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Nestled in the bucolic town of Green Valley in upstate New York, the Pennywort farm appears ordinary, yet at its center lies something remarkable: a wild maze of colorful gardens that reaches beyond the imagination. Local legend says that a visitor can gain answers to life’s most difficult problems simply by walking through its lush corridors.

Yet the labyrinth has never helped Olivia Pennywort, the garden’s beautiful and enigmatic caretaker. She has spent her entire life on her family’s land, harboring a secret that forces her to keep everyone at arm’s length. But when her childhood best friend, Sam Van Winkle, returns to the valley, Olivia begins to question her safe, isolated world and wonders if she at last has the courage to let someone in. As she and Sam reconnect, Olivia faces a difficult question: Is the garden maze that she has nurtured all of her life a safe haven or a prison?

This was an interesting book. As always, I didn’t read the back cover copy before buying it, so I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. It was a mixed bag of storytelling.

On one hand, the concept is fascinating–the secret power of the garden and Olivia that force her to keep people at arm’s length, forcing her into a solitary existence.

On the other hand, it was a slow read. Lots of long paragraphs of description followed by long paragraphs telling you what people said and did. It would have been nice to have some more active scenes where we could watch the characters doing things. The excessive descriptions slowed the pace down quite a bit (I actually skipped several pages throughout the book).

Interestingly enough, this book reminds me a lot of The Night Circus–another highly unique concept that didn’t quite pull me into the story but did capture my attention enough to pull me through to the end.

Rated PG/PG-13 for some mentions of adult activities and language but not shown.

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For other fantasy/speculative novels, check out:

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes
The Medici Manuscript by C.J. Archer