Amy Rose Capetta is becoming one of my go-to authors. I love her work and this story was absolutely brilliant. The writing was so beautiful and I couldn't put it down. I read it so quickly and I just want more from her. I especially love the inclusion and representation of her books.

Overall, the story of Danny joining the Grays and their search for their friend Imogen is well plotted and beautifully written. The point of view changes were clever and helped keep the somewhat frantic pace of the plot. The time jumps also deepened the readers understanding of the Grays interpersonal relationships much like flashbacks in the crime drama so that clues come together slowly but efficiently.

This book took me longer than expected to get through. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it but more that I found it hard to really lose myself in the story. While the premise is really intriguing, and the atmosphere all encompassing, the characters seemed much older than they really were which was jarring. Working in a high school, I see all sorts of teenagers at all levels of maturity and the Grays would have been more believable as college students, in my opinion. However, I am aware that the situations they are in truly make the most sense plot wise if there are parents and siblings directly on the periphery.

Will I still promote this through readers advisory and purchase a copy when I get the chance? Absolutely. Strong women, queer identities, and real friendships should be represented whenever possible and Capetta did a wonderful job creating a world where her characters can be themselves with others around for support.

Thank you to the publisher, Candlewick Press, and Net Galley for an ARC of The Lost Coast in exchange for a review!

This cover drew me to the novel instantly, and once I read the blurb I knew I had to read it! I love the colours and the simplicity of the illustrations. It transports you to somewhere magical and intriguing. Upon reading the blurb, and discovering that it is an LGBTQIA young adult novel, with witches and friendships and mystery, i was excited when my request was accepted. It has all the markings of a great book, especially given that it is so diverse.

Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into it. I’ve tried on multiple occasions and I finally I put down my Kindle and realised I would be DNFing it. I just didn’t understand fully what was happening. The POV changes too often between the characters, with not enough time given to each one to fully get to know them. Moreover, I felt the characters weren’t given enough of a voice for me to care about any of them very much. The pacing was bizarre - it jumped too much between POV’s, and I couldn’t figure out what the others were up to at any point in time. The time seemed to leap forward, and I found keeping track difficult.

I usually like whimsical-type novels, ones that give you that magical feeling of being somewhere new and exciting where you’re never entirely certain what’s going to happen, but The Lost Coast was perhaps too whimsical even for me. I’m sad that I didn’t get along with it, but I wouldn’t discourage others from reading it. The characters are diverse and probably interesting if you can get into it. The chapters are short and it makes for a quick read, with an intriguing premise.

Unfortunately it wasn’t for me..

This was one of those books that started off at a very quick pace but it slowly started to lose its steam toward the middle and went downhill from there.

I was instantly sold on the fact that this was about a diverse group of witches who didn't give a f**k. That they didn't let small minded people get in their way and that they did what pleases them. But the story was mediocre and very predictable. I don't think that you should rely heavily on having diverse characters because the story is what should hold it all together. The glue simply wasn't there for this.

What I enjoyed was how the trees felt and breathed life into this story. How they drew people to them. It was very eccentric in a way that made me want to read more about the Redwoods of California.

The downhill slope is what made this disappointing. It didn't keep up with the steady pace that it started with. Plus I was looking for something a tad bit more creepy and this had none of that. It was a modern-day crummier version of The Craft.

There are better witch books in the YA field. I would look elsewhere for that and maybe watch The Craft while you're at it.

The Lost Coast feels like it was written just for me. It features a spectrum of queerness, strong girls, a variety of relationships, and magic to boot. Capetta's writing pulled me in from page one and kept me there for the whole story. I can't wait for this to change teen girls' lives.

Wow, okay, where do I even begin? First of all, I am never one to pick up Fantasy. So, this was a first for me; but holy cow, am I glad I requested this book. I could not put it down once I started.

From page one, I was completely captivated by the writing. Amy Rose Capetta's writing is SO beautiful. Her metaphors were flawless, and just everything about the writing style is simply amazing.

The Lost Coast is about a girl, Danny, who moves to Tempest in Northern California with her mom after having a mischievous past in Michigan. She meets a group of girls who call themselves the Grays, and who happen to practice witchcraft. It turns out, the Grays cast a spell to bring Danny to them because they need help finding their friend, Imogen. Except, Imogen is physically present; she's just mentally missing. The story develops when Danny joins the Grays and tries to find out what happened to Imogen, and how to get her back.

The story is so whimsical with its magic and witchcraft elements. It shows beautiful character developments in Danny and the Grays, and has wonderful queer rep. I cannot wait for this book to come out. I will probably read it once or twice more until then.

I really enjoyed this story of eerie happenings in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Atmospheric, smart, tingly, and fun.

The Lost Coast. What a beneficial title. What a beneficial book. They are both so beautiful. Yet the inside is just so blah. I was so bored and didn’t care about what happened to any of them. Just didn’t care.

I want to thank Netgalley for providing me an Arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book.
I loved the character diversity in this book.
There was a lot of sexual and recital diversity in this book and that made me very happy.
The plot was really good but I only got truely hooked by the end of the book.
I loved it and gave it 4 stars.

Summary

This book follows the story of the Grays, a coven of witches that are searching for their missing friend Imogen. They find Danny, who has the power to help track their friend and hopefully find her. Along the way, Danny discovers more about herself and finds the truth can be hard to bear, while she fights to save those she has grown to care very much about.

Likes

I liked this one! I didn't love it but I enjoyed reading it. My main like is the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ elements. It's so present and done so well that I was like YES I NEEDED THIS. The characters are really open about discussing sexuality and gender identity and that was refreshing to see in a YA book. Danny is a soft-spoken character who knows absolutely nothing about witches and she is welcomed into the Grays like part of a family. I loved that feeling between all of the girls and it warmed my heart a little! I thought the plot was also intriguing and I couldn't stop reading! It's part mystery, part magic and it wound together these elements in a wonderful way. The twists had me on the edge of my seat and I found myself trying to figure out where the heck Imogen was the entire book! There were also humorous elements to the story and I found myself giggling at times because of the characters' humor and lightheartedness that was oh so catchy.

Dislikes

About all I disliked clearly with this book was the multiple POVs and time jumps. They were a little confusing to keep track of at times. One moment they were in present day, then a few years ago, etc. The multiple POVs worked for fleshing out parts of the story where the main characters were not there, but at times there were some POVs that I was like huh how did that add to the story? AKA a POV about the kids from the school, the ravens, etc. But all in all, it was a lovely and quick read!

Recommendation

I would recommend this book to fans of Amy as well as those who are looking for a unique LGBTQIA+ read!

This book just really wasn't for me. I was hoping for Wicked Deep vibes but honestly I was just disappointed.