came afterward ~
What I liked:
* Hayden Hill: gardener, widow, older brother, business owner, responsible, loved his wife deeply, dealing with stages of grief, confronted with information that leaves him conflicted, learns a lot, good man, intriguing
* The insight into how Hayden felt at all times during the story
* The many references to plants throughout the story
* Learning what Hayden did as he learned it and then thinking about what I might have felt if in his shoes
* That there were many questions raised related to love, loss, grief, anger, society, and more but as is true for all of us…some questions don’t have easy or even any answers
* That it drew me in and made me care about more than one character in the story
* Lorne & Jacie: Hayden’s brother and sister-in-law that were supportive and there for him
* Finding out the secret of his wife, Shelly and the developments that followed
* The homeless teens that became a big part of Hayden’s future and how he went about trying to make their lives better
* Grief as it was portrayed
* Thinking of a few people I know that might enjoy this book – especially those that are currently dealing with grief
* The ending that provided a glimpse of healing and hope
What I didn’t like:
* Thinking about intolerance, bullying, abuse, infidelity, harmful secrets, and the grief process that has to be lived through
* Wishing that there was a way to know for sure how some of the characters fared after the last page of the book
Did I enjoy this book? Yes, though it was an emotional read
Would I read more by this author? Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
~ Lyrically written emotion driven intense deep dive into grief is what I experienced along with Hayden as I read about how he dealt with the loss of his wife and all that came afterward ~
What I liked:
* Hayden Hill: gardener, widow, older brother, business owner, responsible, loved his wife deeply, dealing with stages of grief, confronted with information that leaves him conflicted, learns a lot, good man, intriguing
* The insight into how Hayden felt at all times during the story
* The many references to plants throughout the story
* Learning what Hayden did as he learned it and then thinking about what I might have felt if in his shoes
* That there were many questions raised related to love, loss, grief, anger, society, and more but as is true for all of us…some questions don’t have easy or even any answers
* That it drew me in and made me care about more than one character in the story
* Lorne & Jacie: Hayden’s brother and sister-in-law that were supportive and there for him
* Finding out the secret of his wife, Shelly and the developments that followed
* The homeless teens that became a big part of Hayden’s future and how he went about trying to make their lives better
* Grief as it was portrayed
* Thinking of a few people I know that might enjoy this book – especially those that are currently dealing with grief
* The ending that provided a glimpse of healing and hope
What I didn’t like:
* Thinking about intolerance, bullying, abuse, infidelity, harmful secrets, and the grief process that has to be lived through
* Wishing that there was a way to know for sure how some of the characters fared after the last page of the book
Did I enjoy this book? Yes, though it was an emotional read
Would I read more by this author? Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
November 27, 2025
Thank you to LibraryThing, the author, and the publisher for this ARC.
When I opened the book, to my surprise and delight, I found flower seeds (which I hope to plant) since Hayden Hill (a landscaper with his own business), designs natural spaces for others and likes to putter around in his own garden.
This was a sad and melancholy book. The title says it all. Hayden really didn't know his wife Shelly at all it seems. What a shock also to find out that she was the co-owner of a florist shop with Rachel. He's like who's Rachel, her business partner and why didn't she mention it. He thought they told each other everything but this was not the case obviously. Come to find out, she left him half the business too. What is he going to do with it? Sell out to Rachel even though he couldn't afford it?
It took half the book (and the book was only 205 pages) after Hayden went through Shelly's phone to figure out that she was apparently having a relationship with Rachel. Then he finds out that Rachel is using a small room at the back of the shop to house homeless transgender teens, who aren't accepted at home and she doesn't want them to be homeless and wants to help. It was a passion of Shelly's too which of course he didn't know about.
He became an advocate like Rachel in helping trans people and building a shelter for them with the help of Rachel four years later.
When I opened the book, to my surprise and delight, I found flower seeds (which I hope to plant) since Hayden Hill (a landscaper with his own business), designs natural spaces for others and likes to putter around in his own garden.
This was a sad and melancholy book. The title says it all. Hayden really didn't know his wife Shelly at all it seems. What a shock also to find out that she was the co-owner of a florist shop with Rachel. He's like who's Rachel, her business partner and why didn't she mention it. He thought they told each other everything but this was not the case obviously. Come to find out, she left him half the business too. What is he going to do with it? Sell out to Rachel even though he couldn't afford it?
It took half the book (and the book was only 205 pages) after Hayden went through Shelly's phone to figure out that she was apparently having a relationship with Rachel. Then he finds out that Rachel is using a small room at the back of the shop to house homeless transgender teens, who aren't accepted at home and she doesn't want them to be homeless and wants to help. It was a passion of Shelly's too which of course he didn't know about.
He became an advocate like Rachel in helping trans people and building a shelter for them with the help of Rachel four years later.
September 15, 2025
My thanks to Type Eighteen Books for providing me with the ARC of Cassondra Windwalker’s THE GARDENER’S WIFE’S MISTRESS.
Windwalker is a poet, and the fact that she is a poet breathes through her writing. This novel is most alive when its characters find themselves in a garden or tending to plants. The green and growing natural world serves as a vibrant thread tying the novel together. It starts out as an exploration of sudden loss and the overwhelming grief that follows, a grief that is compounded as the widowed gardener learns that his comfortable assumptions about who his wife was were just that, assumptions. How can we ever know another person? this novel asks. And, if we can’t ever do so, how do we go on living with that fact? But Windwalker doesn’t stop her novel there. Instead, we follow the central character as he pushes himself forward into a new life, one that is unexpected, but which also continues that connection to his late wife. There are no pat answers here, just the power of the changing seasons to which Windwalker shows we are inextricably tied.
Windwalker is a poet, and the fact that she is a poet breathes through her writing. This novel is most alive when its characters find themselves in a garden or tending to plants. The green and growing natural world serves as a vibrant thread tying the novel together. It starts out as an exploration of sudden loss and the overwhelming grief that follows, a grief that is compounded as the widowed gardener learns that his comfortable assumptions about who his wife was were just that, assumptions. How can we ever know another person? this novel asks. And, if we can’t ever do so, how do we go on living with that fact? But Windwalker doesn’t stop her novel there. Instead, we follow the central character as he pushes himself forward into a new life, one that is unexpected, but which also continues that connection to his late wife. There are no pat answers here, just the power of the changing seasons to which Windwalker shows we are inextricably tied.
January 16, 2026
First, the things I liked:
The way grief was handled.
The ways the main character changed and grew throughout the book.
The wife's mistress. I thought she was an interesting character and I wish we got more of her.
All the side characters were well developed and added depth and perspective to the story.
Things I thought could have been better:
The title is awful.
The relationship between the wife and the mistress was not addressed satisfactorily. There was so much more he should have waves to know. It was frustrating how little he delved into their relationship.
The trans message. While it would probably work for readers who have little or no knowledge of what trans children and young adults face, for everyone else, it just seemed simplistic and almost like an afterthought. Some of that might be because we never really got a sense of what it meant to the wife.
All in all, it was well written, could have been stronger, but definitely for a different kind of reader than I am.
I hope it finds that audience. And that's my honest review.
The way grief was handled.
The ways the main character changed and grew throughout the book.
The wife's mistress. I thought she was an interesting character and I wish we got more of her.
All the side characters were well developed and added depth and perspective to the story.
Things I thought could have been better:
The title is awful.
The relationship between the wife and the mistress was not addressed satisfactorily. There was so much more he should have waves to know. It was frustrating how little he delved into their relationship.
The trans message. While it would probably work for readers who have little or no knowledge of what trans children and young adults face, for everyone else, it just seemed simplistic and almost like an afterthought. Some of that might be because we never really got a sense of what it meant to the wife.
All in all, it was well written, could have been stronger, but definitely for a different kind of reader than I am.
I hope it finds that audience. And that's my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I enjoy all of Windwalker's work because each book is specific and does not fit into one particular genre. Her books are an automatic read for me and I got an advance copy. I had no idea what the plot would be or what to expect.
No spoilers, just one person's reaction:
The title gives an immediate clue that there are at least three main characters. Those characters are joined in a relationship also given away by the title. But they are not the only unique people. Each character is relatable and some belong to the LGBT category. This put me outside a typical reading experience that I would seek. It is not brow beating or political or exclusionary to a reader who is, like me, ignorant of LBGT. It is easy to empathize with the characters and see things from different perspectives. It was a relief to read a story with a positive ending, despite the grief that is explored in it. A very "feel good" read.
No spoilers, just one person's reaction:
The title gives an immediate clue that there are at least three main characters. Those characters are joined in a relationship also given away by the title. But they are not the only unique people. Each character is relatable and some belong to the LGBT category. This put me outside a typical reading experience that I would seek. It is not brow beating or political or exclusionary to a reader who is, like me, ignorant of LBGT. It is easy to empathize with the characters and see things from different perspectives. It was a relief to read a story with a positive ending, despite the grief that is explored in it. A very "feel good" read.
Read
January 6, 2026The Gardener’s Wife’s Mistress is a deeply emotional and quietly devastating novel about grief, identity, and the long shadows we carry after loss. Cassondra Windwalker’s lyrical prose transforms soil, gardens, and living spaces into metaphors for memory and mourning, creating a story that feels intimate, raw, and profoundly human. The garden itself becomes a living witness to love, regret, and unanswered questions.
What makes this novel especially powerful is its refusal to offer easy resolutions. As Hayden confronts his wife’s hidden life, the narrative explores how love can coexist with betrayal, and how grief can uncover truths that reshape everything we thought we knew. Windwalker handles these revelations with compassion and emotional intelligence, weaving themes of chosen family, acceptance, and healing into a story that lingers long after the final page.
What makes this novel especially powerful is its refusal to offer easy resolutions. As Hayden confronts his wife’s hidden life, the narrative explores how love can coexist with betrayal, and how grief can uncover truths that reshape everything we thought we knew. Windwalker handles these revelations with compassion and emotional intelligence, weaving themes of chosen family, acceptance, and healing into a story that lingers long after the final page.
November 14, 2025
"The Gardener's Wife's Mistress", by Cassondra Windwalker, is a well-written fictional novel that delves into the complexities of relationships, love, betrayal and grief.
Hayden Hill finds himself unexpectantly a widower. He questions the last few years of his life with Shelly. Should he have made more of an effort in their relationship? Were they just too comfortable in the way things were? As he processes through the grief and guilt, he comes across a different side of Shelly, a secret that she kept from him over the years. Will he be able to overcome the anger and betrayal? Will he be able to move on with his life and forgive?
This novel really makes the reader think and question the complexities of relationships. Definitely recommend.
Hayden Hill finds himself unexpectantly a widower. He questions the last few years of his life with Shelly. Should he have made more of an effort in their relationship? Were they just too comfortable in the way things were? As he processes through the grief and guilt, he comes across a different side of Shelly, a secret that she kept from him over the years. Will he be able to overcome the anger and betrayal? Will he be able to move on with his life and forgive?
This novel really makes the reader think and question the complexities of relationships. Definitely recommend.
October 29, 2025
This is a story about life after grief and discovering that you may not know the people closest to you as well as you think.
When Hayden's wife Shelley dies, he discovers her well hidden secret, as well as her passion for supporting vulnerable teens cast out by their families for reasons that may seem unfathomable to any right thinking person.
But even as he finds himself reeling from these discoveries, can Hayden utilise what he has learned to carve out a new life for himself?
Touching, insightful, and told with warmth, this story gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
When Hayden's wife Shelley dies, he discovers her well hidden secret, as well as her passion for supporting vulnerable teens cast out by their families for reasons that may seem unfathomable to any right thinking person.
But even as he finds himself reeling from these discoveries, can Hayden utilise what he has learned to carve out a new life for himself?
Touching, insightful, and told with warmth, this story gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Hayden thought he had the perfect marriage with Shelly untill she unexpectedly died and his world crumbled to pieces. Everyone works differently with loss and death and this story is an eulogy to the dead as is a shot of hope to the remaining ones. Hayden will discover Shelly had a totally hidden life with Rachel the flower shop and the kids they supported. What started as a helpind hand will grow into something major willing to help all of those who dared to knock on their door. Beautifully written, this story is not an easy read, although it has a bright a hopeful end.
I thank the author, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.
I thank the author, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.
July 15, 2025
Disclaimer - I was given an ARC version of this book. There was no compensation other than being able to read a beautiful story well before it's published.
This story is so much different than others I've read by Cassondra Windwalker. It's not a horror story, and no elements of the supernatural are involved. Instead, it's a story of loss and discovering that what you thought you had might not have been real.
And boy does Hayden Hill find out that his marriage wasn't what he thought it was. The beauty in this story is what comes after.
After some soul searching Hayden realizes he can either A) Remain upset at what he's discovered, or B) Come to a realization that he's been put in a unique situation. Things aren't always black and white. It's in the shades of gray that you can find that an antagonist can become an ally and you can make change in the world. It's all about learning to view things differently and having an open mind.
It's a shame this story isn't in print right now. It's truly that important of a story.
This story is so much different than others I've read by Cassondra Windwalker. It's not a horror story, and no elements of the supernatural are involved. Instead, it's a story of loss and discovering that what you thought you had might not have been real.
And boy does Hayden Hill find out that his marriage wasn't what he thought it was. The beauty in this story is what comes after.
After some soul searching Hayden realizes he can either A) Remain upset at what he's discovered, or B) Come to a realization that he's been put in a unique situation. Things aren't always black and white. It's in the shades of gray that you can find that an antagonist can become an ally and you can make change in the world. It's all about learning to view things differently and having an open mind.
It's a shame this story isn't in print right now. It's truly that important of a story.
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