
Title: The Memory Gardener
Author: Meg Donohue
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5
Lucy Barnes has an uncanny ability to know exactly which scent among the flowers she grows will return a person to a long-forgotten memory, a key from their past that has the potential to change their future. When she takes a position as the gardener at a somber, colorless assisted-living home, the evocatively scented flowers that she grows awaken not only the home’s gardens, but the entire community, stirring new pleasures and unearthing long-buried secrets within all who venture through the gardens’ gates.
But when a secret comes to light that threatens to shatter the newly close-knit community, the future suddenly looks uncertain. Have the memories that Lucy has unearthed awakened something wonderful … or are some memories better left buried?
I loved this read! All of it. The hints of magic and romance, the characters, the depiction of the residents of Oceanview Home, the gardens… This was a magical read, and I wanted to explore each of these gardens with Lucy and Gully. This is a very well-done magical realism novel, and it drew me in from the first page. Loved this!
Meg Donohue is a bestselling author. The Memory Gardener is her newest novel
(Galley courtesy of Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review.)