Small Town, Big Magic is a witchy coming of age story set in small riverside town in America. The story centres around Emerson Wilde, a young small bookshop owner and the young president of the town's Chamber of Commerce. A supernatural attack shakes Emerson out of the life she thought she was living and throws her into a whirlwind of witch wars, memories, and river magic.

I felt this book was trying hard to not take itself too seriously. It's a light read that features some cheesy bits that will appeal to readers who enjoy comedic and magical women's fiction. While I liked the river magic and the idea of a small town full of witches hiding in plain sight, I found it a tad boring. The trope of a young woman who must learn how to be a witch is overdone and I couldn't connect to the characters who seemed emotionally immature. I have read many small town magic books over the years and unfortunately this book pales in comparison. I would have found it more interesting and enjoyable if only the chamber of commerce members were witches and Emerson and her friends were human small town business owners trying to save the town from their evil.

Overall there were some good ideas, but it wasn't my cup of tea for the reasons I mentioned. 3/5 stars.

3.5 stars for me. I really liked a lot of things about this book - there’s a bit of Stars Hollow, CT (a la Gilmore Girls) but make it secretly magic with witches. I love a small town setting, and I really liked the very strong friend group/found family vibe in this.

My quibbles are - this seems to be a magic witch town with only white straight people, which is an odd move. Also, the amnesia plot is tricky; without spoiling, I just feel like there were some choices of convenience without realistic consequences taken by the author, which took me out of the story a little.

If you like a real-life contemporary setting but make it magic, this is a cute paranormal with a dash of romance (extremely off the page, 0% spicy if that matters to you). It is clearly set up for the next book - in fact, the ending is very “we’ve won this battle, but here comes more conflict right this second” - not a cliffhanger, but still definitely mid-action.

This would have a wide appeal to patrons in any public library setting.

A delightful book full of adventure, action, and thrills. Fun to read, engrossing world building, and very descriptive imagery made it feel like it was cinematic. It's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. Would recommend.