by Catherine Bakewell
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Mar 2023
352 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
Perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Tamora Pierce, this standalone YA debut is a stunning cottagecore fantasy romance about a girl with powerful and violent magic which she must learn to control—or lose everything she loves.
Clara's magic has always been wild. But it's never been dangerous. Then a simple touch causes poisonous flowers to bloom in her father's chest.
The only way to heal him is to cast an extremely difficult spell that requires perfect control. And the only person willing to help is her former best friend, Xavier, who's grown from a sweet, shy child into someone distant and mysterious.
Xavier asks a terrible price in return, knowing Clara will give anything to save her father. As she struggles to reconcile the new Xavier with the boy she once loved, she discovers how many secrets he's hiding. And as she hunts for the truth, she instead finds the root of a terrible darkness that's taken hold in the queendom—a darkness only Clara's magic is powerful enough to stop.
"Bakewell delivers a sensitively cultivated magic system that, as evidenced by the anxiety that makes it difficult for Clara to control her abilities, operates as a commentary on mental illness and its effects on one's ability to move through the world. It's an uplifting and meaningful tale bursting with floral imagery and cottagecore aesthetics." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A gentle love story and a fantasy that faces the dark voices of anxiety and depression with mettle." - Kirkus Reviews
"Flowerheart is like a garden in full bloom: vibrant and sweet, whimsical and wondrous. With warm, lovely prose and a charming cast, Bakewell's YA debut is guaranteed to be fantasy fans' new comfort read." - Allison Saft, New York Times-bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic
"Sparkly, charming, and swoony, Flowerheart is a warm cup of tea on a rainy afternoon. Bakewell's unique magical world, beautiful prose, and childhood friends-to-strangers-to-lovers romance cast an undeniable spell." - Sasha Peyton Smith, New York Times-bestselling author of The Witch Haven
This information about Flowerheart was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Catherine Bakewell is a writer, artist, and opera enthusiast. She has lived in Spain and in France, where she romped through gardens, ate pastries, and worked on her novels.
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