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A review by thereadinghammock
Two for Tea: Welcome to Azathé by C.M. Nascosta
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
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
5.0
First thing's first, PLEASE be gentle and kind with yourself when choosing to read this book. The themes of grief, depression, and loss are HEAVY in this story and a very important component. I do think this is a very pivotal book within the larger Cambric Creek meta story, but this story will always be there to come back to if and when you are ready to read it. Mental health is far more important than getting a few character cameos. That being said, the amount of foreshadowing, lore development, cameos, and nods to characters only previously seen patreon shorts was a Cambric Creek lover's dream.
Harper Hollingsworth is a witch struggling with clinical depression, in the throes of grieving her father, and uprooted back to her mother's hometown of Cambric Creek. Feeling lost in the depths of her grief, Harper struggles to find any reason to get out of bed or off the couch until a spark of a conversation with her younger sister gives her a nudge to try to be present enough for her, even if it's just sometimes. After a Goldilocks trip through town (the library was closed; Black Sheep Beanery is too loud; Viol, Violet, and Vine is a retail shop), Harper finds Azathé is just right to settle down and read a book somewhere that's not her couch.
With the encouragement from a surprise "free agent" familiar and the shadowy proprietor of the tea shop, Harper begins to find herself again, as a woman and as a witch. She begins those first tentative and terrifying steps toward "finding her new normal," as trite as that saying becomes after a loss so profound. Harper's healing path is full of new faces who understand the profoundness of her grief and never try to diminish it. They support her and share their own grief experiences in ways that demonstrate for her that the hurt never ends, but becomes a part of you, not what defines you.
Harper Hollingsworth is a witch struggling with clinical depression, in the throes of grieving her father, and uprooted back to her mother's hometown of Cambric Creek. Feeling lost in the depths of her grief, Harper struggles to find any reason to get out of bed or off the couch until a spark of a conversation with her younger sister gives her a nudge to try to be present enough for her, even if it's just sometimes. After a Goldilocks trip through town (the library was closed; Black Sheep Beanery is too loud; Viol, Violet, and Vine is a retail shop), Harper finds Azathé is just right to settle down and read a book somewhere that's not her couch.
With the encouragement from a surprise "free agent" familiar and the shadowy proprietor of the tea shop, Harper begins to find herself again, as a woman and as a witch. She begins those first tentative and terrifying steps toward "finding her new normal," as trite as that saying becomes after a loss so profound. Harper's healing path is full of new faces who understand the profoundness of her grief and never try to diminish it. They support her and share their own grief experiences in ways that demonstrate for her that the hurt never ends, but becomes a part of you, not what defines you.
Harper's role in the shake up heading for Cambric Creek is going to be an important one and I can't wait to see the new coven emerge from the ashes of the old.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts