A review by kekepania
A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

The basic premise of a woman scientist in the 1920s is really intriguing! But there's surprisingly little written about the main character actually doing anything scientific. It starts out alright, and then is very slow for the middle 200 pages, and quickly wraps up at the end-- which became surprisingly dark, almost uncomfortably. I was going to read the second book...but not sure I want to invest the time. Not a bad book, but just not as advertised.

My biggest complaint is that for a book based on botany, and with the authors note including mentioning botany research, there's a scene in the final third of the book that includes the most inaccurate description of rhododendrons. It honestly took me out of the whole story. Rhododendrons are my states flower and we have them in abundance. Rhododendrons do NOT have thorns! An entire scene centers around this inaccuracy.
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