The Restoration Garden

A Novel

De: Sara Blaydes

Narrado por: Soneela Nankani, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw

A landscape architect unearths the tangled history of a once-celebrated English garden—and all its mysteries—in a captivating novel by the author of The Last Secret of Lily Adams.

Julia Esdaile is hired to restore the historic gardens at Havenworth Manor—the grounds of which are now an abandoned snarl of bramble and weeds—to their original splendor. For the enigmatic lady of the manor, ninety-two-year-old Margaret Clarke, the reason for the restoration is the deeply private story of a promise made a lifetime ago, and a vow to keep it before she dies.

It’s 1940, and Margaret’s older half sister, Irene, an aspiring artist, dreams of an exciting world beyond Havenworth. Her only escapes are James Atherton, a handsome officer in the RAF, and her sketchbook of flower drawings. Bonding over their disdain for war, Irene follows James to London, where, irrevocably in love, she is forced to make a choice she never imagined. With that, Irene vanishes from Margaret’s life forever.

Now, with the help of Margaret’s godson, Andrew, Julia is determined to uncover both the long-buried secrets of the past and the truth behind a heartbreaking mystery that only restoring the gardens of Havenworth can solve.

©2025 by Sara O’Shaughnessy. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Blaydes uses the language of flowers for more intimate conversations, but doesn’t shy away from bigger ideas like the varied ways in which war impacts people of different economic statuses, offering plenty of opportunity for discussion. A good choice for readers of Kate Morton, Beatriz Williams, or Lisa Wingate.”—Booklist (starred review)

Interesting story

I really enjoyed this book. The story was a different story line and truly enjoyable. Definitely worth the read or listen!

Different than any other WWII novel I’ve read

This novel feels super important in the current times. It gives a different perspective than I’ve read for the most part. It felt like I could understand the level of graphic descriptions making a heavy point without me disassociating. I call it a win personally, but would warn readers that this book is like anything that involves fascism or war themes, there are super upsetting portions of the book. Overall, I loved it and thought the characters were well developed, storyline was solid, and gave the perfect amount a suspense without me wanting the book to be over to know what happened lol! It left me wanting more, which feels rare lately.

loved the WW 2 story of Irene, especially the English resilience.

took a while for me to connect to who Margaret was as the older lady wanting the garden restored.

Horrible British accent

It was difficult to get through with the narrator’s attempt at a posh British accent. It was very distracting

very enjoyable story

This was a different type of story about WW2 with 2 different timelines. I have read many historical fiction books about this time period and this was a unique one. Would recommend!