This was an interesting novel. While I did really like the magic aspect of it I just couldn’t quite identify with the novel or the characters. There was so much wandering to meet new people and while interesting it just wasn’t for me. For those who enjoy fantasy I think they might like this book.

I enjoyed Paige Crutcher's book The Orphan Witch so I was excited for this one. Unfortunately it fell flat for me. The characters felt immature and the plot dragged.
Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The narrator of the audio version was excellent, although at first I thought maybe I had mistakenly requested a children's book because her voice sounded so young. That is, until I got to the first sex scene... In any case, I was intrigued at first, but lost interest quickly, because I couldn't shake that first impression that the characters were too young for the plot.

Aline Weir has never seemed able to fit in, and this is made abundantly clear to her after a middle school slumber party where she learned she was able to talk to ghosts. While she may not have been accepted by her peers, she finds a friend in Dragon and learns that as a witch she can assist those lost souls in finding their way home, even if she struggles to find this herself. After a tragedy, Aline finds solace in a local bookstore and the quirky sisters who run it leading her to find the book of Mischief, which starts her unwittingly on a path to her destiny.

Now at the age of thirty, living a quiet, solitary life, Aline's life is snapped into a different direction when her only friends seem to be missing and she's invited to Matchstick, a town that doesn't exist. She is thrust into a world she doesn't understand and crosses paths with the man who had drifted into her dreams. It is here that she discovers Magic is not a feeling or ability, but a person. After their inevitable collision, they are forced down a journey that might lead to victory or doom, not only for them but for the world itself.

This fast-paced book will keep you on your toes and wondering where the story is heading next, especially when bouncing around multiple POVs, which gives you a 360-degree view of different scenes. The world-building was exquisite, and I loved how the story flowed. This was only enhanced by the excellent narration by Caitlin Kelly. With so many different POVs and characters, it was clear who was talking when, and she brought such a beautiful life to each of them. I would definitely read another Paige Crutcher book in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this ARC audiobook.

I definitely had mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the whimsy and mission to fix things, but some parts felt a bit like a children's fairytale meant to teach a lesson.

Aline gets swept into this magic world of witches and ghosts years after some bad childhood events. The character names were interesting for sure, between Dragon and Magic. It is a creative book, but definitely is like a kid's imagination gone wild.

The narrator definitely helped the story from a soothing voice standpoint in the audiobook version since the story seemed a bit chaotic in parts.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this Audiobook for my honest review.

What Became of Magic has good bones. The book gets off to a slow start. Most of the first quarter of the book is dedicated to creating a backstory for the FMC. Was this necessary? It didn't vibe with the overall style of the book.

I very much enjoyed the narrator. She was highly engaging.

"What Became of Magic" is a beautiful, chaotic, heart-wrenching, messy story. The erratic storyline is compelling but hard to follow. Aline is sympathetic and interesting but pieces of her personality don't line up or make sense. Regarding the audio version there are vignettes in some chapters that are hard to reconcile with the action happening immediately before. This is an issue in the written version but there's the benefit of a designated (***) break on the page that's not as abrupt as the audio.

I have no doubt "What Became of Magic" will knock it out of the park for some readers. Sadly, I'm not one of them.

4 ⭐️ This is the first book I’ve read by Paige Crutcher.

Overall, I enjoyed the audiobook narrated by Caitlin Kelly. I thought she did a great job portraying all of these intricate characters! Midway, the story did get a little hard to follow with the different POVs from new characters. I found myself having to rewind a few parts. However, this story was original and had a captivating journey. This is worth a listen and is perfect if you’re looking for a book that is witchy, has some fantasy, and some romance!

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to listen to this advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My niche when it comes to books, especially romance books is when the characters are witches. What Became of Magic by Paige Crutcher fell into that niche of mine and while there is romance it’s a very sweet and pure love that develops not only between Aline and Magic but also a love that can only be formed by friends who become a family.

Aline starts out as a girl who becomes ostracized and throughout the novel, I felt for her as she tried to find her place in the world. It’s very much a whimsical read which may not have made Aline feel like her true age of 30, but I feel like given her upbringing it was intentional that Aline felt a lot younger than she was. Listening to the audiobook read by Caitlin Kelly may have made Aline feel younger than the age she was supposed to be, but Kelly’s narration got the youthful and whimsical feel that this story was going for.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for being able to listen to Aline’s journey to save magic. It was the perfect listen as I drove along watching the leaves turn as autumn comes.

This is a DNF at 50%. The narrator is o.k. but the story definitely sounds like YA. There is nothing that is interesting to me or catches my attention.

Disappointed in this one.

Found family and magic all in a cozy witchy read. I love it.

Paige Crutcher has done it again. What Became of Magic is not what I expected but everything I needed. Aline has always been the oddball in her town and in her personal life. She starts to live with three women who help her down the correct path in life that is until they disappear and a mysterious woman brings her to the town of Matchstick.

What this book has:
~Found Family
~Single POV
~Slow Burn
~Adventure

Thank you, NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to arc listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book. I was very excited to receive a free audio version via NetGalley. The narrator was fantastic. She was very easy to listen to.

The story, however, was very confusing. I had to relisten to sections to see if I missed something. I felt the characters were lacking and didn't keep me wanting more. I think this story has potential, if the characters were more developed and the story line was a little more clear.

This was a whimsical, magical witchy tale that follows Aline from childhood to adulthood where she's set with a very important and dangerous task. With romance, magic, and a unique magic system, this was a very quick and wonderful read!

I really really wanted to like this book. The premise is so cool! A witch who can talk to ghosts who's in love with magic itself?? Iconic. The actual book though was boring with a capital B, confusing, and the characters weren't particularly likable. There was a lot of talking about doing, but not that much doing. The love story felt forced and bland and flat. This read almost like a YA novel and I mean that in the worst possible way. There was a lot of metaphors and strange descriptions that added to the confusion and made it that much more difficult to get through. I really wanted to DNF but I got this as a ELC from Netgalley and wanted to make sure I listened to the whole thing. I was holding out hope that maybe MAYBE it would get better and the ending would make everything worth it, but no such luck. 2 stars, and that's being generous.

GENERAL INFO

What Became of Magic.

Year Pub/Re Pub: 9/26/23, finished 9/21/23.

Book's cover: a pretty teal color

Format: Audiobook

Run Time: 9:30

Narrator: Caitlin Kelly, read all characters. Very distinct men's and women's voices especially Aline and Magic.

Source: “Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this ALC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.”

Setting: Matchstick-a mystery town of witches and Whistle Blown-Aline's hometown.

Genre: Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal.

Tropes: witches, magic, the chosen one, save the world, small town, fairytale retellings (Ann of Green Gables, Alice in Wonderland vibes).

Standalone/Cliffhanger/Part of a Series: standalone

HEA/HFN ending: HEA

Epilogue Included: no

Character(s)POV Spoken: h

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Synopsis/Plot Summary: Aline is a lonely witch who believes everyone in her life leaves her. Her parents are uninterested, and she has no friends. Once she comes into her powers, a coven becomes her found family, along with a few friendly ghosts. Aline goes to Matchstick to find her witch mentors and has a real Alice in Wonderland experience.

M/F-M/M-M/M/F-etc: M/F

Contains Children: no

Flashbacks: yes, the first-time h manifested her powers. How her parents and peers treated her.

Jealy/Possy/OTT H/h : both Aline and Magic are protective of each other.

Amount of Sex In The Book: 1 scene w/ h and off page at the end

Overall Smex Rating: 1

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

Heroine: Aline Weir

Heroine Description: 30. A witch who can talk to ghosts and help lost souls.

Heroine Likability Rating: 4

Heroine loves books/writing: yes, she works at a witch-owned bookstore where she finds the book of Mischief to enhance her powers (but she doesn't know it yet.)

Heroine: Dragon

Heroine Description: Very mysterious, talks in riddles sometimes. She met Aline as a ghost at 13 years old. She was the first ghost and friend Aline had.

Heroine Likability Rating: 4

Secondary characters:

Magic-meets Aline with an instant connection/attraction. He is powerful, but clueless about most things.

Clo, Addy, Lizzette-3 sisters, witches who take Aline under their wing. The Fates

Esther- a ghost who was a witch killed by Florence.

Florence-The Supreme Witch, "the big bad."

The Crone-talks in riddles, tries to guide Aline.

Ferrellyn- a Diviner witch

The Watcher- Florence's father who she imprisoned to escape him.

H /h RELATIONSHIP INFO

Endearments: n/a

OW/OM/Exes: Noah Bones was Aline's first bf

Cheating Before/During/Outside H/h Relationship: yes

CONTENT WARNINGS/TRIGGERS
h loses her virginity, murder

AUTHOR OVERVIEW
Paige Crutcher

New or read before & any favorites: The Lost Witch, I gave it 3*

PERSONAL OVERVIEW

Overall Rating: 4*

Do You Recommend This Book: yes

Will You Re-read This Book: probably not

Would You Read More Books by this Author: yes

COMMENTS/NOTES
What kept me interested was Aline trying to connect with someone. Her parents ignored and abandoned her. She was bullied in school by her peers and dropped out of high school to get her GED. I felt the betrayal and humiliation when Noah broke her heart. I'm not going to say he deserved his fate-but he did. Her friendship with Dragon is so innocent and tragic at the same time. She found a true friend that helped her, but she constantly disappeared for years at a time. The Persimmon sisters became her safe haven, only for them to leave her too. Aline and Magic made it a point to stay together every place they went finding the six magics. Aline's feelings were what drove her magic, and they shined through the whole book.

Nope. Once again, I was fooled by a Paige Crutcher book with a beautiful cover and magical title. Had I remembered that I read The Orphan Witch and felt it veered way off track from its cute premise of -obviously- and orphaned witch and felt falsely categorized as adult when it really seems like YA.
What Became Of Magic was much the same… an excellent beginning with a young girl feeling like an outcast and discovering her ability to see/speak to ghosts and help them find their way to the other side. She falls in with these cute, witchy bookshop owners and starts to find her place, then this whole books goes off the rails and turns into an overly lyrical and unexplained story of magic and laylines and a ton of characters I could never differentiate and a sudden love story.
It just doesn’t jive. I honestly feel like both the books I’ve read by this author started as one then ended as another. I feel sad cause I want to like them, but I must remember that this author just isn’t for me.
Read if it you’ve previously liked Crutcher books. It’s a somewhat unique take on magic and witchiness but I feel like others do it much better for me.

A whimsical tale of original magic, abuse of power, a threat to the world as we know it, and an attempt to set things right. The story is centered around Aline Weir, a lonely girl who has more power than she realizes. Not loving this as much as The Orphan Witch or The Lost Witch. It was a bit convoluted with all the magical elements, their embodiments and the riddles. It did end happily and if you'd like a cozy witchy tale for the season, give this a try.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

My new fav witchy paranormal romance from Paige Crutcher is full of found family and features Aline, a lonely, outcast witch who can see ghosts and has the unique ability to cross ley lines.

Perfect for fans of Erin Sterling or Lana Harper. This was also great on audio narrated by Caitlin Kelly and had fantastic Anne of Green Gables references, a spunky ghost, a curse and a romance worth cheering for!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy as well as a beautiful gifted physical copy in exchange for my honest review! This was definitely a standout #SpookySeason read!

*3.5 Stars Round up*

Aline Walker is a Hedge Witch with the power to talk to ghosts and travel to the in-between. She is content living a solitary life, helping ghosts find their way through the afterlife while working in a bookshop owned by three mysterious sisters. Everything changes when she is invited to Matchstick, a town that doesn't exist using Google Maps. She soon finds that her journey into Matchstick can change the course of the universe and Magic himself. Can she repair magic and find a place where she truly belongs?

I really wanted to love this book. I fell in love with the synopsis and was hooked in the beginning. However, I lost interest in the middle. I found some of the riddles to be confusing and felt like I would have understood more if I was reading the book along with the audio. I found myself listening to chapters over again to understand everything that was going on. The ending and the chemistry between Aline and Magic redeemed this book for me. The ending was heartbreaking for me and was captivated on what was going to happen next. I truly wanted Aline to find someone and someplace to where she belonged. Overall, I enjoyed this book but would maybe give a higher rating if I was reading a physical copy instead of listening to the audiobook.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to What Became of Magic. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

DNF at about 40% and I’m so disappointed, because I really wanted to love this book. The narrative felt fairly juvenile and it was hard to connect to the story/characters for me. An original and whimsical concept that just didn’t work for me.