This was a highly anticipated read for me based on the premise alone and unfortunately did not deliver. Right from the beginning I had an issue with the main character, the worldbuilding, and the writing. I feel like there are things I can overlook in order to enjoy a story but it’s really got to be one or the other and not so many hang ups.

A few reviewers have said that the writing feels YA which is also the genre this is in but that feels unfair to me to YA. Even a younger intended audience deserves quality writing. This feels like a rough first draft and like someone trying to connect to a YA audience while coming off even more immature than the actual age group in reality. Even just from the very beginning the main character is attempting to antagonize the eventual love interest and says something along the lines of “can you even spell your name? I’ll give you a hint it start with L” when I tell you I had to put my kindle down from the cringe. I can’t imagine a teenager of any age or background thinking that’s a sick burn either on the speaking or receiving end. These tactics continue.

The actual writing is overly literal. It is a lot of telling and not showing. It insults the readers intelligence (yes even a teenage level reader if such a thing exists) when the inner dialogue and emotions are overly explained. It also does the main character no favors to be seen as so petty and immature. I had a hard time connecting and/or rooting for him.

There are plot holes in this and one of the biggest ones is how Quill has been stuck in his house for his whole life but this is contemporary/urban fantasy and he has had access to the internet and media the whole time. So he wonders things like “are all humans like this?” well you’ve spent a ton of time with unmonitored access to the internet I wouldn’t think you’d be that clueless. I think this would have done better as historical fantasy or with less of a clueless main character. Gen Z deserves better rep when it comes to utilizing technology.

I was also confused from the very start on certain aspects of the setting and magic subplots and as I kept reading I realized that was not intentional. That was essentially all the worldbuilding I was going to get. I still have so many questions about the garden and what’s out of magic and what’s not. I had a hard time conceptualizing this world based on the limited descriptions. This needed another round of editing.

Like I said, I wanted to like this. I seek out MM own voices romance and Romantasy especially in that category can feel hard to come by. So I thank Entangled Teen for this eARC but this was unfortunately not for me.

This queer Secret Garden retelling takes this framework of isolation and gives it a fantasy twist. At the heart of Evergreen is wanting to protect someone so dearly that we think the only we can is if we keep them where we can see them. We don't let them stray too far into a world of dangers, unknown elements, and risks. But that never works, despite our best attempts. Evergreen is an awakening. It's not only a queer awakening, but also of figuring out Quill's likes, dislikes, and voice.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

​● YA
● Fantasy romance 
● Secret garden retelling
​
This was cute! Quill and Liam are adorable as they get to know each other. I thoroughly enjoyed the magic aspects and truly didn't see the twist coming. 
Quill is the only male dryad to ever be born. With his bright green hair, he is definitely a little different. His mother keeps him inside at all times and all Quill wants is to be normal and go to school.  Then Liam moved next door, a human. The two quickly become close and Quill trusts him with his family secret. But will Liam keep the secret? 
I loved that there was a little mystery going on along with the boys' growing friendship. 
It does read like a debut novel, but for its target audience I think it's terrific.

Thank you Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I highly enjoyed this one. I was engaged and found myself intrigued throughout! Plenty of twists and I loved the relationship between Quill and Liam! A sweet story that readers should absolutely check out! Can’t wait to read it again.

This queer coming-of-age fantasy romance was truly charming. At its heart, this was a story about a sheltered teenage boy discovering the world and himself, while also figuring out how to save his family and to fall in love at the same time. I really enjoyed the developing relationship between Quill and Liam; it felt authentic to the teenage experience even factoring in the magical elements of the story. Lots of cute banter and a beautiful world, although I would have loved even more backstory and time spent in the family garden.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review!

It was quite cute, I kept smiling and giggling as I read. However, it felt too corny at times. I feel like there should be a limit to things. As fun as the beginning, I couldn’t connect with the characters. I’d prefer a proper introduction and a chance to actually connect with them. I just don’t like it when authors focus on giving tropes rather than telling the story.

The fantasy however was my favorite part of it. The world building and elements were quite interesting which made me wish this wasn’t a “romcom”. The ending however ruined the whole thing for me. For a book that’s 400 pages, I’d expect proper build up. It felt more as if the author was trying to be done with.

Evergreen is a queer coming-of-age urban romantasy, told from the perspective of teenage dryad Quill, who is just beginning to extend his roots into the world of humans after a childhood of seclusion. Though advertised as a reimagining of The Secret Garden (and similarly described by the author as Rapunzel meets The Secret Garden), Evergreen’s primary parallel to the classic is that it also contains a garden that is kept secret— beyond that, shared plot and thematic components are minimal. That said, Evergreen has an interesting premise, but fails to elaborate sufficiently on what I feel are the most interesting elements of the story: the dryads and their garden. Because of this, it is difficult to grasp the scale of the stakes until very near the end of the novel, which makes the presence (and identity) of the antagonist feel out-of-place, and the ending rushed. There are also several plot and narrative inconsistencies, so perhaps Evergreen could have benefitted from more time spent on developmental editing and revisions. I do, however, feel that Evergreen will be better received by its (intended) YA audience.

I really enjoyed this book. It was such a fun and captivating romantasy!

This read like a “coming of age” story to me about the battles teens go through when they struggle for their independence.

I loved the whodunit/mystery aspect of the story and all the plant and gardening references. A dryad family owning a magical floral shop was perfect.

This book was set in modern day times, which was neat.

The sibling banter and relationship between the Quill and Laurel was fun and reminded me of the relationship my sibling and I have.

Envisioning Quill experiencing things for the first time (school, a movie theatre, etc) in the ‘human world’ was fun and exciting.

Thank you Netgalley and Devin Greenlee for approving this eARC in exchange for my honest review! I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a sweet and cheesy book, just a little too YA and immature for me. I do think this will find a loving audience, just hard for me to connect to it. A little too many plot holes and immature characters.

This is a very light fun read. It gives a lot of fluffy fun vibes that just makes the reader smile.There are a lot of good elements involved in the story but works better not advertised as a retelling. I would say it was an ok read but maybe not a top recommend.

I always enjoy a good retelling, and the Secret Garden has a special place in my heart, so I had very high hopes. Overall, the story was cute but could have utilized some edits and refining.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

And my thoughts about this one are very positive!This was a very light-hearted, easy to read coming of age story with two very adorable characters instantly falling for each other.
The idea of Dryads was very well developed and I loved every description of the plants and the garden.

For my personal taste, the pacing could have been a bit slower, especially towards the plot twist but it still did not feel rushed.

Maybe I would have wanted the character's decisions to have a bit more consequences (looking at Quill's mom here who was very forgiving) but still this was an adorable and highly enjoyable read.

If you liked Satin Juniper's Folley od Sofi and the Bone Song, please immediatly grab a copy of Evergreen. If you don'T know any of those, please read them all :)

2.65 ★

this was so cheesy, it's not even funny. the first 70% was cute, fluffy cheesy, and then the end was wattpad random generator core and completely ruined the book for me.

the romance was genuinely adorable. you cannot read this without smiling. it was funny, a very fast read (two hours), and just very easy to like, at least in the beginning. the characters individually evoked nothing in me (they're very tropey and unoroginal, but this is a ya romcom and that's part of the fun), but god was i obsessed with the romance.

i loved the incorporation of fantasy. the whole dryad aspect and the family lore was fascinating, and i would probably read a whole book about it. what ruined this was the ending. there was absolutely zero buildup for the whole supervillain takes over the world plotline. it was bizarre. how they solved it was even more bizarre. how they talked about it after was just.. question mark? these are normal fifteen year olds. not in the demigod sense, like they are completely normal fifteen year olds. you're telling me they randomly killed a primordial demon and went back to algebra like it was nothing? i know this is a fantasy romcom, but they really should have stuck with just being a romcom, because the death and doom arc was not well developed at all, to put it mildly. it reads as a male y/n fantasy on ao3, not an actual published book.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Thanks to Netgalley and Devin Greenlee for approving this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Dryads, a magical garden, a pretty cool premise - I did not know however, that this was marketed as a retelling of The Secret Garden, which is a book I dislike immensely.

This book, was significantly more enjoyable for me than The Secret Garden, but just didn't click with me. I found the dialogue to be a tad corny at times, albeit amusing in some instances. I do however think, that this was pretty good debut, for Devin Greenlee, I'm interested in checking out any future works of his!

If you're looking for a cute romantasy, are a fan of The Secret Garden, and like mythology mixed with an urban setting, you will most likely enjoy this story!

The drama of this new ya fantasy is the most cathartic and somehow relatable story I've read in this genre in years. Quill the main character has urgent and emotional layers to be normal which are unpacked for love and friendship , not to mention risking it with his secretive magical home life. Just for the new human neighbor, Liam whose self ease meshes perfectly with the dramatic but loveable point of view. Definitely glad I started the year off on here with this ARC so thanks Entangled for giving me the chance to read it.

I was pleasantly surprised by this read. It was the perfect blend of a YA Romance with Fantasy. A great M/M coming of age romance story. The world building was perfectly blended and given in doses small enough to fully grasp. The book instantly captivated me, such an imaginative story plot. This book unfolded a captivating story of a first romance with discovery of new adventures, and with a perfect mesh of a mystery, 'who done it' twist.

The little moments shared between the Quill and Liam made me gitty and really demonstrated those feelings you get when reading YA RomComs. The characters in this book seemed very realistic, having Quill demonstrate the emotional rollercoaster that teenagers experience and the feel of being grown up yet being naive.

I was a bit confused with the ending, are they fully human now, half human? Will they get their full powers back eventually?

Overall, a definite must read. I will be recommending this book. Thank you, NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for this ARC.

First, thank you to NetGalley and Entangled: Teen for the ARC of this book. Evergreen is a book about a young teen named Quill who is born into a family of Dryads but is not a dryad himself. His mother is overly concerned about him and keeps him locked away in their home. Quill works in the family garden that keeps his family’s magic alive. One day, an intruder breaks into the garden and it happens to be the same day Quill’s mother allows a boy and his father move into the apartment next door. It’s oddly suspicious that both events take place at the same time. When Quill confronts the new neighbor boy, he realizes he might not be who they’re after, after all. The plot of this book was everything I wanted it to be. It was a great beginning to the book. This is about when my positive feedback ends. There were a tremendous amount of plot holes in this story. The MC reminds us as the reader on numerous occasions that he is vegan, and yet, nearing the end of the story, he consumes gummy worms. Gummy worms, in most cases, are not vegan friendly! Another plot point is the side character is allergic to flowers and the MC tells him to eat a flower. The side character does it without a question and it’s all based in “trust”. The story takes place over a very short timeline (2 weeks) and gives off “insta-love” trope vibes. The MC does a whole lot of whining throughout the entire story. Even though this MC has never “seen the outside world” he has a cell phone, watches tv, and understands some common human interactions. And yet, there are still huge gaps in his knowledge that make no sense whatsoever. I really REALLY wanted to like this book but it just didn’t meet my expectations.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.2 rounded down to 4/5.

"Evergreen" by Devin Greenlee, weaves a delightful tale of magic, mystery, and self-discovery within the lush backdrop of a generational garden. At the heart of the narrative is Quill, a unique and endearing dryad breaking the mold in a world that values magic above all.

The grumpyxsunshine dynamic between Quill and his charming neighbor, Liam Watson, adds a refreshing layer to the story. Quill's desire for normalcy clashes with his magical roots, creating a tension that resonates with anyone yearning to break free from their predetermined path. The juxtaposition of the magical world of dryads with Liam's technology-driven reality provides a unique and engaging contrast.

The novel's magical plants are a highlight, each one contributing to the enchanting atmosphere and adding a touch of danger. The introduction of a murderous plant that can possess humans adds a thrilling twist to the narrative, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. The cottage core theme is beautifully interwoven, creating a vivid and immersive setting that captures the essence of the natural world.

While the book successfully captivates with its grumpyxsunshine trope, magical elements, and enchanting setting, there are areas that could be further developed. The exploration of magic, especially regarding Quill's lack of magical abilities, feels somewhat underexplored. The plot occasionally becomes choppy, and the events following the main mystery's resolution feel rushed, leaving readers wanting more depth.

Despite being marketed as a Secret Garden re-telling, some readers may find it challenging to connect the dots. A more explicit tie-in with the classic story might enhance the thematic resonance. Additionally, delving deeper into the lore and backstory of the dryads could enrich the narrative, providing a more comprehensive understanding of this magical world.

In conclusion, "Evergreen" is a captivating read that seamlessly blends urban fantasy, the grumpyxsunshine trope, and the allure of cottage core aesthetics. With a vibrant cast of characters and a plot brimming with magical intrigue, readers are sure to be enchanted by Quill's journey into the unknown. Though the book may benefit from a more thorough exploration of certain elements, it remains a delightful escape into a world where magic and nature intertwine.

Evergreen follows the story of Quill, a half-dryad half-human, who has lived his whole life secluded from the rest of human society, until he meets Liam.

Sometimes YA authors are able to use prose that is both engaging enough for YA readers, but mature enough for older readers, but this book does not do that. The dialogue was cringy at times, and the characterization/reaction of characters clashed horribly with the tone of certain scenes; in addition, the narration was very choppy at times. I also didn't find myself getting attached to any of the characters or the relationship.

I did like that the chapters were very short and the story itself was fast-paced. I think if it were to be revised, then the story/prose could be so much better.

This cover is what originally drew me in to this book. It is such a gorgeous cover and the words in the inside are just as amazing!