Where You’re Planted by Melanie Sweeney (July 8, 2025) – Thank you, @prhaudio and @putnambooks for the #gifted advanced listening copy of one of my most anticipated reads of 2025!
Single mom and librarian Tansy and grumpy, divorced botanical gardens director Jack meet under less than ideal circumstances as a category 4 hurricane barrels down on Houston. Then, four months later, they are dealing with the aftermath that has forced the library to share space with the botanic gardens, both severely damaged in the storm. From their first interactions, they push all of each other’s buttons. Then Jack, Tansy and their teams are forced to work together on a community festival and they begin to begrudgingly realize, both personally and professionally, there might be a connection. But Tansy doesn’t have time for a relationship while raising her daughter and Jack had sworn off relationships after his failed marriage. To make matters worse, they are up for the same grant funding that could decide which of their important community resources remains.
Melanie Sweeney’s writing is utterly stunning. If you haven’t read her 2024 debut Take Me Home, drop everything and grab it. She has this rare gift of infusing weight and depth into the everyday – crafting intimacy from kindness, and emotional gravity from the smallest details.
I especially love how she writes messy, real characters with genuine emotional complexity. Jack and Tansy both grow so much through the story – not just in how they relate to each other, but in how they relate to themselves, their past, and their communities. The swoon is earned, the laughs are earned, and the healing is beautifully earned. (10h, 22 min)
🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: Brittany Pressley (iconic!) and Christian Fox (hello, The Deal) are a dream team here. They capture the exasperation, the vulnerability, and the quiet hope that builds between Tansy and Jack. A gorgeously performed dual narration.
⭐ Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🎧 Audio: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥 Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Book Smart Kate 