What a fun captivating romance for plant and magic lovers! The plot and character development are both extremely solid. The magic system feels light, but that’s what I like about it. The story flowed and was relaxing and enjoyable to experience. There was one plot point that I felt was left unaddressed, but that is really my only complaint. Overall a very very solid romance and sweet story!

Thank you J. C. Cervantes, NetGalley, and Harper Audio for my advanced review copy. My opinions are my own.

Plot - 4
Writing and Editing - 4
Character Development - 4
Personal Bias - 4
Final Score - 4

I really enjoyed this book. Like other reviews have said, it is a bit like an adult version of the kids movie Encanto, but THE ENCHANTED HACIENDA was an enchanting, romantic, magical story. I loved imagining life on the hacienda, the scent of the jasmine, the magic of knowing you are tied to a legacy that goes beyond the real and into the surreal. I enjoyed the characters, rooted for our heroine, and loved the way it ended. Excellent narration as well. As a Mexican-American, it is a rare treat to have a novel take me to Mexico as a setting for self-discovery and love, and it was much appreciated!

A beautiful story of family, romance and magic featuring Harlow Estrada, one of the only Estrada women without magical gifts. When she returns to the family hacienda in Mexico after breaking up with her boyfriend she meets a new man, starts to grow enchanted flowers for the first time ever and gets caught up in a love bond she isn't sure is true or forced.

Great on audio narrated by Frankie Corzo and perfect for fans of Encanto and Practical magic. Highly recommended for fans of authors like Raquel Vasquez Gilliland and Yamile Saied Mendez. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review! I am OBSESSED with this beautiful cover and can't wait to read more by J C Cervantes!!

I love books with a magical theme or element to them, and was so excited to read THE ENCHANTED HACIENDA. This was the perfect read for a fun escape.

🎧I listened to the audiobook and found the narrator, Frankie Corzo to be a great choice. It really flowed so well with the writing style of the story.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-a coming of age story
-romance
-a fun twist on Encanto
-magic, of course

*many thanks to Harper Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Born without magic in a family of women who run a magical hacienda, Harlow Estrada has always felt out of place. When she loses her job and her boyfriend in the same day, Harlow returns to her family’s hacienda to regroup and decide what she wants to do with her life. While her family takes some much needed time off, Harlow takes over the magical duties of the farm. When she saves a stranger from being trapped by another girl with bond flowers, Harlow soon finds herself having a whirlwind romance while dealing with other magical mishaps. Still fresh from her last breakup, however, she wonders if the romance was divine intervention or if there might be something more she is missing. Can Harlow find her place among her family of magical relatives? Is her new romance too good to be true?

Narrator, Frankie Corzo’s narrative style matches well with the author’s writing style. Her intonations match well with the characters and events of the book. Characters are likable and easy to relate to. Plot is predictable, but enchanting. Fans of magical realism, romance, and uplifting novels will want to listen to this book. Recommended for most library collections.

This book did not work for me. I was very excited to read an Encanto inspired book, but I couldn’t connect with the main character and many of her choices, and I wasn’t a fan of the insta-loveness.

This book was absolutely magical. Perfect for readers who want a grown up romantic twist on an "Encanto"-esque vibe with a main character who feels out of place in a family full of magic. Also she is a writer trying to reconnect with her writing. Beautiful and soft and fun. JC Cervantes always triumphs for me writing about magic and fate and family legacy.

This magical love story features beautiful descriptions of flowers, a main character that hasn't blossomed into her true gift yet, and an instalove that may or may not be for real. Harlow is at a crossroads in her life and I appreciated the challenge of finding where she belongs and who she wants to be. I really liked Ben and his patience with her, and kinda fell for him myself. I enjoyed all the familial support and loving interference, and the sensitive way dementia was handled in the story. A fun coming of age book with a hint of magic.

3.5/5

This was the perfect intersection between magical realism, disaster millennial woman fiction and romance.
If you like quiet, nature based forms of magic, sweeping love stories, large and unhinged familise, fighting for your dreams when they feel out of reach, and coming into yourself in your adulthood - this is just the book for you.
All the comparisons to Encanto feel appropriate.

J.C. Cervantes' novel, "The Enchanted Hacienda," is about a woman named Harlow who is suddenly fired from her dream job in New York. She returns home to her "Enchanted Hacienda" where the women in her family are all named after flowers. The reason for this is because their hacienda is enchanted by magic that the women all exude and use to heal others. Harlow, on the other hand, is named after stones and doesn't quite know why she has no magic in her. As her time in the Hacienda increases, Harlow finds mystery, adventure, and a little romance along the way. This story captured my attention from the start and I found myself listening to it constantly. This is a perfect, light-hearted book that will enrapture the readers looking for an engaging read.

While I’m not typically a fantasy reader the magical realism made it easier to digest the fantasy Elemis of the story.

Reading this book was like watching a Hallmark movie with the Good Witch series mixed in. It has romance, magic, heartbreak, sisterhood, and love, what more could you want from a novel.

Frankie Corzo did a great job narrating this book. I was able to listen to the book at 2.5x and still easily understand which character was speaking and what was being said.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
The story is a romance on a magical flower farm. It was an ok romance story. The magic was just a background element.

This reminded me so much of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divína and while it was lovely, it just wasn’t quite as lush or magical as that book. Regardless, I enjoyed the reading experience.

If Hallmark Channel decided to remake Encanto, this would be the story. In the Hacienda lives a family of woman who each have magical powers depending on the flower they are named after (except for Harlow - our main character). When Harlow’s life is turned upside down, she returns home to be with her magical family and while there is voluntold that she must watch over the magical farm. Enter an intriguing guy and the Hallmark plot begins.

I picked this up because the blurb made it sound a lot like Encanto and I thought that would be fun. I wasn’t expecting it to be a contemporary romance (it leans much more into that than it does anything else) but I still really enjoyed it. I appreciated the many descriptions of the flowers, their symbolism and meanings, and how the Estrada family used them for magic. I liked all of the characters and actually wouldn’t mind getting more books around the Estrada women. I’m not much of a romance reader so not sure how this ranks in comparison to those, but if you like Encanto and you like Hallmark movies, then this one might be a hit for you.

This is Encanto, but make them adults!! It had mystery, family love and drama, secrets, romance, and most important, MAGIC. This was so good! I enjoyed every minute! The narrator did excellent! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen in exchange for a review.

One thing that never fails to draw me to a book is a magical cover. I am completely guilty of not reading a synopsis and grabbing a book just because it had a beautiful cover. The Enchanted Hacienda by J.C. Cervantes is one of those books that has a beautiful, magical cover, but it is also a lovely story.

The main character, Harlow, had her life completely turned upside down. In response, she flees New York for the family flower farm in Mexico. This begins Harlows journey of learning more about the family secret and discovering her true self.

I loved the characters in this story so much! Harlow was likable and her love interest, Ben, was so sweet, but there was also a vast array of amazing side characters. Harlow’s large family was close-knit and had the kinds of relationships that others dream of. Ben’s grandparents were equally amazing. The story was predictable, but I think this is the kind of book people tend to grab when they want a comforting story so that’s okay!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the opportunity to review an e-audiobook of The Enchanted Hacienda.

Harlow is fired from her job and breaks up with her boyfriend. She heads down to her family’s flower farm in Mexico to recover. Harlow’s mother and sisters harness the magic in the flowers on their farm and Harlow is the only woman in their family that doesn’t have these powers. There was a lot of magic realism with a decent amount of romance. Harlow has plenty of unsureness and worries that follow her around. I enjoyed the character of Ben. I thought he and Harlow were great together and both relatable. The writing flowed along but I was a little confused on what period of time this story took place. This was a story about family, romance and finding one’s true self.

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.