Thank you Del Rey and Netgalley for the ARC!

This is a beautiful story about queer joy, finding yourself, and rejecting the traditions and expectations set by ones family. I cried, I laughed, and a large part of me was healed reading this.

I am going to say, I am a Jew. I don't agree with people saying this book is antisemitic, nothing about the books suggests it is. I believe a lot of people's personal opinions on the authors and their political stances are influencing their beliefs, as Podos has been bullied ruthlessly for standing up for what is right. This book was beautiful, any reference to Judaism (such as the name Yael) is done so respectfully. The villains are not jewish coded in my opinion (they don't have Jewish names and there are bad guys who work with money who aren't Jews, kinda weird that y'all assume someone working with money equals Jew), and I think people need to check their own biases.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I know that there are some valid concerns around certain narrative choices made in this book. However, I am not an appropriate voice to speak to them so I encourage anyone with concerns regarding antisemitic tropes to seek out other reviews.

For my part, I thought the book was light fare. I I understand that this is generally the way with regard to romantic novels and while I am not opposed to that low-stakes approach, I really *felt* it in this book. There were constant references to consequences and stakes and conflict that simply never materialized (that I think hinted at a much stronger book than this one). The Dark Moment in the romance was not very entertaining since it felt so unnecessary.

I like the idea, I love the cover. The authors seem so cool! I just left this story craving more.

I dnf’d this at 6%. Yeah that’s right. I barely got through chapter 2, that’s how awful this was for me. I could not care less about the main characters after reading one chapter from each of their POVs. Just a straight up no from me.

There is so many aspects of this book I loved. It was cozy. It gave you a solid problem and beautifully developing characters. The political parts and humanity issues were well done without being clunky. The part that I think I appreciated the most was that this world has issues but never made queerness feel like the big issue. That was refreshing to read and just be in this world with a beautiful love story conquering other problems while still being happy in their queerness. Thank you for this arc is it’s a perfect cozy spring read for those wanting fantasy, romance, and heartwarming tales with diverse characters.

Homegrown Magic was such a cute and cozy read!

Yael is the Clauneck heir and set to inherit their family business, but that is the last thing they want. Yael decides to run away from that life and is surprised to find themselves crossing paths with Margot, their childhood friend who they haven’t heard from in years. Margot is also struggling with her future plans. As a plant witch, she would love to keep her family home and business running. The only problem? The Claunecks and their claims to her home.

When I read the description for this book I was expected queer cottagecore romance and that’s exactly what I got. I loved reading Yael and Margot’s story and really enjoyed watching them rekindle their friendship. The romance progressed in a believable way and I think the pair complimented eachother. I loved village setting and all of the plant magic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for a review copy.

This was a super cute, cozy fantasy with all the representation and adorable witchy vibes! Great plot with lots of feel good moments! I’ll read this one again!

super cute cozy romantic fantasy! yael is a lord's child and is not interested in running the family business and runs away, stumbling upon margot who was a childhood friend (and presumed crush???) and her family who is grasping at threads to keep their business and land. this is the perfect blend of a cozy romance where you just get to read the two mains fall in love (again!) and there is enough conflict between their families to have stakes and keep things interesting. this was so fun.

With the rise in popularity of cozy fantasy, a subgenre of fantasy, Homegrown Magic exemplifies the elements found in this genre, like low-stakes conflict, sensory descriptions, and loveable characters.

The most enjoyable feature of this novel was the writing style and how vivid the details were described by the author. I felt immersed in the book and found myself wishing I too had a greenhouse.

My only critique of this book was the pacing. Towards the last half of the book, I felt myself losing interest in the conflict and the characters. I think the book could be better if it was shorter.

I tried so hard to care about this world but the writing started kind of clunky with the world building and I wasn’t drawn in to the characters immediately. I’m disappointed I lost interest.

Homerow Magic is such a sweet and feel-good read! Jamie Pacton delivers a charming story with just the right touch of magic and heart. The characters are lovable, the small-town vibes are strong, and the whole thing feels like a warm hug.

The magical elements are light but meaningful, and the story moves along with a nice, cozy pace. It’s not super dramatic or intense, but that’s kind of the point—it’s more about connection, healing, and finding a bit of wonder in everyday life.

If you're in the mood for something wholesome, a little magical, and totally heartwarming, this one’s worth picking up. I smiled a lot while reading it.

Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. Apart form allegations of racism and anti-Semitism, the characters and writing were lacking and felt unfinished. With the problematic themes, I cannot recommend this book.

This book was so warm and cozy!!! I adored every second of this book. It really did feel homegrown like the title said. Everything was so well paced and I felt like I was part of the story. The descriptions of everything that was happening really added to the story and made me feel immersed in the world. I can’t wait to reread this!

I did not finish this book, it was not connecting for me. Concept was interesting but the characters were not capturing my interest and I…got a little bored. Cozy books only work when they don’t bore me. 2/5 stars, not for me but definitely something others will enjoy.

This took me a while to get to because unfortunately I’m a mood reader. Had I known how delightful this would be, I would’ve found the mood to read it sooner! A queer cozy fantasy reminiscent of a studio ghibli movie, this book made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. The writing was vivid, the characters wonderful, and the plot deeply connected to existing problems today. My heart hurt as I was reading because there are so many things that I could relate to from feeling like you’re not living up to your potential to struggling to be true to yourself while capitalism crushes us slowly. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and learn what adventures Margot and Yael are up to.

Homegrown Magic was such a cozy read that filled me with magic! I loved that is was literally a queer cottagecore bookish read and if that makes sense to you, you're the target audience.

I enjoyed this overall, though there were a few downsides.

Cons:

The first part of the book had lots of info dumping in the form of long, convoluted sentences.

The FMC claimed she was so worried about what was at stake, but she seemed to barely ever work on the problem until the last few days of her four-year deadline.

The plot followed the same, tired formula that so many romances follow.

Pros:

The characters' relationship was really sweet and cute.

It was a cozy read.

The found family trope was pretty sweet.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

I took this one extremely slow because I wanted to read it over the course of spring and I’m glad I did !! It definitely added cost vibes to both the season and the book itself.

The whole rich royal who falls for the not rich also not royal is starting to get old for me unfortunately. I just didn’t seem to click in with the story but I loved the vibes of the setting so that’s what most of my stars are for !!

Over all an okay book

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"It needn't change anything between us, because whether you can forgive me or not, I'm going to stay, and I'm going to be of use. But I love you all the same."


Homegrown Magic took me a while to get into. At first, the characters were fine but didn't really do anything (for me). Then they kind of became background noise and I was just hoping to reach the end. As for the drama, well, it was okay but weirdly solved. I was just kind of expecting more since this whole family was made out to be preying on the poor and powerless. But just like that, with a snap of a finger (or writing a letter), everything was solved.

There were also things that were cool but didn't add up. Like, the mechanical horse seemed cool but why can they have that in this world... and not other necessities? As for the powerful people in control, sure, it makes sense that they would like to keep it that way. But based on other reviews for this book, I can see why and how those characters were portrayed could and would rub people the wrong way. Heck, I didn't even like the characters for most of this book.

In the end, I can say it did have some cozy fantasy parts. I also liked Margot's plant magic and the strawberry jam with heartbreak-healing powers. It's just... I was expecting something way different than what I got. It had the potential to be a lot better.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this cozy little sapphic fantasy! It is a quick and sweet read, and I really loved the chemistry between the two leads. There are so few nonbinary main characters out there, and even fewer who have well-written romances, so this was a very fulfilling read in many ways. I wish that more characters besides Yael and Margot were fleshed out, because they were really the only characters that felt fully realized. Hoping that will be remedied in further books!

I also want to note that I have looked into the antisemitism argument surrounding this novel, and given author Rebecca Podos being a Jew herself and writing extensive social media posts explaining her world choices, I believe it's rather baseless for readers to attack this novel and her as antisemitic.

I absolutely love it when a book successfully uses They/Them pronouns! Okay now there is: found family, romance, spice, coming into one’s own, and so much more including lots of cozy magic. If this sounds interesting to you trust me it is.

# Homegrown Magic
# 5/10/2025 ~ 5/10/2025
# 5.0 / 5.0