A Botanist's Guide to Rituals and Revenge by Kate Khavari
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this one a lot more than the previous instalment, thankfully. It is always a nice break to visit a series in which you know the cast of characters and what to (mostly) expect.
We get a lot of the family dynamics that have been alluded to in previous books in this one. Head-on, daily encounters with Saffron's mother, grandmother, and others in the family household. There are schemes and opinions abound, but of course none of that really matters to Alexander and Saffron.
I did feel that Saffron was a bit too sneaky at times and certainly undervalued Alexander in this one. She takes advantage of him in a way that doesn't sit quite right for me given their committed relationship. That said, he has excuses for why; it's just too bad that she wasn't upfront with him. The final question will come down to whether he can forgive her or not, which I will not spoil for you; but I will confirm is resolved by the end one way or another.
The actual mysteries to solve here are interesting. I was a bit meh on the ghost medium at first. Eventually I did start to appreciate how clever she seems. Her partner and others involved are all just side pieces, but each plays a key part of the overall story and each brings something different to the table. I wouldn't say these are 'well' developed characters, but they were enough for me given their throw away nature.
This fourth installment of the series is a bit more melancholy than the others. None of it really takes place at the school. It's surrounded by lies, awful family, and those who are no longer with them (many of them because of the war). So be prepared that 'cozy' here has some real undertones of sadness.
Overall, this is a much better installment than the last, and the ending (of course) has a cliffhanger that will have me grabbing book five when I need a cozy break again in the future. I do appreciate that, by and large, Kate Khavari delivers on exactly what I expect from these books. Nothing more, but nothing less, and that works just fine for me.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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