The Anatomy of Magic by J.C. Cervantes showed some promise, but fell flat for me. It began with an interesting concept for a magic system centered around flowers and other vegetation. Unfortunately this system was never completely flushed out. Plot in the book is not overly complex and spends too much time in the romance aspects instead of the development of characters. This could be because it is the second installment for the Estrada family saga, but I was unaware of this because this book is not advertised as such.

I read this book and listened to the audio for it. The overly simple plot, the language used to write this book and the pitch Diana Bustelo's voice, makes this read/feel more like a YA Romance, then a potential second book for the Estrada family legacy.

Finally, I was very disappointed that the book made no actual tie to the "anatomy of magic." This is never addressed in the book and makes the title confusing and unrelated to the story as well.

Because this is Hispanic Literature, I expected a level of magical realism in the vein of Allende or Marquez. Instead if you like the magical realism along the lines of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, or The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan, then this is the book for you.

Thank you Park Row & Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and listen to the audiobook. My opinions are my own.

So happy to see the next installment in this series! Magical realism with romance, family ties, and culture.
The Estrada family is made up of women enchanted by the goddess Mayahuel. Each woman is given the name of a flower and a unique ability tied to the flowers on the family farm. Lily has the power to manipulate memories - to diminish them or to capture them and make them stronger. She is never supposed to use the magic on herself, but after her heart breaks, she feels like she has no choice. Years later, Lily is suffering the consequences.

I loved The Enchanted Hacienda, the debut book in the series. I enjoy reading about close families and appreciate the humor interspersed among the dramatic scenes in both books. I can't wait to see which sister/cousin is featured next!

This book reminded me a lot of Ashley Palston's romance books, which I love. I really enjoyed the magic realism elements in this book. Lily is getting a second chance with her first love Sam. The only part I didn't love was that Sam had some communication issues that didn't seem to be resolved, but I enjoyed it for the most part.

I really enjoyed this read. I love a good second chance romance and this one did not disappoint. It was such a heart warming story and if you like witches, you will love this one. The flowers were such a unique touch to the story If you’ve seen the movie Encanto, it will remind you a bit of that.

I'd like to thank Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to be giving this one a 3.75 (4 rounding up!).

From the very beginning all I could think of was "OH THIS IS LIKE ENCANTO," so of course, I enjoyed it! We have an entire family of powerful women who use the magic from flowers (absolutely love this idea!)

Our FMC is Lily (all of the women have flower names), who is an OB/GYN in LA. She's gone home for healing and to be around family after an event at her hospital. Our MMC is Sam, and he just so happens to be Lily's first love. I wish that there was more development between Lily and Sam, but I truly enjoyed their story. Lily needs her family after things go awry.

I don't want to give too much away, as always!

I didn't know that this was a part of an interconnected story, (The Enchanted Hacienda is the first one), but I didn't feel like I was missing a part of the story.

Favorite Quote:
"...life is a long string of surrenders and learning to let go."

Wow! This book brought out so many different emotions. I imagined so many ways for the ending and was so content and peaceful with it. This book not only made me feel,made me think about things on in my life,and just gave me a slightly newer perspective. The way the author describes things in here was so spot on. I was able to imagine it all so easily and could smell the flowers. It definitely has made me want to attempt to start my own garden again lol. I cant wait to read more from whatever J.C Cervantes reads.

Full of magical realism and second chance romance, this book was a whirlwind that ultimately left me disappointed. I was intrigued by the synopsis, but was unaware this was a second book. It easily stood alone, though the background from the first book would have been helpful. The pacing was fast and the magic was unique. I liked getting to know the story of Lily and Sam and the mystery behind why Sam had ghosted Lily for 10 years. My biggest complaint is the lack of advertisement to this being a second book.

I don't usually enjoy cheesy, predictable love stories but decided to try this due to the magic element which I thought might add an interesting layer. I was also unaware that this was a sequel, which would have been helpful even though the story did well as a standalone. I liked the concept of the flower magic passed down through generations but found the love story a bit too neat and cloying.

The way that I gasped so loudly when I saw J.C. Cervantes released a new book in the same universe as The Enchanted Hacienda! I immediately picked this book up and started reading as soon as possible.

As soon as I started reading this book, I realized that my heart is going to break into a million pieces. Why? Because the second chance romance between Lilian and Sam is full of heartbreak that leaves me hanging for more. It’s full of angst and pain that I had to keep reading. I needed to know what happened between them and if they are still worth it.

Thankfully, I was able to root for them. It wasn’t a dumb decision why they broke up. It was painful and hurtful, but it made sense. I am beyond glad that Lilian and Sam pulled through. Their love for each other is still there even after ten years. It never went away. It was always meant to be. Just needed to be addressed.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Park Row for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let's do the time warp again, and again, and again, and again. And I don't quite know why.

The Anatomy of Magic by J.C. Cervantes is a magical realism novel that really reminded me of Encanto, but with less Disney magic. Lilian Estrada seemingly has it all: an ob-gyn star on the rise, a master at balancing work with whirlwind romances and part of a family of fiercely loyal and exceptional women, all bound together by an extraordinary secret. The Estrada women each possess a unique power, and Lily shines with the rare gift to manipulate memories. Yet not even her mystical abilities can shield her from a harrowing event at the hospital, one that sends her powers—and her confidence—spiraling out of control. Seeking solace, Lily retreats to her family's ancestral home in Mexico, only to find herself face-to-face with a ghost from her past—Sam, the first love she never forgot. Nearly a decade since she last saw him, Sam is hardly the boy she once knew, and as old flames spark to life, Lily must navigate the mysteries of their shared history and the depths of her own heart if she hopes to control her unpredictable magic.

For one, I really liked the inclusion of Bullet, the dog. And I am so glad nothing tragic happened to him. I also really liked the plot in that it stayed in one central location. Which allowed for plenty of character reveal. Especially that in Lilian, and her general growth and learning from her mistakes. But at the same time, I didn't like Lilian. In that she was mostly meh, in that they were a stranger to the narrative and Cervantes didn't give you all that much time to learn about them.

3.5 stars

I loved The Enchanted Hacienda and was so excited to dive into this companion novel! The Estrada women, with their ancestral, flower-based magic, are so fascinating. I love how the story is rooted in Aztec mythology, with the goddess Mayahuel granting them their individualized magic and their names. These books are the perfect blend of magical realism and romance!

While the relationships and familial bonds are huge focus of the story, my favorite part was the larger focus on Lily’s memory magic and the ways in which the goddess is still present in their lives. I could read pages of their family history and mythos alone!

Lily’s relationship with Sam was honestly the weak point of her story for me. There was a quick resolution to his disappearance from her life, and even though they were childhood sweethearts, it gave big instalove vibes that didn’t seem realistic. I think the novel would have benefited from a longer romantic period where they got to know each other again, alongside the conflict involving Lily’s connection to her memory magic and the family’s flowers.

I also think there should be clearer marketing that this book is a companion novel/sequel to The Enchanted Hacienda. While this story discusses the family and the origins of their magic, I think someone reading The Anatomy of Magic first would be missing key elements important to the plot, like a clearer understanding of who’s who in the family and a fuller background of the hacienda and its magic.

Overall, this was an extremely fast-paced read, and I loved getting to know more about the individual women of the Estrada family. Lily was one of the more withdrawn characters in the first book, and it was fun to dive into her head and understand her past and personality. I would definitely read more stories featuring the other members of the family and their magic!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Park Row Books for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

J.C. Cervantes is one of my favorite Latin American magical realism authors, along with Silvia Moreno-Garcia (“Mexican Gothic”) and Isabel Cañas (“The Vampires of El Norte”), who write darker tomes. “The Anatomy of Magic” fits into this genre, although with more romance and definitely more flowers, and the novel is filled with mystical plants, personal magic, and spells for healing. The same family who inhabited “The Enchanted Hacienda” are part of this story — it’s not quite a sequel, but another tale involving a different Estrada sister, Lily.

As an OB-GYN fleeing a recent bad outcome at her hospital, Lily returns to her home in Mexico, the magical flower farm where her family of women can cast certain spells by using flowers. Lily’s personal magic involves memories — retention, reclamation, intensification, forgetting. But she unexpectedly encounters memories of her first love, Sam, who basically ghosted her after stealing her heart a decade earlier. She had shielded her heart and memory of him and now, along with her worrying absence of her ability to smell the scent of flowers, that protection has faded. The advice she gets is to undo the spell, unveil her heart, and endure the consequences.

This is a supernatural second chance romance story with the mystical floral elements I love about magic realism. It’s a steady story that will eventually reveal why Lily and Sam abruptly broke up and involves major magic to reach a resolution. Bouquets are burned, floriography is consulted, gardens are depleted overnight; and suddenly, everything is different and better. I hope we have a chance to meet the magical potential of another member of the family like Lana. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO The hazel eyes mentioned are more brown than green.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Well, anything goes with mystical flowers. An unenchanted normal Mexican garden would not have peonies, hydrangeas, jacarandas, and jasmine blooming simultaneously in January; but roses and delphinium, yes.

Thank you to Park Row/HarperCollins and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

This book was good up until the "twist" or "reveal." I was invested in Lily's personal and romantic journey. The build up to understanding why Sam ghosted her for 10 years and she put up this magic shield around her heart made it seen like som did something un forgivable. Betrayed her trust in some way. I think his reasoning was a cop out. He took away Lily's option to choose what path she wanted with him. Also, Sam was annoyingly perfect. Unbelievably perfect. Even his reason for ghosting her thade him seem selfless and perfect.
The magic in this book though, I loved it, so unique. It reminded me at Encanto. It's a cute book overall. I'd read it again for the main character, her journey and her family.
Lastly, this book is apparently a sequal, but I haven't seen it marketed as that. I would recommend letting the readers know because I did feel I should know more about the houses magic while reading.

Loved this story! Very good character engagement. Story flowed nicely from chapter to chapter. Author did a great job of keeping me engaged!

The Anatomy of Magic is a multicultural fantasy second chance romance about Lily and Sam. They grew up together and had a secret love affair that ended suddenly with the words "I dont love you anymore."
Years later Lily is in emotional turmoil, her medical career is in chaos and her heart is protected by a spell keeping her from forming emotional connections. When she returns home to take comfort with her family and their magical flower farm she reunites with Sam and has to learn to trust herself and her heart again.
Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin/Park Row for the opportunity to read and review this book which I am giving 2.5/5 stars. I feel there is a disservice being done to this book as it is clearly the sequel to the book The Enchanted Hacienda yet it is not being advertised that way at all from what I can tell. While I did enjoy the prose and style of writing in this book it suffers the same issue I had with the first book in that I did not like either of the main characters or their relationship together.
I am a big fan of a second chance romance, but this couple and their issue rubbed me the wrong way. I hated the big reveal of the cause of their breakup and how it was handled by Sam, essentially a man making a decision for a couple in a relationship completely on his own and not even having the respect to discuss or involve Lily in any sort of way.
Unfortunately I cannot recommend this book and have no desire to promote this on my social media. At this point I dont think I will be continuing with anymore books by this author as both of the books in this series have disappointed me,

Loooooved this book. Original story line and charming characters that kept me turning the pages repeatedly.

Thank you Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an ARC to this magical story.

I very much enjoyed the magic around the flowers and the family dynamics but the beginning progressed so slowly as we were trying to find out everything going on with Lily and then everything happened a little too quickly around Sam and the family magic.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and didn’t realize it was part of a series! I look forward to reading more about the rest of the sisters

I missed that this was a companion to The Enchanted Hacienda, but luckily I read and love that one! This is Lily's story and it's just so charming. Cervantes is a whimsically enchanting writer and I had a blast being back in this world.

This powerly fierce feminist novel, follows the Estrada family and their powers. Set in their ancestrial home ghosts of the past come back to challenge the youngest Estrada woman.

J.C. Cervantes does it again with this companion book to The Enchanted Hacienda. This book focuses on Lily Estrada, secretive hard-working doctor, and holder of memory magic. Lily must face her own memories and past love in order to grow and be free of that she has been hiding. A fantastic magical love story that I completely fell for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this DRC.
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