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A review by egbella
How (Not) to Kiss a Toad by Elizabeth A. Reeves
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
2.0
Note: the copy I have has a different cover that gives more generic fairy tale fantasy vibes, rather than "witchy". I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have picked up this book if I saw this cover. It's partly my fault for not reading deeply into the blurb though.
Minor spoilers ahead!
What I liked:
- Cindy has a good friend group, and while they were a bit stereotypical, they were supportive, encouraging, sweet, and fun to read about
- There's a cat named Merlin
- Intriguing hints of world-building with how magic-users interact with the world around them, their history, and their culture. I would have liked to see more of this.
- The author knows her way around flavors and baking, and it shows. I enjoyed seeing what the main character would come up with for her cupcake flavors.
What I didn't care for:
Minor spoilers ahead!
What I liked:
- Cindy has a good friend group, and while they were a bit stereotypical, they were supportive, encouraging, sweet, and fun to read about
- There's a cat named Merlin
- Intriguing hints of world-building with how magic-users interact with the world around them, their history, and their culture. I would have liked to see more of this.
- The author knows her way around flavors and baking, and it shows. I enjoyed seeing what the main character would come up with for her cupcake flavors.
What I didn't care for:
- the romance. I'm sorry, I just can't root for a relationship that felt so "insta-love" and was based largely off physical attractiveness, even if nothing inappropriate happened. I didn't understand their apparent chemistry, and their constant back-and-forth was irritating. Communication, people. haha.
- Timothy...why does he drive so recklessly? Why does he steal from her? I could absolutely root for his panic/anger/etc. after the kiss event, and he had his sweet moments, but I certainly didn't see enough redeeming qualities or actions from him yet to understand Cindy's infatuation.
- the writing style. Maybe I'm just not used to contemporary romance novels, but the writing style felt very juvenile. Sometimes because of the word choices and grammar, and other times because so many sentences in a row would sound like the following: "I'm writing a short sentence. Maybe it's too short. I can't write long ones. Bummer. It's fine on occasion. But not repeatedly." It was disappointing, and I think fine-tuning it could really help.
- With that, the randomness. I know the series continues, so maybe most my questions are answered later, but I didn't receive enough explanation to want to keep reading. Why did Timothy drive so recklessly? Why did Cindy up and adopt a cat one day? What's the significance of her sister getting married, and her being asked to be a bridesmaid and make the cake? It felt like something big and new was introduced every chapter, and not all of it even made sense together or had any lead-up to clue me into why it was important.
- This isn't a huge complaint because it might have been intentional, but I guessed the plot twist with the bakery owners' nephew as soon as they mentioned it the first time. As more and more hints were dropped, I wondered how in the world Cindy didn't realize it way sooner.
- Some of the content, especially the few instances of foul language.
Overall, I don't mean this to be a scathing review because I think fans of this genre might find it a fun, quick, and light-hearted read. It just wasn't my cup of tea (or pint of ice cream).
CW: one kiss (others referred to, but not shown), several uses of expletives (such as s**t and b***h), descriptions of physical attractiveness and characters feeling crushes/butterflies/etc., a magic system that uses the word witches semi-frequently and involves charms, spells, and transformations.