Book Review: The Impossible Garden of Clara Thorne

The Impossible Garden of Clara Thorne by Summer N. England is one of the first cozy romantasy books I have ever read, and it did not disappoint. From the first few pages when readers meet Clara and her cute pet hedgehog, I enjoyed the setting and world-building, as well as the writing style, which had a clear character voice and quirky sense of humor right away. In the opening scenes, Clara tries to save the magical flower and gets injured due to a rogue squirrel’s intervention, her very important yearly magical task is almost ruined.

While Clara has lived in her cozy magical village for years, she still doesn’t feel quite like she belongs, even though she has a best friend there (Rosie, a lovable orc) and (almost) everyone in the village loves her and praises magical gardening skills. I was a fan of Rosie’s awkward crush on another villager and how they are both can’t make it happen to confess their love to each other. Like much of the book, this part was adorable.

Although Clara doesn’t fully believe in her magical skills (a touch of imposter syndrome), those skills will be put to the test on a magical quest, given to her by queen of the realm. I love an epic journey with adventures through a fairy-tale forest, so I was happy to go along with Clara on her quest.

 The novel is not exactly fast-paced, but it is not supposed to be, because you can enjoy spending time in a cozy and whimsical world. However, that doesn’t mean the book is without plot and stakes. And the stakes were sizzling with the other storyline, a slow-burning, steamy sapphic romance. If there is another book coming in a series, I would definitely read it!

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cottage Core vibes

Birmingham Museums Trust image from Unsplash