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I absolutely loved the concept behind this retelling. It offers a biopunk take on Frankenstein with a blend of Victorian elements that’s both intriguing and thought-provoking.

As a gardener (and botanical garden member), I found the descriptions of the greenhouse and botanical garden both realistic and captivating. It was charming to see the couple living inside the greenhouse—who hasn’t daydreamed about that as a gardener? The contrast between the m/m and w/w relationships was also a standout, especially since neither would have been accepted in the historical time period.

However, the writing style didn’t suit my tastes. It was much too flowery (pun intended!) for what I typically enjoy reading. In fairness, I’m not particularly fond of Victorian literature, which this retelling modernizes while maintaining that tone. I struggled to connect with the two main characters and never quite understood their motivations. Though I’m a queer person and this is queer literature, I found myself disagreeing with the book’s overarching themes—it’s okay for queer people to have differing perspectives, and this is where I do.

Diversity is limited to sexuality. There is no diversity of race, ethnicity, or ability.

There are several violent scenes, including on-screen blood splatter, which is fairly graphic. There’s also a lengthy, explicit description of the w/w relationship, which was too intense for my taste, so I skimmed that section.

Overall, this is a unique take on Frankenstein with queer characters and a botanical twist. If you’re intrigued by the premise, I recommend reading the first few pages to see if the writing style resonates with you. Just be aware of the graphic violence and intimate chapter.

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A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock! This witty horror debut offers a unique blend of Victorian charm and dark whimsy. With a captivating premise of love, experimentation, and the unexpected consequences of creating life from plant matter, it’s a delightful yet eerie read.

I found myself wishing for more character depth, and there was one scene that was a bit too spicy for me! But for those who love queer horror with a botanical twist, this book might just flourish in your reading garden! 🌿✨

Have you read it? What are your thoughts on blending romance with horror? Let’s discuss in the comments!

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock is a captivating and enchanting read that transports you into a lush world of plants and family secrets. The story centers around a young woman who uncovers the hidden legacy of her family’s botanical knowledge. Medlock’s descriptive writing brings the natural world to life, making every scene vivid and immersive. The protagonist is relatable and strong, and her journey of self-discovery is both heartwarming and inspiring. The plot is full of twists and turns that keep you hooked, blending mystery and adventure seamlessly. Medlock explores themes of heritage, identity, and the power of nature with a delicate touch.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

A kind of botanical Frankenstein retelling...what's not to love about that?
A mish mash family is the eccentric and cute cast in this creepy book. An absolute nightmare for anyone that is afraid of mushrooms/fungi or the general idea of a Frankenstein monster!!!

A green twist on Frankenstein, A Botanical Daughter was a diverting and entertaining read.The most successful elements for me were the description of both the amazing sounding home that the men had created, and of the animation of Constance, reborn as their botanical daughter. Though the novel embraced the body horror genre it didn't feel particularly thrilling or chilling to read.

Unfortunately this was a let down in terms of the writing style. I had such a hard time getting through any of the book and the descriptions of some... things... that I won't repeat, were just a pass. I'm really disappointed because the premise just sounds so cool and it was a major letdown. I would recommend this to a super small group of people who love Victorian style books along with horror and don't mind some weird descriptions. Personally for me, it didn't work.

From the first chapter, the writing of this tale drew me in. Beautiful and dreamlike, yet with a streak of humour and 'real-life' relationship drama, I loved spending time with this odd little family. So pleased to see that it's reaching its tendrils out to others likewise!

I loved this book. Very atmospheric with enriching characters. This is not my usual read but i was so drawn in by the stunning cover. Really great novel and the writing style was perfect. Thank you for the opportunity to read this before publication.

An amazing read! I loved the characters and how passionate they were about their work and what they wanted to prove to the world. Full of interesting fungal horror that is described so vividly that I could imagine Chloe walking around.

This delightful horror debut is a captivating blend of wit, warmth, and chilling suspense. Set in a Victorian botanical garden, it follows Simon and Gregor, two gentlemen hiding their relationship and engaging in a Frankenstein-style experiment. Gregor’s attempt to create intelligent life from plant matter, using a peculiar fungus and a deceased corpse, results in Chloe, a plant-beast that outstrips his expectations. As the experiment spirals out of control, the atmospheric greenhouse setting intensifies the suspense.

With richly detailed settings and sharp humor, the novel explores themes of ambition, secrecy, and unintended consequences. An extraordinary tale of family, fungus, and revenge, this book marks an exciting new voice in queer horror. A must-read for fans of dark and atmospheric stories.

I love the way this book has been wrapped up around its spine, really spooky and mysterious at times. The characters felt as if they part of something more, each telling us individually what they want to. I have fell in love with this book and it's author will definitely keep an eye on it

I really struggled to get into this story, which was a shame because this was one of my most anticipated releases this year. I found the characters of Simon and Gregor hard to empathise with, and the storyline of using a female body without consent didn't sit well with me. I didn't finish this story.

Not one I would usually choose to pick up but one I had seen recommended so much, I decided to give it a go. A weird, haunting yet beautiful read that will really challenge the thinking of older students.

3.75

I heard historical queer gothic plant horror and went yes please give me that immediately. I really enjoyed this, though it will not be for everyone. Simon is a taxidermist and Gregor deals with exotic plants, and they live together peacefully hidden away from the rest of Victorian London until Gregor comes across a strange new fungus. What follows is a Frankenstein-esque experiment featuring lushly creepy nature descriptions and queer longing.

This is a slow narrative and I wish that there had been a bit more development with the characters, but overall I think this was a really solid debut novel!

I saw a reel on Instagram from the author talking about this book, and I was immediately sold. Frankenstein? Queer? Messy, messy characters? Sign me up! And this absolutely delivers on all fronts.

The beginning of A Botanical Daughter is a little slow, but it perfectly sets the scene of Grimfern, an estate inside a greenhouse outside the closest village, and the three main characters - Gregor, botanist and lord of Grimfern; Simon, taxidermist and romantic partner to Gregor; and Jenny, local village girl whose lover, Constance, recently died and it was ruled a suicide. Jenny is the purest of these characters, and when she gets a job as a housekeeper at Grimfern she quickly learns how odd Simon and Gregor truly are. Gregor has recently gotten a new fungal specimen from Sumatra, and it arrived in a box with an orchid. When Gregor tried to open the box, the mycelium would close the lid again, to protect the orchid from light. Seeing this phenomenon Gregor was overtaken with the idea of creating consciousness and “personhood” in a plant. With the surgical skill of Simon and the body of Constance, Gregor builds a substrate fit for the mycelium to grow and learn, along with a plethora of other plant life, all with the goal of showing the Royal Horticultural Society that he never should have been shunned or disgraced for his fungal bouquet several years prior. As CHLOE gains consciousness and becomes an individual, things spiral in unforeseen and uncontrollable ways for the Grimfern household.

This really is so much a Frankenstein spin, with a scientist trying to create a perfect specimen and then being horrified that it has its own personality and wishes and desires, and won’t just be controlled by its maker. This didn’t feel like a horror to me, but it does feel very much like the classic horror genre (a la Frankenstein, Dracula, Portrait of Dorian Gray) where it’s a deterioration of pride and hubris. I really loved the exploration of interpersonal dynamics and the ways Simon, Gregor, and Jenny (and CHLOE) improve and worsen each other.

This is also strangely romantic in so many ways. Simon and Gregor aren’t exactly a healthy model, but the love they have for one another is so obvious in so many ways. I also really loved Jenny and CHLOE’s relationship development. There is so much sweetness and humor and joy twisted in with horrible events and choices being made.

This absolutely hit a sweet spot for me in very messy characters, lots of “accidental” murder, and the consequences of trying to play god and creator. Frankenstein is one of my favorite classics, so seeing this iteration done so well is such a delight, and definitely a book I will be recommending!

The first three quarters of The Botanical Daughter is beautifully written with a rich gothic feel. We meet our closeted gay men and feel the sorrow at how close a secret their relationship must be kept. As we progress into getting to know our other main character, and leading lady, we realize she too has the calling of ‘forbidden love’ (ugh, hate to call it that but it’s the right terminology for the day) and has been hurt. Throughout the first sections of the book we meet the plant entities (in various forms) and create a bond with the botanical character that surprised me. I loved it and felt it was just an innocent in all everything, even in some of its more horrific moments.

There are clever messages of love is love embedded into the narrative, both blatant and subtle; even making myself (a bisexual woman) wonder if there is a limit to love being love. For the record, the answer is no. Love is always beautiful and always correct. When love becomes obsession or greed it is different; but in its rawest form love is never wrong, by any definition. Noah Medlock does a beautiful job of expressing and showing this sentiment that in different ways and creates a truly safe space for sexuality and identity of any/all kinds (even for a plant).

Moving through the story we have some bloody moments, of retribution and revenge, that are all very gothic and satisfying. It’s all wonderful! Then we reach a point, around the last 100 pages, in which things start to unravel a bit. The pacing felt lost, the outcomes were disjointed, and lacked common sense. For a very smart story, with very clever characters, to suddenly feel less intelligent hurt. Additionally the plot choices continued forward in ways I did not expect that just didn’t satisfy my gothic/horror desires. I have come up with three distinctly different ways to close off this novel that would have been more gothic, satisfying for the reader, and still have held to the final message of the story.

Thus the final conclusion was, for me, very unsatisfying. Not necessarily because of the events but more so that the gothic overtones are played down, there is a lack of scientific discussion to talk about what the future might hold based on the ending (where some horror could have been injected), and in general I just had trouble focusing (and started wanting to just be done with the book). I would have ended the story a bit sooner with a more open ended ending that would have fit the gothic romance feel quite well. Or if taken to where it was I would have at least given some scientific questions for the reader to ponder about the implications of the final state of things. Sadly we get neither of these and therefore I just can’t give this a higher rating.

All that said, for a debut author, this is amazingly well written up to that last 100 pages. It does have an odd pacing at times, but that kind of fits with our quirky men and the unpredictable nature of plants growing. Sometimes they grow quick, other times slow. I would still recommend A Botanical Daughter as a good gothic read; but I would warn the potential reader to brace themselves for an ending that may not be as satisfying as one might have hoped for. I will however watch for future stories by Medlock as I think all the right foundation is there, it’s just the final execution (admittedly always the hardest part of any horror novel) that suffered here. In a different story, and with some different feedback I think Medlock could deliver us the kind of LGBTQ+ gothic romance that most readers will be craving by the end of The Botanical Daughter.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Couldn’t get into this. Really boring and uncompelling. Great premise but it wasn’t engaging enough unfortunately. Really sad about this one.

Hidden away from the prying eyes of London society, Simon and Gregor embark on an experiment with life-changing consequences. Readers will join these two men in simply asking, "what have we done?"

Told with bold wit, this delightful tale is gothic-eco horror at it's best. I would recommend this for fans of both Mexican Gothic and The Spore Queen. It is very character focused, so as long as you go in expecting more of a slow burn horror, you are good. I will say though, I do wish things had been just a touch more immersive to really ramp up the emotions of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all views expressed are my own.

Sometimes you get ‘found family’ with friends, neighbours, strangers you bond with and grow to love. Sometimes it’s taxidermist and botanist gay dads with a monstrous plant daughter.

This book had such a weird but brilliant combination of almost cosy horror (if there is such a thing) and deeply disturbing horror. The found family element is super wholesome and I loved following ‘CHLOE’ (the plant girl) through her developing life. But then shit gets dark and you’ve got violent death and necrophilia before you even know what’s happening.

The creepy gothic vibes throughout were amazing and I loved the sense of dread mixed with wonder in CHLOE’s exploration of life as a sentient being. If gothic fiction isn’t your usual jam, I still think you could enjoy this one as it wasn’t overly so.

The only reason I’m knocking off a star is because I felt there were some areas that focused on characters who didn’t really have an impact on the story, and I felt these could’ve been cut down a bit to focus on the main events.

A queer, Frankenstein-esque tale that is perfect for all you gay plant parents with a slight craving for the unhinged - this is the book for you.

3/5

“He imagined a pair of scales with which to balance the matter: his moral objections stacked on one side, as prim and coherent pucks of measured weight. The other side, however, was amorphous - fear and devotion and excitement. It was an octopus that wouldn’t stay put on the scales. It slobbed and sucked at the balance, growing and transforming at will. Horror of the many-tendrilled monster soon effaced the image of the stacked weights.”

Two Victorian gentlemen, one who works at his greenhouse filled with exotic plants and the other who spends his days in the basement workshop working on his taxidermical art. Hidden away from the Victorian society that would disapprove of their relationship, they embark on a Frankenstein-style experiment one day and their lives are forever changed. When the botanist finds that his latest acquisition, a strange fungus, shows signs of intelligence - he attempts to create life from a plant. Driven by his need for glory from the Royal Horticultural Society, the botanist discovers that his experiment goes beyond his expectations.

I went into this super excited because the premise sounded right up my alley. And it was ok, but not really what I expected. The characters were just ok, the story was just ok - if a little on the slow side, and the ending was not my favorite. I wasn’t dying to pick it up after putting it down and while the body horror imagery was great when the author was talking about Chloe, the plant experiment, the story itself reads like literary horror - but with characters you couldn’t really care about. Especially the two main characters! They’re supposed to be in a relationship with each other and it felt strained to me. I was more interested in the side relationship that was happening towards the end. And then, the ending… Not my favorite and could’ve been a lot better. Took my rating down a little.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!