Of Earthly Delights

What I liked: This book opens by providing you with the story told through the reader following Rose before it shifts and has you following Hart. In between each of these are glimpses at a different timeline, which can get confusing, but hang in there, all of this does get clarified. This story is told through a third-person point of view, which adds a layer of tension because while we see everything, we don't know everything just yet.

Just like Goldy's other books, this one will tear your heart out at the end as all of the pieces start to come together, and you realize what has been happening this whole time. Prepare to be frustrated by the end of this book as more and more gets revealed. While there were some aspects of this book that were easy to piece together, there were others that took a bit more sitting with. The ending of this book wraps things up nicely, and while I was left wanting more, I was also satisfied with this ending.

As I sat with this book more and thought about it, something dawned on me: the main character of this book is not the human, but it's the garden. Once this realization came to me, this book was a lot more powerful than what I originally read it as. The true love story is between Heather and Hart's family with this garden and the things that they are willing to do to keep this garden alive and thriving. While this relationship isn't healthy because of the addictive nature of the wishes, this is the heart of this book. The story centers around this garden and the extent everyone goes and their individual and collective relationship with the garden, and how entangled Hart and Heather's lives are due to wishes made in that garden.

What left me wanting more: Hart and Rose are not a love story that I could get behind, so I wasn't really rooting for their success. This romance felt like it was an add-on, but the grief portion of this story stands out a lot more. While there was not much investment in Hart and Rose as characters, their actions, especially Hart's portion of the book, kept me reading and needing to know how their story unfolds. While the romance in the book left me wanting more, the relationship that Hart has with his sister is one that kept me reading to find out how things would unfold between the two of them.

Lowell is one of the side characters that you met, and his story was a bit lacking. There was a lot more to dig into between him and Heather, and the way that relationship plays out. Lowell's role in the story needed to be fleshed out as he was a character that you root for from the start. The way his storyline wrapped up felt quick and easy, leaving you questioning how he plays into the other storylines in this book.

Final Verdict: Of Earthly Delights is a thrilling read that fans of the Mary Shelley Club or The Honeys will enjoy. This book is perfect for those of you who enjoy psychological thrillers and books that have you guessing what comes next the whole time. If you are someone who enjoys reading books that are spooky in preparation for the Halloween months, then I highly recommend picking this one up.