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

Thank you to Simon Teen for an ARC!

I've always loved Shea Ernshaw's books, there is always something magical about them. This book has a bit of creepiness to it, because you know, cursed tulips and all. Shea Ernshaw always has lovely writing, and it's easy to see how she can create a haunting atmosphere.

I have a few thoughts about this book, which is why I'm not sure what I'd rate it to be honest. At about 33% we've learned a little bit about our main characters, and the major issue that is going to need to be solved in this book. Yet, not much else has happened. The characters themselves aren't terribly fleshed out. I honestly felt the book was lacking. I wasn't invested in the characters or the story as I would have wanted.

Even the main romance lacked. I felt almost nothing. The book was for the most part slow. Which would have been forgiveable if there'd been some character arcs or at least development. It just all felt bland to me. Nothing really there. This book had the same vibes as her previous works, but I felt like it lacked sustenance.

There are a few nods to her first book in this one, which when compared to this...I'm not sure what I was expecting or hoping for, I just didn't love the book.

Thank you so much to Simon Teen for sending me an eARC of The Beautiful Maddening. This is a beautiful book that explores love, fate and freedom.
Lark and her family has been cursed for years by the tulips that bloom each spring. The power of the tulips forces those around her to fall in love. They lose their hearts to her family so the town ostracizes them. Lark wants nothing more than to run away and never return until the unexpected happens. She meets Oak who is unaffected by their curse. This begins a summer of love but also so many more questions.
I loved the lore in this story. The magic of the flowers was so unique. I found myself always searching for more traces of the curse lurking throughout the story. Lark was a strong FMC to follow. I was rooting for her to follow her own destiny throughout the story. I was hoping to see more development from her brother than what was shown. I also appreciated Oak and his part that he played in the story. I still find myself having a hard time trusting him but I was happy with how the story ended. Overall, this was a really unique idea for a book and I think it would be perfect for older teens! Thank you again to Simon Teen!

This was such a cozy and magical book. It was atmospheric and beautiful and I absolutely loved it!! I loved the characters and the setting. The plot was so unique, it was unlike anything I’ve read before!

I have read and enjoyed several of Shea Ernshaw’s books, and while I didn’t love this one, I did find it enjoyable.

I can always count on excellent atmospheric writing in an Ernshaw book, and she delivered here. The descriptions of the Goode household, the garden, and the land it resided on was so detailed that I could easily picture it. The family curse plot was done in an interesting way, and I loved the way nature played a role in that. I could feel the tension growing as the issue got deeper, and I was needing to see how it would turn out.

I think the biggest reason I didn’t love this book came down to a me issue. While the plot was intriguing, I didn’t feel as invested in the story as I wanted to be. It didn’t feel super high stakes, and the romance plot also left me wanting more. Obviously this is a YA book and the writing is skewed that way, so that’s why I say that I think this was a me issue.

While this wasn’t a favorite of mine, I can definitely see other people liking this one!

~Young-Adult, Fantasy, Romance, and more!~

3.5| This book was a unique and enjoyable read. While the premise itself was interesting, I found the story itself a little lackluster. This is mostly due to the lack of connection I felt with the characters. Archer was quite unlikeable in the beginning, and while his character improved throughout the book, it was still difficult to feel sympathetic towards him. Lark and Oaks' relationship felt a little too obsessive in the beginning, which made it hard for me to root for their relationship. The real showstopper in this book, as always in Shea Ernshaw's books, is her writing. The world the story takes place in is described in such beautiful detail that it creates an enchanting and atmospheric experience. I enjoyed the history of the Goode family, and I liked where the story was going up until the very end. While I never felt like I wanted to DNF this book, I did have a hard time getting into it. It overall just felt a bit too slow in some parts, which made it difficult to pick up again. My main wishes for this book would be an expansion on the tulip's magic and a longer and more detailed epilogue. Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I do think it would be rated higher if it weren't a Shea Ernshaw book, but I have come to expect so much from her books that it's hard not to compare. I did love the subtle nod to her previous book. A good book, just didn't quite hit all the marks I expected. Still a pleasant read, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a captivating book.

Larks family has been cursed by love. The tulips that grow by their home are magic, and cause anyone who smells them to be madly in love with someone in their family - usually her or her brother Archer. They've come to an understanding with the curse, and they've accepted it as a part of their lives. But when Lark meets a boy who seems unaffected, everything changes.

She always planned to be leave, but now she is questioning everything. Especially when someone steals all of the tulips! Watching her work through the fact that Oak is unaffected by the tulips and her desire to leave town and escape the curse was so well done. This was beautifully written and incredibly heartbreaking.

I once had a fever dream, years and years ago, that was so visceral, so gritty, it felt real—and it’s lived with me since then. In my dream, it was crystals that people tore my town apart for, skittering around on all fours like monkeys and ripping each other apart just to hold one. For Lark Goode, it’s tulips.

Shea Ernshaw’s The Beautiful Maddening reads like that kind of dream. It's lush and poetic, but under the surface—dark and buzzing, like something is rotting just beneath the beauty. This story is magical realism at its best: grounded in emotion, blooming with dread.

Lark Goode has grown up knowing that love isn’t safe. Every spring, the cursed tulips outside her house bloom, and with them comes madness—anyone who gets too close to her or her twin brother, Archer, falls in love. Archer, golden and unbothered, uses the tulips like a charm. Lark just wants to graduate and disappear. But of course, nothing in Cutwater is that easy.

By the end of senior year, someone steals dozens of the tulips and starts selling them at school. Suddenly, the whole town is infected. Students clutching flowers fall madly in love—with power, with each other, with themselves. Chaos spreads. And worst of all, the truth comes out: it was never the Goodes. It was the flowers all along.

Enter Holden—or Oak—a boy from the next town over. He’s the only person who’s ever looked at Lark and felt…nothing. No madness. No swooning. Just calm indifference. It should be a relief. But it becomes something far more dangerous: real connection.

The romance here is forbidden and fragile, tinged with the ache of what can never be. The prose is gorgeous, dripping with atmosphere and sorrow. Ernshaw explores themes of generational curses, identity, desire, and sacrifice with aching subtlety. It’s about how love can be both a gift and a sickness, how beauty can undo us, and how sometimes, the only way to survive is to destroy what we love most.

My only reason for docking half a star is that I wished for just a little more time at the end—more breathing room after the climax, more clarity on certain magical mechanics. But the emotional resonance is what lingers, and that stayed with me long after the last page.

The Beautiful Maddening is a story that blooms like a ghost in your chest—delicate, terrifying, and impossible to forget.

I adore how this book blends romance, mystery, and family secrets into an unforgettable story that will stay with me.

I kindly thank NetGalley and the publisher, Simon & Schuster, for giving me an ARC of this book.

That being said, as much as I appreciate a free sneak peek of this book, I didn't like it.

Many other reviewers noted that the story dragged in the beginning but then sped up as time went on. For me, the story dragged, sped up a little, and then dragged down again at the end. The prose is beautiful and flowery, but it drew the story out for way too long.

The premise of the plot was good. It sounded really interesting and fairly different from most YA novels that NetGalley recommends to me. I liked Lark, the main character, though I think she goes through a character assassination right at the end. That's all I'll say about that to avoid spoilers.

Perhaps I'm too old to be a target audience for this book, and that's why I didn't like it. I procrastinated reading it and only really finished because I knew that writing a review was the least I could do in exchange for the ARC.

To improve this story, it needs:

- to be trimmed event-wise. The ending needs cut down. Also, if I see an epilogue, I want to know what the characters we just read about are doing years later.
-to get rid of Lark's character assassination or better explain the choice she made (also, her thinking that the flowers don't work when she literally saw them work at school makes zero sense).
-to care about Archer a little more. At the end, Lark is just like: "Nah, he's fine." and forgets about him.
-to make the reader care about Lark finally finding real love. Maybe it's because I stopped reading for a while to finish a college semester, but I found myself not really caring about what happened to Lark and Oak. I wanted them to have a happy ending (because that's the kind of person I am) but wouldn't feel too devastated if they didn't.

Sorry for the harsh review, y'all! I am not a professional editor (though I want to be!), so I could be wrong about some of this stuff.

I really enjoyed this book. It has the mysterious element of the curse and a girl who is just trying to leave her town and not return. I enjoyed the interactions between Lark and Archer they definitely are twins who are total opposite. This was an enjoyable read and I couldn't put this book down.

This book was soft, romantic, heartbreaking, and magical. Shea Ernshaw's writing is meant to be savored. This story captured my attention from the very first page. The writing was lyrical and atmospheric. I will be rereading this book in the future because I enjoyed it so much. I liked the connection that Ernshaw made to her book, The Wicked Deep. I adored Lark and Oak and I was rooting for them from the very beginning.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

"We write our own story, not what anyone else tells us it should be."

Great writing with a story I wasn't sold on.

Mixed feelings seem to be typical for me when reading Shea Ernshaw's books. Her writing is SO good but there seem to be inevitable parts of her stories that leave me with real ICK.

This story centers around a cruse that makes people fall in love with a certain family in town, and the FMC's twin brother is actively taking advantage of all of these girls who are being affected by this curse, and this has real consent issues for me and I couldn't drop that for the entirety of this book. You see that in an even worse scenario from their parents. Just ICK.

But I liked the main characters and their developing relationship and the ending was real good until the VERY end.

I just don't know if I'm made for her books 😣

The Beautiful Maddening by Shea Ernshaw is a captivating young adult fantasy romance that ensnared my interest from the very first page and maintained my engagement until the final word. With its enchanting narrative and richly developed characters, this novel weaves a spellbinding tale that lingers in the mind long after the last chapter.

Shea Ernshaw writes lush, modern fairytales for a YA audience. I really enjoy the way this story was paced and laid out. I enjoyed this magical fever dream of a book.