Title: Small Town, Big Magic
Author: Hazel Beck
Release Date: Aug. 23, 2022
Format: Paperback
Where to buy: Bookshop.org | Amazon
My Rating: 4/5
Synopsis
Emerson Wilde has built the life of her dreams. Youngest Chamber of Commerce president in St. Cyprian history, successful indie bookstore owner, and lucky enough to have her best friends as found family? Done.
But when Emerson is attacked by creatures that shouldn’t be real, and kills them with what can only be called magic, Emerson finds that the past decade of her life has been…a lie. St. Cyprian isn’t your average Midwestern river town—it’s a haven for witches. When Emerson failed a power test years ago, she was stripped of her magical memories. Turns out, Emerson’s friends are all witches.
And so is she.
That’s not all, though: evil is lurking in the charming streets of St. Cyprian. Emerson will need to learn to control what’s inside of her, remember her magic, anddeal with old, complicated feelings for her childhood friend–cranky-yet-gorgeous local farmer Jacob North—to defeat an enemy that hides in the rivers and shadows of everything she loves.
Even before she had magic, Emerson would have done anything for St. Cyprian, but now she’ll have to risk not just her livelihood…but her life.
My review
This book was yet another cover buy for me. I really wanted something that included magic and romance. This book is a closed door romance. What was especially interesting for me was that the romance storyline was more of a c-plot. The main plot line was actually focused on the magic and lore at play in St. Cyprian. I was pleasantly surprised that that was the case. Frequently in witchy romances, the witchiness is almost an afterthought and the primarily plot line is the romance. I personally love lore heavy books, so this was perfect for me.
I’ll be completely honest, Emerson annoyed me a bit. I appreciated that she was a strong, type-A, proud feminist, but dear god her inner monologue was absolutely frustrating. Perhaps she annoyed me because I saw a bit of myself in her, but either way Emerson definitely irked me. I was however obsessed with the other female characters—Ellowyn, Georgie, and Rebekah—each and every one of them was extremely unique, from their personalities to their magic styles.
The male characters of this world are interesting. Jacob, the love interest, is definitely a bit of a cinnamon roll. He’s always been brooding and protective of Emerson. She never quite understood why he never made a move. It becomes clear as her memories of magic return that he hated lying to her. More than that it becomes obvious that he will do whatever it takes to protect her and their friends. I hope we get to learn more about the immortal Nicholas Frost in the next book. His immortality could mean that he’s evil, but I’m hopeful that is not the case.
I also really enjoyed the setting. St. Cyprian was the kind of town where you want a magical society to be. I loved that the festivals for tourists were cover for the witchy festivals like Samhain and Beltane. I loved the description and setting of Confluence Books. Let’s be honest, I would shop there in a heartbeat. I also loved the descriptions of the homes that the gang frequents, both Emerson’s and Jacob’s. The author definitely created a world that is ready to be grown over the next books in the series.
The lore that is created in this series is particularly exciting because I can tell that there is so much room for growth. We will learn more about the history of St. Cyprian and the history of the ruling body of witches. I think the future of the series will also reveal a lot about the magic system including each of the witch’s affinities. I am generally just really excited to see where this series goes.
Basically if you are looking for a lore heavy, witch based magic book, I highly recommend Small Town, Big Magic. The next entry in the series, Big Little Spells, focuses on Nicholas and Rebekah and is out August 29.
