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readwithria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The small Illinois town of Thistle Grove makes almost no sense to me. There are mansions, and giant private estates, and a whole medieval castle, all in a small town that also has regular people living in it? There’s haunted woods, two orchards - how does all of this fit in a small town that also has regular businesses, a high school, and regular people living in it?
All of the town layout conundrums aside, I had a fun time reading this. It was silly and low stakes, and easy to consume.
That being said, I didn’t believe all of the character relationships or the plot setup. Why does Emmy still care about a breakup from nearly ten years ago? What do Emmy and Talia have in common? Why does the competition have to happen? None of this is ever really explained. People even point these things out in the book, and they’re just kinda brushed off as “the way it is”
Is this book fun? Yes. Is it super groundbreaking or impactful? Not in my opinion. 3 stars.
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual content
Minor: Infidelity
theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
All the different relationships between the characters was lovely and angering at the same time. Some people were good and kind, others were complicated, and some were just the worst and I loved to hate them!
I can’t wait to continue with this series!
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Infidelity, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Cursing, and Toxic relationship
merryfaith's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Cursing
augustar14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Classism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Bullying and Body horror
bzliz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Our main character Emmy is returning to Thistle Grove to be the Arbiter of the Gauntlet- a 3 event magic tournament of the other 3 founding families of the town. Her ex-boyfriend’s casual dismissal of her family led to her fleeing town as soon as she was able, forsaking magic to build a life of her own in Chicago. In the mean time, he has managed to burn her best friend and the sexy wild card which leads to a plot for revenge to ensure his family loses the tournament.
The romance was cute but overall the less interesting part of the book. A lot of their chemistry felt heavy handed and Talia didn’t feel like a real person to me. Their blow-up didn’t feel warranted and felt manufactured.
I preferred seeing Emmy’s personal growth as she learns that she can still love her town and she doesn’t have to change everything about herself because of Gareth’s past actions. I would have like to see more of the families interacting; it seems like most of them want to follow tradition even though it has always been weighted heavily in favor of one family in particular. I kept thinking of it like generational wealth: of course the family who has “earned” some extra luck and magic over the past several generations keeps winning their little tournament at the expense of the other families.
Content warnings:
Cursing (on page):
Sexual content (on page/fade to black):
Alcohol (on page):
Infidelity (off page):
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Infidelity and Alcohol
emilywemily6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
Moderate: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Grief
ilaxaria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, Infidelity, and Alcohol
laurel616's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was an easy read, with good vibes all around. Happy ending, the kind of drama that I love to hear about irl, all painted over a fun, witchy, fall environment. Man, I am excited for autumn after reading this.
One thing that I will say - I, like the author, live in Chicago, and some of the parts talking about Chicago were totally odd. Some examples:
- Dissing on fall in Chicago - what?!?! Fall is great here!
- Specifically naming restaurants being nice because they have "$15 cocktails" - girl what nice restaurant are you going to where $15 cocktails seem expensive?
- Listing three "favorite go-to" restaurants that are like, the most varied locations possible. How are these the MC's go-to places that makes NO sense to me.
But, making it worse - I am from Chicago, and have strong opinions. I can only imagine as a reader NOT from Chicago how boring and little sense those sections would be read as. Either make it a love letter to Chicago that makes people want to visit or make it a less-specific downer (or mixed-bag) on a city that more people can relate too.
Graphic: Alcohol and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Misogyny
saintyeehaw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Infidelity, Alcohol, Classism, and Cursing
boba_n_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The main theme of the novel seemed to be coming home for yourself, and I think the author hit the nail on the head with it. It was well executed and showed how you can want something for yourself while also wanting to be with the person you love.
Graphic: Alcohol and Cursing
Moderate: Infidelity and Toxic relationship
Minor: Misogyny