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

Thank you, NetGalley, Jamie Pacton, and the publisher for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Although I've read other books by Jamie Pacton and Becca Podos, this is my favorite duo written book by them. Yael is quite possibly one of the coolest non-binary MCs I've read. Margot is cute, passionate, and a little mischievous. The two of them together was such a whirlwind experience. You get all of the DnD adventure vibes from this book, while also getting the sweet NPC hometown romance.

This book is for anyone that ever wanted to RP a little bit more than actually play DnD (which if that's not you, you're missing out on the heart of the game).

Such an adorable cozy romance with amazing queer/NB representation. Wonderful read for fans of The Spellshop and other lovely stories that leave you kicking your feet like a giddy schoolgirl. Excited to see what Rebecca and Jamie have in store for future books.

Wow, this one got to me. A perfectly balanced cozy novel with stakes, romance, and a community I wish I lived in. I loved Yael and Margot, and was with their journey every step of the way. I also! Loved! TIME PASSING in this novel. I adored the way this romance bloomed over months, not hours. Such a well timed story.

Yael Clauneck is heir to the obscenely wealthy Clauneck family. When the reality of their situation and the duties it entails sinks in during a birthday party, Yael decides to escape. Chasing one last adventure, an intoxicated Yael steals a horse and rides off into the night. They ride into the town of Bloomfield, where they find their childhood friend Margot Greenwillow.

Margot is a talented plant witch with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Trying to keep a struggling business afloat, she is drowning. When Yael comes to Bloomfield, Margot makes them an offer: become her assistant while Yael figures out their next move.

This book was very cute! Yael and Margot are a dynamic duo and balanced each other perfectly. Yael is the more carefree, adventurous golden retriever energy to Margot’s dutiful, grounded black cat vibe.

I think my largest frustration is the lack of communication between the two of them. Miscommunication drove most of the book’s conflicts. However, it felt out of character for both of them, especially as their relationship progressed.

This is a vibes based book. The most memorable aspects are the settings. Bloomfield, the farmer’s market, and the city are standouts.

If you want a sapphic, lowish stake, cottagecore cozy fantasy, then this is the book for you.

I tried reading this arc and I had a hard time connecting with the story. I decided to try the audiobook to see if that would help the connection. Unfortunately, it did not help. I forced myself to finish this one but I never did connect with the characters or their story. A spicy cozy fantasy. This book just wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for this e-ARC for review. I went in really wanting to like Homegrown Magic, but I didn’t get there. The cover is lovely, but the story doesn’t meet it. Perhaps the authors were too close to the concept or premise to see the issues (given its D&D inspiration that’s understandable, but not every story you create needs to become a book). I’ve read the author’s responses to the (very valid) criticism of antisemitism in the book, but they left me shaking my head.

The concept of childhood friends who reconnect accidentally and fall in love had potential. I love fantasy, I love nonbinary, genderqueer, and trans characters, and I love critiquing unequal power systems…but that’s about where it ends for me, because there’s barely a plot holding these concepts together, and repetition pads out much of the rest. Yael has a little character development that helps make them interesting, but there’s not much for Margot.

The largest problem with Homegrown Magic (outside of the antisemitism) is that it’s not well-developed, and the choices it makes are a bit muddled. The magic patronage system is not well explained, and while we’re told it applies to pretty much everyone, it is relevant to only one character. The stakes are on the other character’s mind so frequently you don’t have a chance to forget them as you’re reminded every chapter—and most frustrating, it’s the kind of situation that could probably be resolved quickly with one or two conversations between the main characters. One ultra wealthy family who treats their child like a pawn is the ultimate villain, but the other ultra wealthy family who also treated their child as a pawn and locked them in an impossible position is just waved away. The quaint wholesome small town schtick was so overdone that by the end I was getting a headache from rolling my eyes so often. While the characters have potential, the romance is painstakingly slow. And while wealth is treated as a big issue, actual money isn’t used in a way that makes sense (especially as the poorer character keeps destroying/abandoning couture clothing that would keep a roof over her head for quite a while). All in all, this was a disappointing read, and I had to drag myself through it to finish.

The world was whimsical, the two main characters were delightful, but there was not enough development in the background characters or enough structure in the plot for me personally. Margot's character, from the very beginning, is motivated by her desire to save the people who took her in, but the residents of Bloomfield remain in the background for most of the story, so I had a hard time understanding the deep emotional connection she was talking about. I wish Poppy and Clementine were bigger characters, rather than the role of best friend being passed off to Sage, who isn't around for most of the story.

Since the main arc of the story is more about the romance between Yael and Margot than about the conflict with Yael's family, it means most of the resolution to this side plot happens outside the bounds of the book. They talk about how they are going to resolve it, but it happens between the final chapter and the epilogue, lessening its emotional impact for me. It also means some of the interesting repercussions to Yael's actions are never resolved, like the way Yael walking out of the family business impacts their cousin. In general, I think the large time jumps took me out of the story, when they were probably intended to help push the plot along instead.

Well, at least the vibes were excellent. Queer cottage core with lots of flowers and potions and growing things definitely worked. Otherwise, this book was a bit underwhelming. It dragged on for way too long (but still managed to skip over seemingly key elements such as their first few months of flirtation, come on). The writing was just ok, and the story struggled to hold my attention.

I think if this was shortened to novella length and only focused on Yael and Margot's yearning romance it would've been perfect. Alas.

Thank you to Del Rey and netgalley for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a really cute and cozy romantasy!!!! I’d say this is perfect for someone who wants a cozy fantasy with lots of romance.

I loved Yael and Margot’s meet cute honestly!!!! They met as children and then don’t see each other for another decade. And when they do it’s instant chemistry again.

This is super low stakes in regard to the fantasy. There’s magic & royal society. Lots of romance, and yes it’s queer!!! Which I loved. The use of pronouns and descriptive words for their bodies was perfect imo.

Highly recommend this for someone who wants a fun cozy adventure!!!

A Promising book of queer lovers set in a magical universe. Maybe it wasn't for me as the characters seemed to have little development in the relationship. Friends to lovers can work but I felt there was little tension and underdeveloped. I felt there was too many sex scenes for too little. The world building and the plot took on a lot for a book that was meant to be cozy and low stakes. I think this would've been better had there been enough length to explore everything or some parts reduced to just what we need. Was it cozy? Yes, but it left me wanting more of the world.

3.5 star rounded up

Thanks to NetGalley for this eARC. If you are looking for a cottagecore, queer cozy fantasy, I would definitely recommend this. Seeing Yael and Margot realize over time just how in love with each other they were was just the cutest! Also, the spicy scenes really gave this otherwise cutesy story a nice edge. This queer-normative world is one that I can't wait to go back to. I am crossing my fingers that the next book in the series is about a side character that I really enjoyed. Also, I just want to point out that parents really just mess their children over most of the time, which is so unfortunate. Loved the journey that both MCs took to become their own person and shed the expectations of others.

🍓🌿✨Homegrown Magic
✒️ Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos
⭐️ 4/5

This book was definitely a lovely cozy cottagecore queer romance. The chemistry was strong from the start and the world building was also done really well. I enjoyed Yael and Margot’s whimsical tasks and the conflict also helped keep the driving force of the story. I only wish I felt more connected to the characters. Something about them fell slightly short to me, but I still enjoyed the ending and how wholesome everything came together.

This book wasn't my favorite. It's light and romantasy but I just didn't care for the characters. I usually Love romantasy but this seemed longer then necessary.