"The Fair Botanists" by Sara Sheridan

It took me a LOT longer to get through "The Fair Botanists" by Sara Sheridan than I had anticipated.  I started reading it on June 30th;  it's not a long book, but it took me until last night (July 25th!) to finish. (Normally, I get through 3-4 books a month!)  But needless to say, I've been otherwise occupied this month...! and even when I did have some down time at home, I often found it difficult to focus on a book.  I'll also admit that it took me a while to get into the story. 

It's 1822, and newly widowed Elizabeth Rocheid has just arrived in Edinburgh to live with her late husband's relatives, whose home sits adjacent to the city's new Botanic Garden. The garden's collection includes a rare Agave Americana plant, which only flowers a handful of times each century. It's set to flower again, so the watch is on, captivating the interest of the city's elite. Several of them hope to profit from the seeds the flowering plant will produce -- including Elizabeth's unlikely (and much worldlier) new friend, Isabel (Belle) Brodie.  

This was a pleasant read. It didn't grab me right away, although it did get more interesting (and complicated!)  as the story built to a climax -- but the rather conventional (yet rather unlikely) happy ending left me feeling slightly flat. (No babies, though!)  I did learn a lot about Georgian-era Edinburgh and Scotland, and about botany and essential oils/perfumery -- and the story of the Botanic Garden and how it was moved was fascinating. It was also interesting to read the author's note at the end, explaining how she came to write the book, what was historical fact (quite a lot, actually) and what was fiction. 

I had a hard time deciding on a rating for this one. I settled on 3.5, but rounded down to 3 stars on Goodreads. 

We'll be discussing this book throughout August in the Gateway/Lighthouse Women Nomo Book Club. (Cardinal rule #1:  no miracle babies!)  

This was Book #26 read to date in 2023 (and Book #1 finished in July), bringing me to 58% of my 2023 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 1 books ahead of schedule. :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2023 tagged as "2023 books."