✨ Review ✨ Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

The book follows Sage Flores and the women in her family, all of whom have special gifts. She returns home to live her with sister Teal and aunt Nadia, as well as the ghost of her sister Sky who died while hiking as a 16yo. Sage, now 28, starts working with a local farm, including her high school crush Tennessee Reyes, to find local rare plants for the farm to cultivate and sell. Her power connects her to plants -- helping to identify them, learn their stories, and find out what they want. She uses this to seek and find plants and to change their destinies.

I liked the magic and the relationships in this book, but there was something that didn't quite hit for me. I think that while it read like an adult romance, there was something about the characters (even though they were 28 and 29ish), that just didn't feel like they were adult. In addition, there's an initial romantic tension (who will Sage choose?) that just made me a little uncomfortable.

Overall, this was enjoyable though, and a fun fall read! I bet it would also have been great as an audiobook! I loved the Latinx representation, as well as the descriptions of foods and plants!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(3.5-4ish)
Genre: magical realism, contemporary f/m romance
Setting: small town Virginia
Pub Date: September 2023

Read this if you like:
⭕️ plants and flowers and mushrooms and wildlife
⭕️ messy family / sister stories
⭕️ man in a romance who's a great listener
⭕️ magical realism

Thanks to Berkley and #netgalley for an advanced e-copy of this book!

4.5 Stars

This story made me feel *so* many things. It’s exactly my kind of romance in the sense that, yes, the romance is one of the primary driving forces in the story, but there’s also so much happening internally for the main character, and so many disparate parts of their life that feed into their ability to accept and express love. Because that’s how life works! You don’t just experience romantic feelings or any other kind of deeply connected intimate feelings on one plane and then experience the rest of your life in another. It all tangles up together. Your past, your fears, your doubts, your emotional baggage, your scars all inform the ways in which you navigate intimacy and relationships.

So yes, there *is* an absolutely delightful and heart-warming second chance romance—with a dash of the forced proximity and mistaken identity tropes—that’s front and center in the story, and that’s wonderful. But more importantly, the story is about this deeply fractured family of women who are still struggling to heal from the past. All of them are carrying doubt, anger, grief and regret with them every single day, especially regarding the loss of their younger sister, and it affects their ability to not only connect with other people but also with themselves.

There’s a really great parallel between these two very different kinds of grief that Sage is dealing with. On the one hand, she feels a lot of guilt and misplaced responsibility for what happened to her sister. It’s hard for her to come to grips with that. And she’s also secretly grieving this past heartache that happened with Tenn that sometimes overshadows their current relationship in some ways. Add that to this magic that she’s still hiding, that she’s still ashamed of to some extent, and also this very tumultuous history of being used and mistreated and discarded by men, and that grief takes on a whole new weight.

That’s why this budding relationship with Tenn is so moving, so gentle, so resonant, because he’s very careful with her, he’s very intentional in what he does. He makes her feel seen, and wanted, and chosen. His presence is comforting to the point where she feels safe sharing things she never talks about. And that’s ultimately what the story is building towards: how love means never having to hide yourself—even the unsavory, unlikeable, complicated, allegedly “unloveable” parts of yourself—and that it’s okay to break sometimes, especially because broken pieces can be used to create something new, something better and even more beautiful.

To me, this was such a cozy romance. There’s definitely a sense of warmth, and comfort, and closeness to the story, especially with the small town vibes and the magical realism. I loved the complexity of the characters, the gentleness of the second chance romance, and overall this story just left my heart feeling so incredibly full. I would love to read more from the Flores family in the future!

There are a lot of elements within the story that make this an enjoyable read. Not sure if the one sort of "twist" worked entirely but perhaps that's because I had no issues believing in all the gifts of the family and there was something too neat about the reveal.

WITCH OF WILD THINGS is an enchanting story of love and family bonds with a hint of whimsy. Vasquez Gilliland effortlessly brought together a narrative containing the struggles of coping with loss, the emotions of past hurt, and the possibilities of a happier future.

This book was a surprise for me. It was a quick read with all the feels and a positively charming story. The way the author wove in the powers of the Flores women was perfectly done. There was never anything that seemed out of place. It all made sense within the family history as well as who these women are when we meet things in the present. Then you have Sage. I loved the whole development of this character. She popped off the page with her honesty and how her interactions were with all those around her.

All in all, this was a delightful read. It wasn’t dark or twisty. It was real and at times magical. Vasquez Gilliland truly wrote a tale for romance lovers and those who like a little touch of the supernatural.

This was SO good. I have read RVG's previous YA title and enjoyed this FAR more. I am so glad she's made this pivot to this new genre because it was a hit for me. The magic especially was really delightful and comforting.

Rating: 4.25 stars
Spice Level: 1.5/5

This was a wonderful, cozy, romcom with a dash of magic and paranormal happenings. I absolutely adored Sage as a main character and Tenn as a love interest. Their chemistry was off the charts! It was so easy to connect with Sage and her fears, confusion, and pain as she returned home after being away for so long and navigated the complicated relationships she’s left behind. She was a little messy, and she makes some awful decisions, but despite that, she’s easy to love and even easier to root for.
Second chance romance is one of my absolute favorite tropes—and this iteration was so fun. Tenn and Sage were best friends—and maybe something more?—via IM as teenagers. Every chapter begins with excerpts of their messages that show you how it all went down over a decade ago. I actually cannot express how I <i>perfectly</i> Raquel Vasquez Gilliland captures that awkward teenaged text-flirting. I genuinely don’t think that I’ve ever read a more authentic feeling set of teenaged messages. I did find the build up of “why it all blew up” to be a bit too drawn out. By the time we find out, I was sick of Sage vaguely saying “before he broke my heart” with no other context every other page for the first 2/3 of the book. At some point the annoyance of the repetitive vagueness outweighs the tension building that comes with withholding information. It’s a hard balance to strike, and unfortunately I don’t think this book quite nails it.
However, I did love Tenn and Sage’s interactions in the present day too. I mean—the banter, the angst, the swoon. I was so sold on them and I could feel myself falling for Tenn right alongside Sage. I was constantly on the edge of my seat waiting for the next time they would interact.

There was also a lot to this book outside of the romance too. Sage has just returned to her family home after being away for eight years and the dynamic is complicated, to say the least. She doesn’t get along with her surviving sister, nor particularly with her aunt, the woman who raised her. There’s discussions of childhood neglect, abandonment, grief, and domestic abuse. Because this book is so short, none of these topics get much page time, and I do think that does a bit of detriment to the story. Almost every relationship—with the exception of Sage and Tenn and Sage and Sky’s ghost—felt underdeveloped. None of the other characters have much depth to them. This especially felt true of Teal. She plays such an integral role in the story, but she didn’t have much personal depth or development.
I really did enjoy Sage’s interactions with Sky. I felt connected to their relationship. However, I wish the book touched on the grief of it all more. It felt like that should have been a massive aspect of Sage’s life. Her sister, whom she loved, was tragically dead. Yet her grief was never addressed, didn’t play a role in the story. I understand that it had been 8 years, but Sage actively ran away from it all, and now she’s back. That should drag up some amount of grief, and yet Tenn’s grief is explored more significantly than Sage’s ever is.

Though aspects left me wanting more, this book was, over all, a very fun, sweoony read. I look forward to Raquel Vasquez Gilliland’s future releases and I will be picking up any other romances she writes. She has an engaging voice and a way with romance. This is a wonderful addition to a spooky season TBR—or a wonderful read any time of the year, as well.

Witch of Wild Things is a magical realism romance novel centered around Sage Flores and her family. The women in Sage's family are all gifted. Sage can connect to plants, her sister Teal's moods impact the weather, and her deceased sister Sky had a special relationship with animals. Despite it not being one of her gifts, Sage also sees the ghost of her deceased sister Sky every time she cries.

Sage has returned home to Cranberry after losing her beloved job due to budget cuts. She finds herself working at the nursery where she worked as a teenager alongside Tennessee, who broke her heart many years ago. They are tasked with finding new plants for the nursery to increase their sales, and the forced proximity causes Sage to question whether she is really over Tenn and whether she wants to be.

I thought the atmosphere of this one was really lovely. There were some things within the story that I didn't completely love, and it teetered on the line of being too cheesy while also containing some heavier topics. I liked the last third the most, and overall I did enjoy the experience of reading this book. I would definitely read more from Raquel!

Thank you to Berkeley Romance and Netgalley for an eARC. All thoughts are my own.

3.5 stars ⭐️
If you love books about nature, second chance romance, the power of family, Mexican American rep, and magical realism definitely check out this book! Plus, there are TONS of Encanto vibes ✨

After losing her job, Sage returns home to work at a nursery while trying avoid her family members who hate her. Raised by her aunt, Sage and her 2 sisters each have gifts; Sage’s is the gift of feeling/cultivating plants. But Sage’s family is wrecked by trauma, especially heightened when her sister died in an accident 8 years before. Since then, her ghost haunts Sage urging her to make up with her other sister. Between the family drama and trying to earn money, things get complicated when her teenage crush and her are paired up at work for a special project. Sage has to open her heart again, use her gifts, make up with her sister, and help her ghost sister.

Overall, I really liked the story! I did think there was a small plot hole that wasn’t tied up, and at times it felt a little YA. I enjoyed it for what it was and it’s a great time of year for this kind of book!

This was a sweet and cozy read perfect for this season. Once I saw the cover and read the synopsis I was hooked!

I loved the magic system I thought it was so fun! I also loved the small town aspect I think that mixed with the magic it was able to give off cozy vibes. I loved how the book discussed nature and how humans are abusing it. I also really enjoyed the family/sister bonding moments in the book as well.

The rest of the book including the romance and characters didn’t work for me. I found the characters to be very immature and at times frustrating. I don’t mind a “messy” or imperfect main character but I just couldn’t connect with any of these characters. I also couldn’t root for the romance at all. The romance felt rushed and I was unconvinced they had a connection beyond physical.

Overall this was ok! Thanks to the publisher for an eARC!

I really liked the premise of this novel and the gorgeous cover / chapter illustrations, but the execution left me wanting. It rambles along without an actual destination; I was never really sure what the end game was supposed to be, though there is an HEA and the overriding question is resolved.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! This was the vibe that I was looking for as we enter the season of fall, as well as my first read from Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, but definitely not my last. Sage had a high school crush and an AIM relationship with Tennessee Reyes, but it ended in heartbreak. After being fired from her teaching job, Sage is back in her small town to confront her demons, hurt relationships, and to work with Tennessee. Will she mend her hurt from the past? Sage as the main character worked great for me, flaws and all, and I loved her fraught relationships with her sisters, aunt, and friend Laurel. I love an angry and complicated woman main character, and Sage was perfect. I also loved the magical realism vibes of this book - I loved it for entering my witchy season of reading. I think this is the first in a series and I will definitely continue reading. Overall, I recommend this book for fans of contemporary steamy romance and magical realism.

Thank you to the publisher @berkleypub and @netgalley for my e-ARC in exchange for my honest review and a big thank you to @letsread for hosting the buddy read!

Witch of Wild things is a fun magical realism novel about three sisters who each have magic because their ancestors angered the old gods and punished their family forever.

It’s a story about sisters, family, and relationships. Being the oldest of 4 sisters myself I found myself relating to Sky, Teal, and Sage throughout the entire story.

There is a nice romance subplot with some mild spice. When the spice started to turn a bit spicier it felt…out of place. And believe me I love spicy books but it just felt like it didn’t belong here.

I also found Teal to be a bit much at times and it took away from my enjoyment of the story.

I did really love Sage and her entire character arc and progression throughout the story.

I would love to see books for Sky and Teal and learn more about them as well but I think this is a stand-alone.

This book is super fun and I recommend to those who love nature magic, sisterhood stories, and a romance subplot.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Quick and Dirty⁣
-contemporary witchy fiction⁣
-BIPOC author and characters⁣
-sister story⁣
-second chance romance (door ajar)⁣
-witchy level: 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛/5⁣
⁣
Thoughts⁣
There was a lot to love about this book, so let's start with that. The sister story in this book was so good! Old wounds and unsaid things peppered the scenes with tension and emotion, so fans of family dramas will appreciate that element. I really enjoyed all the earth magic and the way the author weaves culture into the magical elements of the story. And the romance worked for me, as did the dual timelines and use of instant messages to set the tone of the past timeline. What didn't work for me was the overall YA feel of the novel. This could have easily been a YA novel if the sexy scenes were eliminated. While the MC matures along the way, the resolution to one of the key plotlines felt so YA that it distracted from her personal development and growth. I was also a bit disappointed in the major "thing that happened" between our two love interests in the past storyline. Miscommunication tropes aren't my favorite, so I was left wanting a bit more. Overall, this is a solid Witch Week book with bonus points for being written by a woman of color!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I am a sucker for magical realism so this one was perfect, especially for fall.

Sage Flores is a bit of a plant whisperer. She can look at one and identify it. She connects with them and makes them grow.

She has two sisters - and the younger one, Sky, passed away eight years ago. Sage blames herself. Sky appears when Sage cries and brings her chocolate raspberry coffee.

A series of events at her job has Sage returning to her family home to live with her aunt, and her sister Teal, who she doesn't get along with. She's hired by Cranberry Rose Company and works with her high school crush, Tenn, who broke her heart.

We go on an emotional journey with Sage through love, family issues, and her own self confidence.

I loved everything about this, and I'm hoping it's a series because I need more!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Contemporary Romance with a Witchy Twist

Synopsis: Sage has attempted to escape the past in her home town of Cranberry Rose for years, until she gets laid off from her job cause her boss is a butt:( She returns only to be haunted by her dead sister, and forced to face her past disappointments. Will she be able to escape this nightmare and have a redo on the life she lost? Or will it all fall apart even worse?

Review: Y’all!! This book was such a fun contemporary romance with witchy vibes! It made me think of charmed but without fighting bad guys. So like a mix of charmed and Gilmore girls:) I loved the plant whisperer aspect and the fun AOL mentions! (This was my childhood.) I loved the realistic crush goes for sister and old crush shows up.

Content Warning: Domestic Abuse, Family Death
Romance Rating: Spicy Contemporary

This book wasn’t for me.

I disliked Sage, our main character, to the point where it was difficult to spend time with her, even fictionally. She’s 29 but behaves like an adolescent. I didn’t understand her obsession with Tennessee, the boy who’d supposedly cruelly broken her heart in high school. They had, in fact, never even dated, so… ? The way she pined over this man, still, fourteen years later, felt childish at best, unhealthy delusion at worst.

Then we have the misunderstanding/miscommunication trope, which is one of my least favorite plot devices.

None of the other characters were well developed or likable (Teal’s main trait was anger, Tennessee’s was clueless sex appeal, etc.)

I needed more magic and rational behavior, less melodrama. Ultimately, I gave up.

DNF around halfway point.

*4.5 stars I was pleasantly surprised by this book because even though the synopsis sounded interesting, I wasn’t sure how much the execution would match my expectations. This book far exceeded my expectations because it read on the cusp of young adult and adult which I appreciated. The atmosphere of the book was whimsical and captivating, cozy and magical and truly the perfect read going into Fall.

The flashbacks in every other chapter made it interesting to see how much the two main characters grew from where they had started. The romance was giving secret childhood lovers to hate to love which are two of my favorite tropes.

I got serious Encanto vibes from this book, especially in the aspect of family and growing up with sisters, what that looks and feels like for each of them. I’ve always been a big sucker for books about sister relationships and through the conflict that siblings may have, how they mend their relationships over time.

I think the only reason the book wasn’t a full five stars for me was the pacing, in the beginning, was a tad slow, but by the time I got to the 30-40% mark, I was pretty invested. I ended up reading this book in just one day which I don’t do often with books so that’s how much I enjoyed it. I would recommend this book for the spooky season because I enjoyed the magic and witchy vibes that this book gave off and learning about Sage’s magic. All in all, a very fun read!

This was such a lovely read, especially after coming off of some meh-books immediately before picking this one up. I loved the magical realism elements with the Flores sisters and their special gifts that stemmed from a curse. I loved Sage's love of plants and living things. I loved the ghostly apparition of their dead sister. I loved the romance between Sage and Tennessee, who was super annoying but super hot back in the day and is still super annoying but super hot today as he helps her scout fancy plants in the wild. I will be talking this one up for sure!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my thoughts.

Thank you so much to Berkley, Netgalley, and PRH Audio for providing an advanced copy of this! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

When I saw this cover and synopsis, I knew I needed to pick it up as a transition into fall. I absolutely love magical, witchy stories, especially ones with loose magic systems like this one. I also love messy explorations of love and family.

So I was certain going into this one that it would be a favorite. And unfortunately it just didn't quite hit the way I had expected.

This still had some wonderful themes and beautiful writing, it just didn't leave me feeling in love with any aspect.

This follows the heroine who is reluctantly returning home to live with her sister after losing her job. She and her sister have a very strained and tenuous relationship after the loss of their baby sister many years ago.

When she returns home, she finds herself working at the same plant nursery she worked at in high school. But this time she uses her magical abilities to communicate with plants to help find local heritage plants in the area.

Unfortunately she needs to work with her high school crush and the man who broke her heart as a teen.

On one hand, I loved the setup, magic, and ghostly aspect of this book. The heroine is "haunted" by her sister's ghost who brings her gifts and coffee. And she and each woman in their family, has a unique magical ability (control of weather, communications with animals, knowing, hiding, etc).

I thought the interwoven magic was fantastic. I personally love unexplained magical elements and this was the perfect example of that.

I also really liked the idea and setup for the exploration of love, forgiveness, and family.

However I didn't love the actual execution of these themes.

One, the younger sister is UNBEARABLE in my opinion. The things that she says and does to the heroine were straight up unforgivable in my head. And the way the heroine just lets it all go was beyond my understanding.

Two, the conflict and animosity between the main characters was childish to me. And how the heroine carried around that much anger and heartbreak for 15 years over it felt a little dramatic...

But lastly... I HATED the final twist. I saw it coming and was really hoping I was wrong because I just... wasn't a fan. I get it. It made sense. But I thought it was beyond cheesy.

So in the end I was just left feeling very bland over the whole thing. I enjoyed elements, but not necessarily their execution. And overall am left with no strong feelings about this book in any way. I think this is an author I would try again, but not a book I will recommend or think about much again.

REVIEW FOR WITCH OF WILD THINGS

4.5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Berkeley Pub and Berkeley Romance for the gifted copy!

I loved this story so much. While marketed as a romance (it's part of the main plot) it was so much more. It's a beautiful story about personal growth, repairing familial relationships and their journey with grief.

Sage is a wholly flawed FMC who I honestly struggled with at the beginning, because she was so quick to hold other people accountable for their actions that she completely missed her own accountability. Her personality was more victim, and while in some instances it was necessary, in others it wasn't. With that said though, I think this flaw really contributed to her growth as a character throughout the story.

My favorite part was the magical realism of the magic the Flores women had. I wish the story dove more into Teal, Sky and Nadia's magic. I loved the twist at the end, but felt it could have been elaborated more. It was a little out of left field and, while I understand that was probably to prevent any sort of spoilers, I think it actually led to more confusion and feeling that the story wasn't fully fleshed out.

Tenn and Sage's romance was so beautiful. I fell in love with them as a couple. And I wish the town of Cranberry was real. I also liked the subtle not so subtle environmental call to action- it gave me a new perspective to how we treat our ecosystems and to be more cognizant of the laws and changes coming through our government.

I highly recommend this story.

TW: mentions of death, grief, infidelity, casual sex, domestic abuse, rape