I loved this book so much! I loved the disabled person viewpoint and how the author made it feel inclusive and not like they made teh character as some part of an agenda. I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

This was out of my comfort zone to read. There were many quotes on the book and I could not keep reading it. I wanted to know more about alma and her brother than Alma and Dane. The author did an amazing job describing the garden and the setting.

I love retellings especially when it is a story that I know well and I can get a fresh take on it, so I was keen to read and review this. I really enjoyed it, it was well written with a great storyline that kept me engaged, well developed characters and great representation. A great read

I dont think I was the audience here.
For me this wasnt a beauty and the beast retelling... his scars made him who he was not that he would transform?
I really didnt care for the comination of the two characters
while i love a sexy heavy book this didnt work

This is the first book I've read by the author. I found it interesting, different then what I normally read but liked it just the same. I wish there was a little more development between the characters, felt it a little lacking but overall a good read.

I'm so sick of romance novels with highly sexual themes/settings that have no fucking sex in them. Bait and switch.

This claims to be a beauty & the beast retelling, but it isn't. You can't have a beautiful woman and a scarred man and call it a retelling when there's absolutely nothing else there to quantify it as such.

Alma works at a club where men pay to "tame and claim vixens." It's decorated like a jungle, and women dressed like sexy animals coyly flee from gross old dudes who hunt them down to collar them as their property. Alma is a fucking flower btw so I'm not quite sure how that plays into the fantasy but whatever.

This book is desperately trying to be deep literature. It's not. While it's not written terribly poorly, it's certainly not written terribly well. It's not compelling. The setting is half-formed. The characters are static and boring, and I gave precisely zero shits about any of them. The romance was crap. I can't remember when I started reading this, but it put me in a slump, and I bitterly finished it and forgot about it for many moons until now when I realized I still have to review this shit.

Highly meh. Do not recommend.

Read an ARC.

Now for something completely different. Set in Chicago, this illicit club setting dazzles a bit while the rest of the book remains grounded with bills to pay and a brother to visit. I liked the main character but found the beast falling a little short, wish there was more development between the two of them before the weekend away.

Secondary characters were also pretty flat, though the dialogue and motives were plausible. I would definitely read more from this author but maybe with revised expectations.

The representation in this book was phenomenal! A really interesting take on a beauty and the beast retelling as well. This book focuses on the women within the sex industry and gives them a story in such a great way, I just think it was an overall great book and so important. Check TW as there are some!

Thank you #netgalley for an early read of #thesavagegarden

I really liked the sound of this book and I enjoyed the beginning and the ideas in it. But it felt almost like it didn't go anywhere, I was left feeling like it wasn't finished because it went along at the same pace with no big build-up.
Disappointed because I think it was technically well-written but I just expected more from it.

I picked this up because of the premise sounded interesting but it promised much and under delivered. The writing was solid, but the characterisation was weak for me, as was the narrative - started interestingly but never really came together. In the end I didn't believe in the romance between Alma and Dane, I didn't believe in the drama with the weekend away, or with the other vixens, I barely found the premise of the club believable at all. The best bit of the book was the relationship between Alma and Peter, but even then, Alma's guilt wracked constant inner monologue grew tiresome. I really wanted to like this so much more than I did.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Unfortunately, I did not finish The Savage Garden by Bree M. Lewandowski. The blurb read as a Beauty and the Beast retelling which really intrigued me and was the reason I requested this book from NetGalley! However, I found it hard to follow. I’m sorry, I really wanted to like it but it wasn’t for me. Thank you NetGalley and Bree for the chance to read it. I would be happy to try another Bree M. Lewandowski book in the future.

I must admit that the description of the plot seemed very interesting but I just couldn't relate to the characters and the writing. It focuses too much on unimportant details.

I picked this because of the premise, it was unlike any retelling or reimagining of Beauty and the Beast that I have come across. It however did take me a while to sync with the rhythm and tone of the writing style, but once I became comfortable, I flew through the story. I loved how she crafted her characters and the reasons behind what they did what they did and how they came by their scars and perceived villainy. This was very creative and Alma's love and dedication for her brother, Dane's vulnerability and trauma, and the exploitive mien of The Garden all made for a very interesting reading experience.

I read this book very quickly and the truth is that it was a super light and entertaining read. Although I would have liked perhaps 100 more pages, to give profanity to some issues, feelings, moments.

When I read the synopsis I found it interesting because the truth is that books where the main characters work in places like this Savage Garden always attract my attention, because I like that the environment, the motives, the forms are developed and explained. And although I found that and I liked the fact that it was thematic, and how the dynamic was, I feel that I didn't quite find the atmosphere that I expected. That's bad? No, because it shows us reality.

Maybe I was expecting some kind of friendship between colleagues, that there would be some link... but life isn't always perfect, right?

As for our protagonist, Dane, I feel like he could have been fleshed out a bit more, told us more about him, shown us more, and for that I feel like I would have liked about 100 more pages.

Thanks Bree M. Lewandowski and NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so good! Alma works as a fantasy girl in The Garden. A men’s night club where they can be the alpha males that catch the dangerous pray but they have to be invited. She is hoping to get her third mister because that way she could afford to bring her brother to live with her. He is now like a child thanks to spinal meningitis and she wants to get him out of hospital London and home with her. He loves birds and that night instead of thinking of the men she is toying with she thinks of what color should she paint her brothers room or how many bird houses will she get him. Anything to get her off of her demeaning job that is until they hire a new janitor. His name is Dane and he is a mountain of a man. Unfortunately her coworker says he dated her sister and was abusive to her but Alma cannot reconcile this gentle giant with an abuser. They have several encounters where he saves her from apparent danger or perceived danger but either way the more she is around him the more she feels drawn to him. Onher third Mr. her boss has moved Dane to the garden and now he will be a bouncer. He has cleaned up in his dressed in a nice suit with nice cologne. She needs this night to go perfectly but she is so distracted by him. Will she be able to keep her mask on long enough to do her job so she could be with her brother or will her heart talk louder than her head or can she ultimately do both? This book is so atmospheric and haunting because when I put the book down all I thought about was the garden in Alma and the other girls who were made real by the great character distinction the plot flowed quickly this is just a great book and was way better than I thought it would be this is a top-notch read. I highly recommend this book. It is almost a beauty and the beast story and I loved it they had beautiful descriptions of their outfits, If you like to read a book where the author can paint a picture with words you really need to read the Savage Garden it is so good! just can’t say enough about this book it was so good you really should read this book. I received it from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I’m not sure where to begin with this book. (Check the trigger warnings!)

It was very difficult to understand how the escort service worked - they were animals/flowers with secret rooms and getting to the end of the garden was a multi-step process. The world building here really lacked and was so confusing.

The relationship between Alma and Peter was the better storyline as it discussed some of the challenges of having to be a caretaker for a loved one.

The Beauty and Beast part - I don’t really understand how it was related other than the female main character was attractive and the male main character was not conventional attractive.

4.5/5 stars! I am in love with this book. The story was great, but what was more important to me was the representation in this story. Not only do we get to see behind the curtain to how functioning impairments with some disabled people affects their quality of life, but the author does a phenomenal job of humanizing women working in the escort industry. Far too often, society tends to fetishize or stigmatize these women. Instead of that, we get to understand the motivations, intelligence, and success of these women in the story. As is common with beauty and the beast re-tellings our MMC has tarnished physical looks but a tender soul. I enjoyed every moment of this story and can't wait to read more from this author.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

The Savage garden by Bree M. Lewandowski.
The lights here are all dark and vixens pull men into the shadows. Hers was a tale as old as time, a woman selling herself for the money. But the lights here aren't part of the red-light district. The lights here create a fantasy club for the wealthy, where men can play out their fetishes of taming foxes, leopards, and swans. Collars and all. Alma Michaels is one of the wildflowers of this savage garden, Dressed in luxury every night, she feigns innocence so that the real innocent of her life, her disabled brother, can live with her and not at a medical facility. While men fulfill their wildest dreams on her, Alma is rooted to the ground. Her brother will have a better life. Her desires don't matter. Until, suddenly, her heart strains for control...
A slow but OK read. Likeable story and characters. 3*.