#Romantasy #Cozy
A powerful plant witch and a grumpy alchemist must work together to save their quiet town from a magical plague in this debut cozy fantasy romance about starting over, redemption, and what it really means to be a good person.
Guy Shadowfade is dead, and after a lifetime as the dark sorcerer’s right-hand, Violet Thistlewaite is determined to start over—not as the fearsome Thornwitch, but as someone kind. Someone better. Someone good.
The quaint town of Dragon’s Rest, Violet decides, will be her second chance—she’ll set down roots, open a flower shop, keep her sentient (mildly homicidal) houseplant in check, and prune dark magic from the twisted boughs of her life.
Violet’s vibrant bouquets and cheerful enchantments soon charm the welcoming townsfolk, though nothing seems to impress the prickly yet dashingly handsome Nathaniel Marsh, an alchemist sharing her greenhouse. With a struggling business and his own second chance seemingly out of reach, Nathaniel has no time for flowers or frippery—and certainly none for the intriguing witch next door.
When a mysterious blight threatens every living plant in Dragon’s Rest, Violet and Nathaniel must work together through their fears, pasts, and growing feelings for one another to save their community. But with a figure from her past knocking at her door and her secrets threatening to uproot everything she’s worked so hard to grow, Violet can’t help but wonder…does a former villain truly deserve a happily-ever-after?
#Review
I had a strange experience reading this book. I felt so distant from the characters as I read the first 25% of the book. The best way I can describe it is that I felt I was reading an animated story with flat characters that just didn’t feel real. Now it is fiction and it is fantasy, but that wasn’t it. Later I thought it was because it’s written in 3rd person, but one of my favorite series’ is written that way. That wasn’t it. Towards the middle, I just wanted to know how it ended so I kept reading. Finally, I decided I just didn’t care about the characters.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s well written and the story (meaning what’s happening in the town) is interesting. I admit to wondering about the legend around dragons for the small town of Dragon’s Rest and what is going on with the blight. And I really liked the little rock, Peri. This book definitely has the feel of a cozy fantasy. It’s set in a small town where a big bad guy named Shadowfade was just killed by the good person, Karina the Tempest. Violet was Shadowfade’s enforcer. But there is more to her than that. Karina tells her to be good and she agrees to try. This is her story of trying to be good.
I will also admit that there was a twist I certainly didn’t see coming. It came at the point when everything is falling apart and you figure she has failed to be good. I liked the twist. It made the story much better. But it couldn’t overcome the way I felt about the characters. They fell flat and stayed that way for me. Peri had me reading to find out more about that rock character. He was interesting. I also wondered about Bartleby, the murderous potted plant. But Violet and Nathaniel and even Prudence? I just didn’t care about them.
As a character driven reader, all I can say is that this book is okay. Peri and the twist is a good enough to read the book but if you are in it for the romance you might want to pass.
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