Meet Me in the Garden

by Nina LaCour

From bestselling author Nina LaCour comes a sweeping family saga that wrestles with themes of self-discovery and love in all forms, inspired by the author's own Creole family

New Orleans, 1944. Odette has always been one of the Honore sisters, glamorous and admired in their Creole community. But while Odette’s older sisters are content to be wives and mothers, Odette has always wanted something else. It is only with her beloved cousin, Delphine, that Odette can tell her secret: she is in love with a woman, and she longs to be an artist. Delphine has a secret lover, too, a white man. In the hidden garden they’ve discovered, Odette and Delphine can dream of futures full of passion and freedom.

But five years later, Odette's life is nothing like what she'd planned. She's a widowed mother, living in Los Angeles, and she and Delphine, who is passing as white, have spiraled away from each other. When Delphine reaches a breaking point, Odette must make a shattering choice to try to hold her family together.

Profound and expansive, a story of love and longing, art and motherhood, friendship and desire, Meet Me in the Garden is a decades-spanning tour de force, inspired by the author’s family and tracing the history of the Great Migration.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, LGBT, Romance, Queer, Historical, Lesbian

400 pages, Hardcover

First published August 4, 2026

About the author

Nina LaCour is an award winning and nationally bestselling author of fiction for adults, teens, and children. A former indie bookseller, she lives with her family in San Francisco.

Reviews

[emma]

i love reading sapphic books that make me sad

(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
(review to come)

[Guada]

I'm seated. The bookstore employees are scared and asking me to leave because it's "not August 2026 yet" but I'm simply too seated

escribí eso en septiembre de 2025 y once meses después acá me hallo recién habiéndolo terminado We've come so farrrrr. No hubo mejor manera de pasar el último día de mis vacaciones que leyendo este libro

[Liana Gold]

4.75! I am in my sad girl lit era. This was REALLY GOOD and I don't say that lightly.

FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW



1940's, Creole community, New Orleans. This is a story of Odette and her life over a span of many years. She's in love with a woman that she can't be with. She longs for freedom in all senses. The only person who truly understands her is her cousin, Delphine. Delphine, just like Odette, has a secret. She's in love with a white man and later makes a choice that will change the trajectory of her life forever. Several years later, Odette and Delphine are no longer in contact. Delphine poses as a white woman. But when Delphine reaches a breaking point, Odette makes a choice that can alter her life forever.

This is a poignant historical novel with a forbidden love story at its core. The prose is lyrical, enchanting. The book completely pulled me by the end of the first chapter.. I think I'm staying up till very late today to read as much as I can.


This was my BOTM pick for August and I already know this will be my 5 star book. Get this book or your first book for $5 using this link: https://www.mybotm.com/bgnrjn6qk0o
Easy to sign up & cancel anytime at no cost to you!

[Kim van Alkemade]

The way I felt reading this sublime novel is how I remember feeling when I read Tolstoy in college. I was completely immersed in the character, her family, and their community as the story crossed coasts and decades. Page after page, the narrative flowed through my mind in a ribbon of stunning discovery as relationships between friends, siblings, parents, and children are rendered with the same attention and intensity usually reserved for romantic love. I continuously delighted in the style of LaCour's prose, savoring every word, every sentence, every scene and setting and all the dialog, too. I was especially moved by the exploration of how it feels and what it takes to create of art, whether it be music or painting or the breeding of birds. In the end, though, what I'll carry with me from this novel is the generosity and hope embodied in its large cast of fully human characters. I was sorry to come to the (perfect) last word; I didn't want to leave this richly-peopled world.

[Jessica Woodbury]

I don't know what happened here. My previous experiences with LaCour have been deep with emotion. This time I felt very little. I appreciate the family story she is trying to tell, but I never felt like I was having the kind of emotional connection with Odette that I want from a LaCour novel. This just felt like a series of events unfolding, it takes place over a very long time span and sometimes the pacing around this time felt off. Things would take forever and then happen all of a sudden, with no real time to feel them.

[Shantha (ShanthasBookEra)]

3.5 stars "From bestselling author Nina LaCour comes a sweeping family saga that wrestles with self-discovery and love in all forms, inspired by the author's Creole roots."

In 1944 New Orleans, Odette has three sisters but is closest to her cousin Delphine. Delphine understands who she is and knows all her secrets. Odette is in love with a woman and wants to be an artist. A few years later, Odette finds herself a widow with a young child in Los Angeles. When the unthinkable happens, she makes the ultimate sacrifice to help her family.

Moving and heartfelt, the novel is inspired by the author's Creole roots and the Great Migration. It spans decades and explores love and loss, art, motherhood, friendship and sacrifice.

The audiobook performance by Angel Pean (16 hours 22 minutes) is excellent and immerses you into the time period and culture. It created an elevated reading experience in tandem with the physical copy.

Given the scope of this family saga focusing on art and mental health and more, I expected to love this. I enjoyed much of it but it felt more like a journal documenting events and conversations. As such, I didn't feel as emotionally connected to the characters as I wanted to be. I think it is worth your time if you have a strong interest in the topics covered in this novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio and Nina LaCour for the gifted advance reader's copy, finished copy and advance listening copy. All opinions are my own. 📚🎧

[phoenix *ੈ✩‧₊˚]

3.5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this one overall. It’s a very character-driven story spanning decades, with lots of themes around identity, family, love, racism, and homophobia. I liked following Odette and seeing how her life unfolded, and Nina LaCour’s writing is beautiful and atmospheric.

At the same time, I felt like something was missing. I liked the story, but I never connected with the characters quite as deeply as I wanted to, and at times it felt a little too long. This is probably a me-problem, because I really think this was well developed.

Overall, definitely a book I’m glad I read, but it didn’t blow me away. I can absolutely see why so many people loved it, and I think this is worth checking out.

[Alyssa Smith]

“People have been living this way for all of time.”

I am really thankful I stuck with this book.

It starts out slow. We’re getting to know our cast of characters. Maybe getting a little confused by names, descriptions, places. But you know the writing is beautiful, so you want to stick it out.

And somewhere along the way, this cast becomes your own family. Your own friends, loved ones. You grow attached. You are invested. Your heart starts to harden, to melt, to grow resentful, to grow hopeful, to be fearful, right alongside this cast.

So suddenly, this book you had trouble with is all you can think about.

Ultimately, it’s about life. A life that has ups and downs. A lot of hiding, a lot of not knowing who you are. A life lived compact in the closet. It’s painful in its beauty, mundanity, secrecy.

I highly recommend it. Stick with it. Let it sway you. Let it change you. What a work of art.

[Courtney Autumn]

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗠𝗲 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻 is a family saga that's a gorgeous blend of historical and literary fiction. Beginning in New Orleans circa 1944 with Creole cousins Odette and Delphine, the two are as closely bonded as sisters. Both young women are navigating secret romances - Odette with a woman and Delphine with a white man - in a time and place where neither relationship is accepted by society. Both leave to start new lives in LA under different circumstances, and what follows is an intricate decades spanning novel that explores a plethora of life challenges from motherhood to self-discovery to identity to the complexities of family and race.

Nina LaCour's prose is lush and lyrical and fully transportive. Everything from the settings to the characters is brought to life in stunning clarity. She deftly balances their day-to-day lives within the larger scope of the world's current political and socio-economic influences. It's character-driven, emotionally charged, and deeply human. While I did wish for a bit more time spent in NOLA and within Delphine's story, Odette is a strong, compelling character to follow.

LaCour's personal inspiration from her own Creole roots is woven into the novel's heart. There are also vibes reminiscent of 𝘒𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘪 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, and lovers of sweeping family sagas will devour this one like a warm beignet coated with powdered sugar: delicious and messy and textured to perfection.


🎙Due to Angel Pean's captivating narration, I fell effortlessly into this audio from the moment I hit play. Her voice is the perfect fit for Odette, and she added even more beauty and emotion to LaCour's novel. I was utterly transfixed and so immersed in the storytelling and narration that the hours slipped away around me as I listened.

📚 A Book Of The Month August pick!

✨️ Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC!
[𝘗𝘶𝘣 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦: 8•4•2026]

[Caitie]

3.25/5 stars

I really wanted to love this one, but I couldn’t bring myself to fully enjoy it. While the writing was very good (frankly that’s what kept me going), I found the plot to be meandering and didn’t feel any tension or love for the characters. I wanted to know the characters more, more than for just who they loved and their somewhat questionable decisions.

For such a long book spanning many years, it felt too much like nothing was happening. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, I wanted more. More about the cousin’s decision to pass as white, more about our main character’s art, just more.

[Katie B]

Thank you Flatiron Books for sending me a copy!

4.5 stars

My first time reading a Nina LaCour book and now I’m eager to check out her other novels. She was inspired by her Creole family to pen MEET ME IN THE GARDEN and that personal touch shone through in the writing. It allowed the characters to come alive in the pages.

It’s 1944 and Odette is part of the Creole community in New Orleans. She’s kept it a secret from her two older sisters that she’s in love with a woman. Living out in the open comes with huge risks and it’s why Odette embarks on a different path. She eventually ends up in Los Angeles and the story spans decades of her life.

From the beginning I was drawn to Odette as a character. An ongoing theme throughout is how society’s expectations and norms so often force people to hide who they are whether it be their sexuality or race. It’s a tremendous weight to carry around. The author added historical content and coupled with these complex characters, it made for a rich and layered story. Love, loss, regret, heartbreak, it had it all.

Highly recommend adding this one to your tbr list.

[vlm]

Meet Me in the Garden is a beautifully written, emotional story about love, family, identity, and the choices people make when the life they imagined is no longer possible.

I was immediately drawn to Odette and Delphine and their relationship. Their secret garden becomes a place where they can be honest about the lives they want, even when the world around them makes those dreams feel impossible. I especially appreciated the way the story explores Odette's desire to be an artist and her love for a woman, while also showing how complicated those dreams become as her life changes.

The story spans decades and follows the women through very different stages of their lives. I enjoyed seeing how their choices, relationships, and secrets continued to shape them over the years. The New Orleans setting and the history surrounding the Great Migration also added another layer to the story.

There is a lot of sadness and difficult subject matter here, but there is also love, resilience, and the enduring bond between family members. Odette's journey stayed with me, particularly as she struggled to balance the life she wanted with the responsibilities and people she loved.

A moving historical novel about finding your own path while carrying the weight of family, history, and the expectations placed upon you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

[thebookybird]

I adore Lacours prose and this was a departure from her usual storylines and I love that she took some risks

[Theo]

4.5 or 4. I always love the novels that LaCour write, I feel like they're so accurate to the human experience especially my human experiences. We Are Okay (by LaCour) found me at a time where it really resonated with me as a teenage lesbian, and Meet Me in the Garden resonates with me now. The discussions of family, race, and queerness were really well done. I also loved the way that being an artist was captured and the feeling of creating a home for yourself and loved ones. I love the way LaCour writes, she includes a lot of little details that really make it feel like you are there. Excited to hopefully go to her author event tomorrow!

[Meg]

1944 New Orleans. Odette Honore comes from a respected Creole family in New Orleans. Unlike her older sisters, her dream is not to marry a man and have a family. She wants to paint and live a life unlike what society allows for her. She shares her secrets only with her cousin Delphine. Each woman has a secret lover: Delphine, a white man, and Odette, another Black woman. Their lives take them spiraling apart when Delphine moves to Los Angeles, passing as white, and Odette marries a man bound for WWII to protect her family. Five years later, Odette and Delphine are all but strangers, both living in LA, and circumstances will cause each of them to make the hardest decisions of their lives.

Meet Me in the Garden is a family saga stretching from 1944 through the early 1960s. Odette is a widow and a mother, living in the same neighborhood as her sisters and their families. Many characters float in and out of the narrative, but Odette is our central protagonist holding every version of her LA family together, even when things seem beyond her control. It's a book about relationships, and of reclaiming a version of yourself from the dreams circumstances may have erased.

I am out of practice reading this style of litfic, and even with a lovely narration by Angel Pean, the pacing of the story was slower than I tend to like. It's a well-written slow burn that pays off in the end, but that took longer to get to any core themes than I wanted it to. The characters are well-developed and the plot thoughtful, but I found myself consistently reaching for other books than this one. I was very glad I held on to finish the book, though, because I felt the deeper connection to history when we got to the 60s. I liked that the book both focused on race and the experience of the passing white and lighter-skinned Creole family, giving LaCour a chance to examination prejudices from many angles.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for an ALC. Meet Me in the Garden is out 8/4/2026.

[Danielle]

This was a beautiful book, but it broke my heart more than once.

I felt incredibly close to the main character Odette. Her life is so bound to the responsibility of family, sacrificing her own happiness to provide for her children while learning how to be herself as an artist, a Creole person, a lesbian, all while carrying the roles of mother, sister, and friend. There’s also something so poignant about watching her build a life and a home away from the place that is so deeply tied to her identity and history. Odette goes through so much pain and hurt, and watching her navigate all of it was quite the journey.

The experiences of several characters were a painful reminder that so many queer love stories have been cut short before they even have the chance to begin because of fear, self-doubt, the law, shame, or simply the circumstances of the time. I mourned for them.

The themes surrounding mental health were also difficult, but they felt like an honest portrayal of the ways mental illness can affect not only the individual but the people who love them. There is so much pain in this book, but also so much love.

I read Kin by Tayari Jones earlier this year, and the way this book follows these close relationships and the way they ebb and flow reminded me so much of it. Both books have this incredible ability to make you feel the weight of family, history, and the complicated ways people can love each other while still causing incredible hurt.

This book made me cry, and I NEVER cry. A truly beautiful and heartbreaking book that I can’t wait to discuss at an upcoming book club.

And, as always, the narration by Angel Pean was stunning. I’m always excited to see her name attached to an audiobook, and she absolutely brought this one to life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance audiobook.

[MrsHarvieReads]

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for a gifted advanced listening copy of Meet Me in the Garden by Nina LaCour as part of their Early Listener’s Program and in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Meet Me in the Garden is a sweeping family saga that blends literary fiction and historical fiction. It features themes of forbidden love, racial and sexual identity, creative longing, motherhood, and sacrifice for family. The author has a lovely lyrical style that was enhanced by the melodic intonation of the audiobook narrator Angel Pean. I would highly recommend enjoying this novel with your ears.

The ambitious, character driven story balances the personal struggles of the main character, Odette, with mid-20th-century history and social pressures. It begins in New Orleans in 1944, when Odette and her cousin, Delphine, grapple with forbidden loves, family expectations, and then new lives in Los Angeles. The story spans decades and features many secrets and a reoccurring theme of Odette sacrificing for family. In addition, several of the family members pass as white and experience different levels of discrimination. Over the course of many years Odette finally embraces both her true identity and her love of art. It’s a lengthy, and occasionally frustrating, process, but I thought the hopeful ending and the way the author brought closure to the story in general was well worth it 3.75/5⭐️

[Meredith Stepien]

Just a beautiful journey! I love books like this that follow a family through years of growth and change. I absolutely loved the main character and felt deeply invested in her. A soft, sweet journey!!

[Gabby Halle]

Unfortunately I was bored

[Meagan]

2.8. This started off great. I loved the writing and felt like the story was interesting and going somewhere. Then it just lost the mark. It rambled and was SO long, I actually came back in here to check the page length as I was convinced it was longer.
This Goodreads rating has to be inflated. I can see why some people would rate it high but there’s no way a solid group of people weren’t frankly bored.

It has similar vibes to Kin. About two Black women, based in the past, that have an intense love for each other in a platonic way, running from home to be their true selves-and one character hides from her sexuality. LOTS of similarities. But Kin is just SO much better that I continually compared.

I think this would have worked in dueling POVs and we got to hear Delphine’s story. She disappeared too long and we didn’t get to know details of her life.
Disappointing overall.

[Lauren M]

I’ve read a couple of Nina LaCour’s previous novels, both of which I remember liking but which didn’t stick with me the way I think this one will. I’m sure in part it’s because this novel, a sweeping historical fiction book that follows a young Creole woman and her family, kin and chosen, through the tumultuous decades of the 1940s-60s in New Orleans and Los Angeles, is much inspired by the author’s own ancestors (as she discusses in the acknowledgements), but there is so much passion here that comes through on every page. This is such a beautiful, soaring novel of culture, family, and self-discovery, and the gorgeous prose measures up to the strength of the themes.

[Lauren Culbertson]

4.5⭐️

[tegan]

her magnum opus methinks. grand story and wonderful supporting cast but never fully connected with odette or understood her relationship with ginny. maybe i’m homophobic!

[Katie]

Listen, I will read Nina LaCour's grocery list. I was sad, I cried, I cried some more. This was beautiful and heartbreaking and interesting and I honestly couldn't stop reading. The story itself was compelling but LaCour's style is what makes it come to life.

[Chloe Townshend]

2.5 stars. Not sure why so many people loved it. It was so long for no particular reason in my opinion. Maybe just not my cup of tea. Glad I've finished it

[Amy (amyrose.reads)]

Thank you so much to the Macmillan Audio Early Listeners Program for this ALC!

This book was absolutely beautiful. It is written incredibly lyrically and Angel Pean is the perfect narrator to accentuate the prose. I would highly recommend experiencing this book in the audio format.

Odette is such a loveable character and it is genuinely heartbreaking to learn of her hardships. Throughout the book, I found myself feeling angry and upset at how much she had to go through. She finds happiness, but the road is not easy.

Odette’s relationship with Delphine haunts the entire narrative. Despite the lack of Delphine’s physical presence, her impact on Odette’s life is unmistakable. It is absolutely fascinating to read a book that hinges so closely on a character who isn’t present.

This book spans such a large period of time. The 20ish years we experience with the characters shows a lot of growth and highlights the changing relationships between them. Especially looking at Odette’s family.

Overall, this book was gorgeous. There were many moments where I wished for some increased clarity on characters. However, I will certainly be keeping an eye out for more titles from Nina LaCour.

[Annalyn Poulsen]

Ugh what a beautiful and devastating book. Something about her writing just speaks to me and moves me each time. The story of love and family and race just intersected in such a stunning way. I highly recommend but be prepared for some tears

[Susan Steinhauer]

Beautifully articulated story of the great migration, displacement and self acceptance.

[Dylan]

This is a book I will keep on remembering in all the most beautiful and tragic moments of life.

[Courtney]

There’s a reason I don’t read much historical fiction, and it’s because as a lesbian, the time period can feel so incredibly oppressive. I would never have wanted to live within those constraints. This book was no different, but it was beautifully written.

The decades-long romance was both sad and sweet, and I loved the rich descriptions of food and art. To me it felt like it was a story of healing yourself through raising the next generation- giving them the freedom to be themselves and teaching them better ways to live than you were ever taught.