I haven’t read much on the period and learned some things from this one, which was unexceptional but basically enjoyable reading.Įdward I was an expansionist 13th century king with his first wife, Eleanor of Castile, he had 16 children, of whom 6-one son, Edward II, and five daughters-lived to adulthood. I haven’t read much on the period and learned some thi An interesting group biography of 5 medieval princesses, daughters of King Edward I of England. If you’re interested in a cozy book about witches, found family and romance, you could certainly do worse than giving it a try.moreĪn interesting group biography of 5 medieval princesses, daughters of King Edward I of England. Still, despite the issues I had with it, I think this book is basically successful at what it’s trying to do. Of the four adults, Ian is clearly the most fun, Lucie the warmest and Ken the most laid-back, all of which seem like major bonuses for kids Jamie seems like the disciplinarian of the bunch, which someone has to be, but more the kind of caretaker they’d appreciate better as they grow older than the one they’d prefer above all others right now. That said, what I initially thought was the book’s biggest plot hole might, from a bit of online research, actually be a faithful representation of a particularly asinine UK law perhaps someone who knows more about it will weigh in! (view spoiler) Īlso on the subject of the kids, I found the idea that romantic hero Jamie was the only adult the girls really considered their parent eyeroll-inducingly over-the-top, when his involvement in this project at all sufficiently shows his warm heart. There are also some plot details that don’t add up, such as (view spoiler), and in general I find the trope of hidden and oppressed witches much less convincing than I used to, especially when writers equate it to real-world discrimination, as Mandanna does here. And the characters feel perhaps a bit too written-to-tropes: I was probably primed to notice by the million reviews gushing about “grumpy/sunshine romance!” but the number of times Mika is described as “sunshiney” and Jamie as “grumpy,” when I’m not sure I would have described either of them this way based on what we’re actually shown, sometimes made the story feel confined by its marketing.Īlso, for a cozy story I sure thought this book treats Lillian badly (major spoilers below the cut): (view spoiler) It’s totally hamfisted about everything, where it’s going and how you’re supposed to interpret everything that’s happening and what you’re supposed to think of all the issues raised. That said, I wouldn’t call it perfect cozy reading either. Last year at the same time I read The Orphan Witch, which has a similar premise without the kids, and this book is leagues ahead in its construction and craftsmanship, which inclines me to be generous even though it’s hardly great literature. But it’s cute and fun and propulsive-I enjoyed reading it, liked the characters and seeing the bonds among them develop, and generally wanted to know what would happen next. And you have to have a pretty high tolerance for sweetness or you might find it sickening (the romance put my teeth on edge a bit the rest I could deal with). And the characters are not complex, but they are endearing and sometimes funny. From there the book unfolds pretty much as you think it does: romance! secrets! community!Īnd yeah, it’s predictable, though with enough sleight of hand that I missed much of the foreshadowing for one key twist. But this leads to her being hired as the private magic tutor for three young girls being raised in secret by an eccentric community of outsiders. Mika Moon is a lonely 30-something witch, so tired of hiding that she’s resorted to connecting with people by posting videos online pretending to be a witch. In other words, the perfect Christmas book! Really, I don’t know why people are calling it a Halloween book-Christmas is actually celebrated in the book, and it’s all about the warm and fuzzy vibes. A cozy, predictable contemporary fantasy with found family and romance, this one is sweet enough to give you diabetes but has a well-constructed plot A cozy, predictable contemporary fantasy with found family and romance, this one is sweet enough to give you diabetes but has a well-constructed plot that kept me turning pages.
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