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doseofromance 's review for:
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping
by Sangu Mandanna
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
For about 75% of the book I was a bit conflicted about how to rate it. It's is super cozy and I liked most of the characters, the writing was funny and engaging. The only problem I had was I couldn't really connect with the romance. Generally, I think this is a bit of a general issue with cozy books that rely very heavily on a lot of snark and genuinely funny banter. It's just difficult to really connect with the characters and be invested in the romance, because the humor acts as a bit of a barrier. So, mostly I was thinking that the book itself was good, just maybe not exactly for me. But then the last 25% hit.
Without spoiling the ending, I have to say it absolutely sucked. It completely soured the entire book for me. It felt like I went through the whole journey for nothing and invested in the story just to be let down. It didn't even particularly make sense to me. I didn't think much about the world building before the ending, but because of it, the magical system of the book completely fell apart for me. Just absolutely disappointing and honestly, I was so mad about everything. Because of how much I hated the ending, I don't even really wanna get into the characters. It just feels pointless. I will say though that Clemmie (the witch trapped as a fox) is the absolute worst. In the beginning I thought she'd be a bit of a counterbalance to all loveliness of the other characters by being a bit more selfish and snarky. Then she started annoying me a bit, then I started realizing she genuinely was selfish in big ways. And then she turned into an all out villain. Straight up a bad person. Sure, she does something nice at the end, but like.... Too little too late. Her ending put me over the edge. Just so so disappointing how the entire story turned out, there was so much potential.
I received an advanced copy of this book and voluntarily read and reviewed it. All opinions are my own.
Without spoiling the ending, I have to say it absolutely sucked. It completely soured the entire book for me. It felt like I went through the whole journey for nothing and invested in the story just to be let down. It didn't even particularly make sense to me. I didn't think much about the world building before the ending, but because of it, the magical system of the book completely fell apart for me. Just absolutely disappointing and honestly, I was so mad about everything. Because of how much I hated the ending, I don't even really wanna get into the characters. It just feels pointless. I will say though that Clemmie (the witch trapped as a fox) is the absolute worst. In the beginning I thought she'd be a bit of a counterbalance to all loveliness of the other characters by being a bit more selfish and snarky. Then she started annoying me a bit, then I started realizing she genuinely was selfish in big ways. And then she turned into an all out villain. Straight up a bad person. Sure, she does something nice at the end, but like.... Too little too late. Her ending put me over the edge. Just so so disappointing how the entire story turned out, there was so much potential.
I received an advanced copy of this book and voluntarily read and reviewed it. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia