The Trouble with Topiary and Tall, Broody Men
(2026)(The first book in the White Raven Society series)
A novel by Tansy Applewood
Gothic Bridgerton meets witchy Ghostbusters—with a touch of Practical Magic and a deeply sexy Victorian twist.
In the 1847 Cotswolds, Thessaly Larkhill has two great loves: mushrooms and a goat who eats possessed fungi like it’s her job.
As the White Raven Society’s resident soil empath and hedgewitch, she’s dispatched to a crumbling cider estate turned autumn festival grounds, where the hedge maze rearranges itself nightly and the apples whisper unspeakable things. Something—or someone—is stirring beneath the roots.
Reed Crowhurst, the brooding groundskeeper with a tragic past and a shovel he wields like a weapon, would very much prefer Thessaly leave.
The hedge likes her. It responds to her. It flirts. And Reed has spent years trying to keep the damned thing dormant.
But when disappearances begin and the estate’s curse threatens to fully awaken, Thessaly and Reed are forced to work together'''reluctantly, and with far too many feelings—to uncover the truth buried beneath the maze.
Without killing each other.
Or kissing.
Definitely not kissing.
The Trouble with Topiary and Tall, Broody Men is the first book in the White Raven Society—a Victorian romantasy series full of haunted hijinks, cursed love, chaos magic, and ghost-riddled mischief.
Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, Olivia Atwater, Heather Fawcett, and India Holton. Especially those who enjoy lichen-hating witches, opinionated goats, and flirtation hot enough to make the hedge sweat.
Genre: Fantasy
In the 1847 Cotswolds, Thessaly Larkhill has two great loves: mushrooms and a goat who eats possessed fungi like it’s her job.
As the White Raven Society’s resident soil empath and hedgewitch, she’s dispatched to a crumbling cider estate turned autumn festival grounds, where the hedge maze rearranges itself nightly and the apples whisper unspeakable things. Something—or someone—is stirring beneath the roots.
Reed Crowhurst, the brooding groundskeeper with a tragic past and a shovel he wields like a weapon, would very much prefer Thessaly leave.
The hedge likes her. It responds to her. It flirts. And Reed has spent years trying to keep the damned thing dormant.
But when disappearances begin and the estate’s curse threatens to fully awaken, Thessaly and Reed are forced to work together'''reluctantly, and with far too many feelings—to uncover the truth buried beneath the maze.
Without killing each other.
Or kissing.
Definitely not kissing.
The Trouble with Topiary and Tall, Broody Men is the first book in the White Raven Society—a Victorian romantasy series full of haunted hijinks, cursed love, chaos magic, and ghost-riddled mischief.
Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, Olivia Atwater, Heather Fawcett, and India Holton. Especially those who enjoy lichen-hating witches, opinionated goats, and flirtation hot enough to make the hedge sweat.
Genre: Fantasy
Visitors also looked at these books
Used availability for Tansy Applewood's The Trouble with Topiary and Tall, Broody Men