This story took a while to get into but after some time I was invested in the outcome. Sometimes the pacing felt a bit off but it kept me intrigued. Although I liked the fantasy aspect of the story it felt like the story resolved a bit too easily. Still, it was a nice read that I would tell others to check out. 3.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

The cover is stunning, and that is what initially drew me in. I love a good YA fantasy, but unfortunately, this one didn't really hold my attention. I found the pacing pretty slow at times. The Indian folklore was fascinating and intertwined throughout, which I appreciated. I didn't realize that this story was going to be completely modernized, and it kind of took away from the fantasy element. I had a really difficult time connecting with Nilesh, but I did enjoy the FMC, Ridhi. I wish we got more explanation about HOW she was able to do the divining as it's in the title but there isn't much explanation for her abilities unfortunately.

DNF @ 35%

I hate to say that I’m not finishing this book. I really wanted to like this, I wanted to enjoy the heck out of this! But just like Thakrar’s other novel, I wasn’t enjoying this. The writing is very flower for one character and not for the other. That isn’t bad actually, it’s good because you can really tell the difference between the two and their mindsets.
The characters themselves just weren’t interesting. Our MMC is dealing with the divorce of his parents which I really felt for, but that doesn’t mean that his attitude and behavior is excusable. Our FMC seemed like a great character, I was just extremely bored. Bored with everything actually.
The plot sounds interesting when you read the description but in execution it wasn’t giving excitement. I do wish to read more of the Indian mythology so maybe someday I’ll come back to this or try other books. For now though, it’s gonna have to stay unfinished.

I give all my DNF’s 3 stars unless I genuinely disliked them.

This book has such a beautiful cover. And I love reading books with mythology from cultures I don’t know a lot about. There was a lot of mythology and characters from those myths spread throughout the story. The descriptions of the alternate world, the yaksha’s realm, were beautiful and created such vivid and colorful scenes in my head as I read. Unfortunately, I was actually a bit bored and had to push myself through the story. There were a lot of twists and turns, but not in a good way. In a way that I didn’t quite understand exactly what was happening or why something was happening. It was hard to believe that Nilesh would go so willingly into this other world with the way his character had been described, even with the horrible things he was dealing with as his family imploded. And then how Ridhi’s brother was so upset because she forgot to make cookies for his team? Once? Wow. I think it was a younger brother, but still, that was a little over the top for me.

As I said the mythology was interesting and led to some unique scenes, but overall I was unfortunately bored and had to push myself to finish, basically skimming towards the end almost just to get finished.

This had a great premise and I enjoyed the setting and storline. The two characters are interesting and work well in the story. I felt most of the story was told in the description and I really did not get much more in the story that really excited me much more but I still enjoyed travelling through it.

Recommended: for specific things
For lush descriptions of nature and magic, not for complex plot or characters

Thoughts:
This is a book that is mostly here for the vibes, and they are gorgeous. The story, the characters... those are a bit flatter. But boy, is it a pretty world to be in! The descriptions of the forest and creatures and magic is so incredibly engaging. It was so easy to imagine the scenes and items described, and I was completely immersed. And honestly, a bit longing, because they all sounded wonderful.

The downside is that the story was pretty lackluster. It took a long time for anything to happen, and by 50% of the way through I still didn't have any idea what the main conflict was meant to be. If you're coming to this for enemies to lovers romance, or for any romance, you are in the wrong place my friend. This was okay by me because I'm pretty tired of that trope, but there is no romance. There are scenes that are intended to be, they did not succeed, which is part of the eventual thin plot as well. As the story went on, things felt poorly explained at some times and awkwardly obvious at others. Things that I think were meant to be a surprise... were not. At all.

There are two main characters whose points of view we get, and I didn't really like either of them. It didn't feel like either of them grew very much in the story and the resolution felt abrupt and weirdly placed. There were two lines that collided at the end, which felt like it took away from both by making them compete for attention. Ultimately I didn't care, which isn't great for the big dramatic resolution.

There are themes of belonging at the heart of this, with Ridhi always feeling like an outside with other kids and desperately wanting to be part of the magical forest folk, and with Nilesh struggling to find a new normal after his parents split up. Interactions between those two are pretty limited though, which was a surprise as the blurb set it up like that would be a central element.

Overall this is an AMAZING book if you want something that will whisk you away to a magical location and fill your head with rich visuals of fields of flowers, fantastic night market goods, and delicious foods both real and imagines. But if you're here for any kind of compelling story or romance, well, re-calibrate those expectations.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for a free advanced copy. This is my honest review.

This book was not for me. It felt very ya in a bad way. The characters felt very young and immature. And the written felt like it had a lot of plot holes.

Two teens, a magical court, and a journey through a world filled wtih spirits drawn from Hindu and Buddhist folklore. The story follows plant-loving perfume making Ridhi Kapadia, a girl who yearns to find magic, and the popular Nilesh Batra, her former friend. Ridhi spends her days mixing perfumes and wandering into the local woods to listen to her beloved trees... and finds herself begging to be let into an enchanted kingdom from the yakshas. Nilesh on the other hand is tired of pretending to be happy, shocked by his parent's perfect marriage being a scam... and decides to end up on his former best friend's doorstep. Nilesh finds himself drawn into Ridhi's magical adventure and both of land in a magical court and find themselves on an adventure. I have to say I was initially intrigued by how beautiful the cover was and that this was going to be a magical fantasy read filled with mythology and folklore... but I can honestly say this book was a major miss for me. The book was a slow read, I felt like there was so much info dumping and less actual plot, and the characters just felt kind of bland. I never really found myself invested in either character or enjoying them. The story itself would be better suited for a middle grade fantasy reader. I just didn't really enjoy this and was left kind of disappointed because of the potential this story could have had. This story was unfortunately really boring and I just found myself sluggish throughout the time I spent reading it.

Release Date: March 4, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Divining the Leaves is written very poetically and I loved it, but the pacing was slow to start and I couldn't connect to the story. While I loved the writing style I felt that there was a lot of info dumping and more telling than showing. The folklore and mythology were wonderfully done and a great part of the story. While this wasn't my favorite book it was entertaining enough and I hope others enjoy it fully!

Couldn't finish. I didn't find this to be as promised. I'm disappointed because the synopsis had so much promise! I enjoyed Star Daughter, so it was disappointing not being able to finish Divining the Leaves

This is difficult to review. On one hand, I love the new approach to faerie stories and Ridhi Kapadia was a great character to follow in the story. She knows her passion and is a bit of a misfit among her peers for it. She loves her family but longs for more. On the other hand, you have missing plot and Nilesh Batra, our other main character who I was not a fan of through the whole story. Yes, he's a typical teen, but his arrogance grated on me seemed to think of nothing but a pretty girl. Ridhi's character development seemed realistic, as she finds a place for herself in the world, while Nilesh doesn't show any development until the very end and I felt like it came from nowhere (I mean, I could offer a possible explanation, but I shouldn't have to). Nothing really happened, until something did and it seemed like it came from nowhere. I did like the non traditional ending, but it seemed disconnected from the rest of the plot.

This book had immense potential, and I'm so sorry to say that it just missed the mark for me. It was extremely slow and dumped a lot of information and worldbuilding on you, but nothing really happened until later in the book. I did love the mythology and folklore - Hindu mythology is so cool. The other thing I was kind of annoyed by is the MMC. He was just... unlikable. I didn't connect with him. He frustrated me.

I did ultimately DNF this book at 55%. I am rating it 2 stars based on what I read.

This cover is absolutely stunning, I love the artwork! I think there was a lot of potential here, I just could not stand the MMC. I understand he was going through a lot, but he wasn't very likable and I didn't feel myself seeing change as much as I wanted to. I did love the worldbuilding and the incorporation of myth/folklore into the story.

I really wanted to love this book, but it just didn’t work for me. When requesting this book, the description sounded so cool—fantasy, magic, and folklore—but it ended up falling flat. It starts off so slow, and I couldn’t connect with the characters or the world at all. It felt shallow, like it never really dug deep enough to hook me.

The folklore and nature themes were interesting, and I can see how someone who likes slower, reflective stories might enjoy this. But for me, it felt disorganized and honestly, kind of boring. I’m bummed this one didn’t work out, but I’d still give the author another shot—there were good ideas here; they just didn’t come together this time.

Thank you NetGalley & HarperCollins Children's Books for the eArc.

Ridhi is a 17-year-old young woman deeply connected to nature: she blends flora into delectable scents, wears flower crowns, and feels the trees as if they speak to her, and she wants desperately for the nature spirits - yakshas - to allow her entry into the enchanted forest. Nilesh is a young man who used to be her friend but has veered away from the "weird girl" with flowers in her hair. Nilesh's world falls apart when he discovers that not only are his parents divorcing, but that their marriage has been an illusion for years. He gets suspended from school and sent to live with Ridhi's family while his parents sort themselves out. While staying with Ridhi's family, Nilesh encounters Kamini, part of the Yaksha court. He's smitten, but Kamini's affections may not be all they seem to be. Meanwhile, Ridhi has made connections of her own in the Yaksha world, striking up a deal with one of the noblewomen of the Yaksha court. The nobles are playing the mortals like chess pieces, but the mortals have their own agendas. Rich with Hindu and Buddhist mythology, Thakrar allows Divining the Leaves readers to get lost in the beauty of the writing. She creates a story that invites readers - like her main characters - to escape from the frustrations of daily living to get lost in the magical beauty of the enchanted forest and the Yaksha court and Night Market. Invite readers to create their own flower crowns and nature-inspired art projects to extend an activity for this beautifully woven story. Invite your fantasy readers to get lost in this world.

The beautiful cover and premise caught my attention right away. The story takes place both in the modern world and a fantasy one and I think the author did a good job combining both. I liked the main character Rhidi, she is unapologetically herself despite being mock by her piers. She wears whimsical outfits and believes in magic, her sole purpose has been to proof that it exists. As for the MMC Nilesh, I had a hard time liking his personality. He was at times rude and very self centered. I get that he is a teenager and is going through some emotional situations with his family but it put me off a bit. It had a rich world immersed in Indian culture and lore, which I enjoyed. The story moved a bit too slow for my liking so at certain parts I found myself a bit bored sadly. And the romances felt a bit too juvenile by being insta love/attraction. Overall it was nice, but it was a bit hard to stay engaged with what was happening.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollin's Children's Books for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

DIVINING THE LEAVES is a beautiful contemporary fantasy YA with inspiration in Hindu and Buddhist folklore. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advanced copy!

I give it a 3.4!

I loved the flowery language of this book, it made for a really rich world and helped create a sense of immersion in this magical landscape the protagonists found themselves in. However, I was taken out of it a few times by the need to look things up. I don't mean the cultural folklore or references, as I feel they were clear, but other words used. I was happy to learn, but having to pull out my dictionary meant having to pull myself out of the story.

I will say Nilesh, the male protagonist, really didn't do much for me. In simple terms, I get it: he's just found out his whole family has been lying to him, he's been displaced with an estranged family friend, sure. But because we never got to see him before this happened, we just saw him at his absolute worst, and it made it hard to defend him or even want to. The instalove was already a lot, but even then, he didn't even care about her personality, and he mentioned her being hot over and over again. Sure, they hung out, but it didn't feel substantial or like the tension made sense, which is why I think I was shocked when I realized it wasn't some sort of love spell and was meant to be genuine.

While talking about romance, I also have to bring up Ridhi. Her dynamic with her love interest ends up making more sense as the book progresses, but her attraction does not. I wish there had been a scene between when they first meet and when their first lesson starts, because the crush just felt like it came out of nowhere.

I do find myself wanting more from a few of the relationships in this book, especially between Ridhi and Nilesh. Even though they were supposedly friends at one point, it never feels like that. It feels like they don't know each other at all, and maybe it's because they've just grown up, but I see no world where they could have ever been as close as Ridhi described. Even though they're going through some of the same things (discovering this magical world, engaging with the people in it, trying to escape their current lives), they just feel so separated from each other, which at times works for their estrangement, but then just makes me think: why even pick these characters? Also, Nilesh just accepting the acceptance of the magical world after picking on Ridhi for years really tickled me.

Like I said though, I love the rich landscape of this book, and I did enjoy that it was high stakes, unique, and stunning--both the writing and the cover. I'd read another book by this author.

I found this very very very difficult to get into. I would stop after a few sentences about wouldn't be able to get back into. I unfortunately had to DNF and probably won't be reading this again.

I thought this book would be great but it fell woefully short. I did not enjoy reading it and will not be recommending it to anyone ever.