Something Close to Magic

A review in which I am a grump:

This book was very disappointing. It falls in the vein of stories that feel like they're going for cozy and just end up with a weak plot. There were so many holes and the villain was never given any kind of motivation. I did enjoy the twist of the villain's backstory, but it still didn't actually give them a motivation or explain their actions at all.

The worldbuilding was weak sauce. It's just random things put together. We're told early on that people *think* using magic has negative effects, but no one knows for sure--magic just has a bad reputation. And then it's never explored or explained, even though they use magic throughout the story. There's one non-human character, but no others, and no sense of how they fit into society.

Also, the pacing is super weird.

The characters are kind of fun, I'll say that. I did enjoy Prince Hapless, but mostly because his silliness was a breath of fresh air when most love interests are dark and brooding these days. Aurelie was...fine. She doesn't have much of a character arc and most of the plot is happenstance instead of her making decisions. Overall the characters were funny, but lacking depth, and it wasn't enough to make up for everything else.