Customer Reviews

Like a Watered Garden: A Novel (Garden Gates)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

From the highly intriguing first line ("I received a box of flowers from my dead husband"), I was hooked!

Whithin the first chapters, a wonderful set of characters had won me over, each in their own way...

I felt I was perched on Mibby's shoulder all along, smiling with her and handing her tissues during her "blubberfests"...
If I reached down my sofa, I could even Pet black lab Blink.I could feel his breath down my neck riding the Daisymobile with Mibby...I could smell and taste Louise's pastries and hear her comforting sermons to Mibby.

The gardener I am NOT could feel the sun on her back, the dirt under her fingernails and smell the flowers... Not a small feat!!

In her first book, novelist Patty Hill has managed to address the very personal and private topic of grieving, without sounding too mushy, languishing or pessimistic. The Catholic-girl-gone-bad that I am even enjoyed the religious bits intertwined here and there all along...

Her fresh, quirky writing style and her down-to-earth, warm tone left me wishing for more when I got to the last page.

I will be eagerly waiting for book number 2. In the meantime, I am actively looking for a house in Orchard City... Preferably in Mibby and Louise's street!

I really enjoyed this witty and heart-felt novel. It's unusual for me to both cry and laugh while reading a book but this one made me do both. Patti Hill intertwines friendship and faith in her story using the lovely visuals of her main character's garden and the physical setting of the book. The plot has a surprise twist which kept me intrigued until the end. I couldn't help but feel like I was sitting down with friends while I was reading the book. I can't wait for the next one!

In her fiction debut, author Patti Hill has given us a book about grieving that manages to be warm, comforting, wryly humorous and realistic at the same time...no small feat for any writer, much less a first-time novelist.

We learn right away that Mibby Garrett is a widow, and we are instantly pulled into her world. While still struggling to cope with the painful loss of her beloved Scott, Mibby immerses herself in her garden design business. Indeed, plants and gardens are an ongoing theme in the story, with each chapter opening with Mibby's daily forecast and updates on her own garden.

But as Mibby takes comfort in frequent "blubberfests" and avoiding what she calls "whammies o' grief," her 13-year-old son Ky is enduring his own confusion and loss, and acting out accordingly.

And just as she thinks things can't get any worse, a young girl enters her life with stunning news that sends Mibby reeling with questions about how well she really knew her late husband.

The book is peopled with memorable characters, some eccentric and some just plain wonderful, like Mibby's ever-optimistic Southern neighbor, Louise--who bolsters Mibby's faith with frequent sermons and lots of love, humor and baked goods left over from her bed-and-breakfast.

Complicating matters is Mibby's growing attraction to Ben, one of her male clients, over which she feels confusion and even guilt.

Like the comforting touch of a good friend, this book captures a widow's journey from pain and grief to growing faith and hopefulness, and does so absorbingly and with gentle humor and realism.

Patti Hill is a gifted storyteller who possesses a lovely and engaging way with words. I look forward to future books from this talented new author.

Ms. Hill has written a very fine story that readers of inspirational fiction will enjoy. Mibby is without a doubt one very strong character and her ups and downs in life are met honestly and gracefully.

Mibby has just lost her husband six months earlier in an accident. She still sleeps in an old t-shirt of his, thinks about him each day and dreams about him each night. She is trying so hard to get on with the business of living because she is raising a son that needs her. Just when she thinks she has her act together and can move on she gets a mysterious visitor claiming to want to talk to Mibby about her late husband. What could this young girl need or want? Will Mibby's faith be strong enough to see her through her latest challege?

Mibby is a very strong character that readers will be able to relate to and like. Her grief is a tangible part of the story. Ben, Louise, Ky, and Andrea are all wonderful,colorful characters and I hope that Ms. Hill writes another story involving them. I'd like to see if Mibby and Ben truly find love with each other after their time of healing is over. This is a fine read and one I have no trouble recommending.

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com

Fans of inspirational fiction will love Mibby Garrett, the recently widowed thirtysomething heroine of a book filled with gardening lore, real human emotions and mistakes, and lots of soul searching.

The main characters are all very real, from the indominatable Louise, Mibby's best friend and owner of a bed and breakfast in the Colorado town in which this story takes place; to Mibby's son Ky, searching for his place in the world without his father; to a mysterious stranger who shows up and changes Mibby's life--Andrea. Then there's the carpenter, "Droop," a handsome widowed stranger, the pilot Ben, and last but certainly not least, the wonderful black lab Blink.

What's best about this book is that it completely avoides the cliched ending. Mibby grows, but she struggles every day with her demons. She is not a perfect mother, not a perfect widow, not perfect in any way, just like the rest of us. But she tries, and she tries hard, and the entire book is heartwarming because it is so real.

I picked up this book after seeing it on the "recommended" shelf at the library. In truth, I wasn't expecting much from a first-time novelist. Author Patti Hill succeeded in blowing my expectations out of the water!

This was a lovely read. Within three or four chapters, I was hooked. The characters are well-developed, unpredictable, and fully human. I fell in love with Mibby, her son, Ky, and neighbor, Louise. Having been a widow myself, Mibby's story rang with the truth of grief, and the challenges of moving on.

Ms. Hill has a true gift for elegant composition, and vivid description. Gardeners, or would-be-green-thumbs, will love the way that nature is woven throughout the story line.

I smiled a lot while reading this book and the one that follows it. I also found myself stirred with righteous anger, bittersweet tears, and a few out and out belly laughs. When I finished "Like a Watered Garden," I immediately went to the book store and purchased a copy of my own. Like a precious friend, this is a book I will visit again.

You will think that Patti Hill has tasted salty tears as a widow! From the very first moment, she nailed it! Mibby is a delightful character that moves forward on faith and stubborn strength. She reminds us to embrace the quiet moments, and be prepared for the Whammies! Incorporating a group of one-of-a-kind characters, the author weaves a delightful plot. A wonderful read.

I laughed, I cried as Author, Patti Hill, made me feel apart of the story. I cheered for a grieving widow as she trudged thought her grief and tried to live life again. Can't wait to read her next book.

Junie Moon

This book is unpretentious at first. Then, you fall in love with the characters and finally you find out what it's all about: loss, forgiveness, redemption,what we want, what God wants, our plans, His plans and that still small voice that calls us to obedience. I cried at the end, not because the outcome was sad, but because Mibby made the right choice in spite of her desires. She heard the father's voice offering her respite and refreshment and she listened and obeyed. I loved it!!! I can't wait for the next book.

Like its endearing characters, this book's prose is rooted in the real-life rhythm of a small town in the Colorado high desert. As late spring gives way to early summer, events in the lives of the narrator, Mibby, and her friends are skillfully interwoven with descriptions of the plants that blossom in the gardens Mibby designs and maintains. The plants are sometimes threatened by pests and disease, and Mibby faces obstacles to her spiritual growth that are just as persistent. As she confronts new ethical dilemmas, she reaffirms the old truths of unconditional forgiveness and unqualified trust in God and healthy. Healthy new growth appears in her life.

Patti Hill's writing incorporates colorful descriptions, realistic dialog, and a generous sprinkling of humor. Her characters are likable and believable. I was challenged and inspired by this book, and look forward to Hill's next novel!