Mostly good, but some weird choices. The plot lines with Eliza and the Stelians belonged in an entirely different book. The author either needed to plan for a four book series at minimum, or leave those elements out altogether. I liked Eliza and the Stelians, they were interesting, but they didn't fit. It was bizarre and distracting to have a whole new story unfold in the last 10% of the book. Fortunately, the main story line was wrapped up nicely with a satisfying conclusion (although I would have enjoyed an epilogue that included at least a taste of the resurrection of some of the hidden chimaera souls).

I have some strangely specific reading interests at times, and one of them is memoirs/biographies about people's gardens. I am really not sure how this book would appeal to the average reader, but if you have the same extremely specific reading interest as me, this is a nice example of that niche. Antony Woodward writes in a fairly amusing way, although it's definitely been exaggerated for humourous effect (I can tell because his wife didn't divorce/murder him despite his commitment to absolute absurdity). However, still enjoyable to read. For my favourite example of this type of book, try Common Ground by Janice Marriot and Virginia Pawsey.