I stopped at page 50 for this contemporary romance with a bit of witchy magical fantasy elements. It’s written in first person past tense all in one point of view and the other books are “From Bad to Cursed” and “Back in a Spell” that seem to be set in the same town but with side characters.
Thoughts while reading:
The first thing that jumped out to me was the frequent use of fragments in the first page. It seems as if this book was designed to be an audiobook because while reading the paperback I kept having to go back and reread to make sure I understood. It didn’t flow naturally in the beginning until I adjusted a ways into it.
The setting is established beautifully in this quaint magical town that Emmy is returning to after years away. The founding families of Harlow, Blackmoore, Avramovs, and Thorn all seem to play a role in its history. The question is, why did Emmy feel the need to give up her magic and leave in the first place and why did she never visit?
After chapter 1, I haven’t gotten a good gauge on Emmy’s mom. Is she actually sweet and loving or is an act and behind the scenes: manipulative and condescending? I can’t quite tell yet.
Does Gareth truly not remember her? Does she WANT to feel some of her magic again? If so, why? It’s interesting that the humans aren’t aware of the spells being done and that real magic surrounds them.
I like how this reminds me a little bit of “The Ex Hex” by Erin Sterling.
The acute details of the setting and character descriptions are written really well but in chapter 3 I’m already starting to get a little bored. We’ve been introduced to a few people from Emmy’s past and her hometown but nothing has moved forward yet in the plot. I want to care more than I do. By page 30 I should know what Emmy wants and I don’t.
So was Emmy always bi? I’m on board with curiosity and fluid sexuality but it seems like she wasn’t expecting her attraction to Talia.
Sometimes the sentences are so cumbersomely long that I lose track of what the author is trying to portray. The dialogue fell a little flat for me and the momentum felt slow. By page 50 I decided this was a DNF.
I recommend this to readers who enjoy slower set pacing.
Cassie Swindon 