The mountainous terrain of the Appalachians is the perfect setting for this novel in which flowers and herbs are used for medicinal purposes and have been for centuries. Tig Costello comes to Darren Kentucky to paint a portrait of her grandfather Benjamin, a man she had never met, and who was murdered fifty years ago. For Tig, this trip becomes more than just a painting when she starts to unravel family secrets and the secrets kept by the citizens of Darren. The story touches on sensitive issues and tells how the women in the community stand united and help each other. I enjoyed this book from the first page to the last. Thanks to author Abigail Rose-Marie, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

“𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍,” 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒔, “𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚.“

Reading a book that goes back and forth between past, and present can truly annoy me but it works here. I was charmed by the title, because I grow moonflowers, and it isn’t easy any more than being a woman under the crushing weight of expectations and bad men is. Antigone “Tig” Costello travels to the sinking town of Darren, Kentucky at her father’s request to honor the fiftieth anniversary of the grandfather she never knew, Corporal Benjamin Costello. A brave and selfless man during the Second World War, the town’s hero who is much revered will be honored when the locals erect a statue in the town square. Tig will take on a commission in her dad’s stead to paint a portrait for the museum. Her father sees it as a fresh start for her after her trouble in Chicago, and truth be told, he does not seem interested in learning about his family roots.

Tig learns that she will be staying above a soap and spool shop run by a gruff woman named Mae, who does not seem keen on her presence, nor the fact they sent a female descendant instead of Benjamin’s son. She tells Tig “you have a pretty face,” but it is not a compliment, it can only be a sign of trouble in this town run by dominant men. Thirty years in Darren and Mae knows how to keep her secrets tucked inside, knows that there is safety in being a ‘simple woman.’ Pretty women are anything but simple. Mae clearly remembers Tig’s grandmother Valerie Dunn, but she informs her that Benjamin wasn’t an easy man to know, despite his charms. If Tig is going to learn anything about her grandfather, she is going to have to confront the woman who murdered Benjamin, Eloise Price, who now resides in the asylum for the elderly and criminally insane. She is the only person alive who knew him best. The door to the past opens with Tig’s visits with Eloise. The price for truth is leaves from the red oak trees, that Tig must procure before she will talk. The tale begins under the roof of Whitmore Halls, where Eloise was born, a manor situated on the mountainside overlooking the city that her father bought to house his patients. He, a neuropsychologist studying the insane, whose reputation suffered from his studies involving young girls, made the patient he brought with him, the orphan Joan, his wife. As Eloise came of age wandering the halls, her mother Joan hated being a mother. Forbidden by her father to go near the patients, all she had to escape her lonely state was her imagination, the library, and horses. It is the first tragedy, her mother’s death, which sets the sorrows of her future in motion.

As Tig hears stories the townspeople share, she discovers rumors of missing women, the old stories of poison involving Eloise, hard men returned from the war, and how Whitmore Hall was a dirty place where bad women, run by Eloise and Ulma, the aunt who came to raise her, got up to no good. A place the menfolk would not “allow” their women to go. They killed more than Benjamin up there! Why, if you believe the old wives’ tales, there is a whole cemetery of people Eloise and Ulma buried. The mystery grows, just what were those women up to and how did her grandfather get mixed up in evil doings? Did he know something that made Eloise murder him or was she just jealous that he did not love her back and married Tig’s grandmother Valerie instead?

What Eloise reveals goes against everything the townsfolk swear for truth. Friendship, disloyalty, betrayal, it all reads like a modern-day witch hunt. The only thing Tig begins to understand is that the big brave man the town longs to honor may not be worth the bother. In fact, the men of present day are not so thrilled about her stirring up trouble, smearing a good man’s name, adamant Eloise is evil. If what Eloise says is true, then Benjamin himself was a bad man and the women around him were left ruined for knowing him. How shameful it is to uncover disturbing truths about ones family. What is Eloise doing with the leaves and why do they mean so much to her? Tig’s art is just as vital to her stability. She is running from her own demons, is it possible she can recover from her own personal trauma through women who came before her?

One thing I felt poignant is all the questions that often go unasked in any family. Tig learns so much about her grandmother on this trip and realizes that when Valerie left Darren for Chicago it is as if the past ceased to exist. She never spoke of Darren, nor shared any memories about herself. What a shame we let our beloved relatives’ stories slip away, die with them, always hellbent on the future and ourselves. It is about the bitter rot in the roots of family trees. About the self-righteous blindness that can poison relationships and that sometimes going missing is the only means of survival. It is where women turn when hope is lost, and choices are thin. Sometimes we do not know who the true villain is.

It is a story about power, control, and the abuses educated men often heap upon women and the consequences of stepping out of line, for being different, whatever that entails. It is a brave tale, and the truth will out. But not all men are evil either, good man offer shelter. Moonflowers, what a beautiful flower and a gorgeous meaning. Yes, read it!

Published September 1, 2024

Lake Union Publishing

Though this book was very eye opening, suspenseful and very tragic, this has to be one of the most well written historical fiction book I’ve ever read.

The Moonflowers by Abigail Rose-Marie is a wonderfully written debut title.
An empowering novel that gripped me from the very beginning.
A very detailed and engaging story I really enjoyed reading this one.

Thank You NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This harrowing and mysterious novel tells the story of strong women. The prose is impeccable within this novel. Every sentence feels tangible and the pacing was perfect. I loved every bit of this novel and especially love the message and story it tells. This should be a must-read for all women.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book. It is out today!

A really interesting story, and very well told. A pretty good debut novel by all standards, and really liked the link to Tig's painting at the end :) Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Moonflowers is Abigail Rose-Marie's debut novel and it is a powerful and poignant tale of finding the truth and uncovering secrets behind the stories of strong and courageous women who fought for themselves and for other women during a time when they had no voice and no right to choose.

The dual timelines are very well done and the author effortlessly connects the past and the present with a few unexpected twists. Also the title 'The Moonflowers' is apt for the story as these flowers bloom only at night and are symbolic of the freedom and power we women possess when we choose to uplift ourselves and each other when faced with life's many challenges.

Overall an engaging and compelling debut. Thank you @netgalley and @unionlakepublishing for the digital ARC to read and review.

Wow this was an incredibly powerful book. I really enjoyed the writing still and getting to know all the characters! I loved that there were little surprises in the story and everyone got an important ending. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I see a lot of people enjoying this and it has a solid rating on Goodreads, but it seems I'm not in the right headspace to appreciate it the way other people have. It's not that I'm triggered by the topics discussed in this story, such as abortion, abuse, and overall female suffering, it's just that I don't want to read about that right now. If you are in the right headspace for it, I think you may get something out of this kind of brutal read. Another thing I think is worth mentioning is that you should expect flowery writing. I'm not sure it matches the story and I felt a bit disconnected from it, but that's just my experience with it.

WARNING: it's yet another unpopular opinion review!!

I honestly didn't expect this to happen again so soon... I was intrigued by the premise of this debut, and I fully expected to enjoy my time with this historical fiction story mainly set in Kentucky. Sadly it wasn't ment to be after all, and I ended up struggling considerably to make it to the final page. Was it just my fickle reading mood acting up again? Maybe. I mean, most people do seem to love The Moonflowers so far... But I can't deny that I personally struggled considerably to find the motivation to keep reading. I'll try to explain why below.

First of all I have to repeat that the premise is without doubt intriguing, as it draws you right in once you realize the small town of Darren is hiding a lot of secrets. The setting works perfect for the story, and it makes for a great backdrop. BUT. I wish I had known beforehand that there was going to be so much focus on abuse, abortion and drama... Because I'm not sure I would have decided to read The Moonflowers had I known about these topics. I get what the author wanted to do by highlighting the impossible situation women would find themselves in back then, but this was just too much focus on abortion in a way that was too graphic and out there.

This wasn't even my main issue with The Moonflowers though. I think what was most difficult to overcome in this story was the fact that I somehow clashed horribly with the writing style. Why? The writing style was both extremely flowery and overly descriptive, and then I'm not even talking about the excessive use of similes. I can appreciate a simile or two along the way, but especially the first half was drowning in them and it made me feel more frustrated every time I came across another one. The same goes for the descripions, which were again excessive and slowed down the pace considerably. Do we really need to know every tiny gesture or every little detail about everything? In this case, I'm voting for no.

The story uses a dual POV structure, switching between Tig and Eloise. On top of this, the story also incorporates multiple flashbacks going back to the time before Eloise went to prison fifty years ago. While those flashbacks were intriguing as we got to learn more about what really happened back then, I wasn't a fan of how the switches between past and present were incorporated. The switches were often sudden and within the same chapter, and this again slowed down the pace considerably. To make things worse, I was never able to warm up to any of the characters in play. Especially since most of them (except for Tig and Eloise maybe) were actually quite underdeveloped and cliche... Seriously, why does almost every woman mentioned have to be a victim of abuse, and why do basically all men have to be monsters?! Oh yes, we get the mention that Jason is 'one of the good ones', but with the way Tig said it, it didn't really feel as a compliment either.

I'm not sure if it was my fickle reading mood acting up again, but the fact is that The Moonflowers and me didn't exactly get along. Between the flowery writing, overdose of similes, strong focus on abuse/abortion, unlikeable characters and too many cliches, this story definitely wasn't my cup of tea... I know that I'm in the minority though and most people do seem to love this debut, so take my review with a grain of salt if you think this story sounds like something you could enjoy.

A thoughtful debut that sees Tig discover there was more to her grandfather than she bargained for. This is very much about women, about women helping other women and sometimes paying a high price. Know that there's a bit of a heavy hand about men so focus on the positive messages. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Tig arrives in Kentucky to paint a portrait of town hero, Benjamin Costello, her grandfather. She wants to know him better so she turns to his childhood friend and the woman institutionalized for murdering him, Eloise Price.

This was a great story about strong and loyal women, and some horrible, abusive men. While dual time line, most of it takes place in the past and it’s quite the story. All the pieces fit in the end and there were a few unexpected twists. This is a strongly feminist tale that shows women sticking up for other women more than fifty years ago.

“These women alive in the darkness, these flowers that only bloomed in the night.”

The Moonflowers comes out 9/1.

I have been devouring all things Appalachian for a while. This book felt like the cocktail of perfection. IT gave history, it gave storyline, it gave deep in the mountains surrounded by trees. The cover is gorgeous, the writing is beautiful, I cannot wait to see what else this author will give us as she perfects her craft. I am 100% on board with reading any and all books that are women centered.

This book was fantastic!! The story telling was absolutely masterful. I loved how Tig uncovered these unknown stories from the past to paint this empowering picture. I loved how this showcases how powerful women are especially when we band together to give ourselves a voice

(Book for review courtesy of NetGalley)
Lake Union Publishing ~ August 27

Abigail Rose Marie's The Moonflowers is an atmospheric mystery, with an eerie setting full of disquieted characters. These types of mysteries ask What is this place? How did I get here? Who can I trust? There's always a river, trees, a weird old house, a weary woman who knows too much, and The Moonflowers offers all that and more. Antigone - Tig - Costello grew up with an academic artist father. She is an artist as well. His father receives a letter asking him to come to Darren Kentucky, birthplace of the father he never knew. He sends Tig instead. Tig knows little about her family roots, and when she asks about her grandfather, she is told to see Eloise Price, a patient in the town's Mental Asylum. Eloise knows Benjamin Costello best because she's the woman who killed him.

The Moonflowers goes at a slow place and draws readers in, just as Eloise draws Tig in with her stories. The novel deals with women's issues - health concerns that still elicit blushes and anger today. Tig herself is dealing with trauma and finds kindred spirits in the ghosts of her grandfather's past. Tig begins to heal after learning the truth behind the murder of this town's "greatest citizen." The Moonflowers is a quiet revelation that the things that need to change often don't, yet we need to keep fighting the fight.

The Moonflowers is beautifully written and I was quickly captivated by Eloise and Tig. The story is both heart-wrenching and heart-warming. I enjoyed how the stories of the members of the small town of Darren were woven together. They tell a dark history of the town and the strength of the women determined to fight against it! It is difficult to believe this is a debut novel as it was so exquisitely written. There are some extremely difficult topics addressed throughout this story, so proceed with caution.

The Moonflowers follows Tig Costello as she travels to Darren, Kentucky, to paint a portrait of her late grandfather, Benjamin, a local hero. Here she meets Eloise Price, the woman who supposedly murdered Benjamin fifty years ago.

Eloise’s story reveals a hidden past filled with women seeking refuge from abuse and desperate for help with secret abortions. As Tig listens to Eloise, she uncovers shocking truths about her family. Please be aware that there are some heavy, and heartbreaking themes covered here.

Overall, "The Moonflowers" is a compelling read, perfect for readers who enjoy historical fiction with a touch of mystery and strong female leads. The descriptions of the landscape are so detailed that you can actually picture the mountains (in particular) so clearly, it’s like I was there!

What can I say about this book. There is so much. Right off the bat, I was hooked by it within the first few pages. It was a world wind of up and downs. I laughed, I cried hard and it was all over so fast.
I really appreciate the author shining a light on a very important part of the story that one point or another has been written in many women’s lives throughout history.
I loved this book very much and I hope that readers will enjoy it as much as I did.
10/10 would recommend wholeheartedly.

Thank you, Lake Union Publishing, for gifting me this ARC. This debut novel is set to be published on September 1, 2024.

I was instantly drawn to the cover and title of this book. Although I didn't feel a connection with the overarching plotline, the story itself is well-written. This book is filled with unique characters, all with troubling secrets awaiting to be uncovered. There are decent twists along the way and a good level of depth.

Overall, it is an average book. I found myself relieved to be done with it. This one was tough to get through - I hate to say it, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

I seem like the outlier, so don't let my review deter you from picking this one up in September 2024!

There are lots of things I loved about this book. The setting, the characters, the vibes, the storytelling… Overall I think it was very memorable. Unfortunately, it took a while to fully pull me in and it made the book feel really long. I think most of my “negatives” could have been saved by a more clear timeline and less repetition. In saying this, the second half of this book was easily 5 stars and after debating, I’ve decided to give this 5 stars because of the way I felt upon finishing this book. Read this if you’re looking for a historical mystery in a small town with strong female characters!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Abigail Rose-Marie for this ARC ebook. The Moonflowers will be published September 1, 2024.