THE ALCHEMY OF FLOWERS
WOMEN • MAGICAL REALISM • FAMILY LIFE • WORLD LITERATURE
A broken woman. A mysterious job ad. A chance to heal in French castle gardens--but strange things are growing behind the ancient stone walls. This debut adult novel is an enchanting, modern-day take on The Secret Garden, sprinkled with magic. Perfect for fans of Sarah Addison Allen.
Dive into the captivating and enchanting world of Laura Resau's debut adult novel!
PRAISE FOR THE ALCHEMY OF FLOWERS
“An impossible marvel . . . The Alchemy of Flowers by Laura Resau is a spellbinding journey of one woman's journey toward hope and healing, set amidst a garden of both promise and peril. Full of lush sensory detail, this tale is a vivid reminder that while the path to healing may be fraught with challenges, it is often through confronting the shadows that we find our true strength. A beautifully written, atmospheric novel that will leave readers both mesmerized and moved.”
—Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Amalfi Curse
“Set in a secret garden, The Alchemy of Flowers offers a lush blend of myth, magic, and mystery. Beautifully written and brimming with heartache, danger, and enchantment, this is a moving, memorable story about hope, healing, and starting over.”
—Heather Webber, USA TODAY bestselling author of Midnight at the Blackbird Café
“Utterly captivating. This beautiful novel casts a whispery spell of dark enchantments, secrets, and myth.”
—Evie Woods, bestselling author of The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris
“For everyone who has dreamed of teleporting to the paradise of Provence, do I have the book for you. The Alchemy of Flowers is a treat of transporting, incandescent storytelling, with a riveting undercurrent of suspense and mystery, too. With tender, heartfelt prose and characters who will break your heart and then stitch it back together, Resau’s adult debut feels like the modern French Provenҫal take on Under the Tuscan Sun we’ve all been jonesing for. Capturing the magic of beloved childhood reading experiences, while dealing with hard adult topics lovingly and achingly explored, the book is at once an enchanting journey and an unforgettable, page-turning read.”
—Jaclyn Goldis, author of The Chateau and The Safari
“Laura Resau’s The Alchemy of Flowers is an immersive, sensory experience. Resau treats bone-crushing-hard topics, like pregnancy loss, with love and sensitivity, all the while taking the reader on a mystical journey. Deftly crafted and imaginative; a rare treat of a book.”
—Aimie K. Runyan, bestselling author of The Memory of Lavender and Sage and The Wandering Season
“The Alchemy of Flowers is a pure magical and sensory delight. Like roots in soil, though, the gift of this book goes deeper. Resau’s novel offers an honest and compassionate portrait of the physical pain and health-related sorrows that go along with being human. So many of us can relate, and we can also relate to the wondrous alchemy and healing found in nature. This gorgeous novel captures both the heartbreak and the true healing at our disposal, if only we seek to turn difficulty into blooms.”
—Laura Pritchett, author of Three Keys
“The Alchemy of Flowers captivates the senses as well as the imagination in a magical tale of healing and forgiveness. Yet this Paradise harbors its own dark mystery that threatens the tranquility of the gardens and the well-being of its inhabitants. Resau has written with great heart an eerie yet deeply touching story that keeps the pages turning until the very end.”
—Melissa Payne, bestselling author of In the Beautiful Dark and The Wild Road Home
“A haunting, immersive tale set in prose as lush and magical as the garden itself.”
—Kate Khavari, author of the Saffron Everleigh mystery series
“Gorgeously written and threaded with herbal wisdom, floral intuition, and mythology of the feminine, The Alchemy of Flowers is a journey into how nature and friendship can deeply heal. Resau tangles sweetness and bitterness, tenderness and fierceness to offer a thrilling tale rich with emotion. A delight in every sense of the word.”
—Bailey Cattrell, author of the Enchanted Garden Mysteries
“This book made me want to sleep in a hammock in a treetop bungalow surrounded by the novel’s lush, magic-steeped gardens. Eloise’s journey to healing is poignant and tender—a testament to the strength of love, the power of tending to earth and growing things, and found family.”
—Suzanne Nelson, The Librarians of Lisbon
“I devoured this in one sitting! Immersive, enchanting, and packed with mystery, The Alchemy of Flowers drew me in from page one. I was rooting for the curious and brave heroine, Eloise, and her cryptic compatriots in the Jardins du Paradis, as each finds friendship and healing after their own separate heartbreaks. The dreamy Provençal walled garden is the perfect escapist setting. Fans of Sarah Addison Allen will love this charming, feel-good novel.”
—Andrea Jo DeWerd, author of What We Sacrifice for Magic
LAURA RESAU
Laura Resau is the author of The Alchemy of Flowers, her debut novel for adults coming summer 2025 with Harper Muse, and eleven acclaimed books for young people. Her books have won five Colorado Book Awards and spots on “best-of” booklists from Oprah, the American Library Association, and more.
Trilingual, she’s lived in Provence and Oaxaca, and studied cultural anthropology and languages. She teaches graduate creative writing at Western Colorado University.
You might find her writing in her cozy vintage trailer in Fort Collins, Colorado, where she lives with her rock-hound husband, musician son, wild husky, and a hundred house plants.