A review by starrysteph
Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Really mixed feelings on this one. I loved the magical realism elements, loved the complex family relationships and exploration of generational trauma through curses, and loved the playful botanical magic and ghosts.

And the trauma of being the eldest daughter was captured really brilliantly. Oof.

I didn’t love the immaturity of the narrator and the overabundance of misunderstandings.

How can you turn away from your sister who is in an abusive relationship? (And then return to impulsively expose the abusive without any consideration of how that could impact your sister?) How can you squarely place the blame of your little sister’s accidental death on your older sister, and treat her with such cruelty (not to mention that the reason for the blame was so nonsensical)? How can you hold a petty grudge against a high school crush so fiercely that 10 years later you can barely even speak to him? 

There were some emotionally beautiful moments, and the romance was sweet at times. And look - families can be petty and cruel and complicated. But it felt like this was tonally inconsistent, especially since the writing and dialogue often felt juvenile. The 74 year old great aunt was bickering and throwing around callous remarks like a teenager. 

I was more into the relationship between the sisters - and wanted to dive more into the grief & healing arcs - versus the second chance romance. It was also a bit confusing because there were multiple romance options at the start. I think we needed to stick with our main guy and develop that as much as possible over these 300 pages.

There’s also just SO much crammed in: environmental destruction, cheating, misogyny, domestic abuse, grief, messy and destructive family dynamics, racism, etc. I think that’s a lot to try to accomplish eloquently.

But this story had its moments. Some beautiful nature language, some sweetness around love & healing in romance, and some lovely sisterhood. 

CW: grief, death, abandonment, toxic relationship, domestic abuse, infidelity, gaslighting, racism, sexual content

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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
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