Amie is sixteen living with her mum who is very spiritual and superstitious.

When her mum disappears one day leaving a mysterious note, Amie discovers her mysterious Aunt Heather and also discovers many cousin's in Filbert where her mum was from and sets about discovering her family's history and magical ties as well as finding out about her dad, who she doesn't know, another mystery to she sets about figuring out.

A captivating story of family mysteries, discoveries, magic, curses and keeps you hooked in the verse style it's a fast flowing novel with a magical edge.

Amie has a witch mom who sells witch-made stuff: enchanted lipgloss, herbal tea bags, petals and leaves and roots from their houseplants. Amie enjoyed helping her mother especially in the garden when she was a kid, but she's sixteen now. Her mommy isn't mommy-ing that she calls her by name, Grace. But one day, Grace is gone and leaves a phone number of Amie's aunt's. All of a sudden Amie is in Filbert—where Aunt Heather lives and where Grace used to live. Why did Grace leave this place? Where is she now? Is this related to Amie's dad who left a long time ago?

This novel-in-verse is about moms and aunts, and I personally felt it deep in my heart. I am not who I am today without my mom and my aunts who help me along the way. Here Amie learns not only about Grace but also her family, from their knacks to their secrets. The revelation was surprising and led the story direction into full fantasy instead of magic as allegory. I liked it this way, since the witchy magical vibe already kicks off from the start. For a quick read, the magic system is easily understood and it's actually pretty extensive—there are limitation, mechanism, and "recipes" to activate the magic. But what stood out the most is the writing style that brings Amie to life without needing more pages. On the contrary, the ending felt a bit rushed and could use extra explanation.

Growing Magic is not just about magical gardens—it's also about how to tend them time to time, know each power the plants that live there possess, and understand who they are that we share the gardens with. It's a perfect YA read for this time of year.

Thank you to NetGalley and West 44 Books for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rosen Publishing Group, West 44 Books, and D.E. Daly fore the opportunity to read Growing Magic in exchange for an honest review.

This is a HiLo novel written in a poetic verse style. The story follows Amaryllis, who hates the name and goes by Amie. Sixteen and living with her mother, she knows nothing about the father that left her. What she does know is far too much about which herbs are best for magic crafts, as her mom practices and sells.

One morning, her mother is gone, leaving behind a note with some information about an aunt that Amie had no idea about. Amie goes to stay with her aunt for a few weeks, until her mother returns, which she promised she would, and Amie finds she has many cousins she never knew about. The town in which her family lives thinks she or her mother might be a witch, but it all comes down to what one chooses to believe as happening truth.

This novel actually focuses a lot on family history and ties, and how being cut off from family takes someone away from an entire world they never knew. It explores familial love and what it means to be a daughter, niece, cousin, and friend. This is an easy and fun novel, with it's neat twist at the end, for a young adult audience.

* ARC Review- Thank you Netgalley and Rosen Publishing Group/West 44 Books for the advanced copy*

I really enjoyed this coming of age story about family, connections, and learning about being your true self while being able to overcome generational expectations. Amie doesn't want to be her mom and honestly doesn't really feel like her mom is suited to be a mom. So when she disappears with just a cryptic note and a phone number to an Aunt that Amie didnt even know she had, everything changes. For the first time Amie gets to find out who she really is outside of caring for her mother, and who she wants to be.

I genuinely loved the exploration of family, youth, and all of the torment that comes with both of them. In just a few weeks Amie grows a lot and so does her mother and her aunt. I do think the story could have been fleshed out more and I would have loved to see Amie find her own power like the other women have but definitely a great quick read.

Beautiful descriptions - stunning visuals - and an exciting plot which kept me turning the pages!

I really enjoyed this story, and would encourage anyone witchy or otherwise yo give it a go!

This book just flows. Though written in verse you get all the information and story that your need. Amie coming to terms with her mother's past, and her origins is heartfelt and relatable.

I had no idea what Hi/Lo meant when I picked this one out - I was also not entirely certain of what a verse / prose led story would be like, but after finishing this book, I know that I'm in love with this method of story telling. D. E. Daly weaves a beautiful and heartbreaking tale of a mother and daughter trying to find themselves and their way through big life events.

This feels to me, like what the book Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman should have been all along. The way that the "knack" infuses the characters entire lives, and doesn't just come about in the background. This book was a wonderfully easy read, but has left me with a little piece of it within my heart. Delightful indeed.

Thank you D. E. Daly, Rosen Publishing Group and West 44 Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

★★★.75/5

Her witchy mom disappears and leaves only a note with a name of an aunt she never mentioned and suddenly Amaryllis has to go live with her... There, she will slowly discover things her family kept secret. Surprisingly there was a bit of mystery and I had fun with this one: honestly, I was hooked & touched by the topic of family and mother daughter/ aunts relationships as I grew up in a big Italian crowd.

It's written in prose but still feels like a whole novel unfolding & I loved that! We get access to the main character’s thoughts so we are discovering things at the same time she does. The magic is described in a grounded, simple way which I love in witchy stories. The mother–daughter relationship is messy in a very real way: love + frustration + learning to understand their flaws AND still appreciating them. The writing is simple but efficient, the pacing flows really well and the small-town vibes were very much my vibe. There is suspense and that coming-of-age feeling of trying to figure out who you are — and how family shapes that even when you’ve been cut off from them.

For enjoyers of: Practical Magic, slow mystery, family secrets, small-town atmospheres, and mother–daughter complexity.
I can totally see a witchy mom gifting this book to her teen daughter <3 If you like magical realism that stays soft, intimate, character-based you will probably like this one!


Thank you Netgalley & Rosen Publishing Group for this ARC,
All opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to West 44 Books/Rosen Publishing and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Amaryllis aka Amie lives with her free spirited witchy mother, whom she calls Grace. Amie wants nothing to do with the life she’s raised in. Then her mom randomly leaves her, so she is left to reach out to the aunt she never knew she had, where she learns more about her family, herself and the families true magic.

I really enjoyed this book, going into all the magic elements. The spells, the ingredients used within them, what each crystal, flower and herb is used for. I really loved the way they were used and shared about through the story.

Amie had lots to deal with from the way her mom raised her, making her struggle with the life she was in, wanting to escape. Then by chance her mom leaves her and she suddenly gets to meet the family she never knew she had, and a whole new understanding of her life comes to play within it. Where she grows as a person, getting the full story of all the pieces she’d never figured out before.

I liked the mystery we got too, surrounding her father and why her mom went away, we got to uncover that along with her. I also loved her building relationship with Aidan, that was so cute, very subtle and simple but really cute, leaving you to know after the story more would build between them.

This book was such a great read, from all the wonderfully witchy moments, to Amaryllis finding who she really was, to her learning to love and understand what happened in her life. I really enjoyed delving into this verse book, it was so beautiful.

D. E. Daly does a fantastic job in writing fantasy book, I really enjoyed the way the characters and world were presented and developed. It was everything that I wanted in the description and was glad it was everything that I was looking for and am excited for more in this world. It uses the magic and witch element perfectly and had that feel that I was looking for and was glad it was so well done.