This was an okay read. It’s young adult fantasy, not normally my genre and this was probably targeted at the younger end of the spectrum.

This was a book that I was really getting into. I had not read anything prior by Kelly McKain but now want to check out some of her other works out of curiousity. Thank you for the opportunity to read the advance copy!

⭐3/5

🌳 I applied for this ARC (thanks, NetGalley!) because the description and cover gave major 2008 YA paranormal fantasy vibes. My intuition was right, and this book definitely delivered in those vibes, just if they were written by your small town yoga teacher.

🦉 ICYDK 2000s YA fantasy is my actual favorite genre, especially if there's a romance subplot, so I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately it didn't deliver on the "romance part," but the worldbuilding and Green Magic within were pretty cool.

🌿 Good Stuff:
• Like I said, the world and magic systems were cool. I like the idea of parallel energy planes that create an "otherworld," and I like the incorporation of intuition and nature into the magic system. This system is very thorough, and I wish we got to see it in action in more than just the last third of the book because it was a highlight for me.
• The parts inside of me that are still 16yo loved Delilah. I related to her feelings of otherness and her anxiety. Adult me also related to her initial reluctance to open herself to mediation and mindfulness before eventually finding peace in it that supercedes even her initial experience of it.
• Even though this was a paranormal fantasy, it felt really grounded most of the time, like I could also incorporate the magic into my own life, maybe not in a "fight an evil entity" sort of way but more in a "fight off my own internal demons" sort of way. As a therapist, I love that.

🌘 Problems:
• The relationships could have severely benefited from another few chapters of exposition or from a longer timeline. In general the whole timeline feels squished and rushed. I didn't buy any of the friendships, the potential love interests, or Delilah's relationship with her aunt because I wasn't actually shown much about them on the page. This is a very plot-focused book, to the detriment of character development.
• The dreams and story in general are pretty repetitive. I noted at 64% that I feel like hardly anything has happened because I've been reading a similar dream sequence over and over. If some of those had been replaced with more relationship building or more discoveries about the magic in the book, I think the pacing would have been much more satisfying.
• The reveal of the Green Witch, though expected, could have used more build up. I don't think the author gave Delilah and her friends enough credit. Lots of Mary Sue-ing and plot armor were happening, which takes away from the characters' autonomy. (At one point, Delilah was literally handed all the answers in a neat package.) I think more relationship building and organic discovery, and fewer dream sequences, would have helped here too.
•The LGBTQIA+ rep in this isn't my favorite. There's a single queer character who keeps throwing herself at a character who clearly isn't interested, and it just comes across as unrealistic and sort of biased (the old "oh, you like girls so you must like me/all girls" trope).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me a copy of this book in return for my honest opinions.

The book was very predictable and I just could not get into the story or the characters. The characters need more development and the story needs more, so much more.

I forced myself to finish this one

Just can not recommend.

I really enjoyed this book. Yes it was predictable in places, like it was really obvious who the green witch was going to be. But it was a really nice easy ready that had me needing to read on in some bits. I loved the characters too, I loved how Cal was the level headed one, even if he was wrong, and him and Mae spent most the books snogging, but they were teenagers in love and I enjoyed seeing the reality of what that looks like, while the friends were just there rolling their eyes. My favourite character was Millie though. I loved her and her energy. It may have only been middle grade but I would definitely recommend it.

I had assumed it was going to be YA, but I think it definitely was more middle grade. I have to say, it wasn’t for me and I really had to fight my way through it, but I think I would have loved it at 13.

The last couple of chapters were fast paced and there was (finally) some character development. The pacing for the rest of the book was decent, but I felt like there were SO many plot twists that everything else surrounding the story fell flat. The relationships moved way too fast for me. The MC’s connection with Tol is instant, she has an entire friend group in a day, and even her connection with James is sudden. I would have loved these relationships to be more developed. I loved Milly’s character, but it’s hard for her to not be a favorite when it seems like all Cal and Mae do is make out (I know they’re teenagers but come on). I especially would have loved to read more about Delilah’s connection to her great aunt. When Eddie died, I felt nothing. Her character was neglected.

There were a few random things added in that just didn’t make sense to me. Why does it matter that Delilah got her period? I love LGBTQ representation, but why was the whole Milly/Delilah situation necessary?

I found the reveal of the green witch to be predictable but I actually didn’t mind it. Delilah’s inner monologue was annoying, but again, at 13 I probably would have rated this book at least 3 stars.

Well, chums. I’m not one to review things that I DNF (I got to about 20% here) - but since there aren’t any reviews yet, I feel I should offer my 2 cents for anyone who’s considering this book.

I’d like to say that basically everything about the synopsis appealed to me, it seemed right up my street. Once I actually started reading it, it was basically one concern after the other. Such as…

- our main character seems… inconsistent. We’re told that she’s so shy and sensitive, yet at times seems completely fine in situations that I know would make ME shy, and more importantly, she seems weirdly very concerned with having expensive clothes, shoes, and brands? Like even all of her luggage is super high quality stuff. She for some reason shows up at her great aunt’s manor in the middle of nowhere in HEELS, then again when she goes out the next day to walk into the village, she’s in heels again? And we have to deal with all of her complaints about the gross things she’s stepping in and how they’re ruining her shoes. This I just do not… understand. Even if you like heels, surely you understand that sometimes they are not appropriate? Like for why? What is her brain doing? And once she gets into the village, she naturally has to find a shoe store to get shoes she can actually walk in, and she is super snobbish about the shoes they have on offer, and repeatedly refers to the ones she ends up with as “vile trainers.” For someone who generally seems kind and levelheaded, this just seems out of left field.

- I’m hella confused about her relationship with her dad. There were examples of how they are more or less estranged and yet when she calls him on the phone after getting to her great aunt’s manor, she calls him “daddy” which just seems a bit sweet and personal for a difficult relationship? But maybe that’s part of the whole fancy rich kid upbringing thing. 🤷🏻‍♀️ This was just something else that seemed inconsistent. The math wasn’t mathing.

- there are COMPLETELY ridiculous descriptions for the initial run-ins and interactions with the love interest, all of this immediate FERAL AND ANIMALISTIC connection, like what? Are we supposed to be buying into this? I’d believe insta love before I’d believe this. Is this Twilight or what? Explain.

- she goes to a party in the woods after an invite from a few of the local teens, and the first thing that bothered me was how she keeps referring to a group of girls as “bitchy.” Like, repeatedly. And all the girls were really doing was giving her some ✨looks✨ and doing a bit of whispering. What ever happened to female empowerment and kindness and all that, felt like a weird choice for 2023.

- also at this party, she has a heavy makeout session with the love interest, she pushes his hand away because she feels he’s moving too fast, and the guy immediately LOSES IT, gets violent, almost punches her (punches a tree instead), curses at her, the whole thing. Like what is this? Why? Again, feels out of nowhere, inconsistent, strange.

This is more or less as far as I got. I also want to say that it feels weirdly American for a book set in the UK. I tried researching the author and all I can find is that she’s “based” in the UK (and does indeed have an English accent), but I also saw something about her being born in America, in Nebraska. No idea if that’s correct, but something about it felt off.

Knowing that the author herself is highly sensitive, empathic, etc, and has a whole side business using these gifts, a lot of her choices in this book surprised me. It all felt odd and immature.

I look forward to seeing what other readers think, if I don’t forget to check back… ! And I need spoilery reviews so I can know what happens in the rest of the book 😂