Review: Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

 

Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

Publication Date: September 12th 2023 by Berkley 

Pages: 320

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

The Flores sisters have magical gifts. Sage is gifted with a connection to plants: she can talk to them, identify, and make them grow. Her sister Teal can affect the weather, and her youngest sister Sky gifted with a connection to animals.

Sage is back home, at her Aunt Nadia’s, after being laid off from her job. Things are tense with her younger sister, Teal, as she blames her for the death of their youngest sister, Sky. To add to the drama, Sky’s ghost appears to Sage, talking to her.

Sage lands a job with her old employer, Cranberry Rose Company, the local nursery and is teamed up with her teenage crush, Tennessee Reyes, the man who broke her heart, unbeknownst to him. They’re paired together to find rare plants with a history and a story, to cultivate for sale. I love plants and gardening, so I thought Sage’s gift and her job was so neat!

I got a Practical Magic vibe here (the movie, not the book) picturing the beautiful old house as Nadia’s. Loved the descriptions of the setting and surrounding area!

The romance was lovely, even though I wasn’t a fan of Sage not coming clean with her prior AOL interactions with Tennessee, the blowback from it wasn’t long and overdrawn. I feel like Sage’s relationship with her sisters and Aunt Nadia were equally important to the story. They had past hurts that needed to be mended. Didn’t care for the way Teal or Aunt Nadia treated Sage. Teal was awful to her sister with no cause. It came from guilt and grief, but definite groveling was needed from both her sister and aunt. There’s some mystery around Sky’s death and I was thrilled over how that was all resolved!

Witch of Wild Things was a beautifully written, magical delight! Some romance, some family reconciliation, and cool magical gifts!

4 Stars

Book Description:

Legend goes that long ago a Flores woman offended the old gods, and their family was cursed as a result. Now, every woman born to the family has a touch of magic.
 
Sage Flores has been running from her family—and their “gifts”—ever since her younger sister Sky died. Eight years later, Sage reluctantly returns to her hometown. Like slipping into an old, comforting sweater, Sage takes back her job at Cranberry Rose Company and uses her ability to communicate with plants to discover unusual heritage specimens in the surrounding lands.

What should be a simple task is complicated by her partner in botany sleuthing: Tennessee Reyes. He broke her heart in high school, and she never fully recovered. Working together is reminding her of all their past tender, genuine moments—and new feelings for this mature sexy man are starting to take root in her heart.

With rare plants to find, a dead sister who keeps bringing her coffee, and another sister whose anger fills the sky with lightning, Sage doesn’t have time for romance. But being with Tenn is like standing in the middle of a field on the cusp of a summer thunderstorm—supercharged and inevitable.