Chelsea Iversen - The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt

True magic is found among the bluebells and brambles.

Harriet Hunt is completely alone. Her father disappeared months ago, leaving her to wander the halls of Sunnyside house, dwelling on a past she'd rather keep buried. She doesn't often venture beyond her front gate, instead relishing the feel of dirt under her fingernails and of soft moss beneath her feet. Consequently, she's been deemed a little too peculiar for popular Victorian society. This solitary life suits her fine, though – because, outside, magic awaits.
Harriet's garden is special. It's a wild place full of twisting ivy, vibrant plums, and a quiet power that buzzes like bees. Caring for this place, and keeping it from running rampant through the streets of her London suburb, is Harriet's purpose.
But a woman alone in the world is vulnerable. Soon, a sinister plot involving her father's disappearance begins to take shape, with Harriet herself at its center. Everything she holds dear – from the thorny roses she tends to her very freedom itself – is at stake. To save herself, Harriet will have to unearth her past, discover the secrets of her garden, and finally embrace the wild magic inside of her.

Comment: The blurb of this book intrigued me. I was sold on the "magical realism" label and, of course, I also wished there might exist some romantic elements too...

Harriet Hunt lives alone in her house after the disappearance of her father, and after her best friend and cousin left to live with her husband at a new place. Harriet tells herself this doesn't matter and she has the consolation of her garden, whose plants and flowers seem to have this weird connection with her, as if they could be part of her too. This frightens her a little and she prefers others not see it, and that is why she doesn't leave her home often, but one day an simple errand causes her some trouble and she is helped by a man who starts courting her. Harriet is still doubtful but she recognizes that being alone exposes her to even more problems and she accepts the marriage proposal. However, her real problems are only beginning...

Having read other titles containing historical narratives and magical realism, of course I was eager to see how much I'd enjoy reading this story, and the premise is quite interesting, we have a lone young woman who is both marveled and wary of the strange working of her garden, as if the plants are all sentient and tuned to her own feelings. Besides, Harriet had the potential for being a great heroine and I was ready to discover how this garden came to be this way.

That, sadly, was my first disappointment because there isn't any explanation regarding the garden of why it is linked somehow to Harriet. If I got it right, it probably has something to do with her mother and past events but it's never a subject we really have information about, but considering how the story ends, I'll stick to the conviction it is related to Harriet herself, who she is, what she represents. To me, the garden is a physical extension of Harriet's need to be protected and to protect something.

This idea is, of course, something I've deducted from my personal experience reading the story, probably other readers see it differently, but I must say I wasn't completely immersed in the plot due to the writing. To me, while correct, the writing wasn't very engaging, with a lot of details being shared in a rather boring way. This made me think the pace was also too slow in the beginning and I struggled to find interest after the first few pages. To me, things only got interesting when Harriet meets the man that proposes to her.

However, this also brought other issues, since their meeting and apparent courtship happens too quickly and I was easily annoyed at Harriet because no matter how naive and sheltered, she showed a very TSTL behavior by accepting and not even her inner reasons to accept felt string enough. Now I realize this is the tactic to cause change, to force Harriet to act and deal with all the issues she has been facing, but what this made me feel was that all characters were not layered enough and what they think and what they do started to seem like a performance. Thus, the plot was OK, but not riveting and the elements I thought that would be the ones I'd prefer weren't developed in engaging ways.

I was already figuring this would not be a great read for me after all and then, the big surprise is presented. It turns out that there was something going on - it had been rather obvious for a while before this situation happens - and now Harriet needs to do something radical. At the same time, the hints at a possible romantic interest become a fact. I think the conjugation of all the elements was poorly done and this is a pity because the idea behind everything was solid, but the execution was a real let down.

Therefore, my last impression, despite Harriet's HEA, wasn't a great one.

Grade: 4/10