3.5 stars ⭐️
If you love books about nature, second chance romance, the power of family, Mexican American rep, and magical realism definitely check out this book! Plus, there are TONS of Encanto vibes ✨

After losing her job, Sage returns home to work at a nursery while trying avoid her family members who hate her. Raised by her aunt, Sage and her 2 sisters each have gifts; Sage’s is the gift of feeling/cultivating plants. But Sage’s family is wrecked by trauma, especially heightened when her sister died in an accident 8 years before. Since then, her ghost haunts Sage urging her to make up with her other sister. Between the family drama and trying to earn money, things get complicated when her teenage crush and her are paired up at work for a special project. Sage has to open her heart again, use her gifts, make up with her sister, and help her ghost sister.

Overall, I really liked the story! I did think there was a small plot hole that wasn’t tied up, and at times it felt a little YA. I enjoyed it for what it was and it’s a great time of year for this kind of book!

This was a sweet and cozy read perfect for this season. Once I saw the cover and read the synopsis I was hooked!

I loved the magic system I thought it was so fun! I also loved the small town aspect I think that mixed with the magic it was able to give off cozy vibes. I loved how the book discussed nature and how humans are abusing it. I also really enjoyed the family/sister bonding moments in the book as well.

The rest of the book including the romance and characters didn’t work for me. I found the characters to be very immature and at times frustrating. I don’t mind a “messy” or imperfect main character but I just couldn’t connect with any of these characters. I also couldn’t root for the romance at all. The romance felt rushed and I was unconvinced they had a connection beyond physical.

Overall this was ok! Thanks to the publisher for an eARC!

I really liked the premise of this novel and the gorgeous cover / chapter illustrations, but the execution left me wanting. It rambles along without an actual destination; I was never really sure what the end game was supposed to be, though there is an HEA and the overriding question is resolved.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! This was the vibe that I was looking for as we enter the season of fall, as well as my first read from Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, but definitely not my last. Sage had a high school crush and an AIM relationship with Tennessee Reyes, but it ended in heartbreak. After being fired from her teaching job, Sage is back in her small town to confront her demons, hurt relationships, and to work with Tennessee. Will she mend her hurt from the past? Sage as the main character worked great for me, flaws and all, and I loved her fraught relationships with her sisters, aunt, and friend Laurel. I love an angry and complicated woman main character, and Sage was perfect. I also loved the magical realism vibes of this book - I loved it for entering my witchy season of reading. I think this is the first in a series and I will definitely continue reading. Overall, I recommend this book for fans of contemporary steamy romance and magical realism.

Thank you to the publisher @berkleypub and @netgalley for my e-ARC in exchange for my honest review and a big thank you to @letsread for hosting the buddy read!

Witch of Wild things is a fun magical realism novel about three sisters who each have magic because their ancestors angered the old gods and punished their family forever.

It’s a story about sisters, family, and relationships. Being the oldest of 4 sisters myself I found myself relating to Sky, Teal, and Sage throughout the entire story.

There is a nice romance subplot with some mild spice. When the spice started to turn a bit spicier it felt…out of place. And believe me I love spicy books but it just felt like it didn’t belong here.

I also found Teal to be a bit much at times and it took away from my enjoyment of the story.

I did really love Sage and her entire character arc and progression throughout the story.

I would love to see books for Sky and Teal and learn more about them as well but I think this is a stand-alone.

This book is super fun and I recommend to those who love nature magic, sisterhood stories, and a romance subplot.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Quick and Dirty⁣
-contemporary witchy fiction⁣
-BIPOC author and characters⁣
-sister story⁣
-second chance romance (door ajar)⁣
-witchy level: 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛/5⁣
⁣
Thoughts⁣
There was a lot to love about this book, so let's start with that. The sister story in this book was so good! Old wounds and unsaid things peppered the scenes with tension and emotion, so fans of family dramas will appreciate that element. I really enjoyed all the earth magic and the way the author weaves culture into the magical elements of the story. And the romance worked for me, as did the dual timelines and use of instant messages to set the tone of the past timeline. What didn't work for me was the overall YA feel of the novel. This could have easily been a YA novel if the sexy scenes were eliminated. While the MC matures along the way, the resolution to one of the key plotlines felt so YA that it distracted from her personal development and growth. I was also a bit disappointed in the major "thing that happened" between our two love interests in the past storyline. Miscommunication tropes aren't my favorite, so I was left wanting a bit more. Overall, this is a solid Witch Week book with bonus points for being written by a woman of color!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I am a sucker for magical realism so this one was perfect, especially for fall.

Sage Flores is a bit of a plant whisperer. She can look at one and identify it. She connects with them and makes them grow.

She has two sisters - and the younger one, Sky, passed away eight years ago. Sage blames herself. Sky appears when Sage cries and brings her chocolate raspberry coffee.

A series of events at her job has Sage returning to her family home to live with her aunt, and her sister Teal, who she doesn't get along with. She's hired by Cranberry Rose Company and works with her high school crush, Tenn, who broke her heart.

We go on an emotional journey with Sage through love, family issues, and her own self confidence.

I loved everything about this, and I'm hoping it's a series because I need more!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Contemporary Romance with a Witchy Twist

Synopsis: Sage has attempted to escape the past in her home town of Cranberry Rose for years, until she gets laid off from her job cause her boss is a butt:( She returns only to be haunted by her dead sister, and forced to face her past disappointments. Will she be able to escape this nightmare and have a redo on the life she lost? Or will it all fall apart even worse?

Review: Y’all!! This book was such a fun contemporary romance with witchy vibes! It made me think of charmed but without fighting bad guys. So like a mix of charmed and Gilmore girls:) I loved the plant whisperer aspect and the fun AOL mentions! (This was my childhood.) I loved the realistic crush goes for sister and old crush shows up.

Content Warning: Domestic Abuse, Family Death
Romance Rating: Spicy Contemporary

This book wasn’t for me.

I disliked Sage, our main character, to the point where it was difficult to spend time with her, even fictionally. She’s 29 but behaves like an adolescent. I didn’t understand her obsession with Tennessee, the boy who’d supposedly cruelly broken her heart in high school. They had, in fact, never even dated, so… ? The way she pined over this man, still, fourteen years later, felt childish at best, unhealthy delusion at worst.

Then we have the misunderstanding/miscommunication trope, which is one of my least favorite plot devices.

None of the other characters were well developed or likable (Teal’s main trait was anger, Tennessee’s was clueless sex appeal, etc.)

I needed more magic and rational behavior, less melodrama. Ultimately, I gave up.

DNF around halfway point.

*4.5 stars I was pleasantly surprised by this book because even though the synopsis sounded interesting, I wasn’t sure how much the execution would match my expectations. This book far exceeded my expectations because it read on the cusp of young adult and adult which I appreciated. The atmosphere of the book was whimsical and captivating, cozy and magical and truly the perfect read going into Fall.

The flashbacks in every other chapter made it interesting to see how much the two main characters grew from where they had started. The romance was giving secret childhood lovers to hate to love which are two of my favorite tropes.

I got serious Encanto vibes from this book, especially in the aspect of family and growing up with sisters, what that looks and feels like for each of them. I’ve always been a big sucker for books about sister relationships and through the conflict that siblings may have, how they mend their relationships over time.

I think the only reason the book wasn’t a full five stars for me was the pacing, in the beginning, was a tad slow, but by the time I got to the 30-40% mark, I was pretty invested. I ended up reading this book in just one day which I don’t do often with books so that’s how much I enjoyed it. I would recommend this book for the spooky season because I enjoyed the magic and witchy vibes that this book gave off and learning about Sage’s magic. All in all, a very fun read!

This was such a lovely read, especially after coming off of some meh-books immediately before picking this one up. I loved the magical realism elements with the Flores sisters and their special gifts that stemmed from a curse. I loved Sage's love of plants and living things. I loved the ghostly apparition of their dead sister. I loved the romance between Sage and Tennessee, who was super annoying but super hot back in the day and is still super annoying but super hot today as he helps her scout fancy plants in the wild. I will be talking this one up for sure!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my thoughts.

Thank you so much to Berkley, Netgalley, and PRH Audio for providing an advanced copy of this! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

When I saw this cover and synopsis, I knew I needed to pick it up as a transition into fall. I absolutely love magical, witchy stories, especially ones with loose magic systems like this one. I also love messy explorations of love and family.

So I was certain going into this one that it would be a favorite. And unfortunately it just didn't quite hit the way I had expected.

This still had some wonderful themes and beautiful writing, it just didn't leave me feeling in love with any aspect.

This follows the heroine who is reluctantly returning home to live with her sister after losing her job. She and her sister have a very strained and tenuous relationship after the loss of their baby sister many years ago.

When she returns home, she finds herself working at the same plant nursery she worked at in high school. But this time she uses her magical abilities to communicate with plants to help find local heritage plants in the area.

Unfortunately she needs to work with her high school crush and the man who broke her heart as a teen.

On one hand, I loved the setup, magic, and ghostly aspect of this book. The heroine is "haunted" by her sister's ghost who brings her gifts and coffee. And she and each woman in their family, has a unique magical ability (control of weather, communications with animals, knowing, hiding, etc).

I thought the interwoven magic was fantastic. I personally love unexplained magical elements and this was the perfect example of that.

I also really liked the idea and setup for the exploration of love, forgiveness, and family.

However I didn't love the actual execution of these themes.

One, the younger sister is UNBEARABLE in my opinion. The things that she says and does to the heroine were straight up unforgivable in my head. And the way the heroine just lets it all go was beyond my understanding.

Two, the conflict and animosity between the main characters was childish to me. And how the heroine carried around that much anger and heartbreak for 15 years over it felt a little dramatic...

But lastly... I HATED the final twist. I saw it coming and was really hoping I was wrong because I just... wasn't a fan. I get it. It made sense. But I thought it was beyond cheesy.

So in the end I was just left feeling very bland over the whole thing. I enjoyed elements, but not necessarily their execution. And overall am left with no strong feelings about this book in any way. I think this is an author I would try again, but not a book I will recommend or think about much again.

REVIEW FOR WITCH OF WILD THINGS

4.5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Berkeley Pub and Berkeley Romance for the gifted copy!

I loved this story so much. While marketed as a romance (it's part of the main plot) it was so much more. It's a beautiful story about personal growth, repairing familial relationships and their journey with grief.

Sage is a wholly flawed FMC who I honestly struggled with at the beginning, because she was so quick to hold other people accountable for their actions that she completely missed her own accountability. Her personality was more victim, and while in some instances it was necessary, in others it wasn't. With that said though, I think this flaw really contributed to her growth as a character throughout the story.

My favorite part was the magical realism of the magic the Flores women had. I wish the story dove more into Teal, Sky and Nadia's magic. I loved the twist at the end, but felt it could have been elaborated more. It was a little out of left field and, while I understand that was probably to prevent any sort of spoilers, I think it actually led to more confusion and feeling that the story wasn't fully fleshed out.

Tenn and Sage's romance was so beautiful. I fell in love with them as a couple. And I wish the town of Cranberry was real. I also liked the subtle not so subtle environmental call to action- it gave me a new perspective to how we treat our ecosystems and to be more cognizant of the laws and changes coming through our government.

I highly recommend this story.

TW: mentions of death, grief, infidelity, casual sex, domestic abuse, rape

This book had me hooked early on. I loved everything about it and didn't even care about the miscommunication trope (that I normally can't stand). I loved all the characters and I need me a Mr. Tennessee in my life. Add this book to your TBR if you love family dramas, sisterly bonds, witches, magic, magical gifts, second chance romance and some spice. This is a perfect food for the fall weather and spooky season. It was so so good.

I honestly don't often love rom-coms or adult romance or the like, but THIS BOOK IS FABULOUS. It's just the perfect blend of witchy, funny, romantic and real. And the touches of magical realism felt perfectly done. Loved this book so much.

The Flores sisters have magical gifts. Sage is gifted with a connection to plants: she can talk to them, identify, and make them grow. Her sister Teal can affect the weather, and her youngest sister Sky gifted with a connection to animals.

Sage is back home, at her Aunt Nadia’s, after being laid off from her job. Things are tense with her younger sister, Teal, as she blames her for the death of their youngest sister, Sky. To add to the drama, Sky’s ghost appears to Sage, talking to her.

Sage lands a job with her old employer, Cranberry Rose Company, the local nursery and is teamed up with her teenage crush, Tennessee Reyes, the man who broke her heart, unbeknownst to him. They’re paired together to find rare plants with a history and a story, to cultivate for sale. I love plants and gardening, so I thought Sage’s gift and her job was so neat!

I got a Practical Magic vibe here (the movie, not the book) picturing the beautiful old house as Nadia’s. Loved the descriptions of the setting and surrounding area!

The romance was lovely, even though I wasn’t a fan of Sage not coming clean with her prior AOL interactions with Tennessee, the blowback from it wasn’t long and overdrawn. I feel like Sage’s relationship with her sisters and Aunt Nadia were equally important to the story. They had past hurts that needed to be mended. Didn’t care for the way Teal or Aunt Nadia treated Sage. Teal was awful to her sister with no cause. It came from guilt and grief, but definite groveling was needed from both her sister and aunt. There’s some mystery around Sky’s death and I was thrilled over how that was all resolved!

Witch of Wild Things was a beautifully written, magical delight! Some romance, some family reconciliation, and cool magical gifts!

This was a total fluffy book to me. Magic and smooching.

I LOVED the plant magic and was just sitting breathing it in.

Now the sisters [I never did figure out why Sage was blamed by her WHOLE family for Sky's death. Even after it was explained I was like that sucks balls. She didn't do anything wrong. She was pretty much a punching bag for everyone. Then Sky coming back from the dead. WTH? Even in a magical book that could have been done a bit better. (hide spoiler)]

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

This is an interesting story about coming home, dysfunctional family, forgiveness, sisters, romance, and finding one's self. And if that isn't enough, there's a bit of a mystery as well as some very intriguing magical realism.

The characters are well developed, drawing me into the story almost immediately and eliciting a variety of emotions. There are a lot of layers to sift through for more than one of them, especially within Sage's family. It's never easy coming home and the circumstances of Sage's departure and return make it less so. A boring reunion, this is not!

I enjoyed the AOL instant messenger flashbacks between Tenn and Sage. It was a clever and effective way to dig into some of those layers (of both characters) and give readers a more complete understanding of their personalities, motivation, and feelings both past and present.

Overall, the story moves at a steady pace and maintained my interest with a good balance of humor, character evolution, conflict, and emotional depth. Parts of the magical realism are easy to buy into while others require significant suspension of disbelief (I have many questions). It has me wondering if Gilliland is planning more books for this family.

If you enjoy coming of age novels with magical realism, family dysfunction, and a touch of romance, give this one a try. It's an intriguing read.

ARC received from publisher. Fair and unbiased review.

Sage comes from a line of women who all posses a “gift”. For Sage, she can control plants. Her sister can control the weather. After their other sister died, the family has been at an impasse and Sage moved away. Now she’s back home and working at the same place she used to work – Cranberry Rose Company. She partners with Tennessee to hunt down wild plants that can be cultivated. Working with Tenn has brought Sage’s high school feeling to the surface. Sage hid behind her computer to get to know Tenn, and he never knew it was her. Now as they’ are growing closer and things are heating up, Sage wonders if the past should stay in the past or if they can move on from it.

This was such a fun witchy read. I read this one in July, and I was already starting to think about the spooky season. My husband never lets me decorate for holidays very early – he’s such a bummer. Even though I read this one in the height of summer, it wasn’t so witchy that it didn’t fit. It was the perfect amount of magical realism that just made me fall in love. I enjoyed the romance within the story. This was also a book about dysfunctional families. Sage has dealt with so much in her life. I originally thought that this was written for a younger audience, but I had failed to realize Sage’s age. It wasn’t until later in the book that I realized she was almost thirty and the topics covered were fairly heavy. This book grabbed my attention from the start and didn’t let it go.

If you are looking for a delightful witchy second chance closed door romance, then I hope you check this one out.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley @BerkleyPub, and Netgalley @Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: September 12, 2023

Witch of Wild Things is a story of sisterhood, family, magic, and love. Three sisters, Sage, Teal, and Sky grow ups in Cranberry Virginia with their Aunt after their mother abandons them for a man. Each has a magical gift - Sage, the oldest, can speak to plants, Teal's emotions bring extreme weather, and Sky has the gift of communicating with animals. When Sky disappears on a hike, the remaining sister's relationship is fractured. Sage leaves Virginia to go to Philadelphia to create jewelry and teach, but a terrible lapse in judgement leaves her jobless and headed back home - with Sky's ghost in tow. When Sage gets a job at a garden center where she used to work, she comes face to face with her high school crush - Tennessee, a boy that she "IM"ed with and fell in love with online. Of course, he broke her heart, and of course, they are going to fall back into love. The book was entertaining, and a quick read - parts were more than a little implausible, and the setting baffled me - mountains? Lakes, forest? ocean? its' all there. Despite the flaws I kept reading and was glad for a happy ending. Thank you Netgalley for an advanced reader copy.