3.5 Stars

The Beautiful Maddening is a contemporary Gothic read that is heavy on the atmosphere. Author Shea Ernshaw expertly crafts the settings, especially the Goode house and garden. That’s where Ernshaw shines.

The idea behind the story is compelling, too. But it’s all a bit lackluster. All the pieces seem like they would work, but the pacing drags in places.

The Beautiful Maddening is an introspective read that doesn’t have a whole lot of action. It definitely won’t appeal to everyone. I suggest checking it out from the library prior to purchasing to see if it’s a good fit.

I will never look at a Tulip the same again! This book was sad and dark to me. You have a cursed family, forced never to know what true love is, a host of family issues, and a set of twins who are complete opposites. One who takes the curse and uses it to their advantage (should have a trigger warning because of this creep), and a twin that wants nothing more than to escape the shadow of their family curse and live a normal life.

I'm struggling with reviewing this one. The writing was beautiful, the world and character-building were well done, and so was the magical element, but the constant reminder that the family was cursed became annoying. Additionally, there were areas of the story that were written simply to move the plot along, as they didn't make sense to me. However, the historical twist with the love interest and the family was a good moment.

I want to continue reading more works by this author; her writing style is lovely.

Thank you to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, and Shea Ernshaw for the advance reader's copy (ARC) of this book.

I am leaving this book review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this book 😊. I liked the premise of this one and found this interesting but I didn’t love this book. I didn’t connect with the characters, and I wasn’t satisfied by the ending. I thought this was an interesting plot and liked some of the execution. I just needed a more convincing romance and the characters to be a little more developed.

When The Beautiful Maddening follows the story of a family that planted tulips brought over from the Tulip Madness, and you are in Amsterdam while reading… it makes for a different reading experience.

This story is a slow build, following one twin who is determined to escape the Goode family curse. The story is a slow build, and the layers are deeper than they might appear. I ended up liking it more than I thought I would and found it deeper than expected.

I can always depend on Shea Ernshaw to build an incredibly atmospheric novel—her books are gothic and drenched in foreboding and full of complicated characters.

Ernshaw’s newest book, The Beautiful Maddening, fits right into the stack of Ernshaw’s previous YA novels on my (virtual) shelf. The story of Lark Goode and a family curse and the boy who—maybe—can break it captured my imagination.

Lark and her twin brother live alone in a crumbling house on a creek in the very small town of Cutwater. Every year, when their tulips bloom, the curse that began with their ancestor flares to life, and they become irresistible until the tulips die again.

For Lark’s brother, this yearly ritual seems uncomplicated: he can revel in the attention, get what he can out of the situation, and then move back to his normal, attractive-but-resistible state.

Lark feels differently. She’s desperate to get her high school diploma and then to leave Cutwater, to wrest free from the tulips and the curse that has plagued the love stories of every one of her Goode ancestors. This year, her senior year, the tulips bloom with one week left of school, so Lark steels herself to make it through the laser focus of her classmates so that she can graduate and then escape.

And then two things change. First, some of the other students seem to have fallen under the tulips’ curse: they are just as enticing as Lark. And, second, there’s a new boy at school . . . and he’s not falling for her.

Ernshaw weaves this story patiently, adding layer after layer of family history, town lore, and mystery. While I didn’t always love the tulips, I was captivated by Lark’s attempts to define her own identity, doing her best to resist the fate that everyone—her parents, her brother, her town—insist is inescapable.

Magical tulips, a haunting family curse, and a gothic romantasy vibe that completely pulled me in—this YA magical realism story was an atmospheric page-turner I couldn’t put down. 💫 The writing was lush and lyrical, with just the right amount of whimsy and darkness. The town, the history, the secrets—it all felt so alive and mysterious, like stepping into a dream you’re not sure you want to leave. I loved how the magical elements were subtly built into the fabric of the story, never overwhelming but always present. There’s a sense of tension and heartbreak that slowly unfolds, and the layers of lies and secrets kept me flipping pages late into the night.

💔 Heartbreak
🖤 Lies & secrets
🌒 Young love
🌿 A beautifully eerie setting
🔥 One f-bomb, otherwise a clean read!

The romance felt tender and raw, and the emotional stakes were so well done. I especially appreciated how the characters were flawed but deeply human—it made everything feel so real, even with the magical touches. The pacing was perfect, and the final twist? 🤯🤯🤯 Still reeling. If you love a fast, immersive read with that signature Shea Ernshaw touch—this one’s for you. I really enjoyed it! 💕

A family curse. Magical tulips. And a girl just trying to find something real in a world full of illusions.

The Beautiful Maddening is a young adult fantasy that feels like a mix of soft magic, gothic vibes, and an emotional coming-of-age story. Every spring, Lark Goode’s family garden blooms with enchanted tulips—and with them comes the curse. Anyone who breathes in their scent falls in love with someone from the Goode family. But is it real love, or just the magic?

Lark is over it. She’s tired of people being obsessed with her and never knowing if the feelings are actually true. She’s been counting down the days until graduation so she can leave her weird, cursed town behind. But then she meets Oak—a quiet, mysterious boy who doesn’t fall under the tulips’ spell. He sees her for who she really is… or at least, she hopes so.

This book was such a vibe. I loved the idea of a love curse—it made Lark’s emotional struggle so real. She wants to protect people but also desperately wants to find love that’s genuine. Her story felt raw and honest.

And Lark + Oak?? Ughhh yes. I loved their slow connection, the secrets, the soft moments. Their story pulled me in, and the ending was chef’s kiss—emotional, magical, and beautiful.

If you love YA fantasy with curses, romance, and small-town magic—you’ll eat this one up. Highly recommend!

Thanks to SimonTeen and NetGalley for this ARC.

I wish I would have liked this a bit more since she does write very well and I love how it is always moody and descriptive! Unfortunately, the writing for this one was on par with the others in that way but the plot was just not as intriguing as I would have hoped.

Some of it did feel repetitive and I just didn't feel a connection to the characters either and that always hurts my experience as well. The ending was a bit lackluster and I wish there would have been a better payoff.

Overall, this still had good qualities to it but I just needed a bit more from it.

Thank you @simonteen #partner for the gifted copies of this book!

One of my most anticipated reads of the year, and let me tell you — I screamed when I got my grubby little hands on it. Ever since I read A History of Wild Places, I’ve been firmly planted in the Shea Ernshaw fan club, and the second I heard this one involved a love curse and tulips?? Say less.

I was completely entranced by this storyline. A generational curse where tulips on one eerie, isolated property cause people to fall hopelessly in love — and our main girl Lark wants absolutely nothing to do with it. She’s ready to pack her bags and hit the road... until she meets the one boy who seems immune to it all. 👀 Naturally, she sticks around. And what follows? Mind. Blown. That ending nearly finished me off. I am 99% sure I gasped audibly.

Shea’s writing is like poetry — lyrical, dreamy, and a little dark. She has this way of pulling you in, and I swear I could practically feel myself slipping into the tulip trance. I devoured this one on audio while pairing it with the physical book, and it made for such an immersive experience.

Forever a Shea Ernshaw fan. I will read, eat, sleep, and breathe anything she writes. This one drops this week, so consider this your official excuse to sprint to your nearest bookstore. 🌷✨

A book review by Angie P

A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. They provided me with a free copy. I love you a bushel and a peck!

In "The Beautiful Maddening," Shea Ernshaw delivers another enchanting narrative that delves into the perilous blend of love and magic. The story centers around seventeen-year-old Lark Goode. She grapples with her family's age-old curse of enchanted tulips. These tulips compel anyone to fall hopelessly in love with those of Goode lineage. Lark longs to break free from her small-town life in Cutwater and the oppressive legacy that shadows her family.

Read full review on my blog!

The Beautiful Maddening is a heartbreaking story about love and the pain and uncertainty it causes. This truly was the perfect love story and these stories are usually not my cup of tea but Shea Ernshaw delivers her stories with such beauty it was still a hard book to put down. I loved Lark and Oak and their love story filled with uncertainty and the madness of the Goode family tulips. As much as I would have loved to see more of the magic that the author presents in her other books, the lack of magic works well with this story. It's heartbreaking, it's bittersweet and it's definitely a coming of age story. Shea Ernshaw writes with such imagery that I felt like I was seeing the story through Lark's eyes.

A family's love curse that blooms when their enchanted tulips bloom every year takes a turn when one girl has had enough of her curse and plans for escape... only she meets the one boy who might be unaffected by her curse... and who might be the one person she's falling for but is it real or just another part of her curse? Lark Goode is sick and tired of her family curse of people being in love with her only because of the tulips that grow in her family garden that cause people to fall for anyone in her family. Lark longs to escape her town the moment graduation comes... but then she meets a boy who is unaffected by her curse, a mysterious boy who is hiding so many secrets yet there is an undeniable connection between them... yet can Lark trust it to be real love or is it just her family curse? Oh this was an absolutely gorgeous read. I loved the whole idea of the curse and the way it can twist and turn your own trust and mind. I adored Lark and how she was so afraid of hurting people but also wanting a love for herself. I loved the ending so much and I just adored the romance between Lark and Oak. The twist and turns of this book kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't get enough! I highly highly recommend this one!!

Release Date: June 3, 2025

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

*Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

"The warm spring wind plays against the tall grass behind him, and I watch his eyes, looking for any sign of love, for any hint that he's starting to tumble down a dark rabbit hole of madness."

This is one of the many reasons why Shea Ernshaw has become an auto buy author for me. Her writing is one that takes me by the hand and whispers "Come. Follow me on this journey. Let's get lost in this character's mind." The Beautiful Maddening is a slow, quiet, introspective novel. Though great for spring and summer, it lends itself well for any time of year you may simply wish to slow down for.

Thank you NetGalley for the early copy!!!

Like all of Ernshaw's past offerings, The Beautiful Maddening sparkles with evocative atmosphere.

Readers follow a cursed Lark Goode, a young woman who's life is shaped by an ancestral curse. Each year when the tulips on her homestead bloom, so does a maddening that sweeps the area, making Lark and her Brother irresistible to the townsfolk. As lark pines to move away from her complicated life she meets a man who is seemingly unaffected by the curse. This man might change everything but the curse has never been easy and it's complications crescendo as Lark starts to fall in love.

Personally I come to this authors works for the atmosphere and beautiful prose and each of those are delivered in spades. The plot itself felt a bit repetitive and youthful. I think that Larks youthful and naive approach to love is completely plausible for someone who's lived her life, though.

Shea Ernshaw writes with such an atmospheric voice it is constantly like a spell is being cast around me and I become part of the wind in her stories. I am reading this book with a broken heart, and it is making me eager for when my heart mends so that I can find a new space to pour it into and risk a new breaking.
There is quite a bit of repetition when it comes to conflict and the uncertainty of the story, but ultimately it asks the reader: what do you choose to believe. And I think that’s a great space to leave open for teen readers

You’re drawn right away into the mystery that the story unravels chapter by chapter. A fantasy romance full of curses, magic, and romance. Amazing world building that is detailed and imaginable. Fascinating characters that are well developed and diverse. The storyline is fast-paced and very well written, filled with magic, Fae, danger, death, politics, intrigue, and subterfuge. The plot thickens, the suspense builds, and the passion erupts! I can’t wait to read the rest of this series. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story.

Shea Ernshaw is an incredible author, she can write and exquisite ya love story and switch to a psychological thriller the next. This book is ya, but it felt like reading a gothic novel. The atmosphere she has created was absolutely intoxicating. The Beautiful Maddening will transport you into the life of Lark Goode, a young girl who’s always lived in the small town of Cutwater. Her and her brother couldn’t be more different.

Her brother loves living in Cutwater, there he takes advantage of their so called family’s curse. Their family founders brought back some mysterious tulips dating back to 1636. When the tulips are in full bloom, the residents can’t help but fall head over heels for the Goodies. School is absolutely miserable for Lark, until one day she meets a very mysterious boy who seemed immune by their curse. Thus starting a change in Lark and we will see her change drastically. This was absolutely intoxicating and couldn’t put it down and I highly recommend picking it up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this E-ARC.

It pains me to give this book a one star review. I absolutely adored “a history of wild places”. I read that book in one day and think about it very often. It is still one of my top 10 books. But if “a beautiful maddening” was the first book I read from this author I would never read another one.

This book had so much potential. The way that “a history of wild places” is written is so beautiful. It is poetic and haunting. It is suspense with romance. This book….was what? This girl has lived her entire life, cursed by flowers in her back yard and the whole book is about her obsession with this boy named Oak? Nothing really about the magic of the flowers…. Nothing really about her brother… what was even the point of having her mom mentioned at all? And I’m sorry, the ending? Come on!!! What even is that? I read the entire book ONLY because I thought something wild was going to happen in the end. But no. It was just a lame ending.
I love that people loved this book. It is just not for me. I don’t see the point of anything that happens. There were so many times this book could’ve taken off and been amazing. Instead I wish I DNF:ed it.

The Beautiful Maddening is exactly what the title suggests. Throughout the whole book, I went through a gauntlet of emotions because of those strange tulips that grow in the backyard of the Goode family.

Surrounding a book around the love madness that the tulips create is an idea I never really thought could work. At least not until I read this book. Shea Ernshaw was able to create a world where this strange type of family curse afflicts several generations of one family and the town they live in. Lark and Archer Goode both handle this in perfectly opposite ways. I do wish that we got a bit more of Archer's perspective. Since he was infamous around town during past seasons, it would have been nice to see his perspective and voice as the events progressed from what he was expecting to what transpired.

Written beautifully, this book still manages to showcase what happens when a desire to love and be loved can be both a blessing and a curse. If more family history was revealed on how each generation handled the public's unavoidable attraction, it would have really brought everything together as Lark went through her journey. I just feel like some parallels could have been drawn to any ancestors. Instead, it feels like there was a lot left unsaid on just how each family in the town was truly affected by all the preceding Goode members and vice versa.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this eARC.

I am a Shaw fan and this is no exception. Beautiful, atmospheric, and concise storytelling, Shaw always knocks it out of the park with her spooky YA stories. Legends through flowers is something I’ve never heard of before, so I enjoyed a new twist on fable in this story. I enjoyed the ambiguity at the end of the story, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusion about the true power of the tulips. Overall, fast paced and fun YA spooky romance. Really enjoyed!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster’s children’s for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review