by Eli Snow
First published 2026
Cyprin lives in a towering megacity where blue flowers glow in darkness and landing a job in the Divine Gardens feels impossible. She has dreamed of this work her entire life. Her only shot comes through the annual flower pageant, which Purcell has dominated for five straight years. Purcell serves as head gardener, rivals Cyprin at every turn, and occupies her thoughts constantly. Cyprin cheats her way to victory and enters a strange world of talking plants and buried secrets. The God she expected turns out to be Saul, an ordinary exhausted man who happens to tend an extraordinary garden. What starts as bitter rivalry and personal warfare between Cyprin and Purcell transforms into something far more perilous. Revolution spreads across the city while hidden truths about the Gardens surface. The two women find themselves trapped between their desires, their fixations, and the frightening chance they might truly understand each other.
Genres: fiction, romance, fantasy, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotionally-complex, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, rivals-to-lovers, slow-burn
Setting: Divine Gardens, megacity
368 pages · Hardcover · Saturday Books
Content warnings: death