The Water Garden

I received The Water Garden as part of a NetGalley giveaway.

Sarah has moved to the countryside with her husband and two young sons. Left along with the children for long stretches, she finds herself drawn to an artificial lake and the fate of a boy who drowned there some years before. She also finds herself in the orbit of Finn, another young man who comes to the lake, seemingly to pay tribute. Little does she know, however, that she has closer ties to the situation than she'd ever thought. Told from alternating perspectives past and present, The Water Garden is a saga of two families over more than half a century, and the secrets that can strain and alter relationships forever.

This was a good read--perhaps not as juicy as some of the "uncovering old family secrets" novel out there, but I appreciate it being a bit quieter and less sensational. I had some deep reservations about the end--it sullied Sarah in my eyes--but I guess I can accept it without sanctioning it. The world Black draws is lovely, haunting and realistic, and a nice complement to the brooding feel of the novel, and the character are similarly complex and flawed. All in all a very well-crafted narrative.

Thanks to NetGalley, Louise Soraya Black and the publishers for giving me a copy of this book to review. All thoughts and opinions given are my own.
____________________________
This book was just wonderful. Something about Blacks writing entranced me from beginning to end, it was emotional and fast-paced. I read this in a couple of days and wow.
The way that this book jumped across through the generations of the family meant that it was a puzzle to figure out what was going on, but it slowly became clearer, the more I read and the more I read, the more I was hooked.
It intrigued me as well that there was a 16 year old, blonde character called Finn, which is exactly the age and name of my own brother.
I really loved this. And will definitely be recommending it others now that it is out!

Thank you to Netgalley and Muswell Press for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I found The Water Gaden purely by chance while I browsing the "Read Now" section. The cover grabbed me immediately. It's so bright and beautiful. Once I read the synopsis, I knew it was a book I needed to read.

I was immediately drawn into the story. Louise's writing is absolutely beautiful, almost lyrical. The descriptions of Surrey and the lake were so vivid I felt like I had been transported there and was watching the story unfold in front of me. All of the characters and the storylines were weaved together wonderfully.

I was left with a major question at the end, and couldn't quite figure out from the ending if Sarah had figured everything out about her family. For that only reason, it wasn't a 5-star read for me.

Highly recommend.

I loved ‘The Water Garden’ by Louise Soraya Black. I found the descriptions of the countryside really evocative. I especially loved the characters, so much so that if there is one criticism it would be that I would like to find about more about each of them,

This review may contain spoilers.

I found myself quite intrigued by this story. By the characters and their connections to each other. With that being said, I found the “relationship” between Sarah and Finn weird and disturbing. He was a child, aged 16, and she was an adult. Not only that but they shared a grandfather, which we knew as the reader but it never came up between Sarah and Finn. I would have liked to have seen them find out they were related and seen how they would have navigated that and dealt with their feelings for each other.

This book is a mixture of genres and I really enjoyed it. I think evocative is the word I would use to describe it. What starts out as a story of a lady who is living in the country and slowly getting used to life there whilst her husband works in London turns into a "love that dare not speak its name" type of story and a murder mystery at the same time. Elements that should not mix do mix in this book and effortlessly so. I read it in three evenings after work; the writing so good that even I, in the centre of London could imagine myself lost in the countryside. The author writes in a way which calms and soothes but also progresses the story.

3.5/5