I just finished this Evergreen by Devin Greenlee. Thank you to Entangled Publishing for sending me an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest review! Evergreen is a story that I would describe as a "cozy YA fantasy." This is the story of a young male dryad named Quill, his mom, sister, and new neighbors. They live in a modern day small town live above the small flower shop they own and run. This is where their every day lives end and the fantasy begins. Inside their apartment is a door to a special hidden garden containing acres of special plants, trees, and even a special waterfall. This garden contains the magic of their family and all of their ancestors. As with most 17 year old kids, Quill is trying to figure out who he is and where he belongs in life. His urge to break off onto his own is causing tensions at home, but nothing out of the ordinary. While navigating these changes, Quill and his sister notice something happening with the garden, right around the time the new neighbors move in. They have to race to figure out what is going on before it is too late and their family legacy of magic is ruined. I loved how fast and relaxing this book felt to read. The world building wasn't overwhelming and the characters were likable and relatable. Both the small town and garden sound like places you would want to visit. The ending was not something I predicted and I really enjoyed Quill's journey and personal growth through the entire story. I hope one day we will be able to visit Quill's story again in a sequel and get to check in on him today. I recommend this one for a quick and relaxing read!

This was described as a Secret Garden reimagining, and apart from the Garden part it didn't quite come through on the comparison to that. However, it was a pretty good book regardless.

Quill is the only male Dryad in history, and unlike all the females in his family line, he has no magic but doesn't stop his Mother keeping him hidden away to avoid their secret magic getting out in the world.

But one day, Quill meets Liam and his first taste of the outside world makes him feel a little bolder. Wanting to experience more of the human world, especially with Liam by his side, seems innocent enough, but there is something more sinister at play... things are changing in the garden and it may not be for the better!

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the chance to read and review this early copy of the book... the date was January but when I have checked amazon today it says February so hopefully early next year for anyone interested!

I am a sucker for a pretty, floral cover, and queer stories always pull me in, especially when there’s fairy tale elements. For me, Evergreen didn’t quite live up to the cover. It starts really interestingly and I like Quill and Liam initially getting to know one another, and Quill’s utter obliviousness is pretty precious. But the middle third ended up feeling slow and like the premise kinda got lost in favor of a romance. I did enjoy the finale and the way the mystery of who broke into the garden was revealed. There is definitely some interesting magic and Quill does a fair bit of growing for a story that takes place over only a few weeks. All that said, though, this ended up being a pretty middling read for me. I think it has a lot of potential and I look forward to seeing how Devin will grow as a storyteller in future books.

Quill and his mom and sister are druids but unlike his sister and mom he is a rare type of druid that possesses no magic. To make things even worse he is no good at making healing potions. they have a garden and a floral shop attached to their home and have recently rented out their extra apartment to a mr. Watson and his teenage son Liam. The first night the humans move in A noise wakes Quill up and when he investigates he notice the door to their magic garden is open. He immediately thinks it is the new neighbors and when he meets overly friendly Liam his suspicion only grows. He even tries to convince his sister Laurel it is their neighbor Liam but she tells him he needs to find proof into maybe become more familiar with their new neighbor. He must do this all secretly because his mom due to him having no magic is overly protective and doesn’t like him leaving the house but after getting to know Liam and his severe allergic reaction to plants he knows Liam cannot be the culprit. Unfortunately Quil is becoming besotted with Liam and even sneaks out to go to the movies with him. While he is busy socializing with his neighbor he almost forgets all about whoever broke in their magical garden to steal plants and other things no human should be in possession of. Unfortunately instead of worrying about who went into the garden he should’ve been worried about what got out! This was a cute book and I loved Liam‘s character but most of the characters in this book were really likable even the villain lol! If you love fantasy stories and Fairy tales thing you will probably love Evergreen by Devon Greenlee. I want to thank entangled publishing and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This book had such an amazing idea but the execution was not the best. I found myself intrigued by the story but bored by the writing.

The author never gives us a reason to care for the garden. Yes, it's the source of their power and holds their ancestors, but how is it the source of their power and why should we care? When it was introduced that someone broke in and that it was bad, but it was such a cliff note that I never really cared about it.

The dialogue was tedious and boring, especially when an ancient evil as introduced, I was confused by their use of wording. This book has me upset that the overall idea of the book was great, it just was not written well.

Unfortunatly I had to DNF it. After getting nearly half through it, I still wasn't engaged. I saw many good reviews, but this book isn't for me.

**Thank you to the publisher for providing an electronic ARC through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

In Devin Greenlee’s queer young adult fantasy debut, we follow Quill, a young half-dryad who has been hidden away from the outside world as he grows into his magic.
The problem is, his magic hasn’t come yet (much to Quill’s frustration). He longs to explore the world, go to school, maybe even make a friend… but for now he’s restricted to his family’s garden and flower shop.
Then their new neighbor Liam comes crashing in (literally) onto Quill’s fire escape. A potential new friend combined with a mystery involving a thief that has broken into the (magical, fragile, nothing-in-it-should-be-in-the-hands-of-anyone-outside-Quill’s-family) garden… Quill has a lot to juggle after a life of complete secrecy.

This coming-of-age book pulled me in and didn’t let me go for a good while— just as the original Secret Garden story did the first time I read it! It was fascinating to see how Quill navigated learning about himself, about his magic, and the outside world, I adored the character interactions (Liam and Quill’s budding romance is so sweet!), and it was so refreshing to see that Quill has a loving and supportive family.

While I was very excited to read a queer fantasy retelling of The Secret Garden (one of my favorites as a kid), this felt more like a reimagining than a beat-for-beat retelling. Which isn’t a bad thing, just wasn’t quite what I was expecting from the marketing.

All in all this was a wonderfully heartwarming queer urban fairytale, and I look forward to reading it again and again!

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Devin Greenlee debuts with his queer young adult fantasy, Evergreen. Readers follow Quill, a young half-dryad who has been secreted away from the human world his whole life as he comes into his magic. The problem is that his magic hasn't happened yet. Where Quill wants to explore the world and meet new people and maybe make a friend, he is restricted to his family's garden and flower shop. Enter new neighbor, Liam, who can't help but shake things up as he crashes about on Quill's fire escape. Add in one mystery about a thief that has broken into the garden and Quill has a lot to maneuver after a life of secrecy.

Marketed as a retelling of The Secret Garden, I find it better to consider Evergreen an "inspired by" rather than a true retelling. Some of the plot beats do hit and the general vibe is there, but this is not the strictest retelling or reimagining out there. This is not a good or bad thing, simply a managing of expectations.

Evergreen is undeniably a coming-of-age tale for Quill as he learns about himself, his magic, the outside world, and his place in his family. I do think that this book read quickly and it was easy to look up and find another 50 pages had passed without you realizing it. The character interactions were cute and sweet. Quill had a very loving and supportive family, which seems uncommon in modern YA but was welcome.

Overall, this story was simply nice. Just fun and lighthearted with stakes that never really felt too threatening, despite having really neat imagery. This book was enjoyable and fun, but not anything that will stick with me, personally, long term. I would definitely recommend this one for the younger end of the YA audience as I feel that it might have a much stronger impact on readers with a shorter "already read" catalog than my own.

"Evergreen" by David Greenlee is a charming read that left me feeling giddy and happy. 🌟 Quill and Liam's story, set in a magically reimagined Secret Garden, was a delightful escape. It's my first book by this author, and I'm impressed. The mix of Quill's longing for the outside world and his budding romance with Liam created a magical atmosphere. Even though I enjoyed it a lot, It didn’t exactly hit that 5 star mark for me. Nevertheless, it's a heartwarming urban fairytale that's definitely worth the read. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This did not feel like a secret garden retelling, which was super disappointing! I was really excited to see a queer, fantasy retelling of a childhood favorite, but this was not it. The plot seemed disjointed, but it was a quick read!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!
Reimagining of The Secret Garden. Which I’ve never watched. I think I should now.
The cover is beautiful.
I love stories like this!! (nature ridden)
Had to look up what dryads were.
This story was so amazing. I loved all of the characters. I must be really dense to not guessing some of the mystery, lol. Quill and Liam are so cute. I would love to see a sequel!

While there's a secret garden in this book, it's not actually a retelling of The Secret Garden. And that kinda disappointed me, but I could find some enjoyment in Quil's journey. Ultimately I think this might be a little too YA for my taste, but if that's your jam you might find this to be whimsical. It just wasn't what I was expecting.

This was a four star book for the first seventy percent, but I didn't care much for the last thirty. It felt like nothing was happening and then too much was happening too quickly.

I forgot I read this. It's forgettable, and the relationships are confusing in that characters seem to change based on what they needed to be at the moment. Also, the banter between the MC and his love interest was just so hard to read. I liked the idea behind it, but the execution left me wanting.

I loved the premise of this book and there was a lot of potential with the story, I mean who wouldn’t love reading about a magical garden? I liked the characters and the relationships they all had with the main character, I just wish they could have been fleshed out a little more. I think it would have helped with the pacing of the story so it didn’t feel as rushed and choppy. Quill was an ok main character I just wish he was more than just snark and sarcasm, it was a good jumping off point but it didn’t really go anywhere else from there. However, I did enjoy Liam as a love interest I just wanted to know more about him other than he’s a hot swimmer. I appreciated the banter between the two, it just need more for me to believe in a deeper connection between Quill and Liam. Also I just really wanted more happy times in the garden; most of the time it was just Quill working and tending to the plants while he wished to see more of the world. It kind of sucked the magic out of it for me a little bit.

As it is I like the book but I didn’t love it and I REALLY wanted to love it because it sounded like such a great idea.

3.5 stars rounded up

I think calling this a "Secret Garden" reimagining is a little misleading. Sure, there's a garden that is secret and hidden away from the world, but that's about it. There was little to no connection to The Secret Garden, which I didn't really mind because the story was better on its own anyways.

The basic story and plot were interesting. You have Quill, a half-human, half-dryad boy, trying to find his purpose, even though his mom has his shut away form the world. (Which honestly seemed a little unreasonable, but at least the mom chilled a little throughout the story.) When he meets and interacts with a human for the first time, there's pretty much instant chemistry. I really enjoyed seeing Liam and Quill get to know each other and I liked their secret adventures. However, it was a little bit of a letdown that they fell for each other so quickly. Their relationship felt very much like YA stories where the only two gay kids end up together out of little more than necessity. I did think they worked well together, but Quill had literally never met a human before or considered any sort of relationship before. They'd only known each other for a handful days before Quill was spilling his deepest secret to Liam. It all felt a little too easy, especially when the magical love plant confirmed they were soulmates.

I also wasn't a huge fan of how Liam straight-up betrayed Quill and how quickly he was forgiven. I understand 100% why Liam did what he did and I can't blame him at all. I think anyone in his shoes would have done it. And had he only taken the one thing to help his dad, I think I would've been more onboard his quick redemption, but he took more than one thing, even if the other thing was small. He literally betrayed the trust of his boyfriend/friend TWICE. I also didn't like the way he tried to hide it and went right back to kissing Quill like he hadn't just betrayed him in the biggest way possible. There needed to be a little work on Liam's part to earn that forgiveness.

I did like the mystery that was mixed into the story. I kept guessing who was breaking into the garden and why, but I was a little disappointed with the resolution. The Big Bad Villain was a bit weak and underdeveloped. And the defeat of the villain was a little lacking as well, though I did like the twist it added to the story.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. The story moved at a pretty good pace and it held my attention well. It was a little weak in areas and could have benefitted from some more developmental tweaks, but it wasn't bad by any stretch. I think it's a good book for anyone wanting a simple YA story with magical twists.

This book is the perfect easy fantasy read! There wasn't any world building or confusing names, just a hint of magic and a cute romance. I loved how easy this book was to fall in love with, to read and to understand. It is the perfect book for people who want to try fantasy but don't want a 5+ book series with a million names to memorize. Each character is extremely relatable and they made the story even better. I especially loved Liam and Quill. They shouldn't work but somehow they just do, they make sense and they are easy to root for. The magic that is used on the book really makes sense and helps add to the book, it isn't just put into the book without reason. I can easily visualize the garden and the amazing world that is growing. Lastly, I love that it's LGBTQ+, there isn't enough LGBTQ+ in Fantasy and we need more. Thank you for the ARC!

★ ★ ★ ★ • 4

Whimsical urban fantasy twist on a retelling of The Secret Garden. Went into the read without any particular expectations, but ended up really liking the book. The writing isn’t overly complicated or detail heavy so it was a nice casual read where I didn’t have to be super attentive to follow along with the plot.

I didn’t care much for the fantasy elements despite Dryad magic and magic plants being a central part of the story. I did like Quill, and how the author explores his relationship with his mother and sister who have essentially kept him isolated his entire life. The friendship/romance between Quill and Liam was also cute, so it sort of made up for the quick resolution to the mystery at the end.

I would definitely be open to reading another book by the same author in the future. And thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC for review.

Evergreen by Devin Greenlee is an enchanting fantasy read with an Unique voice to its writing. I was drawn in by the premise of a coming of age narrative following the first ever male dryad and delighted to find a cute romance nestled within the tale. I will definitely be following this author moving forward and am very excited for the upcoming release of this title.

Quill and Liam are pretty cute, and the first half of the story is nice and interesting but it kinda goes off the rail in the second half.
I wished there was more world building/explanations of magic and magical creatures. It's all too superficial and a little repetitive.
I mean, I still enjoyed the story, it's a quick reading. But it could have been so much more. The ending was also a bit anti climatic :(