The Enchanted Greenhouse is the second book in The Spellshop series. This book is more of a companion novel than direct sequel so you can read without reading The Spellshop but I highly recommend that you read it first for a better understanding of the storyline. The main character, Terlu, is the creator of the sentient spider plant Caz from the first book. She got punished and turned into a wooden statue. In this installment, she finds herself free from her punishment but in an unfamiliar place. This island is filled with enchanted greenhouses, talking plants, mini dragons and one adorable winged cat and a charming gardener. However, greenhouses keep failing and Terlu must save the greenhouses before it's too late. This book offers a cozy, low stakes story that I absolutely loved. Also, the cover art is gorgeous and it fully reflects the essence of this magical and heartwarming story. If you like cosy fantasy full of sassy plants, grumpy x sunshine romance and adorable animals, definitely pick this book up. I can't wait to read the next installment. Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to be given the opportunity to read this book. I loved the first book and couldn’t wait to read this and it didn’t disappoint. If you read one book this summer make sure it’s this one.

Such a lovely hug of a book! This is a great follow up to The Spellshop and, I hope, not the last story that could be told from this excellently built fantasy world.

I want to go on an island hopping tour of the Crescent Islands SO BAD.

This world full of sentient plants, incredible greenhouses and quiet men and their acts of service love language was gorgeous. It was a lovely place to spend a few hours.

The pacing was off in the first third, it was so slow, but the setting makes up for it.

4.5
Again the author created a perfect world where i would go in a heartbeat with a one way ticket!
I adored the greenhouses, they are a dream i didn't know i had, but now they'll forever be in my head.
I don't think i loved the couple as much as the Spellshop one, too much low self worth for my liking, and the romance was much more in your face, but dang, between mini dragons and all the sentient plants, it was a fun read.
Cosy, a bit silly, just lovely.

The Spellshop was already a great cosy fantasy, but I enjoyed The Enchanted Greenhouse even more. I thought the setting of such a secluded place full of (sentient) plants was so wonderful. This book just felt so magical and warm-hearted. I especially loved seeing two very lonely people, both of whom have been deeply hurt before, slowly connecting.

We're back in the wonder world of the Spell Shop.  This cosy fantasy romance is set at the same time roughly as the Spell Shop but over overlaps with earlier events.

Terlu is an unlucky librarian.  She loved her job in the university library but practicing magic got her into a bit of a pickle, especially as she doesn't have any magic herself!  She only wanted to have someone to talk to and she managed to get herself statuefied (think Han Solo in Carbonite!)

She gets relegated to a dusty corner, then a cupboard and somehow she ends up on a small island, amidst an enormous complex of greenhouses.  Woken from her slumber she realises that there appears to have been some miscommunication.  The grumpy gardener is expecting someone to help him stabilise his greenhouses, not a misplaced librarian!

Yarrow, said grumpy gardener, is the only person left on the island before Terlu appears.  His people skills are rusty (possibly missing) and he's determined to save the greenhouses and the wonderful flora and fauna they contain.  

Terlu and Yarrow form an unlikely duo.  He provides her with warmth, food and some grumpy company and she'll try to figure out why she was sent to the island when she wasn't a sorcerer!  We also get to meet a new sentient rose called Lotti and a host of her flora buddies!

The story sweeps you away into a world which is magically fuelled, awe inspiring and accepting of others.  Whether you're a plant or a person, LGBTQIA or otherwise, this world just wraps you in a giant hug.  I also loved the way that the characters just are, there is no explanation of their sexual orientation and their different colourings just are and they are not seen as "exotic" or different.

Forgiveness of yourself and others, redemption, and found family are big themes through the book and I'm so excited for any further book in the series.

This is a great low stakes, cosy, fantasy story. If you enjoyed The Spellshop, you'll love this too. While there are references to The Spellshop, you definitely don't need to have read that to enjoy this. I really liked Terlu as a main character and loved the development of her and Yarrow's relationship. I found the story intriguing, although slow to start with, and I was invested in them saving the greenhouses. There's something really comforting and hopeful about this book that I loved. I recommend this as a perfect lighthearted read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I was enchanted by The Spellshop so I was really excited for this one, and it did not disappoint! The characters were just as wonderful, the found family was still perfection, and there were more sentient plants (Caz still lives happily in my bathroom although he’s yet to demonstrate his sentience)! 💛

I was slightly concerned because I read this immediately after A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping (also amazing), and I didn’t want either of them to overshadow the other, but they’re such different books despite both being cosy fantasies that they didn’t at all.

I loved the wider exploration of the magic system from The Spellshop in The Enchanted Greenhouse, as well as the easter eggs for those of us who’ve read both.

Overall, I absolutely adored The Enchanted Greenhouse and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

I wanted so much to love this book. The premise seemed really charming and magical, but the execution really didn't work for me. I was honestly bored to tears reading this. Most of the book there are only two characters (not including a sentient plant). And these two characters were not likable at all. Terlu is excruciatingly self deprecating, as is Yarrow (when he finally deigns to do something more than grunt). This book is so so so repetitive as well. If you took out any portion that refers to Terlu agonizing over doing magic because it's illegal and she's scared to get caught, you'd be left with a book half the size. Then we have the plants...okay, I loved Caz in The Spell Shop. He was quippy and precious. The main sentient plant in this story is Lottie, the rose, and she's annoying, petulant and her personality just...didn't land for me. When you finally meet the other plants and characters almost 75%-80% in, there's TOO MANY. So we go from 3 voices to like 20+ in a very short span so there's no room for development. I think for me this book is a good example of a situation where it feels like publishers give authors a checklist and tell them to write a story around that checklist. Checks all the boxes, but leaves you with something that has little to no substance.

A book filled with second chances and hope, the perfect feel good cozy fantasy that is an interconnected standalone set in the same world as Sarah’s book The Spellshop. I fell in love with The Spellshop when I read it last year so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Sarah’s next book featuring an enchanted greenhouse in trouble, a winged cat, a sassy sentient rose sidekick and the duo of a lonely librarian and reclusive gardener who must work together to save it. The idea around an enchanted greenhouse had my interest fully piqued, but Sarah blew all of my expectations out of the water. The magic surrounding the greenhouse is so unique with each connected biomes having an environment entirely of its own, we get the absolute pleasure of exploring so many of them as we accompany Terlu and Yarrow on their journey. This book was absolutely next level adorable, with both of the characters being so out of practice with interacting with others we watch them grow and develop, and eventually finding friendship and something more in one another. With magic permeating the heart of this story, you will become lost amongst the page filled with plants, mystery and love.

We begin this story with Terlu Perna, a librarian who in her loneliness broke the law, casting a spell to create a friend in the form of a magically sentient spider plant. In punishment for her actions, not everyone seeing them as a crime Terlu is turned to wood, to be positioned as a statue in the Great Library of Alyssium to act as a warning to others. When Terlu finally wakes from her punishment nearly six years later, she finds herself in the middle of a snow storm, freezing and confused Terlu stumbles upon a magical greenhouse. Quickly realising that the island she is on appears deserted Terlu searches for someone, anyone, this is where she comes across the only other human on the island, a grumpy and somewhat sweet gardener, Yarrow. Yarrow offers Terlu shelter, fresh clothes and food, everything she needs until she is ready to sail home. However, Terlu knows after everything she has done she can’t return home and in her shame she doesn’t want to. Then when she learns that the magical greenhouses and slowly failing killing all the plants within them, Terlu wants to stay and help Yarrow in any way that she can including breaking the law once more if that is what it takes. With the help of her grumpy Gardner, a winged cat and sentient rose they must work together to uncover the spell to save the greenhouses and its inhabitants, while also having a second chance at love and happiness along the way.

The concept of this book with an island filled with magical greenhouses, each one filled with plants from all over acting as a failsafe should any of them become extinct. Alongside this there are greenhouses filled with more whimsical magic designed to amaze and create wonder. Every single greenhouse is completely unique from the next, every door passed through leading us to see something completely new and magical. Sarah takes the time to describe each environment in such beautiful detail that it makes you feel like you are right there, you can feel the warmth on your skin, breath the humidity of the hair, smelling the array of flowers and plants. There are puzzles to solve and a mystery at the heart of it all, to try and save the failing magic that powers the greenhouses and keeps everything within it thriving. This mystery provides a common thread throughout the story, with the growing relationships between the characters and all of the creatures we encounter flowing around this. I was hooked page to page in this book, needing to know what was going to happen next and unravelling the mystery behind the sorcerer and the magical greenhouses failing one by one.

Terlu is so sweet, constantly thinking she is too much for everyone around her, but actually she is too good for the world, always trying to help and look out for others. Having been trapped as a wooden statue for so long she is so lonely, but that doesn’t transfer as resentment to those around her, always choosing to give been the benefit of the doubt. I loved how her story links into The Spellshop, it provides you a focal point for the story and gives some much needed answers about the wooden statue in the library. Yarrow is by far my favourite character, I respect his healthy love for plants, let’s be real sometimes they are easier to be around than people. He has a certain level of vulnerability about him that he keeps behind sturdy walls, walls that Terlu slowly breaks down without realising it, providing Yarrow it’s something he hasn’t had in a long time, hope. Also, an MMC that cooks his feelings and provides for the FMC is one I will also be an absolute fan of, it provides a next level amount of adorability. I adored watching as these two become so important to one another as they work to save the greenhouses and the plants and creatures that reside inside them. They have the most gorgeous sweet slowly developing romance that is so beautifully innocent, it is an absolute joy to read and was one of my favourite parts of the story. Lotti is the firecracker resurrection plant that brings the banter and drama to this story, she has the perfect level of sass to balance out our other two main characters. Having the other sentient plants be a big part of the story imparts somewhat of a found family vibe to the story especially as they all work together.

With this book being a standalone the story felt incredibly well rounded and the HEA was perfect, but I am incredibly excited to read what Sarah writes next, definitely hoping that she chooses to continue writing stories set in the same world. I wholeheartedly recommend this book if you’re looking for a new cozy fantasy filled with the sweetest budding romance, magical greenhouses, mystery, sentient plants, amazing food and a winged cat.

If you’ve read The Spellshop and wondering what became of the librarian who created Caz, the sentient spider plant, here is your answer! The Enchanted Greenhouse is the story of Terlu, who was turned into a statue after using illegal magic to create Caz. She wakes up 6 years later on an island filled with magical greenhouses. The only other resident on the island is Yarrow, the handsome but grumpy gardener. When the greenhouses start to fail, Terlu and Yarrow work together to discover the magic needed to help save the greenhouses and the plants that live within.
If you enjoyed the cozy vibes of The Spellshop, you’ll enjoy this book too. I’ll admit, this book took me longer to get into - it’s definitely slower paced and took a while for me to be really hooked in. But once I got into it, it was another lovely read! There are tiny dragons, a cat with wings and plenty of talking plants. I enjoyed the found family aspect (always a favourite trope) and Terlu finding her place in the world. She was such a relatable character. I also loved the introduction of Yarrow’s family later in the book - it really added to the story and helped me understand Yarrow’s character more. I’d love to read more stories set in the wonderful world that Sarah has created.

I really liked this book, it is the perfect cozy fantasy. It is so cute and heartwarming. I loved the characters, the setting, the talking plants, basically just everything. One of my favourite tropes is found family and that really was a big part of this book, and was done so well.
I had not read The Spellshop prior to reading this book (I have already bought it though and will definitely be reading it soon) but that did not affect my reading experience at all. It was easy to jump into this book without having read the previous book since the world is simple to understand and this story stood on its own, it reads like a standalone.
I am really excited to read The Spellshop now and also dive into the author's other work. I saw that she has a new book coming out next year that I will definitely be on the look out for when it will be released.

What a whimsical story. Total cuteness cottagecore overload.

The FMC, Terlu, was turned into a statue for performing illegal magic, and she was sentenced to life as a statue. She was to be a symbol of the consequences of performing said magic as a layperson. After 6 years she is released from the spell by an unknown savior. Terlu doesn't know where she is, but she finds a giant enchanted greenhouse consisting of a multitude of interconnected rooms, each with it's own environment to sustain the plants within. Here she meets Yarrow, the lone gardener on the island she finds herself stranded on.

Yarrow is the sole gardener left after the magician whom created the Greenhouse of Belde died. He is taciturn and is the embodiment of gruff silent type but with a soft heart. He petitioned the Emperor multiple times for a substitute magician to help save the greenhouse. He got Terlu.

Terlu and Yarrow have to work together despite their differences.

This is a story about second chances, found family, and hope for a better world. Finding support when you're lost, are doubting yourself and have crippling self worth and need healing.

"If you're hurt, you're hurt. It doesn't matter if anyone else thinks you don't have a good enough reason. Pain doesn't require approval."

There is no need to read The Spellshop before this one. It gives more substance, but the important elements are explained, so everything makes sense.

After having read several cottagecore, cozy stories I have come to the conclusion that this genre isn't the best for me. I liked it just fine, but I didn't love it. I can see how it drags people in but I received an ARC from NetGalley so my honest opinion is 3 stars.

This was a really nice cozy book, definitely one you’d want to curl up in the sofa with in a lovely autumn day while drinking a lovely cup of coffee in your softest pjs :)

Even though it shows as a 4⭐️ it’s a 3.75 for me, spellshop was a 4 as I loved that book and even though this book was so lovely & cozy I felt it didn’t have as much action going on as the first book.

I still liked the story, the characters especially the sentient talking plants & Lottie ☺️ 🌹 It’s a lovely book about Terlu finding herself after a period of darkness & isolation, about finding family ,love, friendships, courage even after failure. A message about striving forward even when mistakes have been made & seeing the best in all situations. Lovely little read 💕

Terlu Perna has broken the law: she has used magic and that’s expressly forbidden unless you’re a sorcerer, which Terlu is not. She is a librarian of the Great Library of Alyssium. She risked her career and life to cast a spell because she was lonely. Craving a friend, she magically created a sentient spider plant, and named him Caz. Her punishment: to be turned into a wooden statue to warn others against breaking the law. Time passes differently as a statue, so when Terlu suddenly awakens, she has no idea if it has been months or years or where she is, in fact. She finds herself on a faraway island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. The only other human is Yarrow, a grumpy sweet gardener, who attends the many greenhouses alone, bakes her honey cakes and lets her stay in his cottage. Terlu is free, but she feels like she can’t return to her family. She feels like a failure. So, when Yarrow tells her the magic in the greenhouses are failing, she is determined to find out why and fix it. Even if it means breaking the law again.

I adored The Spellshop, so when I heard Sarah Beth Durst was releasing a sequel, I knew I was also going to love it too. And I did. The Enchanted Greenhouse is the ultimate cosy light fantasy story for me, with magic and whimsy, characters that shined so brightly from the pages, and a wonderfully crafted winter setting. I’d say this book would be the perfect winter read. One you could curl up under blankets with while sipping hot chocolate.

I related a lot to Terlu, and I found myself tearing up a little whenever she would explain her feelings, especially about loneliness and not feeling good enough. There was an overwhelming urge to protect her. I loved her! She was so kind and caring, so ready to make everything better for everyone else first before even thinking about herself. An absolutely delightful character. All the characters were: Yarrow, all the sentient plants and Emeril, the winged cat. I finished this book feeling so warm and so happy, which is when I know a cosy book has done its job well.

The detail Sarah Beth Durst gave to describing the gardening and the caring of plants was beautiful. I loved learning about plants, even if they were the magical kind. I loved the greenhouses and the sentient plants so much. I would honestly die for them. The magic system too was elaborate, feeling very special and vivid, and it was such a massive strength for the overall plot.

Everything clicked together so well, and has resulted in a book I view very highly in the cosy light fantasy sub-genre. It was a treat to experience. A book full of hope, of love and the utter magnificence of finally finding your place in the world. The Enchanted Greenhouse is a delight.

Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan for this eARC!

The Enchanted Greenhouse is out now!

You know that feeling when you curl up under a blanket with a cup of tea and a slice of honey cake, and the world outside just… goes quiet? That’s this book.

We follow Terlu — adorable assistant librarian turned accidental outlaw because, oops, she made a spider plant sentient. As one does. Naturally, she gets turned into a statue (rude). Fast-forward six years and our girl is freed by Yarrow, the soft, plant-whispering hermit tending the island’s magical greenhouses. Together, they fix the greenhouses, chat with opinionated plants, wrangle winged cats, and dodge tiny dragon pollinators. It’s giving cozy magic, found family, and a gentle sprinkle of slow-blooming romance.

✨ Highlights:
🌿 The vibe — warm, green, comforting, like being hugged by a garden.
🌿 Terlu — illegal plant mom turned hero.
🌿 Yarrow — the literal definition of soft boy, 10/10 would trust with my houseplants.
🌿 Talking plants, winged cats, tiny dragons — do I need to say more?

It’s not about the plot twists — it’s about healing, second chances, and growing (pun intended). Read it slowly, breathe it in, let it remind you to choose kindness.

It was a desperate sort of loneliness that made Terlu break imperial law. Using a harmless spell, she created a sentient plant: Caz. She'd just wanted a companion, is all. It's a cruel sort of irony that her attempt to not be so alone anymore is what sentenced her to a fate perhaps worse than death: she was turned into a wooden statue, displayed as a lesson to all not to mess with spells. Locked in, aware for a lot of it. So very lonely...

...then, she feels the tingling of cold on her fingers. She's freezing. There's snow? Everything hurts in a glorious way. She's hungry. She's... human again. And alone. And confused. Wandering the woods, she stumbles upon a massive structure. Opening a door, Terlu enters a stunning greenhouse, leading to more, each more marvellous, more magical, than the last. Flowers in the brightest colors. The tallest ferns. A false sun with diamond, dancing dragonflies. Greenhouses that are this well maintained... Most of it is spells, yes, but Terlu knows there must be a gardener here somewhere. When she finds him a few greenhouses onward, he tells her he woke her up, thinking she was a sorcerer. He briefly marvels at her... but is visibly disappointed when she tells him she isn't a sorcerer. Grumpily, he still shows her kindness and tells her to eat and rest at his cottage until she's ready to sail away from what turns out to be an otherwise uninhabited island. Having no place to go though, she figures she might as well stick around for a while... when she learns the greenhouses are failing, with the gardener is desperately trying to save them, she knows she has to put her second chance at life to good use and resolves to help.

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst is the second book in an interconnected series of standalones, preceded by cozy fantasy sensation The Spellshop, which briefly mentions Terlu and features Caz, the sentient plant she created. It is not necessary to read this first installment, but I highly recommend you do. The Enchanted Greenhouse is not more of the same; while both books share elements (the sentient plants, the restrictive imperial laws, main characters breaking those laws), the second installment has its own distinct plot, set in a unique place. The Enchanted Greenhouse is a quest of sorts: Terlu and the gardener, Yarrow, have an unconventional problem to solve. The creativity that has gone into this is absolutely astounding to me. To think of a plot like this is admirable enough, but Durst also establishes the most amazing setting.

I have a soft spot for botanical gardens; I can spend hours upon hours strolling through various greenhouses admiring all nature has to offer, and how beautifully and proudly the plants are cared for. This book embodies that: it's a garden lover's magic dreamscape put into words. The Enchanted Greenhouse is like a collection of paintings that I want to frame and hang in my house. If I close my eyes, I can picture every greenhouse Durst has conjured up, with all its details and wonder. A sunflower maze with protective miniature dragons. An oceanic greenhouse with a lone sea turtle in it. A greenhouse full of singing plants. The stunning rose greenhouse, with roses in every imaginable color. I wanted to grab my watercolors and paint everything. I can't stress enough how PRETTY this book is!

The imaginative descriptions also serve an important purpose. OK, look. Saving magical greenhouses without a sorcerer... it all sounds like an impossible task. On an island that is abandoned and not altogether charming in and of itself. Why... would... But Durst made me basically fall in love with the pretty greenhouses instantly, and the pretty magical greenhouses must survive! I found myself urging them on in one direction or the other, trying to get to the bottom of this with them. So much of what we discover in the greenhouses turn out to be relevant to the quest as well. It's all rather lovely.

One of those discoveries... more sentient plants. We had Caz and Meep in The Spellshop, but the Enchanted Greenhouse brings us a lovable Sentient Plant Posse with colorful and distinct personality traits. Lotti, the wee purple potted rose, sets herself apart the most: she's a mouthy thing (well not literally, she has no mouth) and her festy 'tude gave some comic relief. Lotti balances out and at times challenges Yarrow's and Terlu's approach to things. Other side characters make an entrance at various points in the novel (one of them coded as a possible main character in a hopefully third book, fingers crossed), their presence assisting Terlu in helping Yarrow overcome his obstacles, and vice versa, efforts which lead to emotional revelations for them both. Oh, and we have a winged cat pet, Emeral, who drapes himself around Terlu like a scarf. Love it.

This is one point where The Enchanted Greenhouse proves itself to have evolved from The Spellshop: the romance is so much more organic. One of the bigger issues I had with The Spellshop, is that I couldn't really grasp the male main character, Larran. He wasn't described very well, and he faded into the background often, so their love story didn't quite hit the mark for me. Yarrow? He's there, he's direct, he's golden. His cottage core is as hard as his ab muscles. He's a beautiful grump with an incredibly kind heart, which makes him a treat to figure out. There's some vulnerability to and anxiety within him, and it's a joy to see him open up to Terlu and others on page. For a quiet man... when he speaks, he says ALL the right things, making knees buckle and hearts skip beats. The way he brings Terlu out of her shell is peak romance. The sexual tension sure helps, too. It's all very vanilla, still, but kicking up the physicality just a wee bit helps bring home the romance even more.

Regardless, even as Terlu grows closer to the grumpy gardener and the Sentient plants, she chooses to help because it becomes part of a purpose for her, and it's what keeps her motivated to help. I love that she's doing this FOR HERSELF more than anything. There's power in that and I love that message.

The Enchanted Greenhouse is a magical story about the importance of finding a new purpose, second chances & redemption, family & forgiveness. It is also about honey cake with a hint of cinnamon. And I really want some. In Yarrow's cottage.

**Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for generously providing me with a copy of this book; all opinions expressed are honest, voluntary and 100% my own.**

A librarian commits a sinister crime: she casts a spell and creates a sentient plant to be her friend. She is sentenced to become a wooden statue, an example to others. Until she comes back to life in an unknown place. What an incredible world fits inside a greenhouse! Sentient plants are the soul of this magical place. Terlu and Yarrow's relationship is beautiful, with a deep understanding of each other's needs and limitations. Nothing like a team effort to bring a disconnected family closer together.
Loved it!

The Enchanted Greenhouse is a new installment into the world of The Spellshop and a companion to the orginal book. Just as cute as the first.

The ties to the first book are very strong as Terlu is the person that brought Caz, the spider plant from book 1, to life. She wanted a companion. But was harshly punished for her unlawful use of magic. She was turned into a statue. Six years later she is brought back to the living and finds herself on an almost deserted island. But who brought her back and why?

As this is a cozy fantasy the stakes are fairly low. Instead of having to deal with the empire, they are dealing with the failing of enchanted greenhouses. Keeping these greenhouses going is very important to the other inhabitant of the island, Yarlow. A bit of a recluse, he isn't sure what to do with Terlu when it turns out she isn't exactly a sorcerer.

Gardening, talking plants, a flying cat, cozy little houses and a touch of magic. Does it get anymore cozy fantasy than that? Everything you could want from this genre is wrapped up in this book.

Having said that, this wasn't a 5 star read for me. I struggled with the start a little where I wasn't immediately grabbed by our main character. Terlu was a little dreadful at the start. I get that she was in a bad situation but she wasn't exactly very easy to follow. I didn't start getting into the book until she started meeting with the other characters. The interactions between Terlu, Yarrow, our flying cat and talking plants were what made this story gain joy and a lot of feelings. It deepened things out.

As this is a companion to The Spellshop one might think this is easily read as a standalone. However I would not suggest it. I think a lot of what was set-up in The Spellshop about the empire, The Library of Assylum and the use of magic was a backdrop here. Without the first book, some of that might not make as much sense because we already had that world building. And you would be missing out on the importance of Caz.

This was amazing! I adored book 1 and this book did not disappoint. I loved getting to explore more of the world and meeting Caz'z creator. It was such a dreamy scene and I wish I liked gardening more now.