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sgenna's review
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Drug use and Mental illness
sab_rose's review against another edition
dark
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Abandonment, and Mental illness
Moderate: Blood and Cursing
blacksphinx's review
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is a puff of cotton candy. Light, sugary, quickly consumed.
This book has a strong "fanfic author's first original fic" vibe. There is very little world building in this novel, and things you might think warrant an explanation (like the magic system) are glossed over, like we're already supposed to know. It's partially centered around a variation on a fanfic trope - hanahaki disease - and there's a small scene lifted directly from Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle movie. In fact, our protagonist's two-syllable name, her light blue and light green dresses, her long hair plaited into a braid, and our wizard love interest's black hair kept me wondering... If this started life as a HMC's fanfic I would not be surprised.
Overall, this is a book that comfortably fits in the YA section and would probably be a delight in most middle school or high school libraries. (This book also needs an LGBT+ tag on here, it's a queernormative setting.)
This book has a strong "fanfic author's first original fic" vibe. There is very little world building in this novel, and things you might think warrant an explanation (like the magic system) are glossed over, like we're already supposed to know. It's partially centered around a variation on a fanfic trope - hanahaki disease - and there's a small scene lifted directly from Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle movie. In fact, our protagonist's two-syllable name, her light blue and light green dresses, her long hair plaited into a braid, and our wizard love interest's black hair kept me wondering... If this started life as a HMC's fanfic I would not be surprised.
Overall, this is a book that comfortably fits in the YA section and would probably be a delight in most middle school or high school libraries. (This book also needs an LGBT+ tag on here, it's a queernormative setting.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Mental illness
I want to list a brief content warning for an emotionally abusive relationship betweenjinjaritia'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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Body horror, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Gaslighting
alisylvi's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Loved the vibes, but wasn’t onboard with the romance
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Minor: Self harm
blewballoon's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-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
I picked this book based on the cover. I was hoping for a cozy book with cottages, flowers, magic, and wholesome vibes. That's exactly what I got. I was happy and interested every time I picked up the book to read more, and I teared up at the ending. It didn't feel too YA for me, besides that there is a romance and the main character is a teenage girl.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment and Body horror
Minor: Mental illness and Emotional abuse
a_ab's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Well, I didn't read it in full, actually. I read the first 4 chapters and the last 5 (out of 24 total). And I do not feel like I lost much in skipping the other 15, because at the time I resumed the book, things were going mostly how I imagined they would be going based on the beginning.
I don't think I could have suffered through the abuse of the main character's internal "magic" voice for all those 15 chapters. It was revolting and infuriating to me, but it would be extremely triggering for anyone who ever had to live through even a fraction of that kind of emotional abuse.
In that vein, I found the ending rather questionable in the proposed "happiness" of it. And there's no way I am going to revisit the chapters I skipped, - as far as I am concerned, nothing is worth putting up with the abusive BS, however internalized it is: get therapy or whatever it takes to weed it out until nothing but a detached clinical memory of it remains, and even that memory is there only so that it could be quickly recognized and weedkilled on sight if it ever sprouts again.
I don't think I could have suffered through the abuse of the main character's internal "magic" voice for all those 15 chapters. It was revolting and infuriating to me, but it would be extremely triggering for anyone who ever had to live through even a fraction of that kind of emotional abuse.
In that vein, I found the ending rather questionable in the proposed "happiness" of it. And there's no way I am going to revisit the chapters I skipped, - as far as I am concerned, nothing is worth putting up with the abusive BS, however internalized it is: get therapy or whatever it takes to weed it out until nothing but a detached clinical memory of it remains, and even that memory is there only so that it could be quickly recognized and weedkilled on sight if it ever sprouts again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Blood, Abandonment, Drug use, and Drug abuse
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.75
Beautifully sweet and wholesome, with exactly the queer-normative cottagecore Howl’s Moving Castle vibes I was hoping for. The friends-to-more-than-friends element between Clara and Xavier never took over the story, which I appreciated. And though the stakes may have been “low”, they still very much mattered to the main cast. A few mysteries and threads were left open… so I’m desperately craving a sequel!!
Content warning for intrusive thoughts (cleverly anthropomorphized)
Content warning for intrusive thoughts (cleverly anthropomorphized)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Abandonment
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
mirandamccall's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
This was such a sweet and light YA fantasy. I didn’t read a lot of fantasy as a child, so it’s enjoyable to go back now as an adult who mostly reads adult fantasy romance.
It did make me tear up a couple times. 🥲 I always have a strong reaction to Father/Daughter stories.
It did make me tear up a couple times. 🥲 I always have a strong reaction to Father/Daughter stories.
Content Warnings
Minor: Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Abandonment
sophs_mood_reading's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Cottage core, witchy, YA novel. Clara is failing at becoming a witch because her powers are crazy, wild, down right dangerous & yet could also result in Clara opening a florist if need be.
When she accidentally curses her father (more flowers, poisonous ones) she finds the only person who will help is her estranged best friend/childhood love the ever angsty Xavier.
Xavier had changed from the boy she knew, he’s distant, grumpy and clearly hiding something and in return for his help demands a high price.
The story not so subtly focuses on the issue of depression in society, how sufferers seek any cure they can find and how little aid their may be. It was a strange theme to run through a cottage core fantasy and at sometimes seemed forced. Such as our main FMC having “melancholy” for one whole day and therefore can suddenly commiserate and understand the blight of other sufferers.
I did enjoy the LGBTQI inclusion throughout the book which is a welcome inclusion in these types of novels.
When she accidentally curses her father (more flowers, poisonous ones) she finds the only person who will help is her estranged best friend/childhood love the ever angsty Xavier.
Xavier had changed from the boy she knew, he’s distant, grumpy and clearly hiding something and in return for his help demands a high price.
The story not so subtly focuses on the issue of depression in society, how sufferers seek any cure they can find and how little aid their may be. It was a strange theme to run through a cottage core fantasy and at sometimes seemed forced. Such as our main FMC having “melancholy” for one whole day and therefore can suddenly commiserate and understand the blight of other sufferers.
I did enjoy the LGBTQI inclusion throughout the book which is a welcome inclusion in these types of novels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Drug use
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Abandonment