Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Enchanted Hacienda by J.C. Cervantes

3 reviews

natashaleighton_'s review

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emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

J.C. Cervantes’ swoon-worthy (and magically realist) new romance takes the romantic whimsy of Sarah Addison Allen, the emotional complexity of an Emily Henry heroine and the lush, vibrant beauty of Disney’s Encanto to create a cosy, (and magically compelling) contemporary romance that will almost certainly steal your heart. 

It follows Harlow Estrada who, after losing her dream job and breaking up with her boyfriend (in a single day) finds herself fleeing New York for her family’s goddess blessed farm, Hacienda Estrada— and the enchanted flowers that are lovingly cultivated by her mother, sisters, aunt and cousins. 

As the only member of the Estrada family without a gift, Harlow is completely unprepared for the special task (involving the family’s magic) that her mum and aunt assign her, so it’s not long before (in Harlow’s panicked state) things start to go wrong. 

But once Harlow begins to open up her heart, embrace her own uniqueness and believe in herself, she may finally discover the power she’s been searching for all along…

I loved this! The cosy and whimsically romantic, magical vibes were utterly enchanting and reminded me a little of the magical realism of Sarah Addison Allen. I loved the gorgeously detailed, Mexican folklore-infused prose and how emotionally complex our MC was,—J.C. Cervantes has definitely earned her place on my list of favourite new authors! 

The beautifully descriptive, nature-based setting was a satisfyingly soothing balm to delve into, and had me thoroughly immersed. I also loved exploring all the meanings and symbolism of flowers and how different processes could draw out each bloom’s individual magical properties—I lived for all the witchy-esque, Alice Hoffman vibes. 

I was also really impressed with the character development, particularly in protagonist Harlow, whose journey to self discovery, happiness and success (in life and love) was well written and teeming with emotion. The tight knit, matriarchal-style family dynamics were incredibly fascinating and I really hope we see more of Harlow’s sisters (and cousins) in future books. 

The romance aspect was really sweet as well and our tall, dark and sexy love interest, Ben was rather swoon-worthy. It is a bit of a slow-burn so do bear in mind if that’s not your kind of thing. 

Overall, a charming and thoroughly enjoyable contemporary romance that fans of Practical Magic and Encanto will absolutely love.

Also, a massive thanks to Headline Eternal for the finished copy. 
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fivecatsinacoat's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Thank you to Libro.fm for this advanced listening copy. I didn't love this one. I really wanted more of the magic system and less of the MC. The narrator wasn't great either, especially when pronouncing words or places in Spanish. I struggled to finish this one. 
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theheelerbooklife's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Harlow Estrada’s world has turned up side down when she is fired from her dream job, then on the same day she learns how big of a jerk her boyfriend really and truly is. She decides that there is nothing more left in New York City, which leads her to go home to the Hacienda Estrada in Mexico. Harlow’s family has magic that is harnessed through flowers and the magic can allow to heal hearts, erase memories, and interpret dreams. The only problem that comes with this for Harlow is that she has zero ounce of magic. Harlow’s mother and Aunt need someone to look over the enchanted farms and the one to be chosen is by the flowers. When waking up, Harlow to her surprise is the one chosen, but she starts to panic over the fact that she is magicless and has no idea how she can be the one to take over this task successfully.

The Enchanted Hacienda definitely made me think of Encanto as I started reading the book. I guess the best way to say this book is like Encanto, but make it adult. 

The reason why I say this makes me think of The Enchanted Hacienda as an adult Encanto is because in Encanto, Mirabella is the only one in her family that is not blessed with magic and goes on a self discovery quest of making peace with not having magic and knowing who she truly is. This goes the same with Harlow, but it goes further than that. 

Harlow at the beginning always seems scared of taking jumps of faith/risks and one of those things is of her wanting to be a writer. 

Harlow ends up doing a lot of growing in this book and I loved her and Ben and their meet cute that leads to their romance. 

My only gripe about this book is that there was a lull in the story around the middle of it to where I started to feel bored and not wholly invested like I was in the beginning. Towards the end of the book, I started to become interested and invented more. Other than the small portion of losing focus and steam on the story, I ended up really enjoying this book. 

This book explores self discovery, romance, family, and magic.
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