The Potion Gardener (Flos Magicae #9)
Arden Powell
Desperate to escape a messy romance, Florian Mulberry flees tipsy, panicked, and without a plan. It’s while hiding in a rural garden shed that he meets Kells, a potion witch, who agrees to shelter him in exchange for manual labor until he gets his life together. Leaving his pampered London existence to work on a secluded cottage farm is a shock, but Florian throws himself into it with passionate determination.And it’s not just gardening he's passionate about. In no time, Florian falls head over heels for his skillful, hardworking mentor.There’s just one problem. Florian is only disguised as a boy, and the enchantment hiding his real body is going to wear off. Florian’s main concern is how to explain himself when it happens. He's definitely not a girl, but he's not entirely a boy, either. With all the magic in Kells’ garden, there must be a way to achieve his ideal androgyny.However he looks, Florian will have to face his past if he wants a future with Kells. Even if he avoids London forever, eventually his past is going to come looking for the girl he used to be.The Potion Gardener is a low-stakes, low-angst cozy fantasy novella in the Flos Magicae series, a collection of queer romances set in an alternate 1920s world with magic. Featuring a trans, nonbinary lead, a butch cis lesbian love interest, a scruffy terrier with anxiety, and a great deal of gardening. All the Flos Magicae stories are standalones, and can be read in any order.
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Thanks so much to the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.
This book was a lot of fun! I really like Florian; they're very silly (as twenty-somethings tend to be) but also very dedicated and passionate, and they make a really nice foil to Kells and her comforting steadiness. I maybe would have liked more from Kells in terms of character development, but then again, there's something to be said about a love interest who's mostly content with her life and can offer that same contentment to the people around her. This dynamic works pretty well, especially as Kells gives Florian the space to figure themself out and make decisions about their life and future.
Also, I hope we get to see more of Anna and Charlie in the future! I really really wish we had gotten a little more of them in this book—I just think close friendships in romance novels are generally underutilized.
But really, if you're in the market for something low-stakes and chill with lots of plants and magic and great nonbinary rep, I highly recommend this book. It's been super rainy where I live recently, so this has been the perfect read to get me out of the wet and gray funk. (Also, if someone could get on making customizable gender potions real, that would be great, thanks.)
0Another super cute entry in this charming series. This one is cottagecore to the max, and Florian is a delightful protagonist. I wish there was a little more to it, and I’m not entirely convinced by the romance with Kells, but I loved Florian’s own journey. Overall a lighthearted escapist read perfect for this spring-into-summer season.
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