Thanks for the opportunity to read this one. I loved the last book these two wrote together but unfortunately I struggled to connect with this one.

The setting is beautiful and I love a cosy fantasy but I wasn’t connecting with either of the characters. They just fell flat to me.

I’m putting this down to personal taste as the book was otherwise good!

I requested a digital ARC of Homegrown Magic based entirely on the gorgeous and cozy vibe of the cover. This is a strategy that has failed me as many times as not, but judging the book by the cover worked out beautifully in this particular case. (Shout out to the cover artist- Jo Anne Metsch- this cover is SO GOOD.)

This is the story of Yael, the spoiled heir of a banking family, and Margot, a talented plant witch. They were childhood friends who unexpectedly meet up one evening years later when Yael decides to take a break from their family's lofty expectations.

This cozy, queer, fantasy romance ticks so many boxes for me as a reader. Margot and Yael have great chemistry, and are both really likable characters, so I was all in from about Chapter 2. There is magic. There is suspense and treachery. There are beautiful gardens, enchanted jams, and fun side characters. There are even mechanical horses. Need I say more? Once I started, this was a fun and quick read. The writing was very engaging and Margot and Yael's story has a lot of heart. I really, really enjoyed Homegrown Magic.

Thanks to Del Rey for the advanced reader's copy. I will definitely be looking up some of the backlist of Jamie Paxton and Rebecca Podos. I highly recommend this book for anyone that loves a cozy fantasy.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really loved this one! I am not the best at writing reviews sometimes, but sometimes books take you by surprise and this one did just that. I got invested a few chapters in and couldn't put it done. It was so good! I highly recommend this one. Becca is one of my favorites and I am so glad I was able to get an ARC of this one. I loved it so much!

I've read one other of Pacton's and I enjoyed it, though I thought the plot was a bit too easy. This one however, drags. It's only around 350 pages yet feels like 600. I also wasn't fond of the weird made up nonbinary terms. It felt like it was shoving down my throat that nonbinary people do indeed exist, in a weird, uncomfortable way. I believe there's ways to introduce queer and trans characters to a book, and to continue referring to them, but this did not hit that mark. I don't have anything remarkable to say about this, unfortunately.

This was a very cozy fantasy book! The story was straightforward and an easy book to finish and read by the fireplace during the winter.

I really liked the elements of D&D! If you're looking for a calming read, I recommend picking this up!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Del Ray Publisher for providing me with this eARC!

In Homegrown Magic, Yael Clauneck is escaping oppressive life under their rich capitalist parents, while Margot Greenwillow tries to keep a small business in a small town afloat. The two met many years ago, and their paths cross again as Yael comes to Margot's town and offers to help in exchange for room and board. Over the course of this story, they reconnect and deal with rekindled emotions while uncovering the connection Yael's family has to Margot's town and how, really, to make the potion Margot's grandmother had been working on.

This was peak cozy fantasy - it read like sharing headcanons with my own D&D friends, especially with the nods Pacton and Podos make to tropes and roles from fantasy roleplaying games. The plot is relatively straightforward and relies more on how revelations affect the characters' relationship with one another, which I prefer from this genre. However, sometimes the D&D elements felt too on the nose - as much as I love a warlock, Yael's patron sometimes felt intrusive, particularly after Yael and Margot's fight. For the amount of time that passes during the book, things feel quick-paced, with weeks and months between chapters. The timeline could have been compacted or else filled out more, but as it was (and with a sequel coming), it made for a very enjoyable and easy comfort read.

I really enjoyed Yael and Margot’s story. The alternating POV chapters kept me engaged all the way through to the end. Even though I knew somehow things would work out in this cozy story, I still worried for Margot and Bloomfield. I rooted for Yael to realize they didn’t have to follow the family path. Overall, it was a sweet, romantic story and I’ll happily read another book from this world.

A cozy sapphic romantasy! Plant magic has to be one of my favorite types of magic just based on the entire concept of it. Margot is just a woman with a rough life, trying to help preserve the memory of her grandmother while finding her way in the world. Yael has to be one of the least self-aware characters ever, but with the heart of a golden retriever. Overall, this gave farming simulation vibes and I'm not mad about it. Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to arc read this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The romance was so sweet. I love how this book is inclusive and queer. It's a charming, cozy fantasy with unique characters that I'm sure fans of romance will enjoy.

Homegrown Magic is a cozy, queer adventure that’s as charming as a cottage garden. Yael, a nonbinary character escaping their stuffy family, reconnects with childhood friend Margot, a plant witch who's being blackmailed by Yael’s parents. Together, they brew potions, dodge drama, and communicate like actual adults (a refreshing change).

It’s a sweet, low-stakes story where the romance is heartwarming, the magic is fun, and the representation is effortless. The writing is a tad wordy, but if you like lush descriptions and easygoing vibes, you’ll love it. It’s like the Sims 4 Cottagecore expansion, but in book form.

What a beautiful cozy fantasy! The world was rich and magical, and the romance sparkled. The plot had just enough suspense, and a happy ending of course.

Margot is a plant witch living keeping her grandmother’s memory alive in a cozy close-knit community she loves, but she’s hiding a huge secret. Yael is the heir to one of the most powerful families in the realm, but they aren’t satisfied with their life and feel like something is missing. When they happen to stumble across their childhood friend Margot, their life changes for the better, but they will have to work together to save the town they both love and reconnect in the process.

Cute and definitely hits the cozy mark, but ultimately this is just a decent witchy romance in my opinion. I thought the transition between the two authors’ writing was pretty seamless and the writing overall is good without much of the cringey dialogue you sometimes get in this genre. I wish the magic felt more immersive rather than a sprinkle on top of the story, and I wish the theme of what you have to give up for magical power was explored a little further. If you like cozy, cute romantasy and want a queer-normative story with a non-binary love interest, then this book is a great pick.

Thanks to the authors and Netgalley for this ARC! All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

I received this as an eARC and it was a highly anticipated read for me. I’m still debating on whether it should be 4. The reason to my hesitation is mostly due to the characters financial background and my own.

Having grown up struggling with money etc I felt like Yael could rub me the wrong way or I’d feel kinda bothered and annoyed. I do love the queer rep, huge reason I wanted this book and I’ll still buy it lol but I can say the money dynamic def changed some of the cozy factor for me at least

Give me all your queer, cozy, fantasy stories now! A delight to read that I am giving a 4 out of 5 stars. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This story is the cottagecore queer story of your dreams. Give me jams and "there's only one bed" and childhood crush to lovers tropes galore.

There are frequent time skips in the story that feel a bit jarring (ha pun!) at times which makes the overall pacing of the story feel rushed at times but also dragging on. I think maybe there could have been some gentler transitions, where there was a word montage or little side story to fill in those gaps. Additionally, despite the fact that at the start of the story Margot establishes that she has 6 months to make a particular potion to save the day, she doesn't actually really seem to do any work on it until the last 6 weeks of the story when Yael conveniently is out of the picture.

Despite this, I still absolutely enjoyed reading this story and watching Margot grow into the Fancy Business Lady of your dreams with Yael being her forever cheerleader and breaking free of their family's chains.

Tea, cottage, food, gardening, romance- could it get more cozy? No- and I’m thankful for it! Loved this story, these characters, the nonbinary representation! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me an arc in exchange for an honest opinion/ review, all thoughts are my own!

3.25 stars

Yael runs away from their rich person life and ends up at their childhood friend Margot's greenhouse. Margot has to create a specific potion before Yael's family takes away the rest of her grandmother's legacy.

I adore cozy fantasies, and this had all the makings of being a favorite. Unfortunately, it didn't quite hit the mark. Which sucks, because I've previously enjoyed both authors' work - separately and together.

The pacing is weird in this one. It starts off interesting and then there's a two-month time skip over all where all tension and getting to know each other again, developing the feelings part would have been. Where the found family aspect could have come in as Yael is shown to be adopted by the town, but instead all of that is skipped over. But where the time jump picks up, it just feels like it's still missing all of that development. And it stayed slow from there. Though Yael and Margot are supposed to be adults, they read like teenagers. Which made it weird to get to the spice. If this had been a YA and maybe shortened a bit, I'd probably have enjoyed it more.

I loved the atmosphere of the town. I really enjoyed the side characters and would have preferred to see more of them in the found family sense. I loved the queernormative world.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

A delightful queer romantic fantasy full of friends-to-lovers chemistry, found family, rival family drama, and cozy garden magic from two acclaimed YA authors making their debut in the adult space.

DNF'd at 10%. I just couldn't buy into the universe the authors were crafting. It was too fantastical for me - I like a little more realism in my magic, apparently. I trust that someone looking for a cozy read would love this - I may even give it another go once it's published.

What a wonderful cozy, queer romantasy! I read this one sitting and was left with just the warmest feeling after - I absolutely adored the relationship between Yael and Margot and thought there was the perfect amount of plot/ stakes to balance the coziness and cottagecore vibes. I enjoyed the conversation around family expectations and how to manage your own path around that, especially in Yael’s storyline, and especially with a touch of anti capitalism themes as well. Overall, I’d highly recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Legends & Lattes, The Spellshop, or just readers who are looking for queer romantasy with a touch of spice, an easy to sink into world and characters you can really root for.

It's a fun fluffy book, similar vibes to house in the cerulean sea. I love both the protagonists and their relationship is adorable. Would definitely recommend!