I had the pleasure of receiving an Advanced Listening Copy of The Enchanted Greenhouse by @sarahbethdurst and it was such an incredible read.

Librarian Terlu Perna made a sentient spider plant to combat her loneliness in the Great Library of Alyssium. When discovered, she was ultimately sentenced to be turned into a statue, so that an example could be made. This did not lead to her death; she was frozen but aware. Until one day, she is suddenly alive again in human form.

Terlu must figure out how she was freed, where she is, and what she should do next in this continuation of the incredible magically cozy world created by Sarah Beth Durst. Kindness, second chances, goodwill, and good intentions make this such a comforting and happy read. Sometimes, even those faced with past “mistakes” have the ability to be the change the world needs.

The narration by Caitlin Davies expands the magic of this universe and really added to the experience of the read. I’d definitely recommend the audiobooks for both The Spellshop and The Enchanted Greenhouse.

#cozyreads #netgalley #fivestarread #macmillanaudio #bramblebooks #theenchantedgreenhouse #sarahbethdurst #cazthespiderplant #alcreview #alcreviewer

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a digital audio ARC of this novel!

When I saw the premise for The Enchanted Greenhouse, it looked so adorably cozy that I immediately wanted to give it a read. The story follows Terlu, a former librarian who was turned into a statue as punishment for the unauthorized use of magic after she created a sentient plant. One day, the statue spell is broken, and Terlu wakes up on a snowy island covered with hundreds of magical greenhouses. Each greenhouse is more amazing than the next, featuring all sorts of wonderful enchantments and fauna. However, the enchantments are failing, so Terlu teams up with a winged cat, a grumpy gardener, and a sentient rose in order to save the greenhouses and all of the plants and creatures inhabiting them. I haven't gotten around to reading The Spellshop yet, although it's been on my to-read list for a while. Both novels are standalone stories, so I didn't have any trouble reading this one without its predecessor.

This is a difficult book to rate. I love cozy fantasy, but it's sometimes tough for me to find a book within the genre that succeeds at balancing low stakes with an interesting plot and unique worldbuilding. The Enchanted Greenhouse does a great job building a beautiful world. The island and its greenhouses are captivating, and I appreciated that the author also gave just enough information about the outside world to provide context to the characters and their backstories. However, the plot and characters leave a lot to be desired. At times, the story almost feels too cozy, which is wild coming from me, because I love a saccharine read, especially when it includes delicious baked goods and fun little creatures (like here). But I needed more in a couple of areas. I'll try to give more details to explain my thinking.

I'll start with the positives. The writing is lovely, and it creates such a warm atmosphere. I could picture the island vividly. I loved reading about each greenhouse and its inhabitants. There are so many fun details sprinkled throughout the book - such as pollinating dragons, a plant who joins a ship's crew, and all sorts of magical oddities. It frequently reminded me of The Night Circus, which used to be one of my most recommended books for anyone looking for an atmospheric fantasy story with exquisite, magical details. While reading The Enchanted Greenhouse, I never questioned why Terlu stayed on a random island she had no connections to, because I, too, would have probably dropped everything to live amongst the greenhouses had I been in her shoes!

I like how positive this book is in general. Sometimes stories advertise themselves as cozy, but they still end up having stressful moments. This book is so comforting and truly has low stakes. If you're feeling stressed, I can confidently presume that this will not add any extra tension to your plate. It's like a warm hug in book form. At the same time, it doesn't feel cheesy or entirely full of rainbows and sunshine, either. The characters are grappling with plenty of emotions, not all of which are pleasant, but they still remain hopeful and choose to spend their energy helping one another. It's a super sweet read.

Unfortunately, though, I do have some critiques that limited my enjoyment of this book. My biggest critique is that I didn't particularly like any of the main characters. Terlu would be alright if she weren't so stuck inside her own head. The story is written in third person limited point of view, following her perspective. So many paragraphs upon paragraphs are spent repeating the same insecurities and worries. It gets exhausting after the first 10% of the novel, and it never really lets up. I think the book would be significantly better (and probably quite shorter!) if half of Terlu's repetitive thoughts had been cut. I also didn't care much one way or the other about the love interest, Yarrow. I felt he was never developed enough past the grumpy, introverted stereotype. Even the talking rose, Lottie, who I would argue is the third main character, is underdeveloped. These three are alone on the island for a big chunk of the book, so it was hard for me to stay engaged in the story when I never cared for any of them. Eventually, more characters do pop up, and that's when the story improves. However, by that point, it's too late for the new characters to get fleshed out as much as the main three. Perhaps if the other characters started appearing closer to the 30% mark, rather than roughly halfway through, the book would have been stronger.

My other main critique is that the pacing is uneven. The first half of the book is incredibly slow, while the second half rapidly picks up speed until the ending. Like my critique with the characters, if the main plot points from the second half of the story had been introduced earlier, I think the pacing would have felt more smooth. There were even some things that happened near the 75% mark that could have taken place much earlier. I think better editing could have made this book so much more enjoyable. To me, the first half is a 2 or 3-star read, while the second half is a 4 or 5-star read.

I listened to this as an audiobook. The narration is okay. The narrator is clearly talented, but I disagreed with some of her choices for character voices and tone. Her voice for Lottie is especially grating and high pitched. I also didn't love how she emphasized the descriptive words throughout the story - sometimes her tone would make the cozy scenes feel a bit exaggerated. It kind of gave me the same vibes as if I were listening to Snow White narrate the book. If you're looking for a narrator who will emphasize the lightheartedness of the novel, you might like this. However, if you get annoyed by cartoon-like voices, you may want to read the physical book instead.

I don't want to criticize this story too much, because I did really enjoy the second half. I just found the first half to be very hard to engage with. So, I would recommend this to readers who are looking for a purely cozy fantasy read with some light romance. It's got a bunch of winter elements, so I would also suggest picking it up around the colder months. I'm intrigued enough with the author's writing to try other books by her, but I'll wait to read The Spellshop until I'm in the mood for a story sweeter than honey cake.

3 stars out of 5 stars.

So cozy and sweet I loved the first book in this series and I love this one even more! The narrator is great and does an incredible job!

Magic is illegal and Taralou was caught and turned into a statue. 6 years goes by and she wakes up on an unknown island by a man she doesn’t know. But, she’s just happy to be awake! She helps said man bring his enchanted greenhouses back to life! And they fall in love in the process. So unique!

Highly recommend!

I was enchanted by The Spellshop so I was really excited for this one, and it did not disappoint! The characters were just as wonderful, the found family was still perfection, and there were more sentient plants (Caz still lives happily in my bathroom although he’s yet to demonstrate his sentience)! 💛

I was slightly concerned because I read this immediately after A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping (also amazing), and I didn’t want either of them to overshadow the other, but they’re such different books despite both being cosy fantasies that they didn’t at all.

I loved the wider exploration of the magic system from The Spellshop in The Enchanted Greenhouse, as well as the easter eggs for those of us who’ve read both.

The audiobook was narrated beautifully and it really added to my immersion into the story.

Overall, I absolutely adored The Enchanted Greenhouse and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

The Enchanted Greenhouse fits the cozy fantasy genre absolutely perfectly. I adored this book so much (maybe even more than The Spellshop!). Terlu wakes up from her punishment of being a statue and finds herself on an enchanted island that is full of greenhouses. Her only human companion is the gardener tasked with caring for the plants and he's a bit grumpy. The magic sustaining the greenhouses is failing, and it's up to Terlu to save them. I absolutely loved the everything about this one. The plot was well paced with a gloriously slow burn romance. Terlu's character is wonderful and well-developed with relatable feelings. The talking plants and winged cat were adorable additions to the story!

The audio for this book is fantastic and adds to the cozy vibes of the story. Caitlin Davies was a wonderful narrator who brought the story to life. The narration was clear and easy to understand, even when sped up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy!

This book was absolutely delightful and it made me so happy! This book is the ULTIMATE cozy fantasy. Full of emotions and gorgeous writing, but never getting me too stressed because I knew these happy talking plants would be okay. I love this perspective of looking into your past choices with current eyes and trying to be open to others who you feel have wronged you. I looooved the sentient plants and the stunning setting. This felt like a big hug. The grumpy x sunshine dynamic between Terlu and Yarrow was lovely because it was never rude or anything. It was just Yarrow caring SO much about the plants (so much that he let his family leave him alone on an island) and he doesn't understand that Terlu has a NEED to talk and connect and brain dump. They are adorable how they get to know each other and how they will do anything for the plants and the greenhouse. The magic and the puzzle solving was so much fun and the story really swept me away.

🎧The audiobook is gorgeously narrated that helped me feel so soothed by this story and characters.

Set in the same universe as The Spellshop but there is no need for the reader to have read it before this one since it doesn’t hurt the enjoyment of the story. Terlu was a lonely librarian in the Capital of the Empire and used magic to make a sentient spider plant. Her punishment is to become a statue and placed in a library reading room as a warning to anyone who thinks about using magic without being a sorcerer. Six years later she wakes up in a snowy wood not knowing where she is or how she got there. She finds herself on an island full of magical greenhouses and one irritated gardener. Yarrow is the last person on the island of Belde taking care of the magical greenhouses created by a sorcerer that has died, but the greenhouse magic is failing and he needs help. Terlu uses her linguistic skills to puzzle out the late sorcerer’s magic all the while worrying about being caught and turned back into a statue. This is a very slow friends to lovers story and the setting is so gorgeous And I hope there will be more stories set in these islands.

DNFd at 18%

I was so excited to listen to this book after reading Durst's Spellshop last year and really enjoying it. Unfortunately, I really disliked the narration. As someone currently in library school, the narrator made the main character, a former librarian, sound too young, plucky, and irritating for me to connect with. The book also takes place in the snow or winter and I'm a seasonal reader, so the vibes didn't work for me in the dog days of summer. I may try this book again in print when the whether cools down because I am somewhat intrigued by the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced listening copy. The Enchanted Greenhouse released on 7/15/25.

I love the greenhouses and the plants! It is so dreamy to be on an island working with plants and humans to fix the magical greenhouses. The descriptions of the greenhouses, plants, food, etc are so lush. It makes you feel like you are there. Then family shows up to be supportive! So we have a new element of people to ‘fix’ up and work with.
Terlu and Yarrow work so well together in the greenhouses as well as growing as a person in a way that works for you. I love that Terlu worked so hard to learn and used all of her knowledge to make the spells work. The plants have different personalities as well as different voices in the audiobook.
Just so cozy!

The Enchanted Greenhouse is a charming sequel to Sarah Beth Durst's The Spellshop. It follows Terlu Perna, the animate spiderplant Caz's creator, as she reawakens from her statuified form to help Yarrow save an elaborate network of greenhouses from magic and decay. This is a heartwarming and cozy tale that is sure to be a delightful read for anyone who prefers something on the lighter side. While this book was slightly cheesier than its predecessor, it was quaint and enjoyable, filled with Durst's distinctive whimsy and world-building. Cozy fantasy fans will absolutely love this charming novel. I listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator had a warm and animated voice that brought the characters to life. If you are looking for your next fun and cute read, this is it!

Oh how I missed this cozy fantasy world! Sarah Beth Durst really knows how to weave a cozy story and make you fall in love with everyone, including all the talking plant life.

This picks up with the women mentioned in the first story, as she was once being punished by being made into a statue in the great library. But due to governmental issues, she ended up on an island with a bunch of magical greenhouse, that are for some reason failing.

Loved the characters, Terlu is a great character who just wanted to find her place in the world and be her extroverted self. Yarrow was a man constantly abandoned so he built a wall around himself, leading him to be more introverted and grumpy. They were a great match in my opinion!

Loved the narration by Caitlin Davies as well. The voices fit so well for all the characters and the emotion was felt for all of them as well! Would definitely listen to more narrated by them!

I rated this a solid 4.5 stars. It was somehow just as good if not better than the first book and I loved the ties in from the first book but that it also followed a character that we never actually met, only someone who was talked about and thought to be dead. I think this is one of the best second books in a series I’ve ever read and I truly hope there is more to come and cannot wait to read more books by this author

This was a fun, cozy fantasy read! I listened to it on audio, and I enjoyed the narration. Who wouldn’t love a talking plant?! Sarah Beth Durst is a pro at beautiful, descriptive writing, helping readers feel like they’re actually experiencing the settings she’s describing. Her descriptions of all the plants and flowers in this book made me want to plant a garden of my own. While I did enjoy this book, I think I still love The Spellshop a bit more.

I was so excited to be given the chance to listen to the audio ARC for The Enchanted Greenhouse! I adored the first book, and this one didn't disappoint with it's comforting and cozy vibes.

This definitely had all the same magic that The Spellshop did, and I loved the side characters and their charm that they brought to the book. This book definitely shines with all of the vivid details that Sarah writes, and I feel like this series very much embodies what a great cozy fantasy looks like. It gives you all the warm and fuzzy feelings you want, with such a fun setting to immerse yourself in!

I loved the grumpy/sunshine slowburn relationship between our main characters, and very much enjoyed having plus-size heroine representation! I also thought the audiobook narrators did a wonderful job embodying their characters and really enjoyed the narration.

The Enchanted Greenhouse literally be-spelled me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it when I had to set it down for mundane things, like work. Sarah weaves a wonderful fantasy tale and as she stated in an interview with fantasy-hive.co.uk —“Cozy fantasy is designed to be a refuge, an escape, and to say ‘Everything is going to be okay.’ I couldn’t leave Terlu not okay!”

Well, this refuge left me wishing I could actually enter the world in reality, not just in a beautifully written tale.

Terlu Perna, a lonely librarian in Alyssium was guilty of casting a simple spell to create a magically sentient spider plant. For her first and only crime she was turned to a statue, for what she had thought would be eternity. Apparently, not all is as it should have been…

Terlu awakens, cold and alone. Standing in the snow in a place she doesn’t recognize, with only a large and rather curious greenhouse in the area. Thankfully it isn’t locked and she enters only to run into a rather grumpy gardener, Yarrow Verdane. As she uncomfortably susses the details from Yarrow, she learns this is the Greenhouse of Belde, built by a sorcerer, and she is there to repair what is rapidly crumbling without the deceased wizard. Being a librarian and not a sorcerer, Terlu is rather confused and confuddled.

What follows is a delightful and enchanting story involving magical greenhouses all linked together, providing different climates,environments and species. Terlu stumbles upon a sentient resurrection rose whose name is Lotti, and who was once a companion to the sorcerer. They’re joined by delightful characters including, Dendy the sentient philodendron, and a beautiful sea turtle in the ocean greenhouse.

Immerse yourself in this not to be missed cozy fantasy, you won’t regret it, at all. I went with the Audio version, read by Caitlin Davies. A huge thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this piece of magic. Best novel by far in a very long time!

Magical & Enchanting!

I was blessed to be able to listen the audio while reading along in my physical book

The narrator was amazing! Her ability to do so many different voices may this such a magical experience!
Sarah Beth Durst enchanted in this delightfully cozy story

The world building was so lush and descriptive! I thoroughly enjoyed the character development and the mystery included in this story!

Characters from The Spellshop were mentioned in this story bringing about an absolute giddiness for me!

Beautiful told! Excellent ending!

This is a fun exciting trip to a magical world! If you need a break from reality enter the enchanted greenhouse.

Oh..Em. Geeeeee! This book was so good. I enjoyed the narrator in The Spellshop but I loved her in this one. Romantasy isn't usually one of my favorite options, but I really liked that this book was more about the love stories than the outlandish world they lived in. From the very beginning, I was drawn into the story and didn't want it to end.

Thank you for the copy, this is my honest opinion. Please be aware of any trigger warnings, as your mental health is most important.

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst is an absolutely delightful, whimsical, heart warming, and adorable story, and a fantastic sequel to The Spellshop!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

What you can expect:
🌿Cozy Fantasy Romance
🍃Opposites Attract
🌱Flying Cat & Sentient Plants
🌿Tiny Dragon Pollinators
🍃Puns & Cheesy Jokes
🌱Heartbreak & Recovery
🌿Honey Cakes
🍃Grumpy x Sunshine
🌱Cottagecore
🌿Starting Over
🍃Found Family
🌱Forbidden Magic

First of all, The Greenhouse is a well developed and wonderfully unique concept. The sheer amount of whimsy and decadently vivid imagery is just stunning. So much creativity and imagination went into the diverse range of fantastical plants, side by side with regular everyday ones, as well as the animals and imaginary creatures in and around the Island/Greenhouse, adding to the lush and dreamlike quality of the storytelling.

I loved our two MCs! They are both struggling with their own histories and challenges, and each have such beautiful character growth separately and together. They are incredibly contrary but complementary characters, and their relationship arc is heartwarming. Yarrow has a special place in my heart with his quiet and reclusive nature, showing affection through honey cakes and patience. ❤️ 😮‍💨❤️

This book takes moments to highlight and appreciate the beauty of the ordinary, in the midst of what most would deem extraordinary, which I think is an important and lovely message.

While the beautiful moments made me cry multiple times due to how stunningly sweet they were, this book also had me cracking up! From terrible puns, to hilarious dry side comments, this book not only has a ton of heart, but a lot of good humor too.

Caitlin Davies did an incredible job with the audiobook narration, showcasing an impressive range of diverse voices through tone and timbre. I also appreciated her clear diction and clarity- regardless of character- making the listening experience not just enjoyable, but easy and comfortable.

This was one of those books that I enjoyed so much, I found myself with too much to say and struggled to write a truly spoiler free review. The Spellshop walked so The Enchanted Greenhouse could run- this book is an absolutely fantastic experience from beginning that I highly recommend!

Thanks so much to Sarah Beth Durst and Macmillan Audio for the NetGalley ALC- this is my honest review shared voluntarily.

First of all thank you to MacMillan Audio & NetGalley for the approval of this audiobook. Now, let's chat about how Sarah Beth Durst can instantly make me feel all warm & cozy with the perfect cottage core fantasy! I absolutely adore this book & literally finished it in one sitting. Her characters once again stole the show & my heart especially Lottie, Dendy & Emeral. The audiobook was solid & once again narrated by Caitlin Davies. She knows how to perfect every single character in this book. If you want a perfect little cozy cottage core fantasy with lots of magic & mythical creatures sprinkled with kindness, love, food & most of all believing in second chances then I beg you to read this book. It's delightful & heartwarming & will make your soul happy. Also, I'm going to need a 3rd book ASAP with the reunion of Caz & Terlu!!