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 Lily was one of the more withdrawn characters in the first book, and it was fun to dive into her head and understand her past and personality.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.
#TheAnatomyofMagic #NetGalley

I liked this book overall! The premise was charming and heartfelt. Nonetheless, I felt a bit rushed through the whole process. The pace made it seem as if the entire book took the span of a day or two and didn’t provide time to “buy in” to the world. I think spending more time crafting the relationships between Lily and her family as well as Sam will aid in further investment in the story.

I throughly enjoyed this book and the storyline. It wasn’t until after the book that I realized it was a sequel which probably explains why there wasn’t a ton of description up front around the location. It took my probably until Lily was collecting Pesos from her deliveries to figure out they were in Mexico which is fine but it definitely changed the way I visualized the garden going forward. I thought the plot was interesting and the character development was good. I’m not sure I totally get the being sick and lying and then coming to find her and she was with someone else. I feel like that scene could’ve been more pushed since honestly if you really love someone you maybe check in again or ask family a year or so later? Otherwise great and easy read! Would definitely recommend to friends who I know like this genre!

The Anatomy of Magic is such a fantastic exploration of magical realism + romance, in the vein of Ashley Poston.

The Estradas are a magical family, each with their own gift. Lillian's gift is powerful and rare but after a tragic event at work, it send her for a loop. She retreats to the family home in Mexico to rebuild her confidence, only to run into her long lost love, Sam. I loved the setting and the world building and I really liked the chemistry between Lillian and Sam.

I am excited to check out other titles by Cervantes and can't wait to recommend this to fellow romance readers.

I absolutely loved The Anatomy of Magic! As a Latina, this book really spoke to me, especially with how beautifully the magical realism was woven into the story. Lilian Estrada’s journey hit close to home, not just because of her deep family ties, but because of the way the story honors the strength and legacy of Latina women. Lily’s struggle with her unique gift of manipulating memories, while navigating a crisis of confidence, felt so raw and relatable.

The setting in Mexico, with the ancestral home and the rich cultural backdrop, brought a sense of magic that was both enchanting and familiar. And the reappearance of her first love, Sam, adds just the right amount of heart to the story. Their rekindled connection, set against the mystery of their past, kept me turning pages, rooting for Lily to rediscover her strength and find balance in both her powers and her heart.

The blend of family, love, and magical realism makes The Anatomy of Magic a truly special read. It’s a story about healing, in every sense, and I found it empowering and magical in all the right ways!

I liked the mystical aspects of this one. I thought Lillian was a strong character. At times I was a little bored because of some longer descriptions, but then the chemistry between Sam and Lillian would reel me back in.

FROM GOODREADS: 3.75 stars (rounding up)

This is Ashley Poston meets ENCANTO in an adult romance with magical realism.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

SUMMARY: Lily is an OBGYN and after a tragic event at work, she runs home. But she’s been running for a long time from life and love.

In this journey of healing, Lily must confront her past including her first love, Sam. There is just something about first loves ...

MY THOUGHTS: (SOME SPOILERS ISH)
I loved the magic and the family dynamics in this book. The way the family interacted and respected nature and used their magic for love and healing was incredible. The story of Sam and Lilian was the true gut punch of first loves. It felt a little bit like Sam was a bit insta-forgiven and would have liked to see a bit more development of his story/communication but that is just probably more about how I would have responded in Lilian's shoes (lol)

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Thank you to J.C and her publishing team for honoring me with the chance to read it early.

This was such a comforting read, fun, cosy and low stakes. A very sweet romance and unique magic system,this is definitely a feel good read!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! I adored this novel! It was a fresh take on witches and the perfect Fall, spooky time read. The writing was poetic and beautiful. I loved learning how the family acquired their magic and the relationship between the magic and the flowers. The romance in this story was stellar! The longing between Sam and Lil was beautifully portrayed. This story was enchanting and reminded me of an adult version of Encanto with the magical hacienda. I NEED a physical copy of this book for my bookshelf!!

loved this romance about lily and sam that see each other 10 years later. Loved the magic of flowers and trying to help someone. Loved that both still really loved each other after the time. Love her family.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I loved this book! I felt like it was fun, entertaining and well-rounded.

MAGIC:
The magic system was so unique and probably my favorite thing about this book. The Flowers? How interesting that their family's ancestral power is linked to the magical soil and flowers. The flowers hold the power. It reminded me a lot of the Disney movie Encanto (where the magic is in the house/a candle)

CHARACTERS:
Lilian and Sam were one rollercoaster of a ride. Lil, the tough "i dont need anyone" persona matched with the "sees good in everyone" Sam. Lilian's story is so relatable, hiding and guarding your heart after a devastating heartbreak. I do feel as though her inner monologue got redundant at times and had me saying "we get it, move on." And maybe that's just me a personal reaction to her character. I also didn't like how easily she forgave Sam. I understand he was sick, but before she even knew he was sick, she was already falling back in love with the man that DESTROYED her. I personally feel like he could have groveled for longer, there should have been a "1 year later" situation where after a year of them being friends again, they rekindled their relationship.

The rest of the Estrada family was perfect. I actually enjoyed the side characters banter more than the main FMC. Lana, Harlow, Rosa... all perfect.

ROMANCE:
Wow, the longing, the lust, the "first love never dies", it was POTENT and POWERFUL in this book. Had me hot and bothered all over. Sam and Lil have undeniable chemistry and I think it was beautiful written without being explicit or overtly sexual.

OVERALL:
I loved that I read this book during Latin Heritage month (as a Latina myself). What a fun and enjoyable ride through a magical hacienda in Mexico filled with secrets, love, power and forgiveness.

Bravo J.C. Cervantes! A beautiful book!