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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
The Best Kind of Magic by Crystal Cestari is the first book in Windy City Magic series. Amber Sand is a teenager living in Chicago, Illinois with her mother, Lucille and grandmother, Edith. Both her grandmother and mother are witches. While Amber is not a witch, she has the ability to see true love. She is a matchmaker. It only takes a few seconds of looking into a person’s eyes for Amber to see that individual’s true love. Amber is working in the family shop, Windy City Magic when Mayor John Blitzman visits. John is looking for her mother and seems upset. John nor her mother will tell her what is wrong. Soon, John’s son, Charlie pays Amber a visit. The two run in different circles at school and rarely interact. Charlie tells Amber that his soon-to-be stepmother, Cassandra is missing. Unlike John who wants her found, Charlie wants Cassandra to stay missing. Cassandra is a gold digger according to Charlie, but John cannot see it (sounds suspicious). Amber wants to prove to her family that she is just as capable as they are and sets out to help Charlie. Charlie is about to discover a whole new side of Chicago when he is exposed to the supernatural. Amber enjoys spending time with Charlie, but she knows that she is not his soul mate. Is it wrong to have a relationship with Charlie knowing that she is not his true love? Can they find Cassandra and what has she been up to?
The Best Kind of Magic is a young-adult novel. It was easy to read and can be finished in a few hours. While there is some mystery in the story with the search for Cassandra, much of the book is a romance. A lot of time is devoted to Amber’s thoughts and feelings. I was disappointed that there was not more of the magical element in the story. I give The Best Kind of Magic 3 out of 5 stars. This book was a little cliché and predictable. It reminds me of many novels that I have read. I felt that the author could have done more with the story. It would have been a great paranormal suspense book with the vampires, witches, goblins, and a siren. Instead, readers are subjected to the many thoughts of a teenage girl with her many insecurities and thoughts of boys. The Best Kind of Magic is best read by tweens and teens (which is the target audience).
The Best Kind of Magic is a young-adult novel. It was easy to read and can be finished in a few hours. While there is some mystery in the story with the search for Cassandra, much of the book is a romance. A lot of time is devoted to Amber’s thoughts and feelings. I was disappointed that there was not more of the magical element in the story. I give The Best Kind of Magic 3 out of 5 stars. This book was a little cliché and predictable. It reminds me of many novels that I have read. I felt that the author could have done more with the story. It would have been a great paranormal suspense book with the vampires, witches, goblins, and a siren. Instead, readers are subjected to the many thoughts of a teenage girl with her many insecurities and thoughts of boys. The Best Kind of Magic is best read by tweens and teens (which is the target audience).
dreamsngr's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sue_from_stack_those_books's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
maradf's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
ashleylynn3421's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.0
christiana's review against another edition
3.0
Was not in love with the writing of this one, but the plot was decent enough to hold my interest. Fans of Rachel Hawkins might be interested in this one for a magic fix.
pixiepages's review against another edition
5.0
This was my first book from Crystal and I’m a major fan. Everything about this book was perfect. I do love some witches and magic. Amber was born a matchmaker which makes her see everyone's true love. The only match she can’t see is herself. This book was super cute, with action, and love. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
5.0
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I needed this book in my life right now. I was sort of feeling like I was in a reading slump, partially because I’ve just been busy and tired, and I really needed the sort of book that hooked me in and didn’t let go. This book kept me guessing about where exactly it was going and how things were going to work out, and that was perfect. I was wrapped up in Amber’s life and I loved every minute of it!
What Fed My Addiction:
Expectations.
Amber feels like a disappointment to her mom and the rest of the magical community because she’s just a matchmaker—she feels like she constantly has to compensate for her lack of “real” magic and she struggles to prove herself to the magical community. Her mom holds coven meetings at their family magic shop, and while everyone is welcoming to her, she’s not allowed in on any sort of magical business. She’s always left on the sidelines. But the nice thing about this book is that Amber doesn’t wallow in self-pity. Sure, she sometimes wishes she had magic or that she wasn’t seen as a second-class magical citizen, but for the most part, she’s made the best of her lot in life and she’s happy with it. Amber’s real because she isn’t all sunshine and rainbows but she’s not a whiner or a quitter either. I really loved that about her.
Family relationships.
I adored the relationship between Amber and her mom. They certainly aren’t perfect, but they have an obvious love for each other and it was nice to see a YA mom who’s involved and caring—and also a little flawed. It felt like real parenting to me. (And as the mom of a teenager, I can say it’s not always easy!)
BFFs.
The friendship between Amber and Amani is also a bright spot in the book. These best friends know each other incredibly well and they’re always there for each other, no matter what. It was nice to see a friendship that never wavered, even when they disagreed on something.
Hooked on the romance. From the start, we know that Charlie and Amber are not meant to be—she’s seen his true love and it isn’t her. Amber has a hard time doing anything more than the most casual of dating because every time she looks into the boy’s eyes, she sees scenes of his soulmate flashing before her. You have to admit, that would be hard to get past. Still, as the book went on, I found myself wishing that maybe Amber could be wrong. And throughout the book, the idea is thrown out there—what if Amber’s magic isn’t as reliable as she always imagined? She feels torn over that idea because that would mean that she’s possibly been leading people astray. But it also might mean that she has a chance for happiness even without seeing herself as someone’s match. I spent the entire book wondering how it would all play out. Would Amber and Charlie get a happily ever after? Some elements of the romance played out in ways that I was expecting, but there were a few surprises as well …
The Chicago setting.
As a Chicago native (well, I’m from the suburbs), I loved the setting, especially since Amber’s shop is on Navy Pier!
FOOD!
Amber is a baker and she makes the most scrumpdillyicious sounding desserts. I want them all!!!
What Left Me Hungry for More:
Not much.
The very beginning of the book was a bit of a slower read for me, but as I mentioned, I’ve been exhausted lately and I think that affected my reading. Other than that, the only reason this book doesn’t get a full 5 stars is because it just isn’t any sort of life-changing book that’s going to make you see life differently. It was sweet and perfect and gave me the feels, though!
This is the type of book that makes you fall in love with love and just makes you plain happy. I can't wait to find out what happens in the next book! It earns 4.5/5 stars from me.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via The Fantastic Flying Book Club and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
I needed this book in my life right now. I was sort of feeling like I was in a reading slump, partially because I’ve just been busy and tired, and I really needed the sort of book that hooked me in and didn’t let go. This book kept me guessing about where exactly it was going and how things were going to work out, and that was perfect. I was wrapped up in Amber’s life and I loved every minute of it!
What Fed My Addiction:
Expectations.
Amber feels like a disappointment to her mom and the rest of the magical community because she’s just a matchmaker—she feels like she constantly has to compensate for her lack of “real” magic and she struggles to prove herself to the magical community. Her mom holds coven meetings at their family magic shop, and while everyone is welcoming to her, she’s not allowed in on any sort of magical business. She’s always left on the sidelines. But the nice thing about this book is that Amber doesn’t wallow in self-pity. Sure, she sometimes wishes she had magic or that she wasn’t seen as a second-class magical citizen, but for the most part, she’s made the best of her lot in life and she’s happy with it. Amber’s real because she isn’t all sunshine and rainbows but she’s not a whiner or a quitter either. I really loved that about her.
Family relationships.
I adored the relationship between Amber and her mom. They certainly aren’t perfect, but they have an obvious love for each other and it was nice to see a YA mom who’s involved and caring—and also a little flawed. It felt like real parenting to me. (And as the mom of a teenager, I can say it’s not always easy!)
BFFs.
The friendship between Amber and Amani is also a bright spot in the book. These best friends know each other incredibly well and they’re always there for each other, no matter what. It was nice to see a friendship that never wavered, even when they disagreed on something.
Hooked on the romance. From the start, we know that Charlie and Amber are not meant to be—she’s seen his true love and it isn’t her. Amber has a hard time doing anything more than the most casual of dating because every time she looks into the boy’s eyes, she sees scenes of his soulmate flashing before her. You have to admit, that would be hard to get past. Still, as the book went on, I found myself wishing that maybe Amber could be wrong. And throughout the book, the idea is thrown out there—what if Amber’s magic isn’t as reliable as she always imagined? She feels torn over that idea because that would mean that she’s possibly been leading people astray. But it also might mean that she has a chance for happiness even without seeing herself as someone’s match. I spent the entire book wondering how it would all play out. Would Amber and Charlie get a happily ever after? Some elements of the romance played out in ways that I was expecting, but there were a few surprises as well …
The Chicago setting.
As a Chicago native (well, I’m from the suburbs), I loved the setting, especially since Amber’s shop is on Navy Pier!
FOOD!
Amber is a baker and she makes the most scrumpdillyicious sounding desserts. I want them all!!!
What Left Me Hungry for More:
Not much.
The very beginning of the book was a bit of a slower read for me, but as I mentioned, I’ve been exhausted lately and I think that affected my reading. Other than that, the only reason this book doesn’t get a full 5 stars is because it just isn’t any sort of life-changing book that’s going to make you see life differently. It was sweet and perfect and gave me the feels, though!
This is the type of book that makes you fall in love with love and just makes you plain happy. I can't wait to find out what happens in the next book! It earns 4.5/5 stars from me.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via The Fantastic Flying Book Club and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
imogen76's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
chickens_dynamics_snake's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book is quite nice. It does leave off on a bit of a cliffhanger, when Charlie's match suddenly is involved in the story