The Enchanted Greenhouse, Bramble/Tor Publishing, copyright 2025, 372 pages, hardcover, cozy fantasy romance, magic
About Book Tastings: In a book tasting, we read only the opening 25 pages of a book. We’ll tell how the book begins and then say whether those pages inspired us to continue reading the book. A book tasting is not a book review; it doesn’t evaluate the entire book. (For more about Book Tastings, click here)
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Terlu Perna was a lonely young woman who had worked as a librarian in the Great Library of Alyssium. Unfortunately, her loneliness had pushed her to magically turn a spider plant into a sentient being, her new friend Caz. Librarians know where the sorcerers’ magic books are, but that does not give them permission to read and use the spells for any reason, including loneliness. Terlu used magic anyway, consequently, she broke the law.
Sitting in court, listening to the court proceedings, Terlu observed the judge. He looked like a hermit crab with his spider-like limbs and claws sticking out from his robes. Terlu herself had no claws. She was short, plump, had curly hair and had skin a lovely shade of lavender. That’s not unusual considering her mother’s skin is purple and her father’s is light pink.
At the trial, Terlu waved to her friend Caz the spider plant. He waved back, very happy to be sentient, but that didn’t sway the judge. Then the head librarian spoke on Terlu’s behalf. That also didn’t sway the judge who seemed bent on severely punishing Terlu, possibly as a warning to others in the Crescent Islands Empire who would do magic illegally.
The judge decided that Terlu was guilty. Her sentence? To be turned into a statue and placed in the library as a warning to others not to dabble in magic! Terlu knew she was guilty, but the punishment seemed severe for a first offense. They took Terlu to a dark stone room. She recognized a sorcerer and his incantation ingredients. She donned a fourth-year librarian outfit, and he began the spell. Her blood hardened and her skin turned to polished wood. She knew she was still there, alive, but her senses dimmed. After her change, they put her on a pedestal in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium. She was grateful for this location because at least she wouldn’t be alone. Surprisingly, she could think and dream, but time was different as a stationary creature -- and time passed.
After having her mind drift here and there for who knows how long, Terlu began to feel everything. She was cold, she was confused, and she fell to a heap on a snowy forest floor. She got up and carefully moved forward. Many questions filled her now working brain. Who undid the statue spell, turning her human again, and where was she?
Terlu moved forward, noticing that she wasn’t in the Reading Room but outside in a forest, and it was snowy and cold! She walked and walked and eventually came to a huge greenhouse. After a bit, she found a door and was able to get her freezing body inside.
Here, she began a long trek walking through one greenhouse, then through the doorway into another connected greenhouse, and then another, each with different plants and creatures (like a flying cat). Terlu was in awe of the beautiful plants and dragonflies and other magical critters; and then, through the fourth greenhouse door, she met a very handsome man who declared, “Oh! It’s you! It worked!”
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The narrative style of The Enchanted Greenhouse is told through a third-person perspective, following Terlu who seems unsure of herself and who desires companionship.
Once Terlu finds the greenhouse, the book seems to have easy situations and little tension as she goes through each greenhouse up to when she meets the gardener. The first couple of greenhouses were fascinating with gorgeous plants and creatures. However, there were more than 10 pages of description of one greenhouse after another. I don’t think all those greenhouse pages of "telling" were necessary, even though they were creative. Reading further might reveal why we need to know about each greenhouse and maybe those 10 pages of descriptive text will be important later.
After reading 25 pages, I have many questions. Why was Terlu, as a statue, moved to the forest and greenhouse location? Who released her from the spell? How many years have passed since she was first turned into a statue? And who is this handsome gardener who seems to have answers to some of those questions?
My curiosity makes me want to keep reading to find out the answers to my questions and to discover why and how this is an "enchanted" greenhouse. The easy reading and basic storyline fit the cozy fantasy romance genre.
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The Enchanted Greenhouse is Durst’s second book that takes place in the Crescent Islands Empire. Durst’s first book, The Spellshop, kept my interest from beginning to end, which follows a different librarian, Kiela, who is friends with Caz, the sentient spider plant that Terlu had magicked to life. It was a light easy read.
The Enchanted Greenhouse seems to be the same type of cozy fantasy romance filled with colorful people of all sizes and shapes. This book stands alone, so far, and there seems to be no need to read the books in any order.
A third book in Durst’s Crescent Island Empire series, Sea of Charms, has a release date of July 2026.
Book Tasting post by Jackie Sachen Turner
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