briekaryna's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.25
alanathehangry's review
Liked it.
A beautiful, painful book led by tarot cards with surprising depth. A story about a girl who had been devastated and is learning to heal. A wonderful journey. I appreciated that it skirted a line of...is this specfic or is this just contemporary. Very good Salem, fall vibes, good listening for October.
A beautiful, painful book led by tarot cards with surprising depth. A story about a girl who had been devastated and is learning to heal. A wonderful journey. I appreciated that it skirted a line of...is this specfic or is this just contemporary. Very good Salem, fall vibes, good listening for October.
magnoliapigeonbookblurbs's review
3.0
I’m torn on this review. There were some problematic plot points that have left me uneasy. I am going to shred with this one for a bit and come back to it.
myranda_the_bookwyrm's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I found this rather compellingly told, with the structure of the tarot guide book used as you move through the arc, and with good depth for a YA romance/social fiction. If you are looking for a fantasy-romance or even romance-fantasy/paranormal, I wouldn't exactly put this in those categories. While the characters practice witchcraft, we aren't called upon as readers to believe it exists in this world (or ours) if that makes sense. There are some of the usual foibles of miscommunication that are standard for the romance genre, and I can see where there's room for improvement on the author handled Eleanor's response to heartbreak that could be interpreted as leaning into harmful stereotypes, but overall I also feel like that is countered by the first person narration, where readers also are reminded that how Eleanor sees and interprets other people's responses to her is heavily coloured by her own insecurities. Honestly, I was expecting a cutesy little fantasy romance for teens and instead got a YA romance with some surprising depth that cut me just right.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Stalking, Lesbophobia, Drug use, Biphobia, and Sexual assault
lesmotsdelivrants's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
pandoraness's review
I came into this really hoping to like it. It's got themes that I like - sapphic romance, witchcraft, Salem, magic shops, (even the weed). But when it all comes together I'm basically reading a romanticized version of the life I wanted to live in high school, almost to a T. The writing style is also a bit too simplistic for my taste. I'm sure I would've been all over this book a few years ago, but it's not giving me anything new now.
sketchysoymilk's review
2.0
The extra star I gave was for the writing. The writing was very good, I enjoyed this author’s style. However, I do feel differently about the story. This book is just pages and pages of feeling sorry about oneself about some mild high school drama and the solution is that the character finds out it was just stupid high school drama.
I do appreciate that there were several cliches that were purposely avoided, but I don’t appreciate the fact that it seems like the witchy aspect of the book just seemed to capitalize on the current witch obsession rather than it actually being witchy.
There are definitely aspects of witchcraft, especially tarot cards, but when I picked this book up I expected there to be magic involved. Unless you count the power of friendship as magic, then there is none.
However, I will say that it is a story about healing and battling anxiety, and I did like that the author took us on that journey. That aspect was very accurate to severe anxiety and abandonment issues. It just seemed like to me, 90% of the story was talking about how the main character felt when she accused her witch girlfriend that all she does is go by how she feels.
So the book was not a trash book by any means, I just didn’t enjoy reading it and I think my time could’ve been spent better with a different book.
I do appreciate that there were several cliches that were purposely avoided, but I don’t appreciate the fact that it seems like the witchy aspect of the book just seemed to capitalize on the current witch obsession rather than it actually being witchy.
There are definitely aspects of witchcraft, especially tarot cards, but when I picked this book up I expected there to be magic involved. Unless you count the power of friendship as magic, then there is none.
However, I will say that it is a story about healing and battling anxiety, and I did like that the author took us on that journey. That aspect was very accurate to severe anxiety and abandonment issues. It just seemed like to me, 90% of the story was talking about how the main character felt when she accused her witch girlfriend that all she does is go by how she feels.
So the book was not a trash book by any means, I just didn’t enjoy reading it and I think my time could’ve been spent better with a different book.
trippalli's review
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
An LGBTQ YA love story with us and downs and tumultuous twists and turns.. not the sweet cafe story I had hoped for from the cover, but still has a happy ending.