I'm definitely one of the black sheep when it comes to Wild Beauty. Despite every attempt to love this book, I struggled to get through it. 

This is one of those books where the prose is gorgeous. . . but it covered up flat characters. My biggest problem with Wild Beauty is that I couldn't care less about the characters. They were beautifully created. I can't speak to the bisexual rep in this book as I don't identify as such so take the fact that I loved it with a grain of salt. There's such a strong family theme as well which I don't see often enough in YA so more points to you, Wild Beauty. 

Yet I couldn't tell you who my favorite character was. I couldn't tell you which one I shipped with that one. I couldn't tell you what I loved about them. Because I never connected with these characters. I never felt anything for them, became invested in them. I've said this with other books in the past and I'll say it again with this one: if I can't connect with the characters, I won't enjoy the book. It's who I am as a reader. And I couldn't get behind these characters enough to care what happened to them.

To be fair, not that much really happened in this book. It just plods along with all the flowery description but little action until the end where there's some attempt at making it a cohesive flowing story when there wasn't much to go off of. I guess I never got the point of this book. I like a story that has an end goal. The heroine completes her quest. The prince takes down the empire. You know that there's an end of some kind, a task to be completed. Perhaps it's more a personal preference but I don't like stories that are more. . . open. 

With that, I want to fall into the book. I want to feel the magic. And I actually really liked the world of Wild Beauty -- or at least what it could have been. The idea of this family of 5 women in each generation rooted to this home where they grow flowers, that just intrigues me. But while there's this magic going on, I wasn't grounded in the world. There was plenty of description but not enough detail, if that makes sense. It comes back to the writing style. Lots of flowery language but not necessarily substance. 

When it comes down to it, this book bored me. I contemplated DNFing a few times because it just didn't hold my attention. I need more action in a book BUT it doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend this book. If you don't need as much action and are looking for a book with rich family themes and an amazing diverse cast of characters, then I think you'll really enjoy this book. For me, it just wasn't what I was expecting and I ended up being disappointed.

This book had beautiful and lovely writing. But I just didn't connect with the story and characters as I would like to have. I loved the beginning when Fel appears and doesn't know who he is, though!

Well, this was an unexpected read. I swear YA books are breaking from their stereotypical molds. Wild Beauty was nothing like I expected. It features a story wherein loving someone too much can literally cause them to disappear. The premise alone was enticing enough to pique my interest.

The writing style is unique. At first I felt out of my element because the structure and the way Wild Beauty was written is not what I'm used to in YA books. Given that this book tackles magic realism, I suppose that explains for the alienated feeling. It also features a little bit of Spanish which I absolutely loved. It added a lot of uniqueness and made this book stand out more than it already did.

The plot is about an estate that's run by girls, their mothers, and their grandmothers. They are known to have magical powers that make the land fruitful and beautiful. However, they are cursed because they can neither leave their land (they'll die if they do) nor can they reproduce because there are no males present... until now. To avoid spoilers, I'll leave it at that.

I felt a lot of mixed feelings reading this so I'll be listing them and provide a brief explanation!
•Uneasiness. The peculiarities of the book made me feel uneasy because it's something new, so naturally I was apprehensive in reading it in fear that I would have just wasted my time.
•Impressed. Again, I had low expectations for this book because it wasn't the cookie cutter YA book but I can't dent that I was impressed with the mastery of writing style and keeping me wanting more of the story!
•Boredom. The pacing paid a lot of attention to details and internal monologues coupled with backstories in the middle of certain chapters so there were parts that I skimmed because I was looking forward to getting back to the dialogue.
•Satisfaction. Overall I was very satisfied with how this book turned out because it made me step out of my comfort zone when it comes to genres. I normally don't read magic realism and LGBT books but I can say that I'm glad I picked this up and finished it!

Wild Beauty is a wonderful mixture of wonder and reality that mastered the art of making its readers feel at home while flying.

It is set to be released on 3 October 2017.

4.5/5 STARS!!

If I could use only one word to describe this book it would be beautiful. This tale, the characters, the writing - everything about this story was absolutely beautiful.

This was my first time reading a book written by Anna-Marie McLemore even though I have had When The Moon Was Ours on my TBR for a long time. Thanks to Netgalley, I was offered an eARC by the publishers and finally got around to exploring Anna's writing style - I have got to say I immediately fell in love with it. I am aware that although her descriptive writing style may not be up to everyone's tastes, I would still recommend giving this story a go purely because of the amazingly crafted characters! Fans of Laini Taylor would especially enjoy her writing style in my opinion ♥️

I loved the dual POV from Estrella and FEL OMG - MY HEART GOES OUT TO THIS BOY Y'ALL!! I loved his chapters soooo much!! He was such a mystery to me and (to himself sigh) but I especially loved the romance ahhhh my fangirling heart is content :) I also loved the diversity and lgbt representation in this story - I personally haven't come across many books with bisexual representatives before but I'll definitely keep my eye out for more in the future!

I normally get bored by the information dump about history or background in novels, but for some reason I was really interested in the history of the Nomeolvides women and wasn't bored. The bond between the cousins and Fel's opinions of himself really touched my heart and it was just such a nice tale, I would say it definitely lived up to my expectations since this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year!

I have only read a few books with the themes of magical realism before but I think this genre is really growing on me! I really enjoyed the magical aspects and the fact that everything came into a full circle in the end :') If you're looking a heartwarming and mysterious tale that will hold your interest right till the end, then make sure to pick this one up ♥️

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and Feiwel & Friends Candlewick for the ARC, Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore. I just love the way Anna-Marie McLemore writes, the title for this third novel is perfect! There is such gorgeous worldbuilding with the gardens of the Nomeolvides women consisting of grandmothers, mothers, and cousins who are bound to the land of La Pradera where to leave is to die. The flowers, their colors, their beauty (and magic) Estrella and her cousins nurture was also a restrictive world where generations of Nomeolvides women have been cursed and their lovers (male or female) were punished by disappearing forever. Estrella and her cousins, Azalea, Gloria, Calla, and Dalia are all fiercely in love with Bay Briar, whose grandmother owned the lands and gardens of LaPradera. Would their gifts to LaPradera spare Bay from their venomous hearts? Estrella finds a boy who has no memory of who he is or where he comes from. Together, the Nomeolvides women decide this boy, Fel, is a gift - maybe he is going to save LaPredera and hopefully bring back their lovers. They all decide to love him as a brother. So begins McLemore’s stunning novel with her special kind of magical realism in plot, setting, imagery, dialogue, and language. This book was lush, full of confusion, lies, secrets and the drama of families, loss, and love. I could not put down this mesmerizing world of flowers, willful Nomeolvides women, Fel’s grasping for memories and loving the Nomeolvides women. Highly recommended!

A beautifully written book about 5 cousins whose family can't leaver La Padera or they will die. These remarkable young women can grow the flower of their name sake at will. The cousins and their mothers live together tending the garden and are determined never to fall in love. For if they do their loved one will disappear forever.

I loved the magical realism and LGBTQ touch.

McLemore's writing only gets better and better. The story is lush and magical and the characters are fully realized and memorable.

I loved the cover of this book, one of the most beautiful I've ever seen, and was excited to read it due to the great reviews I saw on goodreads, but just couldn't get into it-- it was too offbeat for me and not the kind of "love story" I enjoy... But thank you for the opportunity!

What a gorgeous book. Lush and magical the story of Nomeolvides women living on the beautiful estate of La Pradera that enchants anyone who goes there. the author is so descriptive you feel as if you can really see this grand estate. The women that live here although magical have secrets . Anyone they ever love disappears . A mysterious boy appears one day and as he pieces together his past the story of La Pradera's dark past and the Nomeoelvides women come to light. you will get lost in the pages of this beautiful enchanting book.

This book was glorious. I went in having heard great things about Anna Marie McLemore and nervous that she wouldn't live up to the hype but this exceeded my expectations and has me excited to go out and buy her other books!

In the YouTube link below my review begins at 9 minutes and 22 seconds.

If i had to describe this story in one word, it would be "beautiful".. Beautiful language, beautiful characters and a beautiful setting. Few authors can make a setting seem so lush and real. It's almost another character in the story, and not just because it hapoens to be magical. The characters are interesting and unique, and I love the strength of the female characters and their bonds.
I can see some readers shying away because of the issues of sexuality addressed. I hope those who would be offended will accept the lesbian theme as integral to the story, not gratuitous or gimmicky. It is not addressed explicitly. It simply exists in the story, which in my opinion is the way good writing should address controversial themes. Shying away from this novel because it features a subplot of women in love with women would be a mistake. It is a beautiful celebration of love in all its forms, including romantic and familial.

This book was incredible, very, very lush. I tried to savor this title but I couldn't help myself and read as fast as I could. Everything from the family descriptions and characterizations to the descriptions of the gardens and flowers themselves was breathtaking. The heartbreak that you experience reading this feels so real and fierce. This book had me captivated till the very end. Highly recommend.

Anna-Marie is such an incredible author. I love how whimsical her stories are and how beautifully poetic her writing is. Her sensory descriptions are so good at world building and making you feel like you are experiencing the story along with the characters! This book was another gorgeous tale of family, relationships, magic and beauty. Although some parts were a bit slow, it was the slow burn that sucks you in and keeps you excited to see what happens next. The characters were well developed and I love that McLemore's characters are always grey. There are no purely good or purely bad characters in her books and she lets the readers decide how to perceive their motivations.
I would definitely recommend this book, especially to someone who has enjoyed other works by the author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing/Feiwel & Friends for the eARC of <i>Wild Beauty</i>.

<i>Wild Beauty</i> is the story of the Nomeolvides women, grandmothers, mothers, and daughters (5 in each generation) who have "flowers in their hands" and live in La Pradera, a former waste that their powers with plants have transformed into Eden. The women have been called witches in the outside world, but here prove that their powers create beauty and fecundity (and money for the rich family who own the land). The catch is that they can't leave (on pain of death, choked by pollen) and that their lovers disappear. For Estrella, the daughter we follow most closely, this is her life until Bay, the girl she and her cousins love disappears and Fel, a boy from who knows where shows up and things start to change.

A disclaimer before I really get into the review. This book just didn't grab me - it took me almost a month to read, and I really had to power through the last section. I think it is more a case of not for me than truly bad, but I didn't enjoy this one as much as I thought I would based on the interesting premise.

Here's what I did like - the beginning is interesting. I liked my first steps into La Pradera and wondering what the mysteries surrounding these women were. The flowery (literally) language also landed better at the beginning of the book, and really did allow me to imagine this place. Unfortunately, things dragged in the middle and a the end of this one for me. The book was too slow to make me want to get back to it. I also felt that the characters were treated too much like groups - the 5 grandmothers and mothers had almost no character development and the 5 cousins had only barely more. We know Estrella and some other details about a few of the cousins, but I still felt like I didn't KNOW them. Ultimately, I felt the world building was lacking too. There was a definite sence of place in La Pradera (the best aspect of the book), but there wasn't a good sense of time or of what the outside world might be like. That just didn't work for me.

Overall, I can see why people might be enchanted by La Pradera and the Nomeolvides women, but the worldbuilding an increasingly repetitive language fell flat for me. For better world building and more luscious language, try Laini Taylor and for a pseudo-Spain but kinda fantasy setting, try Rae Carson's <i>Fire and Thorns<i/> series.

I savored this beautiful book as much as I could, but I couldn't hold myself and devoured in half way through to the end. Gorgeous, true magical realism. Such luscious writing it felt like swimming in a pool of sensory indulgence. We Need Diverse Books like this, authentic, honest, and gorgeous. I'll read everything Anna-Marie writes forever and ever.
Thank you for the copy, Netgalley!

Anna-Marie McLemore straight up writes some of the most beautiful stories I've ever read. I don't read a lot of magical realism--but I always have to pick up her new novels. Her storytelling and descriptive language is so lush and lovely--the cover matches the essence perfectly.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read.

The kind of book you have to experience for yourself. The writing was beautiful and holy crap the bisexual rep is just fantastic. I'm definitely looking into trying other books by this author now.

"Even in its first faint traces, love could alter a landscape. It wrote unimagined stories and made the most beautiful, forbidding places. Love grew such strange things."

Nothing I say can do this novel justice. This was (surprisingly) my first Anna-Marie McLemore novel despite the fact that I own her first two books (oops) and it goes without saying that she's made her mark on my list of auto-buy authors. I'm absolutely in love with WILD BEAUTY; you absolutely cannot miss this one.

WILD BEAUTY follows the Nomeolvides women, who have magical abilities to grow flowers from their hands. God, each of these women were so amazing, and the bisexual representation was unbelievable. I fall more and more in love with these ladies every time I think of them. Then, Fel appears in the gardens with no memory of who he is at all and Nomeolvides women discover the truth about their estate and estate.

This novel twists an element of mystery from the Briars and the Nomeolvides garden into the plot, which surprised me, but I can't complain at all. There's just the way that McLemore weaves such prominent visual imagery into every word she writes that makes this whole novel feel so magical.

This book is filled with love and gardens, magic and flowers. There's kissing and mysteries, and bisexual girls and beautiful familial bonds. My bi ass is completely enamored with this enchanting novel, and I cannot wait for all of you to read this. Anna-Marie McLemore's words are worthy of my tears, and I'm completely swept off my feet. You absolutely need to read this enchanting, magical realism book.

Huge thanks to Fierce Reads for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Quotes in the ARC are subject to change in the final copy.

If I had to rank the three books she has written so far this would be my least favorite (When the Moon Was Ours #1 with a bullet, Weight of Feathers close 2nd).

Her writing is lyrical, and I have so many sentences bookmarked because they are gorgeously lush. But somehow the characters never landed for me the way that they have in other books. I didn't feel like I connected with them quite enough.

So, still excellent and beautifully written, but not my favorite of hers - and not where I would start people with her.

I just couldn't get into this book. The characters did not draw me. I couldn't relate.