Publication Date: 03rd Sep 2024
Genre: Small Town Witchy Romance
3.7 Stars
One Liner: Enjoyed the book but not a fan of the FMC
Charlie Sparrow’s family has owned the Chanterelle Cottage for six generations in the small-town Owl’s Hollow. She and her moms form the trio of witches in the town. The shop is her everything but they are struggling to keep it afloat. Still, her parents don’t want to make Charlie a business partner.
The arrival of Sterling Fitzgerald aka Fitz complicates things. Fitz is a mage and has opened a magecraft store, Maven Enterprises. He comes from money, which makes him Charlie’s enemy. How will a spell shop survive when mages are around?
However, neither can deny the attraction between them. Moreover, someone has been causing trouble with strange supernatural events affecting the whole town. It’s up to Charlie and Fitz to sort out the issue and find a common ground for their businesses and hearts.
The story comes in the first-person POV of Charlie.
My Thoughts:
That’s such a cute cover, right? I knew I had to read this one (and lucked out this time).
A big yay to Charlie’s moms Alice (Mama) and Ruby (Mim). They are the definition of opposites attract and form a beautiful team (with a few parental flaws, of course).
The side characters like Elinor, Bonnie, and Tandy are well-etched. While they start as stereotypical, we see the characters have more depth to them. The LBGT rep is cool and seamless. I also like how the white characters are mentioned as white (as opposed to assuming that anyone whose skin tone is not described is automatically white). Love this.
The setting is lovely as it should be in small-town books. Since this one is 400+ pages, there’s enough space for world-building in terms of location and magic. Both are deftly handled with enough explanations woven into the plot. The magical world combines quite a few elements (runes, elemental magic, crystals, spellwork, nature witchcraft, etc.)
Fitz is actually a sweet person. I admit there were many instances I liked him more than Charlie (more on this next). He is caring, loving, kind, talented, and a good businessman. He knows how to run a business, which is important if one wants to become a business partner. It helps that he also has enough trauma in his past.
Charlie is not a bad character; just immature and idiotic. Since we get the book from her POV, her voice needs to be good and it is to an extent (I’ll say that I liked the author’s narration more than Charlie’s POV, if it makes sense). The voice is cheeky (which I credit the author and not the character). While it is interesting to have a flawed FMC, there were quite a few instances when she got annoying. The FMC’s actions (some of her interactions with the love interest) don’t make her cute. If Fitz did that, we’d be calling him a red flag and a toxic man.
Since this is not a mystery book, the characters don’t see what’s right in front of their eyes, nor do they connect the dots until the mess becomes a bigger mess. I expected that, so wasn’t disappointed.
There is a third-act breakup which comes early in the last quarter and extends until the end. Moreover, there is no epilogue. Why? When I read 400+ pages, why can’t have at least a 2-page epilogue? I need to know some details. Grr!
Before I forget, I have to applaud the ease with which we have the Celtic cross (Tarot) spread presented in the first 10% of the book. Can I get a free reading too, please?
To summarize, The Cottage Around the Corner is a cozy witchy romance with an interesting magic system and a good setting. I’d have liked it if the FMC was a little more mature, but I did love the author’s voice and the MMC.
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group (Ballantine | Dell), for eARC.
#NetGalley #TheCottageAroundTheCorner
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