A review by half_bloodreader
Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley

Dual pov
 Sapphic romance
 Only one bed
 Enemies to allies to lovers 

This YA LGBTQ+ fantasy has a strong start. I was engaged. I like how magic is described, it is a sensory experience. It's beautiful and unique. Unless it's dark magic, then it's creepy 😆 

The minute Wren meets Tamsin, that's when things take a turn for the worse. She is such an annoying, whiny character. I hate people who make (hurtful) assumptions. She's nosy and acts like she's entitled to Tamsin's secrets. 

It's just that she is unpleasant towards Tamsin right from the start, enviously projecting into the witch, when she's not towards anyone else because she's supposedly oh so good and self-sacrificing. She wants to be like Tamsin and she can't so she is nasty. At times, Tamsin hasn't even done or said anything, yet she goes on and on about how awful Tamsin is, even though unlike most people Wren knows Tamsin is cursed to not feel love, hence her attitude. 

Yeah, surprisingly, I was ok with Tamsin through most of the book, although I'm sure lots of people will dislike the loveless girl. 

I was not ok with Marlena. Those journal entries? Insufferable, "woe is me, pity party, yet don't you dare want to help or care for me" jealous girl! You can't ever win with her. She's also a hypocrite. If you know, you know.

The travel dragged with mostly boring scenes. Again, the magic's sensory descriptions kept it going for me. And the fact I was curious how they were going to deal with everything. Were they even going to be allowed inside Within? 

Wren suddenly having romantic feelings for Tamsin made no sense. 

They defeat the enemy at 83% of the book and I'm just thinking "Oh my God, you need 17% still to tie everything up?!". At this point, I was done with everyone.