Reviews

Sweet & Bitter Magic, by Adrienne Tooley

kel8188's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

seventhaurora's review

5.0

SAPPHIC LOVE IS MAGIC

(rtc)

kapago97's review

4.0

A review for the audiobook said a mix of Sorcery of Thorns and Girls of Paper and Fire....I didn't get the sorcery of thorns vibes which made me a bit sad because that's my favorite book, but as it's own story I thought it was good and still 4 stars. Also wasn't expecting the lesbian romance, not usually my type of story but it was well done.

emilykatereads's review

5.0

This book is beautiful.

This story follows Tamsin and Wren as they journey together to find the Witch responsible the plague destroying their kingdom. Their journey had so many twists and had me rooting for them so hard. The writing really drew me in and as the characters were slowly unravelled, I felt for them more and more.

My heart hurt for both of them as the story progressed. I fell in love with these characters and the world Tooley created.

jennhillmeow's review against another edition

3.0

It was a sweet and heartwarming little enemies to lovers romance. Not really my favorite type- they had a little bit of sass and sarcasm, but needed a lot more laughs between them. Eventually they got very sweet towards each other, but it still didn't quite seem like they were whole people and happy with themselves before they became a couple.

The conflict in the story was resolved very quickly and was a bit of a letdown. I really wanted there to be more magic.

lmarieh's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

btirey's review

2.0

Hmm I was less engaged than I had hoped. Figured out major plot point very early and the change of emotional state of one character had NO solid reasoning.

erickabdz's review

3.0

Tamsin was never supposed to have been alone.

Ah, I'm so sad! I almost had everything, but life continues not being the way I want it. The first 60~ish per cent of the book this was absolutely perfect. Both Tamsin and Wren were compelling, interesting characters with their own agenda and it was a delight getting to know them. The romance, too, was top tier: the definition of slow burn, small touches and short, meaningful conversations where they learnt little by little about the other and how slowly they wrap around each other's heart. The plot in general keep my attention, and the bit about Tamsin's curse was so fascinating to read and I was eager to know how it would play out.

I was even going to forgive the obvious choice for the villain and keep my rating 5 stars, but somehow everything went downhill from that point.

Spoiler

The villain experience was... just really weird overall, the climax scene quite anticlimatic for all the build-up we had, the romance took an unbelievable turn after the fight scene, becoming passionate and life-changing within seconds. I had loved how it had slowly developed up until that point, but then it was all ?? and I really felt the author did not play enough with Tamsin's curse in that aspect. If you didn't tell me she had a curse, I'd have said she fell in love as any normal person would.

In general, for me, the last half didn't do justice to the amazing beginning we had and I was left utterly disappointed. Still, Sweet & Bitter Magic was a nice enough book with an interesting premise and a lovely romance.

readwithrhys's review

dnf for right now- may come back later to finish it. Both MCs are boring, one is kind of a b/tch that I don’t like. Might finish in the summer

eliandbooks10's review

3.0

this book just feels average, overall very anticlimactic but it was kinda enjoyable