e-Book, 384 pages
Release Date: August 29, 2023
Published by: Zando
Read from: September 6-11, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received an early copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire Injury
For Readers Interested In: Historical Fiction, Romance, Family Diversity (Twins), Racial/Ethnic Diversity, Some set Outside the US, Dual Timeline, Magic, Fantasy, YAPractical Magic meets Erika L. Sanchez in this dazzling YA fantasy about a Cuban American family of brujas who get entangled in love, magic, and murder, alternating between 1980s Cuba and present-day Miami.
Twin sisters Ofelia and Delfi know better than to get involved with magic. Their Mami has seen to that. After all, it was magic that cursed their family, turning love into a poison. Romance is off the table for the Sanchez women. They’ve seen the curse take hold enough times to know how that road ends. And yet. Sometimes a girl catches feelings and just can’t help herself.
When Ofelia and Delfi begin having premonitions of a series of murders, the sisters know it is time to embrace their magical inheritance to get to the bottom of the mystery and save innocent lives. Teaming up with their best friend Ethan and with brooding detective-in-training Andres, the sisters set out to learn the truth. They just need to make sure Mami doesn’t find out what they’re up to.
Meanwhile, in 1980 Cuba, Anita struggles with a different magical conflict. Her mother, Mama Orti, is a bruja who belongs to a secret coven of elders and Anita knows she will be forced to join the coven herself one day. She sees no escape, though the thought of staying and letting this future claim her is terrifying. Ofelia, Delfi, and Anita’s stories collide as each woman steps into her power and embraces who she truly is, refusing to be subdued by any person, coven, or curse.
In this stunning YA contemporary fantasy, debut author Vanessa Montalban explores the interlocking struggles of three generations of women in one family. An unputdownable debut for anyone who roots for magic, sisterhood, and love.
*MY THOUGHTS*
So I fell for this book from the comparisons alone. Practical Magic?! YES. PLEASE. That is one of my favorite movies to watch every Halloween, so I was DESPERATE to get my hands on this. And tho I saw it, it was only in small things. But that didn’t make it any difference in my eyes! This was really good, but it did have some flaws.
Starting with those flaws, I would have loved some more world-building. I know what Miami looks like, but 1980’s Cuba? Not a clue. I’d love to have seen some more of like what was going on and what was happening back then. There’s some in there because you can’t really talk about this time period without some of this info, but I really wanted to know more about it. I ended up doing more research on the time period instead to give it more context. And while that’s fine, I tend to like the book better when it’s in the book and I can learn directly from the author. But on the other side of that, I am not the from this particular culture and understand that this may be basic info to those who are. I would have liked more, but I don’t think it took anything from the story.
And then there’s the cult. Which don’t get me wrong was WEIRD AF, but I think I would have preferred us seeing more of what they did to be this weird murderous thing that they were? Like when people say showy and not telly? This is it. Idk I like to be fully immersed in the books I read, no matter what it is I’m reading. If I’m reading some weird ass book about a cult, I want to feel like I’m running for my life too. It just kind of glossed over the whole thing and that annoyed me for whatever reason. I just thought these girls deserved more than that.
The characters were bad ass tho. I really enjoyed reading them and seeing all the things they did. I also loved seeing them do their magic and how it was shown in the book. I wish both sisters were into the magic tho. I thought it was cool and wished they did things together more. I get why she made one of them not into it, but I just wish it had more of them together.
This book was good, but I think the most repeated thing here is that I wish it had been more showy vs telly. I wanted more detail and more adjectives. I don’t mean flowery language, but a little more descriptions would have done wonders for me.
Overall, I give this
