Where You're Planted

De: Melanie Sweeney

Narrado por: Brittany Pressley, Christian Fox

"It’s clear that Tansy and the, ahem, Plant Daddy have chemistry. They might even have a future if they can navigate the debris left by previous natural disasters in their personal lives." —NPR, Books We Love 2025

He hates me . . . He hates me not.

Single mom and children's librarian Tansy Perkins only has room in her life for her daughter and her library. And maybe the next book to add to her collection. But after a catastrophic hurricane severely damages her library, she's forced to temporarily move her branch into the adjacent botanic gardens, where the new director happens to be Jack Reid—the world’s grouchiest gardener, who rescued her and her daughter from the flood.

Jack has always preferred plants over people, having successfully avoided relationships ever since his divorce. So, Tansy and her quirky band of bookish colleagues’ encroachment into his carefully kept territory is a little more than irksome, especially when it means sharing his already-scarce resources.

When Jack and Tansy are tasked with working together, they have no choice but to call a truce. And soon their newfound professional partnership gives way to a deep intimacy that they've both been silently craving. But Tansy has lost too much to risk her heart, and Jack has sworn off real love. When an opportunity arises for funding that both the library and gardens need, will their loyalties lie with the futures they'd always planned for, or the new spark they've found with each other?

Sweeny's sophomore debut is another HOME RUN!

Melanie Sweeney has the gift of writing love stories that represent realistic, believable modern day love. Her characters are messy & relatable. She develops characters who are a little rough around the edges but have a lot of depth to them. This book gave me everything I wanted. It's filled with so many heartwarming moments, has emotional meat to it & gives you all the feels you could possibly want with grand gestures that will leave you sighing! The MMC's love language is "acts of service," and when you throw that in, I'm a total goner!💀

Tansy is a single mom librarian who is struggling to recoup in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane. Her library has been destroyed & her home barley livable. She struggles with trust & letting others help her.

Jack, oh sweet Jack! He's the director of the local botanical gardens. His life is tending to his beautiful plants & helping others. After rescuing Tansy & her daughter, Briar, from the flood, these two just keep running into each other & their run-ins are filled with snarky banter & tension filled conversations. It becomes clear that they could mutually benefit each other & the situations they find themselves in.

Tansy gets a "shed-like," home for her library in Jack's botanical garden & they come to a truce. Tansy applies for a restoration grant which the hopes of bringing back her library. What she doesn't know is that Jack has applied for the exact same grant.

Tansy is so determined NOT be the damsel in distress but she needs help & a lot of it. I LOVED her character. She's fiercely protective, sassy & intent on getting her library back. Both divorced, they've been burned by love & the worst part of themselves kinda took over. The friction these two experienced creates a spark & their conflict turns into chemistry. Tansy's daughters Briar is kind of the trigger that brings these two together. When they are given a week without Briar, they finally allow themselves to give into each other, allowing all the touching, loving & sex they have both been without for so long. The burn was slow.... but 7 days???? Please & thank you 🙏 and Jack is deliciously swoony, thoughtful & ravenous.

🎧Let's talk audio: Brittany & Christian are absolutely perfect in these roles. Each voicing multiple characters so easily & well. Pressley performs the bossy, protective mother flawlessly. Her portrayal of sweet, little Briar was so perfect & tender. She voices all the skeptical & wary feelings that Tansy is going through & shines when Tansy finally opens up exposing all her vulnerabilities to Jack. Christian Fox, ladies, this man🙌 There is such an ease to this man's voice. His performance of Jack made me wanna just melt. Jack's character tries so hard to be open & upfront with Tansy but he's met with frustration & avoidance by Tansy. Christian was so perfect at capturing all the irritation & honesty that Jack is experiencing. These two characters grow so much throughout the story, not just in self-awareness, but in their relationship with each other. Give me these two narrators anytime. Their talents are ridiculous!

Melanie has another WINNER people! Her sophomore novel has been one of my most anticipated books of the year after her debut, Take Me Home. She delivers big time! Her books are filled with so much heart & compassion. The feelings these characters go through are raw, real & relatable & this is the reason I LOVE her books so much! Please hurry & write another one, Melanie!

Quirky, fun, real characters, Beautiful story. Loved it!

Sweeney writes such beautiful characters! They are people I would love to know. This story had me sitting on the edge of my seat, laughing out loud, tearing up, and not wanting it to end. I can’t wait to read her next book!