THE GARDEN hooked me right away with its gothic, haunted-house vibes and kept its grip on my heart.

The story follows Irene, who is taken to a large estate where two married doctors are running an experimental medical program to help women have healthy babies.

Irene has had multiple miscarriages, and this trauma haunts her as she struggles to cope with the strangeness of the house, her prolonged isolation from society, the proximity of the other patients, their collective fears, the unyielding doctors, and a garden that may have unnatural powers.

Beams plunges us into themes that resonate in the modern psyche, and I loved her exploration of doppelgängers, ghosts, the liminal spaces between life and not-life, social expectations on women, the pressures of motherhood, the terrible beauty of nature, and the flexible ethics of those who are desperate to achieve their desired ends.

The writing is dreamy and the plot is insidious, with danger accumulating for Irene like weeds slowly corrupting a peaceful garden. Fans of Shirley Jackson will love this book!

3.5 stars that I'm rounding down mainly because I liked The Illness Lesson more, so I want to distinguish them.

This is the story of Irene, a woman who has had multiple miscarriages, attempting a new treatment program at this special retreat. Not much time passes before Irene comes across a garden with odd powers that she and a couple other women contemplate using for themselves. It's set in the 1940s, but I wouldn't say it feels especially of that time. Based on the acknowledgements, it's set in the 1940s in order to be contemporary with a real experimental drug treatment for miscarriages.

Like The Illness Lesson, it's a slow burn of quiet drama. The vibes are similar, and I'm pleased that Beams is continuing in this kind of storytelling and tone. However, unlike The Illness Lesson, this story has more definitive weirdness going on. Or the weirdness is explored much more thoroughly. You could call this story surreal or magical realism, I think. Or you could say it's all made up and these ladies are cray.

My main struggle with this book was that it had a few too many elements at play. There's a whole chunk of the story that relates to Dr. Bishop and her past, especially her grandfather. It felt completely unnecessary to me. It muddled the story and never seemed to matter much. I'm guessing that because the story was inspired by real doctors with a real treatment, Beams wanted to flesh out the doctors more in her book. But for me it just felt too disconnected to warrant its presence in the story and ultimately inconsequential. I have great love and appreciation for a focused, precise story, and this one missed the mark.

Irene was a frustrating but engaging protagonist. She was so antagonistic right from the start, which didn't really make sense if she chose to be in this program. But she's clearly bitter about needing the program (naturally), and she just can't help herself. I wouldn't say she grows at all over the course of the story - she just gains friends in spite of herself. ;)

I loved the decision the 3 women were weighing at the end. I loved the turn the story took in the last few chapters. The concluding bit was really strong and intense after a repetitive/draggy middle.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I’m not sure if I liked this book or not. I kept reading because I really wanted to know how it all came together… I didn’t get that. I feel like there was so many loose ends. I needed more clarity on the weird things that kept happening, what happened to the doctors, the other women. It felt incomplete even though we know what happens to the main character (I was happy about that!)

The author has the ability to describe the wonders of childbirth and motherhood with her pen. This story was mature, moving and mysterious. I would say this is plot driven and will keep you turning pages to find out what occurs next.

Although Irene has had five miscarriages, she and her husband want, more than ever, to have a child. Now, pregnant, they are determined not to lose another baby. Irene hesitantly checks into a mansion that is renovated as a hospital. The Doctors Hall is a place for women who cannot carry a baby to term. The husband-wife partnership of doctors try to optimize the physical and emotional conditions for the women in order to promote a successful pregnancy. Feeling confined, Irene wanders around the grounds to explore. She finds a long-neglected walled garden that she believes possesses magical powers.

I enjoyed this tale a lot, finding myself unable to put it down; so strong was the need to find out where this storyline would lead. Sadly, I found the ending less than satisfactory. I felt that more could have been done with the story’s conclusion and with the great characters Ms. Beams created. However, it did keep me reading, so I give it four stars.

Whoa this book! I wasn’t sure what to think of Irene and honestly still don’t. But this book does a great job an evoking the pain of loss. The part that made it for me was reading the authors note at the end and see the connections to a real life event plus the marrying of that to classic literature. It was excellent. .

I thought this was fantastic. Overwhelming and tragic at times, I found this so intriguing. This has a great The Secret Garden-ness to it that I loved.

Irene arrives at an estate where a married couple of doctors take in women who have a hard time having a full term pregnancy. She stays while her husband George goes home, but she feels so lost. Having had a handful of miscarriages previously, she knows how important this baby is to him.

Both of these doctors are STRANGE!! She feels it immediately. She begins her time not really wanting to spend time with the other expectant mothers, instead, stealing away to the beautiful and intoxication garden on the property. This is no ordinary garden though.

Soon enough, she forms bonds with the other women in the doctors’ care and brings them to this garden with seemingly magical energy. Meanwhile, the doctors’ ministrations are starting to raise question. Things are going wrong and Irene, not being one to keep silent, stirs things up as much as she can.

Ultimately, I found this book to be powerful and dark. There I a lot of talk about loss of pregnancy, so this may be something difficult for many to read. There is a large conversation happening in these pages of loss of bodily autonomy, which is something I find TERRIFYING. I thought it was eerie and strange in the best way and I loved every twisted minute of it.

This was a strange book for me. I wasn’t able to connect with the MC. I skim read some of it. Just okay for me.

Trigger Warnings: pregnancy, miscarriage, medical death, infertility, delusions, blood, child mistreatment

This book definitely started strong. Irene goes to a secluded mansion for a medical intervention to help her carry her baby to term. While there, she meets other hopeful mothers, some of whom are successful and some are not. The mansion is owned by the wife of a married team of doctors, and during her stay, Irene develops a strange connection to Dr. Bishop, the female doctor/therapist. Irene also discovers a walled garden with a mysterious fountain. As her child grows, so does Irene's sense that something isn't quite right. But what is wrong? Is it the doctors? The medication? The house? The Garden? Or something more sinister...

I really wanted to love this book (I mean, how cool is the cover?!) but I found that I was a tad let down by the ending. It also never quite hit the creepy factor I think Beams was aiming for. I also was kind of confused by the connection between Irene and Dr. Bishop. Are they related? Is she actually Dr. Bishop? Is it just that she looks like her? That part (including the visions/flashbacks) felt kind of forced and never fully resolved.

Irene wants to have a baby, but after several losses, she starts to doubt if she will ever be able to carry one full term. After becoming pregnant once more, Irene and her husband find a hospital located inside an old mansion that promises a cure for her miscarriages. The doctors that run the program are married and from the get-go, Irene has a bad feeling about the duo. But her wish for a baby outweighs her doubts, and soon she finds herself as an inpatient in the old mansion, surrounded by other hopeful moms-to-be.

What pulled me immediately into the world of The Garden was the mysterious and odd setting brought to life by the author's lyrical writing. It was like reading a distant dream, one that might deceive you at every corner. Though I did not seem to connect to the main character, I did enjoy seeing the world through her eyes. I simply found her too off-standish, but after losing baby after baby I might have felt the same way. To her, there just wasn't any point in pleasantries. I'm still not one hundred percent sure how the visions inside the story connected to the book. But in all, I truly enjoyed this sordid tale.

So well written so engaging historical fiction with a touch of horror.I was drawn in from the cover the description and I was not disappointed.An author a book I will be recommending.#netgalley #doubleday.

Clare Beams’ The Garden is a psychological thriller and horror story set in the 40s about a strange treatment center for pregnant women run by a husband and wife team, both doctors. Their claims of successfully handling women with multiple miscarriages attract desperate couples who want babies. Beams creates an aura of fear, suspense, and past secrets surrounding this diabolical place. What really happens behind closed doors when a woman gives birth? The reader is given a peek inside the delivery room, where the doctors do their magic.

Their rigid methods and lingering ghosts in the garden trouble the protagonist, Irene Willard, who has suffered five miscarriages. From the start, Irene doubts and rebels against their methods of multiple injections, therapy, and forced confinement from their husbands. Bored and curious, she discovers a garden and fountain where she sees haunting visions and conducts experiments on dead animals that seem to come alive.

The novel was based on a drug, designed to help pregnant women and given to them by two doctors (husband and wife). It was later found to cause birth defects. The reader senses the frustration and urgency of these women, waiting to give birth under adverse circumstances. The novel’s many levels, character revelations, and an eerie ghost from the past make it an engaging read. I thank NetGalley for letting me read and review this novel. #NetGalley #TheGarden #thrillers #horrornovels

Clare Beams does a great job in writing this book, it had everything that I was looking for from the description. It had a great historical feel to it and I enjoyed the horror elements to it. It had everything that I hoped for and worked well overall. The characters were written perfectly and felt like real people. I can’t wait to read more from Clare Beams.

i don't know what to say.

i feel paradoxical about this book. i liked it; i hated it. it was a quick read; it took forever to finish. i enjoy the feminist qualities of the text; the ending ruins any and all meaning within. i have nothing of value to say about this novel. it was incredibly frustrating and the writing was very plain. i didn't have a good sense of place nor atmosphere. and i sure as hell didn't care about any of the characters. the most compelling thing about this novel is the recurring image of a bloodied mouse.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly do not know if I liked this book or hated it!?! It was a relatively quick, fast paced read for me and it kept me engaged. There were many triggers dealing with infant loss and infertility that made it emotionally difficult to read at times. I loved the literary parallels and hints of magical realism between the classic, The Secret Garden. The historical connections of using women and their pregnancy for scientific experiments was both fascinating and shocking! The author did an excellent job with her writing and character development. This was a gothic haunting tale that will not soon leave my mind... or dreams!