I absolutely adored this book with every fiber of my being. It’s been so long since I read anything that made me feel this way. The Glittering Edge is that perfect YA feel from the early 2000s. Mystery, thrill, and plot twists that will leave you on the floor. With of course friendships and romance that will have you fighting for it, or begging for it.

I can’t wait for the second book!!!!

A witchy YA story with total Practical Magic vibes! There's a small town, with all the ensuing drama, a mysterious curse and a blue-haired boy. Jump in and see if this adventure is for you!

Thank you to LBYR and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! I was super excited for this considering I loved witches and a good love triangle, all taking place in a small town with feuding families. Our main character, Penny Emberly, is told to stay away from both families. Does she do that? No. So, of course, that becomes our plot. And the plot was... not the best. I loved the atmosphere that the author created but there was little variation in sentence structure that really pulled me out of the story. But I love drama so I stayed for the teen drama love triangle, and that was okay, too. Really, I think you should go into this book for the vibes because it was giving like Halloweentown witches and maybe a sprinkle of small town drama like you'd find in a witchier Gilmore Girls. I'm not sure who to root for in this love triangle, and maybe that's the point? BUT I still think it was an interesting enough read to continue. I have hopes that the second book will be better.

Reading The Glittering Edge felt like watching a 90s movie but with more diversity, mental health rep, and modern technology (group chats on the page! Which I actually didn’t hate). It was written in a very YA voice, which I wouldn’t expect I’d like, but it was honestly a really fun time. Read this when you want to escape reality without spending all your brain power on it, or if you are feeling nostalgic for witchy high schoolers 🫶

💯 Team Alonso ✨ 🐈‍⬛ 💙

The Glittering Edge by Alyssa Villaire
3.5 stars rounded down.

“It’s a truth universally acknowledged that Alonso gets better at darts when he’s pissed.” (que pride and prejudice and zombies fangirl moment.)

Let me start off by saying that the Fairyloot edition of this is STUNNING! Especially with Frostbite Studios on board as the endpaper artist. The actual book however…? I was enjoying it until all the pushed agendas made themselves known. I love representation and all that because it provided inclusivity, but there is a difference between inclusivity and opinion shoving. This one was the latter and made me drop a star because it just made me roll my eyes when I know for a fact it can be done well. Because of that, the only reason I will be reading book two is for Alonso; all thee-and-a-half stars belong to him! And so my books can match on the shelf, admittedly.

Penny Emberly is one of three MC’s in The Glittering edge, but also the main MC. There is a sort of love triangle going on throughout this tale, and we get to hear from all those subject to it. Lucky us. (I am looking at you, Corey.) Her representation was anxiety, which I don’t see a ton in books, so that was cool, and I think very accurately portrayed.

The book itself opens with her at a Fourth of July party held by one of two of Idlewood Indiana’s most famous family’s sons, Corey Barrion. It includes the typical dancing, drinking, puking, etc., and then the town’s bad boy shows up, who just happens to be the son of the other famous family, Alonso De Luca.

The Barrion’s and De Luca’s cannot stand each other, since it is rumored that a De Luca cast a curse that states whomever marries a Barrion for love will die. As a result, the De Luca’s, a once renowned witch family, had their magic evicted from their bodies and the council made up of several famous covens keeps it under lock and key.

All three of these kids could not be more different, but when Penny’s mom becomes the next victim of the Barrion’s curse, they suddenly make themselves very acquainted.

Then, the fun begins.

Alonso De Luca, POV number two, and my FAVORITE of the three.
“I think I made you up inside my head.”

Classic blue-tipped-haired bad witch boy, he is always looking to throw the next punch. His representation is anger issues, and that made me love him so much more. We also got the HE FELL FIRST TROPE WITH HIM!! Alonso has been obsessed with Penny since they were little kids still learning to walk, and it’s the one thing that was done superbly well in this novel. He is so in love I don’t think even he finds it funny.

“For about an hour, Alonso’s worlds collided. Penny was in his house, the place where he’s lived his entire life. Every time he looked at her, she was taking in the details—decorations, paintings, even flaws Alonso hadn’t thought about for years. Her reaction almost made Alonso see his life from a new angle. As if it was something wonderous. As if she might not mind being part of it.”

The other thing that made my heart yearn for Alonso were these two quotes:
“Listen, sorry about what I wrote in your yearbook. I was drunk.”
And…
“I don’t drink,” Alonso says.
This is the second time Alonso has said that. The first time was at the Village Blues Records, the first time they ever talked about curses and magic. It bothered her before and she couldn’t put her finger on why.
Now she remembers.
When they reach the tree line, Penny lets go of his hand, putting a few feet of distance between them. “You don’t drink?”
“Nope,” he says. “My dad’s an alcoholic, so it never appealed to me.”
“I thought you were drunk when you wrote that message in my yearbook.”
Alonso’s face grows red. “Oh yeah. That was my story, wasn’t it?”
“Why would you lie about that?”
“You really don’t know?”

WE ALL KNOW PENNY! Why is it that we are at our most clueless and in denial when it pertains to ourselves? My heart hurt knowing what he has been through with his dad, but I am glad he got his chance with Penny in the end. Now, keep it that way, Alyssa. *glares* We so do not want a Penny and Corey romance. We don’t even want the THOUGHT of a Penny and Corey romance.

Annnnnd, we can’t forget about Nimble!! Alonso’s cat. Who doesn’t love a loyal little nomocracy raised cat? (I love that she is the sprayed edge on the Fairyloot edition.)

Last, and most certainly least, Corey Barrion. Classic good boy (seriously, why are the supposed good ones so irritating?) and POV number three, as well as the oooonnnnllly black kid in probably a huunnnnnnddrrreeed miles. Seriously, that was his entire personality. Even his tendency to try and be righteous couldn’t make me like him, as the only thing I could think of every time his POV came around was “entitled prick.” He is seriously blind to what the word ‘good’ actually means. At least Alonso has a PERSONALITY. At least he acknowledges his FLAWS. And before you come at me, Alonso is Korean, so this is not racial character hate. Corey could die and I would probably cry with relief that this fantasy world is rid of him. I agree with everything Dylan spat in his face.

The last thing I want to mention is the ending. Despite its flaws, the second half of this book had me pretty hooked with the plot, especially as it got deeper and deeper into the magical aspects. But, as soon as Milton said the words “Keep an eye on Alonso. I’m worried about him.” I knew exactly where the epilogue was going. No matter how powerful of a witch Alonso is, and he is indeed very powerful to have magic when his entire bloodline’s is locked away, his grandpa was also very powerful.

And now he is a very powerful poltergeist in control of Alonso’s body.

Overall, this was a good book, just not really my style with the themes chosen. Crude cursing, blood magic, white hate, etc. I think I am also getting to the point in my life where certain writing styles just taste too juvenile in my mouth, and this was definitely one of them. Lackluster is a good way to describe this book. However, not so much of a disappointment that I won’t pick up the second one. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced E-ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I inhaled 350 pages in two days so I think it's safe to say this was good.

Definitely a favourite of the year. Villaire's debut was such a fun time. I loved the characters so much, and their alternating POVs were done so well! Alonso and Penny are everything to me and Corey probably needs a hug. But the magic, the mystery, the story arc, it was all exactly what I needed to read right now and I cannot wait for the second book!

In the small town of Idlewood, Indiana, a decades old curse haunts the De Luca and Barrion families. When high school senior Penny Emberly’s mother falls victim, she turns to the last people she should trust: Corey Barrion and Alonso De Luca. Together, they must unravel the truth before the curse claims another life.

I liked this more than I expected to! The feud between the De Luca and Barrion families was palpable, from Corey and Alonso’s constant clashing to the deep rooted animosity simmering in the older generations. There’s high school drama, teenage angst, a little bit of magic, and just enough creepy occult vibes to keep things interesting. The unlikely trio of Corey, Alonso, and Penny was fun to watch grow, and while this is definitely a YA, it gave me The Vampire Diaries vibes in the best nostalgic way.

Perfect for fans of YA set in high school, with family feuds, reluctant alliances, and a touch of the occult.

Thank you to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is a pretty fun Romeo and Juliet type story, two feuding families and a girl caught in the middle. There's magic, betrayal, jealousy, small town drama, and like all good YA- teens doing some dramatic stuff they have absolutely no business doing.

I think it can be hard to write three POVs and have you root for the characters equally but I enjoyed most of the time spent with each character. I enjoyed the twists and even though book one was wrapping up some of it's problems in a satisfying way, there was more than enough to keep me on the hook for book two.

Waiting for the next book is the worst thing about being an arc reader, I think. 👁️👄👁️ Thank you to net galley and the publisher!

3.5 stars.

This was a fun and well-done YA novel. I loved how vibrant the characters are and how different Alonso and Corey were. I'm not the biggest fan of love triangles, so I am a little nervous about the direction of the series. I also would have loved for this to be a standalone. I think it could have wrapped up in one book and been such a good addition to the standalone world.

I think most of the book was pretty predictable, which isn't a bad thing, but it didn't wow me. I also wasn't a fan of the Naomi friendship. In my opinion she's an incredibly toxic friend who will always see herself as the main character in other peoples lives. The fact that she equated her relationship problems with Penny's mom being in a coma and on the brink of death was WILD. And Naomi never even recognized that it was a wild take. That definitely took away my enjoyment from the book when she was in the story. Penny deserves better friends.

I will definitely be picking up the next book and I'm excited to see what comes next in the story.

4.5 stars WAAAAIT TEA THIS WAS SO GOOD. i keep telling everyone that this book is like if a CW show was a book AND I MEAN THAT AS THE HIGHEST COMPLIMENT. so well-written, so immersive, and i was SO sat for the journey to saving Penny’s mom and breaking the Barrion curse. i’m so excited for book 2!!!

This debut reminded me of some of my favorite teen paranormal shows- in the best way! Fans of Riverdale and Sabrina will love this!

This book was just so much fun to read. The small-town magic, the secrets, the messy-but-lovable characters... I was hooked from the start. Penny is the perfect kind of heroine you can’t help but root for, and the love triangle worked really well for me; I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but personally I don't mind it. Drama, danger, found family, and a curse? Please give me book 2 already!!

3 stars: Following Penny, Corey, and Alonso as they work to break a curse, The Glittering Edge was a mixed bag of high highs and low lows for me.

What liked
- The characters were interesting and the family dynamics intrigued me. It was giving Montagues v. Capulets, which I was a huge fan of.
- The magic was cool and gave off a very fall witch vibe. I would definitely suggest reading this in September/ October.
- The climax was exciting and gripped me. The entire second half of the book was much more fast-paced than the first half, so I liked the second half a lot more than the first half.

What didn’t
- The first half of the plot was way too slow for my liking. It felt like it took forever for the book to get started, and I think at least 50 pages could have been cut from the beginning.
- The first half also felt more young-YA than the second half. It may have been partially because of the high school setting, but the stakes felt pretty low and I was not very interested in hearing about the high school drama of it all, although that is my personal preference.

Overall, this book reminds me a lot of recent cozy fantasies in that the stakes aren’t as high as in a more epic fantasy story. While that is not necessarily my favorite type of fantasy, this book was done well enough to still be enjoyable for me, even if it was not my favorite read of the year. I would recommend this to readers looking for a lower-stakes fall light fantasy.

Interesting but the writing was very childish. I know it's YA but at times it felt even younger. Some of it didn't make sense because there wasn't enough backstory on the Council, witches and covens, who has magic, etc. And the cover art is awful. FairyLoot put out a BEAUTIFUL special edition for May's YA box. The title? After reading the book, also doesn't make sense. I don't think I'll be interested in the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a super quick read and I loved how short the chapters were. I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of this story and loved Penny and Alonso, although Corey left something to be desired in my opinion. Also, almost every adult in this story was horrible!

This was a great witchy/suspenseful YA book. I could see why people were comparing it to The Raven Boys.

The only things I didn’t love about this book was the hints that there would be a love triangle and the ending was not my favorite. I’m not a big fan of cliffhangers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was really good but honestly, my first and most important thought is that Alonso better get the happiest ending I’ve ever seen a character get at the end of the next book. That poor boy is just trying to be a good witch and be worthy of the girl he loves and the ending of this book does THAT to him???? Leave him alone 😭

Other than that, I really enjoy books that have an almost Scooby-Doo group of characters who wouldn’t necessarily interact if it weren’t for some supernatural thing bonding them.

The core three are Penny, Alonso and Corey, and their dynamics are really well done (Alonso and Corey friendship arc is what I’m here for). But I really liked Naomi and Dylan joining the group and all five of them feel like real people with their own problems and things going on. I want to see so much of more of this group in the sequel!

I think Penny is an interesting lead, and I will hold off on saying anything about her for now because I feel that her character arc is currently incomplete, so I’m not sure where her growth is going.

Overall, the vibe of this book with the small-town setting, magic, spookiness and Scooby-Doo vibes was really really enjoyable to me and I highly recommend it.

I absolutely loved this book! I felt like I was dropped into the cozy, spooky town setting, and I was quickly invested in how the curse would play out. I love a story that builds on generations of history and all the questions that come with that — stories being twisted, family issues building over time, and the utter chaos of trying to find the truth. I need the sequel ASAP!!

The magic and mystery were delightful but these characters are what really had me hooked. Without spoilers, I loved seeing how complicated family histories affected the relationships of these young people. Amidst it all, they’re still teenagers — teenagers in an absolutely wild situation but still just people growing up and finding love and all the complexities that go along with that. I would recommend this for anyone who likes a slow burn romance, stories of found family and friendship, and bonus if you’re into a twisty fantasy/magic vibe.

This what so good. I saw someone compare this to the vibes that The Raven Boys gave them and I wholeheartedly agree. (I also am head over heels in love with that series). The familial relationships are done so well, the plot and the stakes are really compelling, and the occult weird vibes are immaculate. I loved the way our characters were written, they felt so authentic and I loved them. This was just a fantastically written story, and from the bottom of my heart, I'm going to go insane while waiting for the next book. 5 Stars, chef's kiss.

This was hard to put down! With its shorter and fast-paced chapters, this could definitely be a one-day binge read. A love triangle (team Alonso all the way), generational family feuds, and secret covens of witches are all found in this stereotypical small town in Indiana. It is very character driven and I loved witnessing their development throughout the book. The ending has me ready for the second book in this duology.. I cannot wait!

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the ARC!

2.5 stars, raised to a 3!

The Glittering Edge is a story about Penny, whose mother falls victim to a side effect of a curse that has plagued two feuding families in their small town in Indiana. The De Luca and Barrion families have hated each other for what seems like forever, and despite avoiding both families, Penny is forced to get their help to stop the shadowed figure that is trying to take her mother's life. What transpires is a complicated forced-friendship where Penny, Corey Barrion, and Alonso De Luca all come together to figure out how to break the curse, stop Penny's mom from getting worse, and uncover the mystery to the creation of this decades-old curse, because something isn't adding up.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did, but it was so hard for me to connect to the characters and get "lost" in the plot. The book is written in 3rd person present POV, which really took me out of the story and made me feel removed from the main characters. I loved the idea for this book, and yes, I even loved the setup for the love triangle, but despite the Practical Magic-esque small town and atmosphere and quirky side characters, this story fell flat for me. I also felt like the dialogue tried too hard: there was so much swearing and pop-culture references that it felt forced and I feel like it will quickly date itself. I'm hopeful for book two, though, and I will give this series another shot!

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for an early advanced digital copy of this book, and the chance to read and review it! All thoughts and opinions are my own.