A review by nobeliumreads
Love and Other Wicked Things by Philline Harms

4.0

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

When Valerie Morgan comes to town in search of her missing mother and answers about the magic she’s harboured half her life, Rhia Greenbrook can’t help but feel a magical pull to her--and a danger. With their burgeoning romance, the mystery of Oakriver and Valerie starts to unravel, putting everything Rhia has loved on the line. 

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I hadn’t heard anything about this book, so I had virtually no expectations other than thinking the synopsis sounded cute and it was with a pleasant surprise that I did in fact enjoy it! 

We follow along both Valerie and Rhia, as the former tries to uncover the mysteries surrounding her long missing mother and the latter has to manage her own magical journey whilst falling in love with the very witch she wasn’t supposed to.

The plot itself was pretty predictable, there were a lot of things that I foresaw but it wasn’t to the point of being boring. The magic aspect was fun to read, coming from someone who doesn’t know much about tarot or crystals or magic in general, so admittedly maybe the novelty helped. The writing was nice; it wasn’t over the top but it was easy and fun to get through (I realised after reading that the publisher is wattpad… you truly can’t escape your roots).

I reckon it helped that I really enjoyed the characters; particularly Quinn and Valerie’s friendship, which I found wholesome and meaningful and how lovely it was to see everyone woven seamlessly into this found family (compared to many instances where friendships with the main characters feel insignificant compared to the main relationship). Rhia and Valerie’s relationship were so cute, they had me smiling on the commute to uni and whilst I found their first interactions a bit insta-lovey, they were very adorable throughout (and anyway, who am I to judge when there’s magic involved?).

“Dimly, she thought that she’d always known Valerie was going to burn her to the ground--she just hadn’t expected the flames to feel so tender, consuming her one careful touch, one kiss, one whisper at a time.”

Overall, a sweet, intriguing read for anyone looking for a small-town sapphic witchy book with a little bit of mystery.  
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