The Apothecary’s Garden and Veggie Dutch Baby

Did you ever want to see what it was like in your country back in Victorian times?  Well, being a born-and-bred Canadian, I got a chance to do that, thanks to Jeanette Lyne’s, “The Apothecary’s Garden”.  Meet Lavender, A 28-year-old unmarried (gasp!) woman from Belleville, Ontario who earns a living selling flowers at the train station.  She’s got her freedom, a great career, and a big house with a beautiful garden.  You would think that she is living a charmed life but sadly she is not.  Her house is falling apart (a lot like her life), the florist career is not as lucrative as she needs it to be, and she is on the verge of starvation.  Her life is extremely difficult but one day two famous outsiders who can speak to spirits step off of the train and life in Belleville is about to become more interesting including hers.  Can these two stylish looking people help with Lavender’s troubles?  Let’s find out.    

An Extravagant Victorian Valentine

The Story

Lavender is struggling to make ends meet.  Her job as the town’s “flower girl” is not enough to support herself and her foster brother Arlo Snook.  She is skilled at what she does but since her father died a few years ago, things have not been easy.  One day she is selling her flowers at the train station as per usual.  Suddenly, something amazing happens.  Two glamourous people step off the train.  One being the famed medium, Allegra Trout who dazzles all with her showmanship and charms and the other being her handsome, worldly, somewhat disfigured assistant/brother-in-law, Robert.

The promise of a psychic extravaganza has all of Belleville intrigued and wanting to witness it.  This includes Lavender, who believes her mother has left her a stack of cash hidden somewhere.  Perhaps Allegra can help her find it.  That is until she has continual meet-cutes with Robert who becomes more and more smitten with Lavender.  However, Allegra does not approve of te relationship that is blooming between her assistant and the flower peddler.

Because of this, Lavender has to make a choice.  Allegra will tell her where the money is but only if she stops seeing Robert.  However, Robert is the one person who is opening up feelings in her that she has never had before and she does not want to lose her newfound happiness.  Can Lavender make a choice that either way will change her life?  Or is there a way that everyone can have what they truly desire?

My Review

Gorgeous!  Jeanette Lyne has a talent for story-telling that helps you visualize exactly what is happening with her characters.  Lavender is a good protagonist.  She is sympathetic yet flawed, willful despite her hardships, and unwavering even in the face of losing everything she has.  It’s good to see a protagonist who isn’t perfect (ie. She gets jealous a few times in the book even though she shouldn’t be) but still has enough compassion to help someone when they need it (ie.  Giving Allegra a tip on how to get rid of her headaches even when she’s being anything but helpful).  Lavender’s chemistry with Robert Trout is sweet.  The two start with a friendship that grows into something deeper and the times that they are together just talking to one another shows that a person can get close without getting physical.  It is a wonderful love story between these two and you don’t need a sex scene to make you swoon.  That is a true show of what good writing can do.

The relationship between all the characters was quite believable.  The big sister/little brother vibes you get between Lavender and Alro or even between Allegra and Robert is quite prominent throughout the book.  You can sense the closeness between the two and yet you can feel the pain of the two women at the thought of losing the two people that have always been the one constant in their lives.  There were not any creepy incest vibes or even the troubled characters taking the low road when it would be convenient for them to do so.  There is a tremendous amount of growth between both Lavender and Allegra.  *Spoiler alert* When Allegra and Lavender finally become friends the two of them help each other out and get the courage to take those next steps they need to take. *End Spoiler*

I loved the theme of the story.  Victorian Canada is something we don’t hear about too often.  As a Canadian, it’s fun to get a picture of what it was like back then even if it is fictional.  There is a lot of magic in hearing how people had lived, what kind of careers they had, and even what they would eat to sustain themselves.  A little note on history here and there makes a story just that much more fascinating.   

The only thing I would change is that I would have loved to have heard a little more of Lavender’s expertise when it came to the language of flowers or even home apothecary remedies.  Lyne did not see to address this as much as she could.  I just love hearing what kind of magic a certain item brings whether it is the meaning of a rose or what camomile can do for a person.

The Pairings

The Pairings

The two delicacies that would be great to have when you read this book is a sparkling drink called Lavender-Ade and an Egg-Vegetable Dutch baby.  Let’s start with the drink.  The lavender-ade is sweet but herby with hints of floral.  It is a refreshing and well-balanced beverage that does not taste like soap.  That is the common fear when it comes to floral food ingredients.  Speaking of floral food, it is also nice to see that there is an edible flower on top of it.  This drink reminds me of Lavender and how she is in desperate need of “aid” herself. 

The Dutch baby was a unique bite to it.  The carb portion is a cross between a pancake and a Yorkshire pudding.  It is chewy and versatile in that it can be in a savoury or sweet dish.  In this case it is accompanied with scrambled eggs, tart cherry tomatoes, fresh dill, smooth avocado, mixed greens, and creamy tartar sauce.  You can see that there are several healthy components to this dish but it is the zesty taste of dill and the unique zip of the tartar sauce that ties all of these ingredients together.  This dish goes with this book because Lavender can only afford to have an egg that her chicken lays in the morning.  But I would like to think that in the summer time, she would add the ingredients that she has in her garden to it.

The Rating/Final Thoughts

9/10

The book itself is a wonderful read.  I could not put it down.  The characters are raw and real when they face their individual conflicts.  The growing love between Lavender and Robert is wholesome and it did not need a sex scene to show the closeness of the two of them.  Love the fact that this took place in Victorian Canada.  The only thing that seemed to be missing is the magic of the plants.  It was not too clear and I wish there was a little more to it.  All and all, this is a book I highly recommend to anyone who loves a garden.