joyful science fantasy debut about love, ambition, and toxic work culture, perfect for fans of Tamsyn Muir and Rebecca Thorne.
Cyprin grows perfect apples.
No other worker tends the orchards like she can. Sick of living in a Jenga-esque megacity where she’s never alone (there’s always a rat), Cyprin dreams of a job in the Divine Gardens, tending to the plants overseen by God.
Her only way in is to win an annual flower pageant—one that’s been dominated by the Divine Gardens’ head gardener for five years: an insufferable woman with an undeniable affinity for plants. When Cyprin plays dirty (criminally dirty) and wins, she jumps headfirst into the gardens and her rivalry with the head gardener who she can’t stop thinking about.
Pranks, backstabbing, and a lot of heated glaring unite them, until they’re both drawn into a plot to take down God—who’s really just some guy with a great garden. As they spiral through layers of the city’s history and underground rebel group, Cyprin and her rival find they understand each other like no one else, even if there can only be one head gardener in the end.
But rise or fall, at least Cyprin will always have the rats.
