"The Impossible Garden of Clara Thorne" by Summer N. England is a charming and spicy sapphic cozy romantasy debut, following a grumpy garden witch and her sunshine bodyguard. The book enchanted me from the first word with its warm, fuzzy atmosphere, catching me hook, line, and sinker.
Clara Thorne lives happily in a cozy cottage in the town of Moss with Warty, her sidekick hedgehog, along with books, writing, and her garden. She has one friend, an orc named Rosie, and prefers to keep to herself. Believed to possess garden magic, she was appointed Town Gardener upon her arrival in Moss at the age of 13 and has lived there ever since. Fast-forward 15 years, and her life takes a turn when the Goddess Eldrene sends her on a seemingly hopeless quest—to travel to the cursed town of Dwindle, which is on the edge of withering, and grow them a garden in a month.
Clara believes the quest is doomed since her powers are weak and don’t exist outside of Moss—or so she thinks. The Goddess appoints her a bodyguard, a warrior named Hesper, who has a crow companion named Edge. The two hit a false note from the moment they meet. Clara dislikes Hesper at first sight, blaming her for all her woes and being openly hostile toward her, so their journey doesn’t start on the right foot. Hesper keeps insisting that Clara has magic, which only further irritates her. Add to that an ancient enemy on their trail, an eclectic cast of characters—nymphs, fae, water nymphs, dryads, dwarves—and magic, and you get one hell of an adventure.
The book had everything I enjoy: a fantasy world with magic, talking animals, enemies to lovers, and a heroine forced out of her comfort zone and placed in situations that test her strength and heart. The whimsical names worked for me, Warty and Edge were delightful, and I enjoyed the friendship between Clara and Rosie, as well as the emotional dynamics between the characters. The novel thoughtfully explores themes of loss, found family, duty, hope, self-growth, believing in yourself, and the power of love.
This is a highly entertaining cozy fantasy with rich world-building, vivid characters, and a captivating magical setting. The division between major and lesser magic was especially fun—kitchen magic, beauty magic, garden magic, heart magic—and paired nicely with the whimsy of the tale and the banter. I smiled every time Hesper called Clara “princess” and at their comebacks. The chapter-opening quotes were also a nice touch.
I did find Clara to be a bit of a brat. Since she’s almost 30 years old, it didn’t always fit, and she lived up to her name—thorny. She was often whiny and irrational, hating Hesper for no real reason, treating her badly, and refusing to accept certain truths. Because it felt so one-sided, the enemies-to-lovers arc came across as a bit too constructed for the sake of the trope. That said, I still liked her. Hesper, on the other hand, was a delight, and I would love to read more about her past.
Overall, I enjoyed the book greatly and would happily read more stories set in this world. The writing was top-notch and kept me hooked all the way through. Fans of cozy fantasy, fleshed-out characters, and those who don’t mind spicy sapphic romance and a somewhat forced enemies-to-lovers arc will enjoy this book. I know I did!
* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.
* For more info about the book: "The Impossible Garden of Clara Thorne" by Summer N. England
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