I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

While I enjoyed the cute romance and friendships developed in the first book of the series, I was not inspired by the darker plot of the second.

This is such a feel good read that leans more to the side of paranormal than contemporary so it's perfect for lovers of fantasy that need a break from high fantasy. The characters are likeable and the plot moves along quickly. I really enjoy the transition of high school to post-high school and the questions on relationships and destiny that this book brought up.

DNF

Amber's narrative voice charmed me in the first book, but I'm struck by all the girl hate and judgment she has now, and I'm no longer finding her witty. The constant jealousy towards Kim gets old fast, and her loathing of Ivy, without coming fresh off the justification (presumably in book one) feels cruel.

The second book was an entertaining follow-up to the first. Amber learns that Charlie's match is her new best friend, Kim. Ivy is more fleshed out in this sequel - major plot point develop around her and it was refreshing to learn more about her and her siren family. Amber also matures in this book as she learns more about her matchmaking magic and the value of choice. Overall, I recommend this as a purchase in libraries.

“The Sweetest Kind of Fate” is a fun follow-up to the original “Windy City Magic.” It is a quick and light read perfect for fans of magical realism. While there are some intense scenes in terms of magical creatures, there are very few curse words or sexual situations of any kind, making it a good choice for younger readers of the ya genre.

The Sweetest Kind of Fate by Crystal Cestari is one of those sweet young adult novels with a twist. The twist being the magical fantasy element in this series. Yes, it threads throughout the story, but I think the theme of jealousy held strong from the very first page. I enjoyed reading it from Amber's perspective, but she annoyed me at times for her assumptions! So what if her "gift" haven't failed her yet? A story about stepping out of one's own preconceived idea of how life will be versus living it as you want to. There are moments that seems illogical and the end was anti-climatic leading me to believe there is a possibility to a third book. Though, I still think this can be read as a standalone novel. In all, I find The Sweetest Kind of Fate have its moments of sweetness and whimsy that brings a smile to readers.

Disclaimer: I received a digital ARC copy of this book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and have not been compensated for this. This is my honest opinion.

THE SWEETEST KIND OF FATE is an excellent follow up to THE BEST KIND OF MAGIC. With high school drama and first love, this reads like a young adult contemporary romance at times. With excellent characters and exciting paranormal aspects, THE SWEETEST KIND OF FATE is a perfect read if you're looking for something light with a bit of a fantasy vibe.

Having read THE BEST KIND OF MAGIC, I knew to expect a fluffy, YA contemporary feel. Since it was expected, I was totally into it! Throughout the book, Amber is dealing with her feelings for Charlie, his supposed match (per her visions when she looks into his eyes) and what to do about them since she doesn't believe she is ever wrong. Plus, there's there plot line with Ivy and Iris, which turns out to be a bit emotionally deeper than expected. But everything really comes back to the central question of true love and whether you're fated to be with one person.

Though there's a lot going on in THE SWEETEST KIND OF FATE, this book feels more cohesive than THE BEST KIND OF MAGIC. Whether it was because there was less introduction to do, or the plot just flowed better, the story seemed less all over the place. Plus, there was way less telling from Amber's internal monologue. Instead, we just got some super witty, sarcastic narration from her!

Definitely a highlight of these two books are the characters. Cestari creates some great multi-dimensional characters who feel real for their ages. Amber acts like the high schooler that she is! Which means that sometimes she feels a little prone to being a drama queen, but....she's a teenager - what do you expect?

THE SWEETEST KIND OF FATE is certainly a very enjoyable book, and I'm eager to see where Amber's path goes. Definitely recommend this one, but do read THE BEST KIND OF MAGIC first, as this one really builds on it.

This was adorable and it got even better than the first. Very enjoyable.

Okay, so I will say that unfortunately, I just wasn't as crazy about this book as I hoped I would be. This doesn't mean that I didn't like it though (because I really did!) but just that compared to the first book, it was a little bit of a let-down.

So this time, instead of just having one main storyline (Amber being a matchmaker who falls for a boy who already has a match) there are two: the impending marriage of Iris to a mermaid (which would require Iris to turn into a mermaid) *and* the "matchmaker in love with a boy who has a different match. And while I think that the first part with Iris and the fact that it centered around an LGBTQIA+ couple was amazing and all kinds of awesome (!), I just felt like the way Amber was handling her situation was really immature. Amber spends so much time believing that Kim and Charlie were a definite couple, that she doesn't even stop to realize that that's not even *close* to what's going on in reality.

Also, while the conclusion to the story was okay, it didn't leave any room for another book in the series, which kind of also bummed me out because even though I heard that it was only supposed to be a two-book series, I guess I got my hopes up in the possibility that the author might continue it!

Overall, I would give this book four stars (because there were a lot of other parts that I enjoyed) but I would only mainly recommend this book to younger YA readers, mainly because the older ones will definitely be able to see through the sugar coating! (See what I did there? ... Because Amber is also a wannabe baker? No? Oh, well ...)

'The Sweetest Kind of Fate' is the second installment in a fun YA paranormal series that fans of the genre are sure to love. I definitely recommend reading the first book in the series before this one - it's not completely dependent on it, but will give inside perspective and you'll be in the know about what's been happening. I'm always immediately drawn to any book that has to do with magic and witches, so this was a no brainer for me.

The plot was interesting and full of little surprises. I liked getting to know the characters better - especially Amber and Charlie. Their romance is sugary sweet and normally would be a bit over the top for my taste, but I surprisingly enjoyed it. Even though her magic says that he's destined to be with another girl, I found myself totally rooting for them as a couple. The secondary characters got a little more depth, although I think they could be more rounded. One thing I loved was the different kinds of supernaturals throughout the story - witches, sirens, mermaids, vampires, werewolves, and everything in between.

Overall, this was a pretty light and quick read that was fun and quirky. I really enjoyed it and I'm happy that it was just as good as the first in the series. I definitely recommend it to fans of YA, fantasy, paranormal, and romance.

This book was pretty good
I loved the idea behind it, the characters were so well done. An excellent follow up to the first in the series. Can't wait to read more by this author!

<i>Happy endings do not always stem from seamless beginnings. Life is not linear; there's not one straight path. Mistakes and misfortunes are part of the game; the Fates certainly see to it. Love is a surrender, giving in to the unknown and hoping for the best. But no matter how much we stumble and fall, we eventually find our way.

I've found mine.</i>

Again, I LOVE THIS SO MUCH! I started reading this right after I finished the first book because I DESPERATELY WANTED TO KNOW IF CHARLIE AND AMBER GET THEIR HAPPILY EVERLY AFTER.

(Looklooklookatthecover. SO. CUTE. And huge bonus: it looks so good together with the cover of the first book!)

Amber keeps pushing Charlie away and I was like, ?sdfafasda???? why are you doing this girl? He's the man of your dreams! But she insists that she wants what's best for Charlie and aghhh it was really annoying and kind of pissed me off because they are adorable together and she is just throwing their relationship away :((

I'm so glad to see the huge bully from the first book, Ivy, and Amber start to understand and accept each other. Amber helps Ivy even after what she did to her in the past, and I really admire her for doing it!

There are also a lot of magical / mythical? creatures in this book, like mermaids and sirens and witches and werewolves and vampires and trolls. SO FREAKING COOL. (YES, MAGICAL REALISM IS DEFINITELY MY THING.)

I didn't like this as much as the first book, because 1. Amber keeps pushing Charlie away and 2. the ending feels kind of rushed? (+ WILL THERE BE A THIRD BOOK IN THE SERIES BECAUSE I NEED MORE AMBER + CHARLIE)

<b>Overall rating</b>

★★★★

THIS IS SO GOOD. I highly recommend this to fans of fantasy and contemporary YA (because fantasy + contemporary = magical realism, right?) + Crystal Cestari, if you're reading this, please tell me - IS THERE GOING TO BE A THIRD BOOK?

I really enjoyed the first book in this series. I thought Amber was such a delightful character. Unfortunately, I felt like she wasn’t quite as delightful this time around. I think some of that centers around her jealousy of another character. It was just kind of annoying and immature. I mean, what did she expect to happen? I just feel like she should have had more foresight and done something about it.

Amani and Kim were great secondary characters even if we didn’t get to see too much of Kim. Charlie seemed a lot less present in this book than in the last one. His relationship with Amber is kind of weird for me though. Because she knows that he’s not her match, so I don’t really understand how she can justify feeling jealous or why she thinks that their relationship will last.

The plot itself was interesting, but I felt like it got pushed to the side at times to deal with Amber’s drama. There seemed to be an overarching theme of “love” throughout the book and the author hit it pretty hard a few times–I’m just not exactly sure why. It almost felt like this book had some kind of deeper meaning, but if it did, it went over my head.

Overall, this book was still pretty good, but not as good as the first in my opinion. I still love the descriptions of Chicago and all the baked goods, but there were just some other things that weren’t quite as enjoyable.

Overall Rating: 3
Language: None
Violence: Moderate
Smoking/Drinking: Mild
Sexual Content: Mild

The Sweetest Kind of Fate picks up where we left off. Amber is much more comfortable with her inabilities as a witch and her ability as a matchmaker. Although she continues to struggle with in her relationship with Charlie and seeing his “True” match.

I like Amber. She is your typical teenager, working towards her dream of getting into Culinary school. Which she really does work hard at it, having three jobs that keep her busy but help her for experience toward her goal. I still like her close relationship with her mom. Maybe they don’t always see eye to eye. Mainly the amount her mom reveals about her past to her. Even though she might not be talking about it, they are able to have a conversation where her mom says, hey this is something I don’t want to talk or tell you about.

Lots more teen angst. As Amber struggles with her friendship with her boyfriends match. She finds herself pulling away. Unable to deal with the constant visions that feel like they are being thrown in her face. I don’t think you can really blame her on how hard that can be. It also strains her friendship with bff Amani. I felt like everything happening though was a natural course. You could see where everyone was coming from in the situation. Yes maybe there is some overreacting but it wasn’t out of the realm of normal human emotions. It was all very natural.

I like this books other plot. Which is dealing with the supernatural transformation of a siren to a mermaid. There is of course drama involved in because of who is making the transformation. Also the resurgence of nemesis Victoria. So there is a bit of mystery involving that, especially tying into her mother’s past.

I love Amani. I would love to see a book featuring her POV. I think it would be really interesting.

The Sweetest Kind of Fate is a great mix of witchcraft, cuteness and drama. I really enjoyed this installment.

Excellent follow up to the series. A great mix of happy, heart and fun. You won't be disappointed.

Another cute installment in this series! I love the Windy City Magic store and all of the paranormal happenings around Chicago. Amber is approached by her enemy, Ivy, because her sister, Iris, is going to be married... to a mermaid. Once matchmaker Amber confirms that the mermaid is Iris's match, a loooot of ~bad things~ are set in motion with a certain enemy of the family. Meanwhile, Amber can't get over the fact that Charlie's match is the new girl, Kim. This causes a lot of problems and tension in the friend group.

This book wasn't AS enjoyable for me as the first one because Amber annoyed me for more of the book than I hoped. She does a good job of communicating sometimes, which is great compared to other books, but there were plenty of other times I thought she could be more honest and have better results. The last chapter was a bit cheesy and super heavy-handed with the morals and messages for multiple pages. However, I love these characters (overall) and the concept too much! I liked the addition of mermaids and werewolves in this one, plus Amber figuring out her future. We learn a bit more about Amber's mom in this book too, which was really interesting. She's kind of an enigma while still being around for all of Amber's antics. I hope if this series continues, we see more of Ivy and Amber as their relationship grows. There are a lot of directions the author could go with another book!

I really enjoyed the first and second books in the Windy City Magic series. Some parts are quite cheesy, especially the ones with Charlie, but the storyline is interesting enough to me that I kept reading anyway. I like how there is a more complex storyline in the second book including Iris’ journey to becoming a mermaid. I got angry at Amber when she used her matchmaking visions to justify breaking up with Charlie, because she couldn’t know that her visions would always be right - and spoiler, they weren’t! Besides that I really enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading a third book if there will be one and seeing if Amber gets into culinary school.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book absolutely warmed my heart and would be such a fantastic book for new readers growing into YA as well as anyone feeling a slump coming on. It's just so whimsical with the magic and simple to read being set in our world with pop culture references made that we all know.

The characters, lessons and relationships are adorable and healthy. They promote cherishing these things as well as give the tools on how to deal with bumps in the road. Amber battles to keep those relationships healthy and at the centre of who she is. We find out about her mother's past but Amber pushed forward to support how good her mother has become. She continues to do that with her co-worker Bob in the magic shop. She also really emphasized that fact that it's okay to have an argument and say sorry admitting you were wrong.

The romances are so sweet in this. Brooke and Iris had very little screentime together but I couldn't help but root for them and love them. They just have so much passion for each other and it made my eyes water.
The beginning with Charlie and Amber was so hard to read since we know she is working against fate but you cannot possible imagine how things will change. I did struggle with the ending of this though. The book emphasized that matches are like the end game and it doesn't just change however the conclusion just left me really underwhelmed with the "she decided to fight fate" explanation. I actually kind of liked how the ending came together for the romance. It gave the book a realistic touch to the relationship that could sometimes come off as cheesy (or chickflick-ey).

I loved that the side characters got so much screentime. Amani is a particular favourite of mine and she finally stops putting off "fate" in a way that seemed right for her character. It wasn't overly cheesy making her seem like a totally different character.

The comedy is hilarious. Amber has a near identical inner monologue that I do with sarcasm. That plus her antisocial tendencies and love of baking just kept making me see myself in her more and more!

I found the ending battle to be pretty anti-climactic--it seemed almost rushed or half attempted. There's a lot of build up and tons of history and threats of magical capabilities yet it was over in a few pages in a pretty clean way. I assume this is the conclusion of this series but I feel like there were a few things left unwrapped up. They were minor details so maybe they were forgotten?

The cover design is absolutely beautiful and I loved how the design kept going inside the book at the beginning of each chapter.

There are some pretty impressive and memorable lines in this book (especially in the last 20 pages) but my favourite has got to be:
"They say that all's fair in love and war, but for that to be true, you need to be part of the crusade."

I enjoyed the first book in this series, it was a cute quick read, so I was excited to see that the series was going to continue. I love that the book takes place in Chicago (where I"m from) so it's so easy for me to picture all the places that the characters visit. Just like in the last book, this book was a quick fluffy read. It's fun with all the supernatural creatures. There's a touch of romance that doesn't get much past PG which makes this series great to take on book talks to Junior Highs. I love all things witchy and this is a perfect little edition to that genre. The characters are likable, and the dialog between them seems to mirror the way I hear teens talk in my library. I was able to "sell" teens on reading the first book, and I don't think I'll have a problem doing that with this book, especially with the extra sell of mermaids.