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wordsareworlds's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This book was sold to me as a revenge plot with a heaping side of burning down the unfair and ridiculous generational power structure...and it is not that book at all. However, people looking for an underdog coming out on top/finding her own worth/prodigal child returns home story will find a lot more here to like. It's a cute small town romance, and wow did I love Talia so much. Despite not getting her PoV, Talia is an incredibly well-rounded character with layers of both awesome traits and flaws, and she really shone during the climactic scene.
The book does suffer from some of the drawbacks of many small-town romances, including having exactly one Black family whose characters exist solely in service to the MC's growth and no other PoC, and the integration of AAVE is one microaggression after another. Blood family is the only family that truly matters, and life in the Big City is empty, at its core, because you aren't living within shouting distance of your relatives. In a story where the magic is literally tied to the land itself, the inclusion of that trope felt so unnecessary and condescending. I was also really confused as to why Emmy had just a problem with her cousin Delilah, and her constant belittling and bad treatment of Delilah grated throughout. The entire history of the town is a long glorification of settlers taming/tapping into the magic in a way no one else could, and therefore making them better than everyone else, especially those people in the town who aren't magical. The main character is completely oblivious to this as she bemoans the "caste system" that creates a hierarchy amongst the magical community and never once thinks about how the non-magical townspeople are literally subjected to memory wipes on their whims.
I'd recommend this for people looking for a witchy sapphic small town romance, especially for Hallmark holiday movie vibes. The writing is descriptive and evocative without being overly flowery. I can tell Harper really loves this town and she nails a kind of just-graduated-college vibe for her characters, but if you can't overlook the poor depiction of Black characters and idealization of white colonialization give it a pass.
CN racist depictions of Black men using AAVE, misuse of caste language, anti-Asian racism through MSG jokes, the ex is stalking Lin
The book does suffer from some of the drawbacks of many small-town romances, including having exactly one Black family whose characters exist solely in service to the MC's growth and no other PoC, and the integration of AAVE is one microaggression after another. Blood family is the only family that truly matters, and life in the Big City is empty, at its core, because you aren't living within shouting distance of your relatives. In a story where the magic is literally tied to the land itself, the inclusion of that trope felt so unnecessary and condescending. I was also really confused as to why Emmy had just a problem with her cousin Delilah, and her constant belittling and bad treatment of Delilah grated throughout. The entire history of the town is a long glorification of settlers taming/tapping into the magic in a way no one else could, and therefore making them better than everyone else, especially those people in the town who aren't magical. The main character is completely oblivious to this as she bemoans the "caste system" that creates a hierarchy amongst the magical community and never once thinks about how the non-magical townspeople are literally subjected to memory wipes on their whims.
I'd recommend this for people looking for a witchy sapphic small town romance, especially for Hallmark holiday movie vibes. The writing is descriptive and evocative without being overly flowery. I can tell Harper really loves this town and she nails a kind of just-graduated-college vibe for her characters, but if you can't overlook the poor depiction of Black characters and idealization of white colonialization give it a pass.
CN
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking and Classism
Minor: Racism