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anoriel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
kikiwi's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mooholcomb's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
jessicainanook's review against another edition
4.0
Hello it's a cute little witch and her fire fox in a town by the sea. She fixes things! It's cute! Read it! Definitely some Kiki vibes.
sarah0554's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lemonbun's review against another edition
2.0
I got the book because I saw really great reviews from people I follow. However I just didn't really like it.
I did like the images created of the sceneries. I also appreciate what the author wanted to do and what emotions they wanted to invoke. Unfortunately it just felt quite forced and the writing in general came across as amateur. I noticed it early on in the book and figured I would just ignore it and have fun with the story, but I felt like I was breaking immersion all the time.
I think this works well as a children's book as the writing is simple and the reader is led along. It is also nice and lighthearted, with good messages for younger readers.
I did like the images created of the sceneries. I also appreciate what the author wanted to do and what emotions they wanted to invoke. Unfortunately it just felt quite forced and the writing in general came across as amateur. I noticed it early on in the book and figured I would just ignore it and have fun with the story, but I felt like I was breaking immersion all the time.
I think this works well as a children's book as the writing is simple and the reader is led along. It is also nice and lighthearted, with good messages for younger readers.
lilly_reads98's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
3.5
I enjoyed parts of the story but it focused 80% of the plot on the conflict which I really don’t like. No matter how much I like the characters or the setting (which I did like those) I just can’t enjoy a story very much if it focuses way too much on the conflict. I don’t agree with writing in a frustrating thing to deal with on almost every single page. I did enjoy the message that the characters would try to push on Eva, that she is helpful and she does do a lot of good even if she doesn’t have much magic. And once we weren’t dealing with the conflict anymore, I really enjoyed the ending portion.
I love the dedication, “This story is for you, reader. Because you are magical. Dream wildly, and know that your pinch of magic is more than enough.” Ah so sweet, why aren’t more dedications to the readers?! I like the way this is written, the way the author describes things like nature is very nice. I hate that the adults have to be mean to the main characters in middle grade books so often, it’s part of why I never gravitate towards these books anymore. It saddens me that the first one I pick up in a long time also does this. I also don’t like the conflict being the main character running out of magic/getting tired from using it. I feel like that’s so common in books with magic and I’d just like to see a book that doesn’t have that conflict at all. The writing is also really repetitive, it will have a character say something and then repeat it again a few paragraphs later, and still hammer down the point by thinking about it for a page or two straight. I love how Eva wants to create a shop where people can sit and relax with tea. I really like Rin, she’s sweet and tells Eva how helpful she is. She tries to drive down the point that Eva is helpful, even though she’s a bit slow it doesn’t matter because she still helped. That’s a nice reminder for me too, that if it takes me a little longer than others to learn things, the point is I still did what I set out to do.
I like the atmosphere of the coastal town, I like Eva and Ember and the premise of being in the twin to complete her quest. But I just wish there were more lighthearted moments to balance out all the negativity Eva gets from people about her magic. It was so cute when Ember was sprinting towards Eva after she dropped him off and was thinking about missing him 🥺 I like when Eva starts going into the shops and talking to people, it was amusing when she fused the popcorn with cloudberries and created yummy popcorn. And I liked when she went into the flower shop, “There was something so peaceful about her and this tiny, filled-to-the-brim shop. It was like the fields back home, when I’d lain on the side of the hill with my parents and pretended to scary the future in the sky.” … “Your tea is the best in town.’ Kyp replied. ‘I’d climb mountains for it.’ They glanced bashfully at each. Other and probably would’ve stayed like that forever..”
Halfway through I realized something’s missing from the story to make it feel fully immersive and enjoyable. I do feel like there’s depth to the characters and their emotions but we don’t spend enough time with them for me to feel like they really became friends like the main character says. I think we just weren’t shown enough of them spending time together. I really wanted to enjoy this more, but I ended up just kind of wanting to dnf it because I couldn’t see myself enjoying it more once it was about to end. I don’t find the story to be heartwarming like it says it is on StoryGraph, and of course it’s not always correct but that’s just what I was expecting. There were exciting parts but mostly slow parts, I like Eva and Ember and the friends she makes but I just wanted more from it so I could connect with the story on a deeper level. The ending was really sweet and I enjoyed reading it. I also was constantly feeling studio ghibli vibes and wanting to watch this as a movie (that’s a compliment) I also enjoyed how the end of the book after the culling was pretty long, about 80 pages, so it was nice to at least have like 80 pages of just lightheartedness. (Until the last couple pages, I did not expect those to be so ominous since it had been lighthearted but I did kind of see that coming)
I love the dedication, “This story is for you, reader. Because you are magical. Dream wildly, and know that your pinch of magic is more than enough.” Ah so sweet, why aren’t more dedications to the readers?! I like the way this is written, the way the author describes things like nature is very nice. I hate that the adults have to be mean to the main characters in middle grade books so often, it’s part of why I never gravitate towards these books anymore. It saddens me that the first one I pick up in a long time also does this. I also don’t like the conflict being the main character running out of magic/getting tired from using it. I feel like that’s so common in books with magic and I’d just like to see a book that doesn’t have that conflict at all. The writing is also really repetitive, it will have a character say something and then repeat it again a few paragraphs later, and still hammer down the point by thinking about it for a page or two straight. I love how Eva wants to create a shop where people can sit and relax with tea. I really like Rin, she’s sweet and tells Eva how helpful she is. She tries to drive down the point that Eva is helpful, even though she’s a bit slow it doesn’t matter because she still helped. That’s a nice reminder for me too, that if it takes me a little longer than others to learn things, the point is I still did what I set out to do.
I like the atmosphere of the coastal town, I like Eva and Ember and the premise of being in the twin to complete her quest. But I just wish there were more lighthearted moments to balance out all the negativity Eva gets from people about her magic. It was so cute when Ember was sprinting towards Eva after she dropped him off and was thinking about missing him 🥺 I like when Eva starts going into the shops and talking to people, it was amusing when she fused the popcorn with cloudberries and created yummy popcorn. And I liked when she went into the flower shop, “There was something so peaceful about her and this tiny, filled-to-the-brim shop. It was like the fields back home, when I’d lain on the side of the hill with my parents and pretended to scary the future in the sky.” … “Your tea is the best in town.’ Kyp replied. ‘I’d climb mountains for it.’ They glanced bashfully at each. Other and probably would’ve stayed like that forever..”
Halfway through I realized something’s missing from the story to make it feel fully immersive and enjoyable. I do feel like there’s depth to the characters and their emotions but we don’t spend enough time with them for me to feel like they really became friends like the main character says. I think we just weren’t shown enough of them spending time together. I really wanted to enjoy this more, but I ended up just kind of wanting to dnf it because I couldn’t see myself enjoying it more once it was about to end. I don’t find the story to be heartwarming like it says it is on StoryGraph, and of course it’s not always correct but that’s just what I was expecting. There were exciting parts but mostly slow parts, I like Eva and Ember and the friends she makes but I just wanted more from it so I could connect with the story on a deeper level. The ending was really sweet and I enjoyed reading it. I also was constantly feeling studio ghibli vibes and wanting to watch this as a movie (that’s a compliment) I also enjoyed how the end of the book after the culling was pretty long, about 80 pages, so it was nice to at least have like 80 pages of just lightheartedness. (Until the last couple pages, I did not expect those to be so ominous since it had been lighthearted but I did kind of see that coming)