Lori
For a bargain find this book surprised me with its slow hand charm.
One warning is that the main character is unlikeable at the beginning to the point I almost wondered why this was a cozy book. It takes a bit for the character to open up and trust others and even at the end she is not fully open but willing to reach out to others. For me this was really nice that her personality didn’t completely change from grumpy to sunshine. I also liked that the romance was not the focus of the book and at the end they weren’t in the deepest love ever known. It felt more real, not instant love but the start of a relationship.
The story tackles heavy subjects like grief, loss, withholding recourses and education (magic), and climate change. This is handled well throughout the book as it is tied to the story in a natural way and offers discussions through the conversations with other characters.
The MMC is a great part of the book as he is not emotionally unavailable or pushy but soft, caring, and open. Plus, he cooks. The plants that come alive are a great addition to the book and it was always funny that the one plant was friendly then the main character. Other characters like the more magical people of the island were better written with more personality while everyone else was just background noise.
What lowers my rating is the sudden jump in action at the end of the book. It felt off compared to the rest of the book. The book manages to not have much happen in terms of action but still be interesting. Its sort of like a Hallmark film with more magic.
I really enjoyed this book as it was more of a soft cozy story.
For a bargain find this book surprised me with its slow hand charm.
One warning is that the main character is unlikeable at the beginning to the point I almost wondered why this was a cozy book. It takes a bit for the character to open up and trust others and even at the end she is not fully open but willing to reach out to others. For me this was really nice that her personality didn’t completely change from grumpy to sunshine. I also liked that the romance was not the focus of the book and at the end they weren’t in the deepest love ever known. It felt more real, not instant love but the start of a relationship.
The story tackles heavy subjects like grief, loss, withholding recourses and education (magic), and climate change. This is handled well throughout the book as it is tied to the story in a natural way and offers discussions through the conversations with other characters.
The MMC is a great part of the book as he is not emotionally unavailable or pushy but soft, caring, and open. Plus, he cooks. The plants that come alive are a great addition to the book and it was always funny that the one plant was friendly then the main character. Other characters like the more magical people of the island were better written with more personality while everyone else was just background noise.
What lowers my rating is the sudden jump in action at the end of the book. It felt off compared to the rest of the book. The book manages to not have much happen in terms of action but still be interesting. Its sort of like a Hallmark film with more magic.
I really enjoyed this book as it was more of a soft cozy story.