Review: Predatory Natures by Amy Goldsmith

Title: Predatory Natures

Author: Amy Goldsmith

Genre: YA, horror

Publication date: July 2025

Published by: Delacorte Press

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: A teen girl’s dream job aboard a luxury train derails when she discovers the strange cargo being transported—a mysterious and beautiful greenhouse—but its flowering façade may hide deadly thorns beneath, in this atmospheric and lush novel from the author of Those We Drown.

When Lara Williams gets a summer job aboard the luxury train the Banebury, she thinks she’s landed a five-star escape from her past. Even after she learns that her ex-friend Rhys, who she definitely did not have feelings for before their relationship imploded, is one of her coworkers, she’s determined to make things work.

But on the first day of their journey, the trip takes a strange turn. Two mysterious carriages filled with an array of beautiful and rare plants are attached to the Banebury in the middle of the night.

And with them comes a pair of siblings. Wealthy, mysterious, and charismatic, Gwen and Gwydion claim the plants they’re transporting are for research, but Lara can’t shake the feeling that there’s something . . . otherworldly about the strange blooms. Something that will stop at nothing to ensure the Banebury never reaches its destination.

Soon Lara will learn: You can’t outrun your troubles. You have to grab them by their roots. And if she can’t unearth the secrets of the Banebury, they might drag her down for good. . . .

My rating: ★★★★☆

I really enjoyed this book! One of the first things that caught my attention was the setting of the book: on a train! That’s so fun! I hardly read books set on trains! That, plus the fact that there was a potentially killer garden onboard? I was IN!

I don’t even know what to call it... the plant horror? Anyway, I loved that! It was genuinely creepy! Especially because in their journey on the train, they pass through places that are nothing but nature. So it’s nature on nature, and all of that is potentially trying to kill you. There is literally no way out. There was also some pretty wicked body horror. It was wild and I enjoyed it 😆

One thing I was not expecting from this book that I ate right up is its inclusion of mythology 😍 We all know how much I love mythology! All sorts of mythology! This one had some Welsh legends and folklore that I was very unfamiliar with, but I loved it so much! I love learning about mythologies and different folklore I’m not familiar with!

Another thing I loved about this book was that it had depth. A lot of horror books don’t. A lot are quite superficial with their superficial characters, and how they die almost immediately. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy these kinds of books too! (*cough* Fear Street *cough*) But sometimes I do like something with a little more depth. Like this book and its main character, Lara, who has been THROUGH IT. Plus, the way one of the myths just perfectly reflected her life... it was SO sad, but I really appreciated that sort of metaphor. Plus, the TITLE! The double meaning!! The way it took me so long to get it, but gah! It’s so good! The writing in this was just good! This book was good! Definitely recommend!

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊