[Review] The Garden Just Beyond by Lindsey Leavitt

As a person who loves both gardening and cooking, this book really resonated with me. It had interesting characters, good world building, and a plot that felt both magical and universal. It was fun, mysterious, and compelling.

However, while I did enjoy this book, I had a few issues with its delivery. There are a lot of characters, subplots, scheming, and aliases, as well as journal entries from even more characters—the deceased (mostly) members of the two main families in the book. Sometimes it was difficult to keep track of who was who and who did/or was doing what. And those journal entries... They were fine, when they were a sparse scattering, but there was a point where there were a lot of entries. They distracted from the main story and read like information dumps.

Despite my issues with some of the stylistic choices of delivery, this book has a good story and a powerful message. At its heart, it is a book about family and family legacy, community, and second chances. And it reminds us all of the power and magic of forgiveness.

Note: I received this book as an ARC. It is scheduled to be released May 20, 2025.

4 stars