4/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and Catherine Bakewell for allowing me to read and review this book.

This book is a young adult fantasy stand alone with a touch of romance and cozy mystery. The book follows a seventeen year old girl who has wild magic. She has never had much control over it, but it has never been damage. Until one day she accidentally places a curse on her father, causing him to bloom poisonous flowers from his chest. The only cure is to cast a blessing spell, which requires perfect control of your magic.

After years of bouncing between teachers, most of who give up on Clara from frustration, the only person willing to help her is her former best friend, Xavier - who has been distant for a few years now.

Her favorite former teacher, the only one who has believed in her up to this point besides her father, warns her to watch out for Xavier and not to fully trust him.

Xavier has a few secrets of his own, and asks Clara for something crazy in return for helping her learn to cure her father.

Facing her feelings for her former best friend/new teacher, trying to figure out what he is hiding, the frustrations with her magic, and her fear of losing her father, Clara is increasingly getting more frustrated and angrier at her mother. Her mother, who left when Clara was still just a toddler, has been causing more and more issues within the magical and nonmagical communities by selling magical potions that causes an endless delirium to anyone who takes it. This potion that Xavier and the rest of the magical community are trying to figure out a cure for.

This is such an easy and fast read. The story is interesting and the characters are well written. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a young adult realistic fantasy book with lots of magic, friends, family, and secrets.

Really wanted to like this one more than I did. The world-building is lacking, and honestly the female MC was somewhat whiny for the first half of the book. It picked up quite a bit around the halfway point, and it ended up being enjoyable, if not earthshattering.

This is a book I would describe as being okay. The concept sounded fantastic, and I can see that the author was trying to make a Howl's Moving Castle meets cottagecore type story but it never full got there. The main conflict of the story never felt particularly threatening or time sensitive, and the main characters were like cardboard cutouts of witches and wizards fighting in a system. I personally love an interesting magic system in stories and this had the potential to be just that, but fell short.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

literally give me any book that has howl's moving castle vibes and I am sold!!!!! very good vibes really enjoyed this one

Absolutely lovely cover, I thought the potion recipes were very clever, and I even appreciated that the problem was something that directly impacted the town rather than being a world saving sort of thing. I do think the confrontation with Clara's mother seemed thrown in at the last minute and probably could have been taken out entirely were it not to make the book longer and give us a piece of information.

I enjoy reading this book! This book has a cosy,cottage core element and it’s perfect for fans who enjoy reading or watching studio ghibli. The romance is cute and heartwarming. I was very intrigue on the flower magic concept and it was a perfect book to read in the spring.

Unfortunately, I really struggled with this book. I kept expecting something exciting to happen, but it felt stuck in a loop of the MC belittling herself, failing at magic and crying. I had to DNF the book at 60% when she foudn out the truth, instantly jumped to the worst conclusion, and when she got the explanation, still was set against him. I have a friend who loved it, so I think this just wasn't the book for me.

Flowerheart Review
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

**What I liked**

It did feel cozy and light which was nice. I also appreciated a world where magic is commonplace, and doesn’t require some epic quest for the story to be told around it.
I loved the flower and gardening themes, that were done well.
The prose was, in general, good.

**What I disliked**

Oof, this book didn’t work for me. It was a bit of a slog to get through and there was very little direction or solid tension throughout.

This book refused to end. I swear I thought it should have ended about six times and it didn’t, which made it so, so difficult to get through.

I know this is YA, but the characters felt really immature and 2 dimensional. It felt as if this was meant to be a middle grade book that was brought up so it could have romance.


**Recommendation**

I don’t think I would recommend this book. However, others might like it.

You’ll like this if you like:
- You’re looking for a low stakes, cozy read.
- You want a world where magic is commonplace.
- A story about a girl finding her own way and overcoming her insecurities.

**Conclusion**

This wasn’t my favorite read. It felt jumbled and flat. I do think the author has great potential, though.

I loved this book! Honestly, this felt like living inside a video game, and vaguely gave me the vibes of playing Zelda.

I’m reading other reviews saying this book laced with magical undertones, is a bigger picture metaphor. However, I wanted to take this for what it was. A slow burn, YA fantasy, where the heroine slowly come into herself and her inner power.

This is perfect for a slow rainy day!

This was such a lovely cottagecore fantasy romance—sweet, immersive, and a total delight to follow these characters through their arcs.

I had a good time with this one. It was a solid cozy fantasy though nothing super memorable. I thought it was a standalone but left a lot of open ended questions that I would have liked answers too. The romance was ok, though I didn't feel super invested in it.

The cover of this book is obviously gorgeous and I think that it does set up a certain expectation for the reader. This book was cozy and there wasn’t very much tension, which can probably be inferred by the title. While I did enjoy this book, it didn’t really have an aspects that gripped me? I do understand that’s part of the vibe that I think the author was going for, so maybe I wasn’t the ideal audience for this. It also reads very young and is a good intro book for because getting into books with romantasy elements.

3.5 Flowerheart is a cozy cottage-core, low-stakes fantasy book.

Although this is a low-stakes fantasy book, there are still stakes, just not like in high fantasy books. I mean, someone’s life is at stake, so... But for me personally, even though there were stakes, I didn’t feel too invested. The plot is simple but good; at some points in the plot, I was shocked, like with the Euphoria potion plot.

I loved seeing the magic system. the flower language, what their meanings are, and seeing how it correlated with Clara’s feelings...
 
Speaking of Clara, she undergoes significant growth and development throughout the book. It is truly beautiful to see because her journey is relatable and inspiring.
 
Xaviar is also another main character; I loved him because he isn’t the usual fantasy book boy. He’s a cinnamon roll; he’s shy and isn’t afraid to cry.

The romance in this book was pure, and it blossomed into something adorable. Although I did wish we had more development with them because I wasn’t super invested, I did find them cute. (This is childhood friends to lovers.) Another bond I enjoyed was between Clara and her father; their bond was so adorable.
 
The cover of this book was so beautiful, which was one of the reasons the book caught my eye. I feel like a cover is just as important of a feature as what’s in the book, honestly.
 
Overall, this is a good book if you’re looking for something cozy, but it’s still fantasy.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen, for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This won't appeal to all teen readers but it is very cute and has a lovely atmosphere. The book would have been better suited for twenty and thirty year olds.

"An Enchanting Debut for Lovers of Magic and Romance"

"Flowerheart" is a stunning debut that will captivate fans of Margaret Rogerson and Allison Saft. This cottagecore fantasy romance takes you on an enchanting journey that will leave you fully immersed in its pages. The book exudes a unique atmosphere, brimming with magic and charm, thanks to Catherine's masterful storytelling.

While the world of "Flowerheart" draws inspiration from the Victorian era, it is a place where queerness is not only accepted but celebrated. This queernormative world is a refreshing and heartwarming aspect of the story. It's heartening to see more queer fantasy books emerging, set in worlds devoid of prejudice against LGBTQ+ individuals.

The protagonist, Clara, is a character who undergoes significant growth and development throughout the book. Her journey is both relatable and inspiring. The novel also features strong bisexual representation, making it a welcome addition to the world of diverse main characters.

If you have an affinity for flowers, teenage angst, heartfelt romance, discussions of mental health, and an enchanting, magical setting, "Flowerheart" deserves a place on your reading list. It's a book that will sweep you off your feet and leave you longing for more.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Netgalley and Harper Teen for granting me access to the E-Arc of this book.

3/5 Stars

This was a very cottagecore / light fantasy book. The writing was easy to read and the story was easy to follow. The author did try to bring in some darker tones while keeping it light. I would've loved this book to be longer and more detailed. I would've liked to know more about Clara's powers and the magic in this world. The romance was very surface-level, there wasn't much there that kept me invested. Overall, it is a very easy and fairly light-hearted YA book. I would recommend if you are looking for that light fantasy cottagecore book.

Flowerheart is a simple story told in an inventive and beautiful way. It is about depression and negative self-talk and the magic of love, believing, healing and hope. The world building and descriptions were beautiful; they painted a picture in my mind that I could clearly see.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was better as a romance than as a fantasy. The love story was well done and beautiful and sweet. The fantasy element could have been stronger- I wanted more detail on the MCs magic and how it works.

This was a fun read, while also being slightly dark at the same time. The only thing that was really missing was much actual use of the main character’s magic, because the story just starts with her being threatened with losing it, and we know she’s a healer and that’s what she uses her magic for, but the story just focuses on her being afraid to use it because she might hurt someone, more than seeing what she can actually accomplish with it and why she’s so afraid of having it be taken away even though it torments her. So we don’t get as clear of a picture of what the stakes are. But overall, this was a good book.

Excellent choice for high school fantasy collections. The book features strong characters, magic, suspense, and romance -- something for everyone.