The Forbidden Garden

February 27, 2017
Herrick’s second novel takes place nearly a year after the events of her 2015 debut, The Sparrow Sisters. Eldest sibling Sorrel, one of three gifted New England gardeners, is invited by a friend’s brother, Graham, Lord Kirkwood, to rescue a purportedly cursed Shakespearean garden on his family property in the English countryside. She gets along famously with Graham’s wife Stella and their daughter, Poppy, and it becomes clear that Sorrel will fall for Andrew Warburton, Stella’s heartbroken, grouchy brother, a vicar who’s lost his faith. While the family cheers on their union, Sorrel worries that Andrew might be under a spell triggered by one of her sister’s potent herbal remedies. Meanwhile, she and Poppy investigate the family’s dark history and its ties to the fallow plot that Sorrel hopes to bring back to life. They’re helped by the family’s protective longtime groundskeeper, as well as Delphine, an old friend who aids the pair in decoding a series of mysterious tapestries and the secrets of Graham’s shady ancestors. Sorrel doesn’t believe in curses, but it seems like this curse might be real. This book would have been plenty interesting without the love story, which feels rote and pales in comparison to the unfurling of the novel’s mysteries. Nonetheless, Herrick manages to deftly tie everything together.

February 1, 2017
The dead Shakespeare Garden on Graham Kirkwood's ancestral English estate may well be cursed, and a preternaturally gifted gardener from New England could be his last hope.Herrick (The Sparrow Sisters, 2015) returns to tell a second tale about the Sparrow Sisters and their magical gardens. Able to nurture any plant to flourishing beauty, as well as to heal any ache through their skilled tinctures, the sisters are the empathetic healers of Granite Point on the New England coast. Sorrel, the eldest sister, is still reeling from the tribulations of last summer, when her sister Patience was accused of causing the death of a young boy. The townspeople turned against the sisters, wrecking their nursery and sowing hate. Patience may have been acquitted and the town may have once again embraced its quirky hedgewitches and apothecaries, but Sorrel remains angry. The invitation to heal the ruined Kirkwood garden comes at a most opportune time. Once in England, however, Sorrel discovers not only a devastated garden, but also a broken man: the dashing Andrew Warburton, an Anglican priest whose faith in God and woman has fractured under the weight of a broken relationship. As love blossoms between Sorrel and Andrew, however, the garden's curse looms darkly. A mysterious series of tapestries depicts a gruesome crime committed by one of the family's patriarchs, and although several clues have been embroidered into the fabric, the final panel is missing, along with a diary kept by the patriarch's long-suffering wife. As Sorrel delves into the soil, even more toxic secrets come to light--secrets that may endanger her life. Herrick spins a charming tale, deftly marrying dark Gothic elements to bright romance. She even titles each chapter with the name of a plant in the Shakespeare Garden, using the language of flowers--from "primula," presaging new love, to "willow" for mourning--to deepen her spell. Bewitching romance ripe for even more sequels.

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March 15, 2017

Herrick follows up The Sparrow Sisters with another lush gardening tale. This isn't necessarily a sequel, but Sorrel Sparrow moves on from that previous novel in this new work. The Kirkland Hall estate in England is a vast property (a mini Downton Abbey) with one black mark upon its grounds. The Shakespeare garden is cursed, and any family member who tries to improve its bleak state is harmed in some way. The lord of the estate, Graham Kirkland, hears of Sorrel's magic-touch gardening skills and lures her from her New England home to restore the garden. Since she is no relation to the family, he assumes she will not be affected by the curse. But Graham's brother-in-law, the broody Andrew, is thrown into the mix. He's at a turning point in his life and is staying at Kirkland Hall to evaluate his future options. As Sorrel works wonders in the garden, the tender bud of a romance begins. As the curse is researched, secrets of the family's past emerge. VERDICT In the spirit of the film Practical Magic, based on the novel by Alice Hoffman, mixed with a mesmerizing gardening book, this enchanted, romantic story will be savored by even amateur horticulturists.--Beth Gibbs, Davidson, NC

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2017
Herrick (The Sparrow Sisters, 2015) moves the story of the Sparrow sisters out of the small New England town of Granite Point to the English countryside when Sorrel Sparrow accepts an invitation to revive a long-deserted Shakespeare Garden. Sorrel immediately feels like part of the family at Kirkwood Hall and begins to develop a special relationship with Lady Kirkwood's brother, Andrew. Her ability to connect with plants and flowers appears almost magical, and everyone is sure she is just the person to finally bring life back to a garden that has refused to thrive for years. Yet even Sorrel may not be able to overcome whatever curse seems to have overtaken the garden before the entire family falls ill under its spell. Though Herrick doesn't quite find a balance between contemporary women's fiction and magic realism, her descriptions of Sorrel's rapport with the plants and garden and the powers they possess will resonate with those who enjoy stories of drawing strength from the land. Recommend this to readers of Sarah Addison Allen, Kate Morton, and Vanessa Diffenbaugh.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)