Cover are will definitely catch browsers attention. I read this as an eBook, so the shadows of fins in the water were lost. Nice detail, though.

Overall, I enjoyed this follow up to THE BEST KIND OF MAGIC (2017). There was a lot more going on in this book that tended to be a distraction. Conclusion was a bit underwhelming.

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.


The Sweetest Kind of Fate is Crystal Cestari’s second installment in the Windy City Magic series. It continues Amber’s adventures in matchmaking although this time around, her nemesis, Ivy, comes to her and asks her to check out her sister and see if her true love is really her match. And when Amber complies the answer is not to Ivy’s liking and so begins the tale of the mermaids!

So I got ahead of myself there, as we know already, Ivy is a siren as is her sister, Iris. Ivy loves to use the power of her voice to get what she wants. When her sister falls in love with a mermaid and wants to find a spell that will allow her to turn into a mermaid as well, Ivy wants to put a stop to it in any way possible. For Iris will basically be leaving land, never to return.

But Ivy’s family drama is only the beginning of Amber’s problems. Lately, she’s been trying to be nice to Kim, the new girl in school who also happens to be Charlie’s soulmate, the girl she sees him with in his happily ever after future. She sees Charlie within Kim’s eyes as well, and it puts a strain on the friendship she has with Kim for she is genuinely a great person and super nice. When it seems Charlie is spending an ample amount of time with Kim lately, Amber goes off the fritz.

But this story doesn’t just focus on possible romances all around, there’s still some good old fashion mystery elements in here too! Amber is looking into her mother’s past through her old grimoires. Add in the return of the wicked witch Victoria and you got on your hands quite the page turning read!

This book series is really turning out to be a cute read! The humor is so quirky! It’s definitely the lighter side of paranormal reads if you’ve ever wanted to read one but didn’t want it to be all dark and doom like! It surprises me that I enjoy it so much since nearly all my paranormal reads are dark and doom filled! Lol! Guess we all gotta take a bit of a break once in a while! Like switching from white cake to yellow cake! I’m sure Amber would appreciate that sentiment!

There’s not a great deal of kissing in this one. Things are light and fluffy in the beginning but by the middle, things are on the rocks. But there are still a few surprises thrown our way that doesn’t totally throw romance out of the book! It’s just not the romances you’d expect to see after everything that’s happened!

The ending to this one leaves me befuddled. While the first one didn’t quite end on a cliffhanger, it did end in a way that leads you to believe the story is far from over. While I can’t say that the story ends all happily ever after like, it does end in a fairly decent place. Nothing to really worrywart over, perhaps a one or two straggling questions. That’s what makes me wonder if there might be at least one more book! I feel like the characters were just starting to make some progress when I realized I came upon the last page! So much harder to tell when that happens when reading on a kindle! The Sweetest Kind of Fate will sweep you up with its tale of magic, love, and friendships…throw in some decent humor and a healthy dose of action and you’ve got quite the read in your hands!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars


The Sweetest Kind of Fate releases February 13, 2018

I thoroughly enjoyed this second.book in the Windy City Magic series. Cestari writes strong characters and great storylines that feel both real and full of magic at the same time. The Sweetest Kind of Fate is witty and charming, full of coming-of-age events that made me laugh, cringe, and "awwww" as the characters grow. Loved it!

Amber Sand tells this story. She is a Matchmaker meaning when she looks into someone's eyes she sees their perfect match. She comes from a family of witches but her talent isn't considered enough for her to be part of her coven. Her mother is is one of the most powerful good witches in Chicago. Amber's passion is baking. She is getting ready to submit her application the the Culinary Institute if she can just work up the courage.

Amber and Charlie are in a romantic relationship which causes a problem for Amber because, when she looks into Charlie's eyes, she sees him with another girl. The girl she sees in Charlie's eyes is Kim Li who is a new student at their school. Amber and her best friend Amari have befriended Kim but Amber can't help but be jealous of Kim. Amber's fears that Charlie will prefer Kim - his Fated match - make her relationship with Charlie harder because she hasn't told him what she sees.

While wrestling with her romantic dilemma, Amber is approached by her nemesis Ivy because Ivy needs help convincing her sister Iris that she is in the wrong relationship. Amber looks into her eyes and sees that her relationship with Brooke is real but the problem is that Brooke is a mermaid and to be with her Iris will have to undergo a complex spell to change into a mermaid herself. Amber's mother won't agree to perform the spell so Iris turns to evil witch Victoria to do the spell.

Victoria was the villain of the first book in this series and is even more evil in this one. Amber and her friends need to find a way to save Iris from Victoria's evil plans. Along the way Amber learns more about her mother's past and her mother's attitude toward love. I liked Amber who has a very sarcastic voice and viewpoint. I also liked that she finally decides not to blindly go along with Fate.

Fans of paranormal romance with lots of action will enjoy this story.

Okay, I cannot say it was completely perfect, because it wasn’t, but everytime I think about the story, it makes me smile and wish there was a motion picture of it *which Hollywood would probably ruin* and want to reread it again and again. One thing that I HATED a lot is the Charlie problem of it all. I wanted more Charlie and Amber time, but if you remember what happened at the end of the first book, we were introduced to the girl that is supposed to be Charlie’s match and if that is not the perfect recipe for a couple’s trouble then I don’t know what is.

Amber decided not to tell Charlie anything about Kim being his match because obviously she doesn’t want to lose him and she thinks that by telling him, something will snap inside of him and make him realize what a mistake he is making by being with Amber and not Kim.

Oh gosh that right there had me reading nonstop!

Then another thing that I wasn’t too fond about is how Amber kept talking about sweets, baking, cakes, cupcakes and everything baking related, for like the first six or eight chapters. Granted it is what she is going to go to college for and is her passion, but it felt a little overdone. Thankfully Mrs. Cestari kind of knew when to stop Amber’s fascination with sugar because, even though it was a little too much in the first few chapters, it stopped just in time to not be completely annoying.

Aside from those two things–which was mostly just one, the Charlie thing was necessary so I cannot complain that much–the story was wonderful.

The main conflict of this book is what people do for love. Some give up everything they know and hold dear for the loved one, others are afraid to tell the truth for fear of losing the loved one, and others can’t let go of the damage a loved one caused them in the past that they are not willing to see that love doesn’t always have a bad ending.

To my believe, love is the main theme of this series. Because as one person said one day, “Love is the closest thing we have to real magic, that’s why we are always trying to find it,” or something along those lines. And it is true, love is the closest thing we have to magic if you really think about it, we do crazy things for love and love seems and feels so powerful that sometimes is really hard to contain it.

The Sweetest Kind of Fate captures what love is supposed to be.

That love is worth everything. Which can mean taking a leap of faith and trusting that your feelings are worth more than what the fates might have predestined for you. And that obviously the “fates” are not always right.

The person with the main conflict is Ivy, and to be honest with you, I still hated her for the events that happened in the first book, and well to say she had the main conflict is to say it generally. She was affected but she wasn’t the main person with the problem. It was her sister.

Her sister wanted to give up something major, like do a completely 180 in her life for the girl she loved and you might think that Ivy’s problem with Iris’ wedding might be that she is marrying a girl, but it’s obviously not. The problem Ivy has is something completely unrelated to Iris’ sexual preference. Being straight or homosexual in this book is like second nature to the story, like it’s not a big deal, which is great because that is how life really is *for most people* you met people that are in love with someone from the same gender and it shouldn’t be a surprise just like is not in this book. *Totally sidetrack with this thought, but I think I had to say it.*

Anyway, then we also have the overall conflict of “who you are meant to be with.” Amber is never wrong with her matches, even with her best friend. She might have hated Vincent when she met him, but in this book, I can say that has changed a little bit. And that is what brings us to Charlie and the main, LIKE MAIN conflict of all the story: follow the fates or follow your heart and let it guide you?

We all know or have read about how powerful love can be, many times it gives you the power to do the unexpected, to pull through the most difficult situation, and many times love can prove more powerful than the fates themselves. So the million dollar question in this book was, are the fates right concerning Charlie’s match?

This was an amazing story, with a few cliches, but I welcomed the cliches, they made the story way more enjoyable and every little part of every chapter left me wanting more and more. I really loved the book and I cannot wait for the third book, because there HAS got to be another book.

The Sweetest Kind of Fate has a wonderful ending and I even though I REALLY would love another book for this series, I would totally *not really* be okay with the series ending like it did in this book.

This was a good follow-up to the first book. Amber is still a little hard to like at times, but I can see why she is a bit jaded. This installment continues with the relationship with Charlie, but this time we get a little insight into Ivy's family situation. She is still horrible but a little bit more likable. Victoria is back, and this time she is worse. There is a link between Victoria and Amber's mom that is pretty interesting.
I missed Charlie's dad in this one. I want to see more of him. I'm also hoping that Kim gets a little more of the spotlight if there are more books.

Actual rating: 4.5
I enjoyed book one of this series, and book two did not disappoint me one bit. I was so excited to see it on Netgalley that jumped at the chance to read it.
I loved it. I enjoyed the Amber/Charlie/Kim dynamic and the stunning conclusion! I loved the Ivy/Iris/Brooke storyline. I loved that we saw Victoria...again....and that a little more of Lucille Sand was uncovered. I loved the underlying message of the story as well, and various way that the author brought out that message. Just really enjoyed this one. Truly hope there is one more book in this series, but I'm happy where it left off in this one.

This book followed up "The Best Kind of Magic" in the best way possible. I loved that we got more from the relationship between Amber and her mother and Amani and Vincent. I selfishly would love another book in this series but would be very happy with the way it ended if this is the last book.
It was fun to see more of the matchmaking side of Amber as well as get introduced to more supernatural characters!