Of Earthly Delights - ARC

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own!

Of Earthly Delights by Goldy Moldavsky is a gothic YA novel that takes so many twists and turns that you’re halfway through before you realize that it isn’t what you think.

Rose has just moved to a new town with her dad after his divorce from her mom, away from her home in NYC, for her senior year. She is miserable when she storms out after an argument and finds herself at a gas station, where she meets the enigmatic Hart. Her only other friend is a lowly geek named Lowell who she quickly discards once she and Hart start their relationship.

Once she starts dating Hart, she spends every day of the summer with him in his family mansion, inhabited only by him and his twin sister. The grounds are filled with dozens of gardens and a hedgemaze. As she explores the gardens, she uncovers secrets and half-truths.

The narrative chapters are interrupted by dream sequences, and the story is told first through Rose’s POV, then Hart’s, and then there’s the last page, and it switches POVs again. I don’t want to give anything away, but this book wrecked me - in the best possible way. When I finished, I just sat there, mouth hanging open, staring at the last page on my Kindle.

This book comes out on May 13th, 2025, for $19.99. 5/5 Stars!