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booksthatburn's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
CAROLINE'S HEART is a story of grief, love, and connection between a witch and a cowboy. Cecily has been trying to magically call her deceased lover's soul to bring her back to life. Roy is a cowboy who figured out too late that he dislikes his job. He meets Cecily when she comes to the ranch, and he’s fascinated by her and her magic. When Roy gets injured while protecting Cecily, she saves his life and he recuperates at her home. As they spend time together, the bond between them grows until, eventually, Cecily is faced with a choice between the ghost in her past and a chance at the future.
The story has such an intimate focus, only lightly involving anyone besides Roy and Cecily. Even though half of the story is from Cecily’s perspective, she’s so focused on trying to bring back Caroline, her deceased lover, that most details of her thoughts and history only are shown when she opens up to Roy.
The world building is consistent without trying to be particularly dense, which works very well for such a brief story. It takes advantage of a well-trod setting in the historical American west to do a lot of the heavy lifting, focusing more on the relationships between the characters and how Cecily uses her magic. Roy and Cecily have been navigating different kinds of prejudices, but their bond is more about how they connect to each other than whatever difficulties they have in relating to other people.
Things I love, in no particular order: The relationship between Roy and Cecily, the way Roy takes it on himself to make Cecily's life better even though she's capable of surviving, how much space there is for Cecily's grief and healing.
The story has such an intimate focus, only lightly involving anyone besides Roy and Cecily. Even though half of the story is from Cecily’s perspective, she’s so focused on trying to bring back Caroline, her deceased lover, that most details of her thoughts and history only are shown when she opens up to Roy.
The world building is consistent without trying to be particularly dense, which works very well for such a brief story. It takes advantage of a well-trod setting in the historical American west to do a lot of the heavy lifting, focusing more on the relationships between the characters and how Cecily uses her magic. Roy and Cecily have been navigating different kinds of prejudices, but their bond is more about how they connect to each other than whatever difficulties they have in relating to other people.
Things I love, in no particular order: The relationship between Roy and Cecily, the way Roy takes it on himself to make Cecily's life better even though she's capable of surviving, how much space there is for Cecily's grief and healing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Alcohol, Homophobia, Bullying, Blood, Cursing, Sexual content, Death, Xenophobia, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Pregnancy, Racism, Excrement, and Miscarriage
invaderday's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
4.75
wish this was longer!!! i wanted to explore the magic system a bit more, i really liked the imagery of magic threads and frames used as looms.
absolutely loved the premise. cowboy gets mixed up with a witch, and it's all very trans and a bit romantic :) and the whole thing with caroline's heart was such an interesting bit of story, i just really really enjoyed it. great little novella! easily could have read more
absolutely loved the premise. cowboy gets mixed up with a witch, and it's all very trans and a bit romantic :) and the whole thing with caroline's heart was such an interesting bit of story, i just really really enjoyed it. great little novella! easily could have read more
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Gun violence
Minor: Death, Medical content, and Grief
bebidocrimes's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I really loved Roy and the magic system was so personal and fascinating, I want to dig into that more, especially at the climax. It just felt like I wanted more, I wanted it to be longer and dive a little deeper into developing Cecily. She seemed so distracted by her end goal I didn't get a good feel for who she really is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Violence
kittycuthbert's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Gun violence
helen's review against another edition
4.0
Melancholy and sweet historical fantasy romance between a grief-stricken prickly witch and a lonely cowboy. Loved that both MCs are trans and bi, and the worldbuilding was impressive considering the short length.
Content notes: gun violence, grief, mild gore, on page sex, family estrangement
Content notes:
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Gun violence
Minor: Gore
moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition
emotional
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Transphobia, Gun violence, and Homophobia
mandkips's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Sexual content
Moderate: Death
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, and Transphobia
lennie_reads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Sexual content
Minor: Transphobia, Death, and Homophobia
crackedspines_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This book is so far out of my comfort zone. It’s an adult romance, it’s about cowboys in the south. I was excited, but also a bit hesitant, to pick it up. But I’m so glad I did. Caroline’s Heart is a strange little book, and I say that fondly. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever read.
The characters are so strong and well-developed. Cecily is introduced as a prickly, aloof witch, and throughout the story she both grows and reveals more of her story. Roy is the absolute SWEETEST. He may be 25 but he is my BABY.
Despite the historical, south setting, Caroline’s Heart is full of trans joy and acceptance. A little thrill went through my heart when Roy was met with complete acceptance and understanding.
The magic system in this book was utterly fascinating. The more I learned about how magic worked in this world, the hungrier I grew for more! Maybe I just don’t read enough fantasy, but I thought the magic was so cool and very different.
At under 100 pages, Caroline’s Heart is an extremely quick read. It took me a while because I am disabled but for most people it would be quick. And I did read the last four (out of nine) chapters all in one go.
I can’t wait for this book to go back into print in July so I can buy a physical copy and annotate the SHIT out of it.
The characters are so strong and well-developed. Cecily is introduced as a prickly, aloof witch, and throughout the story she both grows and reveals more of her story. Roy is the absolute SWEETEST. He may be 25 but he is my BABY.
Despite the historical, south setting, Caroline’s Heart is full of trans joy and acceptance. A little thrill went through my heart when Roy was met with complete acceptance and understanding.
The magic system in this book was utterly fascinating. The more I learned about how magic worked in this world, the hungrier I grew for more! Maybe I just don’t read enough fantasy, but I thought the magic was so cool and very different.
At under 100 pages, Caroline’s Heart is an extremely quick read. It took me a while because I am disabled but for most people it would be quick. And I did read the last four (out of nine) chapters all in one go.
I can’t wait for this book to go back into print in July so I can buy a physical copy and annotate the SHIT out of it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, and Sexual content
Minor: Gun violence, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders
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