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paull9115's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Cute NZ YA witchy story set in Wellington.
sarahthornton's review
3.0
Cute and light, cozy Aotearoan witch fic. Ended abruptly and a little cyclical but delightful nonetheless.
startjpw23's review
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is a novella. It is a nice cozy fantasy. I loved the main characters Lauren and Marigold. I liked the supporting characters too. I did have to re-read a few passages to try to understand what was going on. I think the writing could have been tightened up a bit. I did like the language. This is the first in a series. I do plan to read more.
cassberegi's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
numinousspirit's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
lolasreviews's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up Succulents and Spells recently as it caught my attention. I read the prequel story first and was a bit confused when I started reading this one as it takes place quite a bit later when Laurel is no longer at university. It took a bit of time to adjust to that. I really wanted to like this book more, but there was just something missing and I never got fully pulled into the story.
Let's start with what I liked. The slice of life style story with low stakes was exactly the type of read I like. The New Zealand setting was nice too, even though the location wasn't a big part of the story. I liked the interesting world building and story surrounding the monsters, witches and how there were different types of witches and powers. I liked reading about Laurel's succulents, although there wasn't as much of that as I had expected. And I thought Laurel's struggle to figure out what she wanted out of life and what type of witch she was made her feel relatable and real.
So lots of interesting elements and somehow the book just didn't keep my attention. The writing style felt just a tad off, the pacing not quite right at times and that indefinable something was missing to make it a smooth read for me. I wasn't quite sure where the plot was going for parts of the book, just like with the prequel novella. Some parts felt a bit rushed or lacking depth and then later on other scenes felt almost stretched out in comparison or there was a surprising amount of depth in Laurel's reflections in the later part of the book. The romance builds slowly, but then sort of jumps forward toward the end. And despite that I am still kinda curious about how the series continues.
To summarize: This book had a lot of interesting parts, but something was missing to fully capture my attention. I liked the slice of life vibe of the story. As well as the unique world building surrounding the witches, monsters and their powers. Laurel was an interesting main character and felt relatable and real. There just was something missing for me. Something about the writing style and pacing felt a bit off in places, I wasn't quite sure where the story was going and some parts felt a bit rushed and lacked depth. While other parts slowed down and had more depth. The romance builds slowly and then jumped ahead. Lots of interesting parts, but something was missing for me, I am curious about the rest of the series and might pick up book 2 at some point.
Let's start with what I liked. The slice of life style story with low stakes was exactly the type of read I like. The New Zealand setting was nice too, even though the location wasn't a big part of the story. I liked the interesting world building and story surrounding the monsters, witches and how there were different types of witches and powers. I liked reading about Laurel's succulents, although there wasn't as much of that as I had expected. And I thought Laurel's struggle to figure out what she wanted out of life and what type of witch she was made her feel relatable and real.
So lots of interesting elements and somehow the book just didn't keep my attention. The writing style felt just a tad off, the pacing not quite right at times and that indefinable something was missing to make it a smooth read for me. I wasn't quite sure where the plot was going for parts of the book, just like with the prequel novella. Some parts felt a bit rushed or lacking depth and then later on other scenes felt almost stretched out in comparison or there was a surprising amount of depth in Laurel's reflections in the later part of the book. The romance builds slowly, but then sort of jumps forward toward the end. And despite that I am still kinda curious about how the series continues.
To summarize: This book had a lot of interesting parts, but something was missing to fully capture my attention. I liked the slice of life vibe of the story. As well as the unique world building surrounding the witches, monsters and their powers. Laurel was an interesting main character and felt relatable and real. There just was something missing for me. Something about the writing style and pacing felt a bit off in places, I wasn't quite sure where the story was going and some parts felt a bit rushed and lacked depth. While other parts slowed down and had more depth. The romance builds slowly and then jumped ahead. Lots of interesting parts, but something was missing for me, I am curious about the rest of the series and might pick up book 2 at some point.
mdpenguin's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was a pleasant read, but it could have been more. I don't mind character-driven stories, but this had a nice plot along with a little subplot, either of which could have been more developed to make this into a really nice novel. Not to mention that there's a romance that could have been brought out front more: though it did have a nice organic development to it, there wasn't terribly much focus on it. And, while the secondary characters don't exactly feel fake, I would have enjoyed it if they were fleshed out a little more. The protagonist was fairly solitary when not working with her romantic interest and even then they mostly did all their work on their own and then compared notes. It's a bit of a comfy introvert's tale, I suppose, but the author tells about all these other interesting characters and the protagonist seems to like them but she seems to stay away from them and we don't learn that much about them. This could have been a really good cozy mystery and/or romance, but failing that, it was still a nice way to kill a couple of hours. The characters and setting are nice enough that I'm going to check out the second novella to see if it has a bit more of a fleshed out story.
josb's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I liked the plot and the world but I found some issues with pacing and descriptions.
Witches exist in this world and can have different specialties. They have close knit communities and have the ability to do simple spells. Most of the book took on a cozy feel, watching Laurel navigate her day to day with descriptions of how the world is different as it accommodates for magical beings.
It was not a long read so it did not feel like a waste of time, however I can't give it more than an "okay" rating because of the pacing and over describing of what felt like "useless" things. As with any cozy book, sometimes scenes are placed for vibes, while I appreciated the look into the world, I just wanted them to get on with solving the mystery. Take note that there is a sapphic romance but it is moved along very quickly due to the short length of the book.
Witches exist in this world and can have different specialties. They have close knit communities and have the ability to do simple spells. Most of the book took on a cozy feel, watching Laurel navigate her day to day with descriptions of how the world is different as it accommodates for magical beings.
It was not a long read so it did not feel like a waste of time, however I can't give it more than an "okay" rating because of the pacing and over describing of what felt like "useless" things. As with any cozy book, sometimes scenes are placed for vibes, while I appreciated the look into the world, I just wanted them to get on with solving the mystery. Take note that there is a sapphic romance but it is moved along very quickly due to the short length of the book.