Review by Booklist Review
In her latest, Griffin (The Nature of Witches, 2021) conjures a vivid, eerie world replete with witchcraft and secrets. Tana Fairchild lives a quiet life on an island where witches like herself can live in safety. There she works at a small shop creating enchanted perfumes and awaits her long-planned engagement to Landon, the son of the mainland's governor. But her steady future is suddenly shaken up when she meets the mysterious and alluring Wolfe. Wolfe tells her that he practices the dark magic banned from her island and that a coven with those powers still exists in hiding. Beset by questions about her own powers and what she's been told by her family and coven, Tana is torn between her obligations--marrying Landon would finally make witches and mainlanders allies--and her heart, which could lead her to happiness and true love. Tana and Wolfe's evolving relationship feels earned and results in positive growth in Tana even in the face of sacrifice. Recommend to fans of Stephanie Garber's Once upon a Broken Heart (2021).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A teen witch is torn between her desires and her responsibility to her loved ones in this amorous romantic fantasy from Griffin (Wild Is the Witch). As the daughter of her island-dwelling coven's leader, 19-year-old Tana Fairchild has always known that she is expected to wed Landon Yates, the non-magical son of the mainland's governor. Tana's island isn't beholden to the mainland's anti-magic laws, but while her coven eschews potent dark sorcery in favor of tourist-friendly spells, the witches still fear persecution. Though Tana doesn't love Landon, she knows their marriage will ensure her people's protection, and she is committed to the cause--until she meets Wolfe Hawthorne, part of a secret splinter coven that refuses to sublimate their power to assuage mainland anxiety. Tana falls for the way Wolfe encourages her to embrace her heritage, but is she willing to sacrifice her friends' and family's security for the sake of her own happiness? Conflicts resolve somewhat quickly and easily, dampening dramatic impact; nevertheless, tender relationships and kindhearted, racially diverse characters complement the novel's hopeful tone. Ethereal worldbuilding and affecting allegories championing environmental stewardship, honesty, pride, and self-expression further enrich Griffin's feel-good tale. Ages 14--up. Agent: Peter Knapp, Park Literary. (Aug.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
"The most beautiful things are wild." For Tana, magic comes as naturally as breathing. It soothes her mind and heart as only the sea surrounding the island of the Witchery can. The weights of destiny and duty sit heavily on her: She is to be engaged to Landon, the mainland governor's son who is "decent and kind," to secure legitimacy and protection for her coven. When Tana meets Wolfe, a mysterious boy who turns everything she thought she knew about her world and her magic upside down, she finds herself torn for the first time between what is expected of her and what she truly wants. Griffin crafts a richly detailed world that leaves vivid sensory impressions. Tana is an honest, open narrator who easily draws readers in to empathize with her struggles with her world and herself. Supporting characters, by contrast, feel almost nebulous at times--more representatives of ideas or ideals than fully realized individuals, though they intrigue nonetheless. The love triangle refreshingly feels almost ancillary to the protagonist's journey of self-discovery and empowerment. Although genre-savvy readers might find the plot predictable at times, it never loses momentum and will keep pages turning right to the end. Blue-eyed, chestnut-haired Tana reads White; there is diversity in skin tone in the supporting cast. A subtly magical and romantic story of personal growth. (Fantasy. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
