3.5 stars. A story with so much potential and a delightful world.

Yael Clauneck is the heir of the wealthiest banking family in the realm. They flee their own graduation party because they want to escape their life. Margot Greenwillow is desperately trying to keep her family's magic remedies business afloat. Yael crashes her life, but maybe it'll turn out to be a good thing. But Yael's parents have other plans...

First off, the premise of this story is amazing and I absolutely love the world that the authors built. It's whimsical, but also interesting and makes you want to figure it out. I want to lose myself in Margot's greenhouses and try out mechanical horses.

The pacing was a bit of a struggle for me. I think that Yael is very unlikable at the beginning and that persists further into the book than I would like, and then I felt like the end was a bit rushed. While I understand why they are that way, I wish that we could see them grow a bit sooner. Margot also mostly has her character growth right at the end. I think that would also allow for Yael and Margot's relationship to grow a bit more.

Overall, if you like cozy fantasy and whimsical worlds, I definitely suggest giving this one a try. It's a fun read that will immerse you in this world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing an advanced copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

3.75 ⭐️ This was such a cozy, feel-good read! If you’re into witchy cottagecore vibes, slow-burn romance, and small-town charm, this one’s for you. The plant magic was super creative, and the chemistry between Margot and Yael was great from the start. That said, the pacing dragged a bit, and I wish we got more of their romance instead of skipping big chunks of time. Also, Margot keeping secrets for so long was frustrating. Still, it was a warm, whimsical read, and I’m definitely curious about the next book—especially if it follows those intriguing side characters!

This was very sweet — like reading a novelization of a queer TTRPG or RPG. I was pleased to learn from the dedication and the acknowledgements that this story did indeed begin in a virtual D&D group populated by authors. The world of this book doesn’t seem to be inhabited by as wide a variety of monsters and sapient species as might be expected from RPGs/TTRPGs — but the story is really just focused on what is relevant to the narratives of protagonists Yael and Margot, so there are only hints of the world and the magic beyond them (giant spiders, bags of holding, mechanical steeds, for example). Because of that focus, I would have loved to see more of the minutiae of their lives as they begin to grow back together. There are semi-frequent time jumps that often seem to skip over this type of development between the two, but more of that minutiae could have really bolstered the 'coziness' of this story (which I think did have quite high stakes for a cozy fantasy).

Thrilled to learn that there will be a sequel novel in 2026 — though I will say I’m a bit sad that my uncorrected proof did not have the preview (but did have a placeholder page for it). Not actually an issue at all, to be clear, I just wanted to read it, lol. This is also, presumably, the reason for several (non-major) narrative threads being left unresolved, so I look forward to seeing what the next novel entails!

Also — PERPETUAL STEW MENTION!!! And more than once! I love soup so much and thought this was such a silly, fun inclusion.

Let's start with the positives.

This is a simple sapphic romantasy in a cozy, queernormative fantasy setting. Truly, it's sweet as heartbreak strawberry jam. But sweetness is not all that is needed to execute a recipe to perfection, and this book just needed more.

The instalove is cringeworthy. The plot is too convenient. The book just doesn't set itself apart from other romantasies. One thing that made the story unique was the introduction of mechanical horses - which are completely underutilized throughout the story.

Maybe I'm just not the right audience for this book - maybe it would appeal more to avid players of D&D. While perhaps it wasn't my cup of ginger hibiscus tea, I recognize that it may very well be someone else's. I'll grant 2.75 stars for strawberry-y, sugary sweetness.

A cozy romantic fantasy where long time childhood friends reconnect and find love alone the way. For fans of cottagecore vibes and queer romance you won’t be disappointed. Loved the cozy elements of greenhouses and tea and plant witch life.

Thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballantine & Net Galley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Home Grown Magic was such a delightful and cozy novel that almost felt like a very chill D&D campaign. Set largely in a greenhouse with childhood friends turned to lovers, it was giving cottage-core vibes, for sure!

This book had trans and queer main characters, but their trans/queerness was just casually mentioned and there was never any plot point struggles with those identities, nor coming out. Queer joy prevails!

I also loved the way that food, plants, and clothing were described. It made me feel like I was watching a movie (and wishing that one actually existed of this!). This was an all around lovely book that somehow managed to delicately roast capitalism, and I was here for it.

4.25⭐️

3.5 stars, probably. A cozy romantasy featuring a queer couple that was pretty good, but I suspect the book was just not for me.

Yael Clauneck is the heir to their parent’s fortune and business, but they feel suffocated by the life their parents plan for them. During a party, they escape on a mechanical horse to Bloomfield, a quaint little town and run into Margot Greenwillow, their childhood friend. Margot is a plant witch whose beloved cottages and greenhouses and town is at risk of getting possessed by the Clauneck company, unbeknownst to Yael, unless she can brew a special potion. She’s had a crush on Yael since they were kids, but Margot wonders if she can use this reunion to their advantage. Unfortunately, their feelings for each other complicate things.

You feel the cozy fantasy vibes here with the focus on gardening, whimsical potions/ingredients, lots of food and tea, low stakes overall, and kind but slightly one-dimensional side characters. This is first and foremost a romance, so that was built out more than the magic and worldbuilding (I didn’t get the patron magic, and Yael was pretty mediocre at it that them losing it didn’t feel like a big deal. Also it feels like this takes place when nobility was still prominent with the way they talk and the wardrobe choices, but it’s not? There are carriages and mechanical horses? Tbh I have no idea). And this was cozy, but the low-stakes kind of cozy where a lot of the book was focused on slice-of-life slow life type of actions, so there were a lot of dragging parts without things feeling as important as they could be.

Yael and Margot were fine as characters. I did find Margot more compelling at the beginning, and Yael kind of came across as a poor little rich person, which recently I just have trouble sympathizing with. Idk, I could understand their internal struggles but it felt like they got off relatively easy for leaving their very privileged life that their arc wasn’t as satisfying as I needed to come to really like them. The ending was also a bit abrupt and wrapped up a bit more neatly than I expected.

I think basically this just wasn’t to my taste overall. It’s written well and flows smoothly, especially considering two authors wrote this. If you like gardening, warmth, low-stakes, and a cozy queer romantasy with spice, then you’ll probably like this.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!

This is a cute and cozy read, the perfect book if you don't want high stakes. The setting and characters kept me intrigued the entire time. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

First of all I loved the queer representation in this book! This was a light, whimsical fantasy romance with great friends to lovers romance, found family, and excellent worldbuilding. The garden magic made this a perfect Spring read. The two authors worked beautifully together, the two POVs feeling distinct but still complimenting one another.

Homegrown Magic was a delightful queer, cozy fantasy story featuring friends to lovers, found family, rival family drama, and garden magic. To start, I want to mention how truly great the cover for this book is. It’s what immediately drew me in to want and read it before looking at the blurb. Also, after reading about Margot’s magic, I would love to have garden magic. It’s so cozy, perfect, and I wish more books featured this type of magic. There are so many great elements in this book that are worth celebrating. I loved the relationship development between Yael and Margot from childhood friends to going in different directions to finding their way back to each other. I appreciated how they supported each other in their own ways. This was also spicy in the best way. I also loved how Margot tried to honor her grandmother’s memory and the business she built. I also felt that the different family dynamics that were present were fascinating and so real. Families are difficult especially the dynamic between children and parents when each party wants something different. Both Yael and Margot were impacted by these difficult dynamics. This book was thoroughly enjoyable, and I recommend checking it out.

A cute queer cozy fantasy! I am a sucker for cottage core aesthetics and this book delivered with one of the main characters, Margot, being a plant witch working out of her late grandmother's greenhouse in a small town. She also has purple hair and tattoos as a bonus. I am typical not as big of a fan of childhood friends to lovers, but I thought it was cute in this case and added to the characters and their banter. Then we have Yael, where they are the heir of a wealthy family who decides to run away from it all and ends up working with Margot at her greenhouse. I loved the relationship that developed between these two.

I do wish the story delved deeper relating to Yael's patron as it was not touched on very much, but seems like an interesting concept, which could be said about the magic system in general.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for a review!

This novel is a cozy story paired with a sweet romance in a D&D-esque setting. Both Yael and Margot are engaging and entertaining characters, and both have satisfying characters arcs both within and outside their romantic relationship. I think readers who enjoyed works like Bookshops and Bonedust will also enjoy this title.

Thank you to NetGalley, authors Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is really sweet with great character development. Not just the 2 MCs but all of the side characters felt fleshed out which I love to see. The development of the friends-to-lovers story between Margot and Yael was very well done.

The world building and magic system had some very creative elements but it felt a little underdeveloped to me. Especially the bits of dark magic, Yael’s patron, the castor spell, etc. I would have loved to read more about that!

There were also a few plot holes. The one that bothered me the most was the explanation of how Yael’s family managed to get control over an entire town? It seemed like some sort of alternate reality feudal system I think?But again I felt there wasn’t enough information to really get a feel for the stakes. Overall it just felt like the book was ambitiously trying to take on a LOT plot wise and world building wise, and it didn’t quite manage it.

Overall though I DID like this! These are just my picky complaints but I’ve actually had a hard time putting this down. The romance was solid.

A queer fizzy romance between Yael and Margot for fans of romantasy. There's good worldbuilding and you'll root for this couple and their friends. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

There's a lot to love about this book, so let's start there. Great queer and non binary rep! A cozy cottage setting. Excellent wardrobes. A cat that doesn't get enough pagetime imo.

I think I would have enjoyed this book so much more of it were shorter. It's not that is long, it's that we go over the same material over and over and over and in far too much depth. The authors continue to remind the reader why a character feels a certain or is in a certain position and it's a bit like... yes, I just read about this 10 pages ago let's move forward please.

I started out loving it and then by halfway through I grew impatient which unfortunately took away from my enjoyment of the happy ending because I was like... okay FINALLY.

All that said, I think the world is intriguing and I like a cozy fantasy, so I'll be willing to give the next book a shot.

While there are so many things that I liked about this book, as the premise is incredible, but I found that it simply wasn't for me!

Sadly I didn't love this one as much as I'd hoped! I was really excited about this book but it ultimately fell flat for me. I felt like it was just following a "cozy fantasy" script and there weren't enough stand out elements to really draw me in. It also felt longer than it needed to be.

The world seemed like a nice place, and I was REALLY enjoying the book in the beginning, but as it went on it just started to lose me. I loved the queer rep! The romance was sweet. I think the book was fine, and it was well-written. Fans of The Spellshop and The Honey Witch would probably really enjoy it!

3.5 rounded up because a lot of the issues I had were with the story style and not writing or content itself.

This was a nice queer, cozy fantasy with witchy cottagecore vibes. It also featured rival family drama and childhood friends to lovers. There was enough conflict to keep the story moving while keeping the cozy vibes. If you're a Stardew Valley fan, word on the street is that it gives major Stardew vibes (I never played).

I will say this was a good book, but I expected to LOVE it given that it had all my favorite tropes (queer, cozy, cottagecore) and was kind of disappointed that it fell flat. I feel like I just never got fully engaged in the story. Maybe I’ll give it another try in the future!

Thank you so much to Del Rey for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Yael is the reluctant heir to the Clauneck empire and in a world where there are natural magic casters, and those who can ask their patron for magic, they is the ladder, but doesn't like to use their patron's power at all. Feeling trapped in the life they were born to and like a disgrace to their family, they run away from home, only to find themself in Bloomfield.

Margot is stuck in Bloomfield after her parents lost their fortune to the Clauneck's and a natural plant witch. She has to figure out how to make an impossible potion within a set deadline or lose her cottage, town, and overall livelihood when Yael shows up and gives her hope and love. How will the two of them come together to possibly save everything?

I actually had a great time with this book even though it wasn't exactly what I expected when I picked it up. While I expected a cozy cottagecore romance, I got a fun fantasy novel with a well developed magic system and fleshed out communities.

It was slow to start, but once we get to Yael and Margot together, I flew through the pages of their romance. I loved their banter and how they helped each other to grow. I also love me some mutual pining!

Homegrown Magic by Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos is a queer cozy fantasy that follows Yael and Margot. Yael wants to escape the life they are currently living and Margot could use some help in her greenhouses. Plants are not the only things growing between these two characters.

I am absolutely gutted that I didn’t love this one. I’m a big fan of Jamie Pacton so I was hyped for this cozy release. I just think there was something about the writing that I didn’t connect with. It may have been because it was written in third person. It’s also very flowery writing which kind of takes away from the cozy vibes.

I loved the queer normative world and feel like that representation is so important. I also think having the two different authors helped to distinguish the characters’ voices.

This is a book that I would recommend to cozy readers because I think a lot of people will enjoy this. I would read more books set in this world by these authors.