I wanted to love this book. I loved Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar but just could not get into this book. I've said this before and I'm sure it won't be the last time, I think I need to just stay away from magical realism. I always find myself frustrated with blending the real world and the magical world and in this book, it was no exception. I didn't love the melding of the two types of settings.

I also wasn't a fan of the romance in this book. Everything felt a little forced and I feel that there was a major missed opportunity for the female main character to have a better romantic plot.

Overall, this was just a miss for me. I think there are readers who would enjoy it and I do want to highlight that I loved the cultural references in this story so much and I would continue to read books by this author, just this one wasn't my favorite.

Lastly, the narrator was a great choice for the story. If I had been reading a physical copy, I'd probably have DNF-ed this one but the audiobook was really good and I think that kept me from putting it down.

⭐️⭐️

This was an entertaining blend of YA contemporary romance and fantasy by a new to me author. I really like the main female protagonist and her entrepreneurial spirit, working hard on making nature based perfumes. When she and another boy get whisked away to this alternate fantasy world things get really interesting as they make friends there and then one of them gets trapped forcing the other to find a way to save them both. Good on audio narrated by Soneela Nankani (one of my favs). Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks to HarperAudio Children's and NetGalley for an advanced copy!

This was a fun read! Nothing too special, but an entertaining one. I liked how it was based on a mythology that isn't as commonly used. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great mythological fiction book!