There's something magical about stepping into different times and seeing the world through the eyes of people from the past.

I read this everywhere—during meals, on walks, anytime I could. I just couldn't put it down.

The story is about the strange history of Floreana Island in the Galapagos. It starts with Friedrich Ritter, a German doctor who arrived with his companion Dore Strauch (there's some saucy backstory here), who had multiple sclerosis. Together, they built a successful garden and thrived on the island - but Friedrich turned out to be a bit of a douchebag, IMO.

Floreana is best known for the mysterious disappearances that happened in the 1930s, especially that of an Austrian baroness who arrived shortly after the Wittmers. The baroness was a bit of a hoot in this book - I found myself scoffing at her antics, often.

Loved this so much!

Really impressive and immersive writing. Felt like a really good to read by the pool for the summer.

This book was transporting. The characters came alive for me and were compellingly complex. I also really appreciated the vivid imagery achieved through this book’s landscape/environment descriptions.