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Eloise has been through the wringer physically and emotionally and is pulling up all her roots to start afresh. She’s just taken a strange but very well-paid job on an old estate in Provence. She’s going to live in Paradise, helping to tend to the flowers and gardens. All her needs will be taken care of; she just won’t have running water, electricity or internet.
The mysterious owner stays locked away inside the chateau, while her few employees live on the grounds. Her secretary, Antoinette, makes very clear to Eloise that she must strictly obey the rules: no being outside during the hour at dusk, no gossiping, and absolutely no children. The last is a particular draw for Eloise, who has experienced heartbreak around them.
Eloise has a special touch with plants, and the beautiful, lush grounds of Paradise speak to her. Literally. She generally feels at ease and comfortable in her new home. And the three co-workers on the grounds, who have also left behind difficult circumstances to settle at the chateau, are welcoming and kind.
Eloise is also attracted to the handyman, Raphael. Having guarded her heart and body for a while, she is surprised to find herself opening up to the possibility of romance.
But all is not perfect in paradise: sometimes Eloise wonders exactly what is going on with the secretive owner, and what the real consequences are for breaking her rules. She’s also shaken when she starts catching glimpses of a child in the trees. Children are strictly forbidden, so who is this? Is she imagining things? Is some magic bringing a wood sprite to peek in on her?
As the summer passes, Eloise starts to worry about the child and her safety. Indeed, she worries if she and her friends are in danger. Dare they break the rules?
I wasn’t quite sure what I was reading in about the first quarter of The Alchemy of Flowers. It was a mixture of enchantment and mystery. Where was the story going? But it was intriguing enough to keep me reading to find out. Of course, with my love of gothic stories, the occasional gothic elements were satisfying. I cared about Eloise and her kind co-workers and was especially invested in Eloise’s happiness and healing. The author writes at the end about how personal a story this was for her, and I could really empathize with her and her main character through all she wrote.
I wouldn’t give The Alchemy of Flowers quite a full four stars out of five, but I did enjoy it. It transported me and gave me a window on a woman’s particular heartache, which she had an opportunity to heal. That was lovely. (Bonus: all the descriptions of flowers and plants, the lush natural setting, the food the group prepared for each other every day… chef’s kiss.)
Rated: Moderate. Profanity includes 13 instances of moderate profanity (almost all to talk about cleaning a compost toilet), 35 uses of mild language, and a few instances of the name of Deity in vain. There are 42 uses of the French word for sh** (generally about literally cleaning it up). Sexual content includes kissing and a couple of scenes that are “open-door” but aren’t actually detailed. They reference more what a woman is feeling but aren’t really explicit. There are also a couple of scenes with a woman experiencing pleasure without a partner. Violence includes talk of past suspicious deaths; a poisoning; and attacks by knife, fire, and more.
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*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
