e-Audio, 09:25:38
Narrated by: Morag Sims
Release Date: March 14, 2023
Published by: HarperTeen
Read from: March 26-28, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: From the Library
TW:
For Readers Interested In: Fantasy, Flowers, Romance, YAPerfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Tamora Pierce, this standalone YA debut is a stunning cottagecore fantasy romance about a girl with powerful and violent magic, which she must learn to control—or lose everything she loves.
Clara’s magic has always been wild. But it’s never been dangerous. Then a simple touch causes poisonous flowers to bloom in her father’s chest.
The only way to heal him is to cast an extremely difficult spell that requires perfect control. And the only person willing to help is her former best friend, Xavier, who’s grown from a sweet, shy child into a mysterious and distant young man.
Xavier names a terrible price in return, knowing Clara will give anything to save her father. As she struggles to reconcile the new Xavier with the boy she once loved, she discovers their bargain is only one of the heavy secrets he’s hiding. And as she hunts for the truth, she instead finds the root of a terrible darkness that’s taken hold in the queendom—a darkness only Clara’s magic is powerful enough to stop.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I was hella disappointed in this. I kept hearing so many good things from people who my tastes usually align with. But this one missed the mark. It fell flat with me because it felt like a filler series book, but it was the first one. It just didn’t work for me.
Ok so first off I didn’t like the characters. I didn’t really care for the FMC. The MMC was really cute and I liked him, but since it was told through her POV it was like not a good thing? I don’t know how to explain it. It just got really boring with her crying for the entire first 33% of the book. Like I knew WHY she was crying, but I kept waiting and waiting for her to turn into a bad ass FMC. But nothing.
The plot was also really slow. Which paired with the unlikeable FMC did me no favors. It just seemed really slow and like it was a filler to a series book. But its the first in a series? It was almost boring…. But I was interested in the magic side so I kept listening. It was just weird because even though there was the fact that her powers could be taken, I just didn’t care? I cared more about what her powers could do vs whether or not she kept them. Does that make sense?
But I did like the magic. Idk the flowers were deadly but cool. But I wanted more. And I also didn’t like that it was all about a drug. But I know that’s a me thing. It didn’t bother me because it was more like a fictional thing? Meaning it’s not something that can be found in the real world. I really wish it had been something more about the powers tho. Like why her mom was the immediate person to blame, and I wanted more of a back story with the MMC. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.
Idk this just wasn’t for me. Though I did like this, I think I’d much rather it had been a second in a series and not the beginning. Because it wasn’t, I don’t think I’ll finish this series. (If it is one) This one just didn’t work for me, I don’t know what to say other than that.
Overall, I give this
