This was a fun ghost story. The writing seemed a bit YA for my liking. The story is told from three points of view which I enjoyed. Though this started strong, it just did not captivate me like I was hoping. It is a slow burn with haunted house vibes. Thanks to NetGalley Random House Publishing Group and Del Rey for an early EARC.

I felt like I couldn't fully get into this one - I echo the sentiment Aunt Clara felt like a caricature... Just over-the-top evil?

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: January 28, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

This book had such a hold on me the entire time. I loved how our author wrote in such a way that you felt as though you were there along the way, the characters felt real and relatable and unlikable (ahem…Claire…). I enjoyed the paranormal and eerie vibe this book gave off. We have Lily and Violet whose parents pass and they are left to go live with their aunt who has her mind set on banking on the girls inheritance. We see the garden that our said aunt has and the dead man below…they have gifts that we learn about throughout the book. I loved their characters, the girls.

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as Random House Pulishing Group — Ballantine, Del Rey

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for providing an ARC for review.

I was really excited by this book in the beginning. It felt like A Series of Unfortunate Events if the main characters were psychic and could communicate with the dead. I liked how the author was building Aunt Clara’s backstory, and enjoyed the building of tension as the children found more and more ghosts on the property.

However, I felt the momentum of the story started to stagger and fall apart about halfway through. No one is around to explain the girls’ powers until late in the story, and it felt like the world building was still being established in the epilogue. I didn’t understand why Dina couldn’t just call Mr. Skye and vouch for Lily’s version of events. Aunt Clara felt cartoonishly evil; I felt frustrated that that the author decided she was irredeemable and that her history with her mother wasn’t explained more. Why wasn’t there a safer way to perform a seance? Why was the only solution vengeance?

The tone of the story read as YA, which I don’t mind. However, the ending is dissonant with the rest of the story. To borrow the music metaphor, it feels like we ended the story with a discordant 7th chord instead of finding the tonic. I think that this can be a powerful decision, to end with unresolved tension and by making your readers curious or uncomfortable. However, I don’t think that this dissonance was on purpose, and instead I’m left thinking it was a mistake.

All that to say, I did enjoy this story. There were many fascinating, interesting elements of the story, and Violet and Lily felt like rich, unique characters. I just wish elements of it were stronger because I liked so many other aspects of this book.

This book got me at first, I was IN. I liked the vibes and the characters, specifically the two girls, and their powers were very interesting to me. I thought this would be a good haunted house horror story with girls who can see dead people and people's emotions at the core of it. Unfortunately, it lost me and it didn't get me back.

I 100% agree with people who say that Aunt Clara feels like a female version of Count Olaf. She's a despicable character, but she isn't written in a serious way. She's a murderer, she's vain and cruel, but I never once felt the gravity of how evil she was supposed to be. I was told she was evil, but she spoke and acted like a cartoon villain the entire time. How am I supposed to take her seriously? The ghosts were not scary at all either, though I liked the dynamic they had with the girls. No thrills or scares for me.

Overall, I was expecting one thing but got something entirely different. It read YA, it was silly instead of dark, and it dragged so much in the middle because a few out-of-pocket things happened and we spent so much time on that for no reason. I was hoping to love this, so I'm incredibly disappointed.

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

I would've liked this *so much better* if it was darker. When the ghost haunting started, I thought Aunt Clara was going to be driven slowly insane by them as karmic punishment for the things she did (but she wasn't even scared of them! Even though we're told she was at first, it didn't FEEL LIKE IT cause she didn't ACT LIKE IT. She acted like she was inconvenienced by them more than anything). I thought that she would have more depth and, when she started breaking due to the haunting, we would get more insights from her and maybe some regret or guilt though it would've been too little too late. I thought the girls' powers would be explored further. I thought, I thought, I thought.

the premise is good and had potential to be great.

unfortunately, my issues with the book outweighs the good. for adult fiction at the bottom of the garden came off as middle grade. i had to double check the age rating for this book since it was so cartoonish/juvenile. i am a fan of tropes but the characters (especially clara woods) came off flat, there is no depth but "classically heroic" or "classically evil". i liked the premise, the plot outline, and the concept but it was a very painful read.

thank you bruce + netgalley for the ARC!

I had this book for a while and have tried on several different occasions to finished it and I just could not get into this book.
For me it just fell flat, and I did not finish it.

After the death of their parents in a mountaineering accident, 14-year-old Lily and nine-year-old Violet are sent to live with their father's sister Clara, who was estranged from her brother throughout the girls' short lives. Clara is the epitome of a fairy tale villain; she's the wicked queen from Snow White, the witch from Rapunzel, and Cinderella's evil stepmother rolled into one. She has no interest in her nieces, beyond their inheritance. Upon being whisked away from the lives they know to Clara's remote home of Crescent Hill, the girls quickly discover that their new guardian is not only cruel, she's downright murderous. And the only thing that might save them is their own burgeoning gifts of magic.

I really enjoyed the first half of At the Bottom of the Garden, with its gothic setting and the ghostly manifestations Violet and Lily encounter in their aunt's home. This book switches between the POVs of Clara, Lily and Violet, and there's a definite YA sort of tone for all three, although the writing was more palatable to me than most of the other (admittedly few) YA books I have read as an adult. However, the middle section almost to the end of the story gets bogged down in the characters behaving as repetitively as an old psychical imprint haunting: Clara being cruel and selfish, Lily angry and powerless, Violet ethereal and imperiled, over and over and over again. This constant cycle got tiresome quite quickly, and I found myself getting tired of all of the characters, good and evil, and was just ready for the story to conclude.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray for a digital advanced readers copy, At the Bottom of the Garden will be published on January 28, 2025.

This was a fun read. Aunt Clara taking those two little girls to exploit them was horrible. But seeing her get tormented by those she harmed was delicious. My kind of ghost story fur sure.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded interesting to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

If I had to summarize this novel - I’d call it the one where Count Olaf (A Series of Unfortunate Events) gets a sister. I could not stop comparing this story to that series.

I had high hopes for this story, but something just felt lacking. I enjoyed Lily’s and Violet’s POVs and the exploration of their gifts. I wish there had been more of a deep dive into their mother’s past.

While Clara gets a POV, I think this story may have been stronger if told just from Lily’s and Violet’s POVs. There just wasn’t enough depth to Clara’s motives. There were times where I really emphasized with her - it was clear her upbringing made her into the narcissistic woman she became - but I also hoped she would redeem herself as the story progressed. In my mind, that would have made the story stronger.

Overall, this was a quick read and I enjoyed Lily’s and Violet’s relationship and the paranormal elements. Thank you to NetGalley, Del Rey Books, and Random House for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

At the Bottom of the Garden is the story of Clara, a woman who has no problem killing to achieve her ends. When her nieces, Lily and Violet, fall under her care after their parents meet their end in a tragic hiking accident, they learn that Clara’s ghosts are not, in fact, resting in peace. Clara wants the girls’ inheritance, but when they bring back her long lost ghosts, they become a liability.

I really enjoyed this story. Clara reminds me of Cruella de Vil, a woman everyone loves to hate. The ghost story is deliciously scary and I cheered for Lily and Violet to succeed the whole time. The plot takes some weird turns, but it was a very enjoyable read and I’d definitely read from this author again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Writing style
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Characters
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Plot
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Premise
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pacing
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Impact

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review Copy

This is very much a gothic type ghost story set in modern times. It is the story of Aunt Claire and her orphaned nieces Lily and Violet.

The story rotates POV between the three characters which I very much liked, unfortunately the text was rather slow, boring and repetitive. Even the girls special skills weren't enough to lift the story to a better place.

Claire didn't give a whit about the kids, not allowing them to meet other people and only feeding them soup. It was a weird dynamic.

Because the story read so slowly I only read a little bit a day. So, frustratingly it took me several days to finish this novel. The premise read much better than the story itself. But it was a three star pretty ok read. Try it yourself and see what you think.

At the Bottom of the Garden opens with the death of fabulously wealthy couple Benjamin and Amanda. Their daughters 9yr old Violet and 14yr old Lily are sent to live with their estranged aunt Clara. Clara is the sister of Benjamin and a murderess who would very much prefer to be her brother’s sole heiress thank you very much, but if taking his brats means she has some access to his fortune, well, she can work with that. The problem is, these girls aren’t normal grieving children, they have gifts, and Violets ability to help the dead are about to cause Clara a whole host of problems when her aunt’s victims come back to haunt her.

This book was fun with a very interesting premise. I did feel like the pacing dragged a bit in the middle (it didn’t hurt the story necessarily, but I did feel like I could put it down if it wasn’t convenient to binge read). Clara’s character felt a bit like a caricature of the evil villain. She didn’t feel smart or scary at all, and her wants/desires felt so … one dimensional, she might have been a cartoon character. It was hard to believe the lengths she’d go through to protect her dream. The girls were easily the most interesting part of the story but there was so much going on, it made it hard to stay in the story. It might have been helpful to have them learn more about their respective gifts in the first half of the book- as it is, it felt like we were still world-building at the climax. Really interesting story here and I enjoyed it, but Clara was a distraction from what was interesting. I wonder how this story might have read without her…

I would like to thank Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was odd in an unexpected way. I have read many of Bruce’s books and they usually make me feel EXTREMELY uncomfortable and horrified as I read them and this book wasn’t that. This seemed to be more on the mystery side than the horror side which was fine but I prefer Bruce’s horror writing over her mystery writing.

2 girls suddenly orphaned and inheriting a fortune are forced to pack up their bags and move in with their aunt that is only taking them for their money. As they adjust to their new life, different abilities start to show up in the girls. Lily can see people’s emotions through colors, Violet can see dead people. When a dead man lurking at the bottom of the garden asks Violet for help, nightmares are unleashed on their life. Dark secrets around every corner will turn their world upside down.

It was good, wasn’t the best but it is the first book that has gotten me out if a reading slump so I greatly appreciate that. Bruce has an innate ability to play with her readers minds and she did that in this book. I think overall it is page turning and an interesting story, I just wanted it to be more horrifying. It is the perfect book for people who want to get into the genre though!

I love a Camilla Bruce story but this one didn't do it for me like her other stories. Her writing is haunting and atmospheric but there were so many dumb adults in this book I almost had to laugh. With that being said, Bruce really makes you root for the children of this story. At the Bottom of the Garden really highlights how some children slip through the cracks and the people that are supposed to look out for them are sometimes the real monsters in the closet.

"Who needs a heart when there are diamonds to be had?"

2.5 stars

This book was not at all what I expected, but I certainly enjoyed it. Told from the POV of Clara, an aging woman who has a very high (and undeserved) opinion of herself, and her two recently orphaned nieces, Lily and Violet, this story includes a haunted house, murder, mystery, murder, themes of nature vs nurture, and some more murder.

I liked the primary story and the general concept of the girls' supernatural gifts. There were a couple of times where I thought the story was doing TOO much and could have perhaps been a little shorter, but it all went towards highlighting Clara's singleminded determination and delusions of grandeur.

I uploaded my review to Goodreads. I will upload it to Amazon on release day.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Camilla Bruce for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for At the Bottom of the Garden coming out January 28, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’ve read a few books by this author and I love her writing. She always had really interesting plots, some based on true crime. I loved this one because it had a paranormal aspect to it mixed with Clara being a murderess. It reminded me a little of Turn of the Shrew. I really loved it. There were just a few parts where I had to suspend my belief. The cops weren’t the smartest. It was also slightly long. But overall, I think it’s a really spooky gothic story.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys ghost stories!

This read a bit young for me personally. I understand having to adjust the writing style when from the POV of a 9 year old, but even Clara’s POV seemed one dimensional and juvenile. DNF at 34%

5 Stars all around for this fantastic read. I freaking loved this. The story starts off strong with the cynical Aunt Clara, acting as the closest living relative of two recently orphaned daughters from her passed brother. She accepts the girls as part of her grand scheme to getting rich and leaving behind a legacy since they have a hefty inheritance. She’s one ruthless bitch who is willing to do anything (really, anything) to get what she feels she has earned. As the story unravels, we learn that the two girls have some supernatural gifts, and they can help the living and dead with their woes…but they accidentally unearth their Aunt Clara’s dirty secrets and the real entertainment begins. I would describe this book as a mix of Lemony Snicket’s with a little Matilda mixed in. We even get our own Miss Honey. I will definitely be reading all things Camilla Bruce now. 10/10 would recommend