Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey and NetGalley for access to the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 50%, but up to that point would rate 2.5 (rounded up to 3stars). On paper, this book would have been perfect for me, I love cozy fantasy, Stardew Valley, interesting magic systems, and LGBTQ+ stories. Something about this fell flat, and I can't pinpoint where it was. I think one of my main complaints is that even at the halfway mark I did not understand the world and the chemistry between the main characters felt forced. I would have preferred to learn more about the magic system and seen more world-building, even within the cozy confines of a small village.

I thought this sounded really cute but I am just the wrong reader for cozy fantasy romance. It didn’t work for me but definitely a case of it being me and not the book. Please try if it appeals to you!

I will not recommend this book to any of my students. Unfortunately, there is too much overt and implicit antisemitism contained in the story. I would much rather center voices that accurately and compassionately reflect Jewish beliefs and sentiments.

What a cute and cozy read for spring! This made me so ready to get back in my garden as it warms up and create some garden magic of my own! And it also kinda made me just want to pull out my switch and reboot Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley until I can do the real thing. But maybe I'll just stay curled up and read my favorite parts of this little story one more time instead. I love a cozy book with witchy vibes and this delivers on that plus some giddy queer friends to lovers cuteness!

Thanks to the authors, Random House Publishing-Ballantine, and to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I tried to start this twice and couldn’t get into it. I barely made it past the first chapter each time. I thought maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for it, but now I’m glad that I didn’t give it a third (!!!) try. Del Rey needs to listen to their readers and address the antisemitic issues within this book.

Thank you, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for giving me access to this e-ARC. The description promised story elements that usually appeal to me: friends becoming lovers, found family, a queer-normative world and cozy fantasy. I'm even into gardening. It sounded perfect for me.

The first setback was a technical one: I'm not a fan of novels written in second tense. The fact that I noticed means that the story was not engaging me and, therefore, I was focusing more on the writing technique. I can overlook minor technical issues if the plot and the characters grip me, but here they did not. Unfortunately, Margot's decision to keep certain things secret and make life-changing decisions for presumably competent adults without their consent reminds me of someone in my real life. It made it near impossible for me to connect to her. I didn't look forward to reading it and ultimately did not finish it. If I give it another try, I will update my feedback.

This was a sweet, cute cozy fantasy. I loved the intersection of magic and mechanics in the world built in this story, and the little utopian community at the center was endlessly charming. I found much of the storyline to be predictable, but that’s often part of what makes a cozy book so cozy.

3.5 stars

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Whooo boy I wanted to love this book so bad. The nonbinary rep was absolutely lovely and the queernormative world was delightful. I also really loved the commentary about anti-capitalism and how it's easy for all of us to get sucked into productivity spirals. That part really spoke to me. However, the authors used some antisemitic stereotypes to make their point and because of that multiple Jewish readers have spoken up against it. Even if the characters weren't intended to be Jewish (according to the author) if they can conceivably be read that way then antisemitic harm can be done. I really wish this book had a sensitivity reader because the overall message is amazing but the execution is definitely doing way more harm than good.

DNFed due to obvious antisemitic stereotypes. I hope they are resolved later in the book, but after seeing others' responses, I'm guessing not.

As a lover of all fantasy books. I was very excited to get my hands on this one. While I sometimes struggle with low stakes fantasy, this one delivered quite a nice story. It was slow at times and I found myself having to remember that this is isn’t an action filled novel, but rather a take it easy “brain break” of a novel.

Homegrown Magic delivers exactly what it claims! It is a cozy, magical novel about a plant witch and a miserably unhappy heir to a wealthy family and the home they find with each other.
There were some parts that were a little slower to get through, but those were few and far between. Mostly the story flowed well and was immensely enjoyable. I also loved reading a book containing so much representation!
The book was very cozy and now I need a cup of tea, a strawberry plant, and some hand-knitted cardigans! A greenhouse filled with magical plants wouldn’t hurt either!

While I appreciated the LGBTQIA+ representation, I had to stop reading this one after I began to notice numerous antisemitic stereotypes. I was hoping that the author was going to reveal a plot twist that negated them, but after the horn references, I decided it was best to put this one down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Homegrown Magic was the coziest, softest, most ✨vibes✨ book I’ve read in a while!

What I Absolutely Loved:
💖 REP, REP, REP! The way this world just exists as queer-normative? Perfection. The non-binary representation with the general neutral terms and queer-positive treatment was very refreshing. And seeing how Yael navigated intense parental expectations was an added bonus.
💖 Yael & Margot = Complicated but Relatable – These two are messy in all the best ways. They’re dealing with family baggage, figuring out their futures, and struggling with feelings. I wanted to hug them and yell at them, which means I was 100% invested.
💖 The Romance – Slow-burn to the MAX. The kind where you just know they belong together, but it takes forever (in the best way). I was rooting for them for the whole book, and when they finally reached their HEA it felt very deserved.

Things That Were Just Okay:
✨ The Spice Level: If you’re looking for major romance scenes, this one keeps it on the softer side. But honestly? It totally worked with the cozy vibes that the book was going for.

What I Wanted More Of:
❗ More Magic, Please! – The word magic is literally in the title, but for most of the book, it felt like an after-thought. Then Act 5 rolls around, and BOOM—the magic actually gets some stunning descriptions. I just wish we got more of that earlier on! Margot's magical abilities aren't highlighted the way it seemed like they would be, so it left me a little disappointed.
❗ Plot Holes & Confusing Decisions: While Yael’s complexity made them compelling, some of their choices felt frustrating and at times, even harmful, and weren’t always given enough depth to make them fully understandable. Like, WHY are you making this harder for yourself? I needed a little more explanation to really understand their thought process sometimes.

Final Thoughts:
If you love books that feel like curling up with a warm cup of tea on a rainy day, this one’s for you. It has a great dual POV and the duel narrators for the audiobook was 10/10. This book reminded me of Legends & Lattes and The Spellshop, with its cozy cottage atmosphere and focus on relationships, identity, and self-growth. While I wanted a bit more from the magical elements and some plot details, the book’s heart, representation, and emotional depth made it a delightful read. If you love a slow-burn romance, endearing yet complicated characters, and the kind of book that wraps you in warmth, this one’s for you.

me 🤝 a dual narrative love story. i really enjoyed how cozy and low stakes this was. i’m used to high stakes fantasy with lots of twists and angst and this was a nice reprieve. i’m a lover of the queer-normative setting and how much like a step into stardew valley this felt like. overall, this a solid read, but (as much as i enjoyed the change of pace) maybe a bitttt too low stakes slice-of-life for me.

A queer, cozy romantic fantasy in the same lane as Legends & Lattes or Thr Spellshop. Home Grown Magic takes its coziness from a rural setting, with a lot of conflict drawn between “rich big city folk” and “unsophisticated hardworking rural working class” in a way that is very traditionally stereotypical, but queernormative.

The main conflict stopping the two characters from being together (causing quite a slow burn) is essentially “rich heir vs formally (less) wealthy and now small business owner” and the villain is ultimately capitalism, though the solution is also capitalism via small business so I’m not sure what the message is meant to be. For the first half, all of the problems in the book could be solved with a conversation, but eventually outside plot does appear.

The romance is developed fine and it makes sense for the two characters to be together, though there is a lot of repetition of the same discussion of the central themes. Lots of miscommunication, lots of “I must break their heart to save them from pain!!” type vibes. I would call this a medium level of spice—not fade to black, more than a single scene, but not even close to erotica as a genre & definitely meant to move forward the relationship. I appreciated the reference to bindings and other acknowledgment of the nonbinary main character.

This isn’t particularly long for the genre but it did feel overly drawn out and I think could have been tighter.

3.75 “Hibiscus and Ginger Tea” Stars ✰✰✰

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, Jamie Pacton, and Rebecca Podos for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thoughts:

A queer-comfy-cozy-fantasy that delivers on all of its promises? What more could you ask for!

I binged this story, and not because it was the kind of the story that you couldn’t put down as you have to figure out what comes next, but instead, I binged it because the world created was one I did not want to leave. It gave the soft, queer, cottagecore, fairytale vibes that made me want to be a part of this realm for as long as I could and not think about the real world.

Cute romance with banter >>>
Queernormative world >>>
Unique magic system and world building >>>
Light and cozy and remained pretty low stakes >>>

There are not many downsides to this story minus my cravings for more magical elements (since we were teased with possibilities of what could be done), the pacing from time to time and some of the miscommunication/lack of communication that added to the conflict when the conflict was already set up so it felt unnecessary to me personally. All of that aside, THIS IS A FUN AND CHARMING READ!

I adored these characters and side characters, and hope the authors decide to give us more stories set in this world! On my way to go look for a delicious and much needed strawberry jam recipe, and then hopping into my car to stop by a plant nursery!

Paperback/Hardcover/Audiobook/E-book:

E-book

Pace:

Slow/Medium

Cover thoughts:

SO FREAKING ADORABLE!

Triggers:

Classism, Death, Magical Sickness, Toxic Relationships, etc.

Going into Homegrown Magic, I'll admit I had mixed expectations. I'm not huge on cozy fantasy, but I do like a good romance, and I love queernormative stories. Mainly, my gripe with cozy fantasy is that it, like Stardew Valley and gardening, kinda stresses me out? I don't know - I'm so used to cozy things having a secret hidden twist that's actually awful, so that I can never actually relax and get into the story. Fully a me problem, I digress. But anyway!

I think Homegrown Magic hit that sweet spot of having a little bit to satisfy everybody. A little bit of cozy (the idyllic village of Bloomfield where our MCs spend the most part of the novel), a little bit of heightened stakes (plant witch Margot must create a potion by a certain deadline, or else lose the town of Bloomfield to magical heir Yael's family), and a lot of friends to lovers romance. Both main characters are lovable and yet flawed, and I felt they complemented each other perfectly. I found it easy to settle into the story and I loved the writing style; both authors' voices blend very well together, so I couldn't tell where one ended and the other began.

For me, my favorite part was the way the plot unfolded. It was very much a slice of life fantasy, but a slice of life that never got boring. I think part of that is that we've got a great balance between the two characters - Margot is so entrenched in Bloomfield, but everything is new to Yael. Seeing things through Yael's POV made everything seem like a novelty, while Margot had to adjust her life (reluctantly at first) to having someone new in it shaking things up. The first two thirds of the book had such a beautiful cadence to them, and the romance was so sweet. I also really, really enjoyed the nonbinary rep with Yael. The (predominantly queer) secondary characters were developed nicely as well - I can guess which ones may have their own romances later in the series, but it never felt as though we were building secondary characters for the sole purpose of sequels.

I am knocking a star off because the last third of the book dragged a bit for me. As soon as Yael and Margot have their third act breakup, I felt both characters' arcs struggled on their own. The details of Yael's bargain with their patron felt mildly confusing to me - do they forget about Margot entirely, or do they forget that Margot's someone special to them? Some chapters seemed to imply the former, while most leaned towards the latter. Margot's chapters during this breakup went by quicker than Yael's, and I liked the twist regarding the Natural Caster potion, but I still felt this part dragged compared to when the couple is together. Also knocking off a star because, as one reviewer mentioned, you can't just mention a chicken witch and then say nothing else about the chicken witch.

Still, I enjoyed the blend of romance and cottage-core vibes, and I felt that the village of Bloomfield is such a cozy setting. This is definitely for all the sapphic, goblin-era, cottagecore girlies (me. It's for me).

Many thanks to NetGalley, Del Rey, and authors Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! I look forward to the next installment in the Homegrown Magic series!

I wanted to love this. The premise is great, and it encompasses that cottagecore vibe that I long for. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into the story or the writing. It was slow and boring. I DNF'd this around the 20% mark.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey for access to the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I ended up reading my physical ARC.
This book was exactly what I was hoping for. As soon as I saw the author's announce the cover, title, and blurb, I knew this was going to be a book I enjoyed. And I was so right. I loved everything about both Margot and Yael, from their individual characteristics to how well they mesh together. And of course, the found family throughout the book was squeezing my heart in all the right places. I loved how queer-normative this world was, like how they had a gender neutral word in place of "sir" or "ma'am". I could relate and empathize with the struggles both Yael and Margot were facing, and think the book overall was amazing start to finish. The physical ARC mentioned there being a second book, and I hope that's the case!

This was absolutely not the book for me. I was already a bit nervous because cottagecore to me terms to scream boring and this was definitely that. Nothing was memorable and I want really interested to pick it up. But even worse was the authorial voice. It was incredibly horrible and constantly pulled me out of the story. I was just overall hoping for more.