Divine Gardener's Handbook: Or What to Do If Your Girlfriend Accidentally Turns Off the Sun

Eli Snow

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Book cover for Divine Gardener's Handbook: Or What to Do If Your Girlfriend Accidentally Turns Off the Sun
Image for variant 9781250395184
Book cover for Divine Gardener's Handbook: Or What to Do If Your Girlfriend Accidentally Turns Off the Sun
Image for variant 9781250395184

Divine Gardener's Handbook: Or What to Do If Your Girlfriend Accidentally Turns Off the Sun

Divine Gardener's Handbook: Or What to Do If Your Girlfriend Accidentally Turns Off the Sun

Eli Snow

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Description

DELUXE EDITION--featuring beautiful sprayed edges!

Perfect for fans of Tamsyn Muir and Rebecca Thorne, this joyful debut follows a gardener fighting to secure her dream job in the Divine Gardens--manipulating God, antagonizing her attractive rival, and running afoul of a brewing rebellion along the way.

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 winning an annual flower pageant--one that's been dominated by the Divine Gardens' head gardener for five years running: an insufferable woman with an undeniable affinity for plants. When Cyprin plays dirty (criminally dirty) and wins, she jumps headfirst into life in the gardens and her rivalry with the head gardener, who she just 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 will find they understand each other like no one else does, even if there can only be one head gardener in the end.

But rise or fall, at least Cyprin will always have the rats.

A chaotically queer exploration of love, ambition, and toxic work culture, The Divine Gardener's Handbook is a romp of a science fantasy that will leave you gasping for more.

About the Author

Eli Snow (they/them) is a speculative fiction writer, editor, and former medical geneticist, based in rural Australia with their two cats. Their work tends to center queer and neurodivergent characters, as these are the perspectives they experience the world from. When not reading or writing, they should be checked for signs of life. Eli also writes YA Fantasy under the name Elias Cold. Their YA debut, The Duke Steals Hearts, is available now from Page Street Kids.

Critical Reviews

Goodreads, "Readers' Most Anticipated Romantasies for 2026"

"YA author Snow makes their adult debut with this action-packed science-fantasy story. It's ideal for fans of Tamsyn Muir who enjoy a mix of science and magic in apocalyptic settings and want to unravel conspiracies and romantic feelings along the way." - Library Journal (starred review)

"A fiercely imaginative ride, The Divine Gardener's Handbook is the kind of novel that makes you want to stay up late reading. It has gardens full of so much more than meets the eye, entertaining characters harboring major secrets, and a story that manages to be funny, heart wrenching, profound, and relatable, sometimes all in one sentence." --E.B. Asher, USA Today bestselling author of This Will Be Fun

"Unique, clever, and charming, The Divine Gardener's Handbook will surprise and delight you!" --Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop

"This book is pure Chaotic Good--queer, wildly imaginative plant-based hopepunk that you'll want to inject directly into your veins. A maniacally good time." --Julie Leong, USA Today bestselling author of The Teller of Small Fortunes

"The most fun I've had reading a book. Snow designs a world that beautifully mimics the chaos and hardships of our own while spinning it into something fun and full of voice. These characters literally come to life on the page--I didn't want to say goodbye." -- T.R. Moore, author of The Gods Must Burn

"The Divine Gardener's Handbook is an exciting romp through a lush garden of unexpected delights. Snow sows the seeds of the familiar and chaotic in one pot to create this fun, fascinating, and imaginative debut." --Samantha Sotto Yambao, author of Water Moon

Publishing Information

Publisher: Saturday Books
Pub date: 2026-08-18
Length: 368 pages

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