Review: 'The Stormborne Vine' (Leaf and Scale #1) by Tilly Wallace
Pub. Date: 05/02/2025
Publisher: Ribbonwood Press
Determined spinster vs carnivorous wallflower…
In a corner of rural England, Fern Oakby supports her family through her knowledge of botany. An unusual case erupts during a storm when a Boston ivy turns monstrous and…carnivorous.
However, the solution is not as simple as hacking down the exceedingly rare and hungry plant. The storm also gave life to an origami dragon and bound it to the vine. When a lonely woman pleads with Fern to save the tiny dragon, she is forced to confront a profound question—what defines the value of a life?
In a world where ancient magic lingers, every life—no matter how small or strange—holds immeasurable worth. As Fern races against time to unravel dark secrets at the estate, the vine continues to grow. She must find a way to destroy it before it spreads or snatches more lives. Nor, as she discovers, is the little dragon the only life in need of saving…
If I had to pick a historical, fantastical realm to live in, perhaps it would be Europe teetering on the edge of Industrialisation. I'd imagine it still had that scent of magic to it, but also working its way towards electricity. Admittedly, for this period to be fun, you would have to be part of the upper class, otherwise it very much is not an ideal time. The Stormborne Vine is a Regency era novel, meaning it's set around the turn of the 18th into the 19th century. We have memories of balls, strict customs of what women can and cannot do, and yet also scientific exploration and whispers of growing industries. Tilly Wallace also adds a dash of magic into this mix, creating her own low fantasy world for this upcoming series (trilogy?). I tend to favour high fantasy, the difference being that high fantasy (sometimes also called epic fantasy), such as The Lord of the Rings, for example, creates an entire separate, secondary world, or storyworld, while low fantasy has the same kind of magical elements, but these take place in a storyworld that is based upon our own everyday, regular world. For low, think City of Bones. A case like Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia falls somewhere in between although I'd probably but it in low. For me, high fantasy usually provides the most escape but, in this current stressful time, I enjoyed Wallace's version of our own world, which infused it with magic and mystery.
Fern Oakby is eking out an existence for herself and her uncles through her botanical work after having a disastrous experience in high society. Now shunned by that society and considered "ruined", Fern prefers to wear trousers and muddy her hands keeping her plants happy and alive. So what, if she is also a little bit lonely. But then she's called to a nearby estate to uncover the cause for a dry patch. That night, a wicked storm turns a Boston ivy into a carnivorous plant, alongside some other mischief. It is not just the garden that is affected, however, but also the lord's sister, Milly, who lives a restricted, sad life under her brother's careful watch. Fern now has a variety of tasks in front of her, from figuring out the storm, the new monstrous ivy, her mysterious alchemist neighbour, Milly's situation, and even more I don't want to mention because spoilers. I did like Fern as a character, especially because she was not your stereotypical nineteen-/twenty-year old who has never seen the world. Rather, she is a woman with a past and a job, with longings and bills to pay, with secrets and responsibilities. Because the tone of The Stormborne Vine is, in my opinion, cozy and rather gentle, I happily followed Fern along without every really worrying anything bad would happen.
I haven't read any of Tilly Wallace's previous books and I mainly picked up The Stormborne Vine for the idea of murderous plants, completely missing the little dragons on the cover. As I mentioned above, I did really like the world Wallace created and will probably read the other Leaf and Scale books when they come out. I will say that there was a lot of telling, rather than showing, especially in the first third. The initial 30 to 40% of The Stormborne Vine take a lot of time to introduce us to Fern and the state of her life and almost all of it is told to us directly. This part also introduces story elements which will clearly form something of a longer arc across the upcoming books and while I liked seeing them, they did then get dropped the moment the actual plot picked up. There also is quite a bit of plot, which I only really realised when summing it up above. The book is definitely fast-paced, after the first third or so, and things move quite smoothly from one scene to another. However, it did feel a little rushed by the end and I couldn't quite move past the fact that some things still felt very open. I will say that the main story of The Stormborne Vine is indeed told in this book, it is not as if the questions regarding the storm etc. are left unanswered, but all the other elements Wallace introduces are left to keep you waiting for the next book. I will say that Wallace strikes an interesting balance between keeping the pace quick and yet giving a lot of detail. I always knew what Fern was wearing, even as she was rushing back and forth between different estates, or when the last time was she had washed. I do not know how Wallace managed it, but she did. I kind of wavered on the rating for this one. For me, a rating of 3 means that the book did exactly what I expected going in, but didn't necessarily blow me away. I know that for some, however, a three means it was bad, which The Stormborne Vine is not. As I did find myself getting more invested after the 40% mark and generally had a good time with it, I decided to bump the rating up.
I give this novel...
4 Universes!
The Stormborne Vine is a cozy, lovely little Fantasy which allows for a delightful escape from grim late-winter weather. Come for the monstrous vines and dragons, and stay for the delightful family vibes and newfound friends! I look forward to the rest of the Leaf and Scale books!
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