Okay! Review number 2. I am doing so well guys! Oh my! Two reviews this monthhhhh. Onewards!
Customary warning: This is a reminder that these are my personal opinions. My thoughts and feelings are not your thoughts and feelings. I may not always be the target audience for a book; sometimes I am. If I do not like a book, that doesn’t mean you’ll dislike it. If I love a book or simply like a book, you may hate it. Take everything I say with this knowledge. If it sounds interesting to you despite what I’ve said, then go ahead and read it. You’ll only know you like something if you read it yourself.
That being said… Spoilers ahead.
Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley
Synopsis From The Book
Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation. But after committing the worst magical sin, she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love. The only way she can get those feelings back–even for just a little while–is to steal love from others.
Wren is a source–a rare kind of person who is made of magic, despite being unable to use it herself. Sources are required to train with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities, but Wren–the only caretaker to her ailing father–has spent her life hiding her secret.
When a magical plague ravages the queendom, Wren’s father falls victim. To save him, Wren proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague, then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father.
Of course, love bargains are a tricky thing, and these two have a long, perilous journey ahead of them–that is, if they don’t kill each other first.
Fantasy | YA – E | Character Death, Manipulation, Fear, Distrust and Prejudice | Love, Friendship, Coming of Age
Initial Thoughts Before Reading:
When skimming this book, I saw my name. Do you have any idea how much I dread that? Seeing my name in a book gives me the creeps. What if the person is terrible? What if I hate her? I’m thoroughly icked out, and it is 100% the reason I have been holding off on reading this for so long. However the book is pretty so it captured my attention.
Oh well. Time to fall in love with some witches!
Initial Thoughts After Reading:
I won’t lie, I cringed every single time I read my name in this book. Each time it was there, a part of me died a bit inside. I really hated it.
Not that this book was bad.
Its a really good book about love and sacrifice, but seeing my name? Killed me. Solid book all the same.
Plot Overview:
Wren is a source who has been hiding from the witches. Her brother died from magic and her mother died from grief of it. She has been taking care of her father afraid of what was to come. Tasmin was a witch banished from the Within, the coven for witches, after she attempted to save her sister’s life with magic. A magic plague begins to spread and Wren’s father is caught in it. She goes to Tasmin for help. Tasmin who has been seen her sister’s diary appear out of nowhere, offers to hunt the witch for Wren’s love for her father. Tasmin lost her ability to love and feel when she was banished, and Wren agrees.
The two travel to the witch lands and Wren slowly falls in love with Tasmin and Tasmin grows attached to Wren. They cross the border and Wren is faced with the truth of Tasmin. Tasmin’s mother, the High Chancellor of the coven, explains that it is Marlena who has caused the issue. Marlena, Tasmin’s sister who she thought she killed, never died and Wren and Tasmin have to hunt her down.
The two find Marlena who is high on anger. They fight and Wren gives into her abilities, taking Marlena’s magic in whole, snapping the dark magic and what little Marlena had of magic. Tasmin and Wren admit their feelings and the three return to the coven. Tasmin is no longer banished, and Marlena decides to travel the world. Wren sees her father one last time to say goodbye with the plague gone, and Tasmin and Wren return to Within.
What I Liked:
Wren; What a cutey. Man, I wish I could see the world as she did. She found beauty in everything and I adore that. The little things were so lovely and when she started to come into her own? Goodness, it was lovely. She’s lovely and I know she will amount to great things.
Tamsin; This sharp tongued girl has my heart as much as Wren does. I loved every moment of her sardonic vapors. She did not care and it was clear, but as she learned to care again and learned to feel? Ugh, take my heart. She should be happy forever. I don’t make the rules but I do enforce them. Happiness? Forever.
Marlena; As much as I hate that we share the same name, she was an interesting and complex character. It hurts that she had such difficulty standing on her own and her inferiority devoured her. I hope that her travels show her a path to become a person she wants to be. She deserves that.
Wren x Tamsin; I LOVE THEM. That’s it. Okay, not really. The soft one and the sharp one. The ray of sunshine to the gloom? I love this troupe so much and they were so well matched. Ugh, carve out my heart, I love them both together so much. The way they describe their love for each other? I caaaaaant. I wish them all the luck in the world for their relationship.
Love; I really loved this theme in the book. What will you do for love? In this book there are many instances where it is offered and the cost. I find it fascinating that there is never the same answer and people often don’t realize what is at risk until its gone. As a theme I adored this. I thought it was very well done.
What I Would Have Liked or Changed:
I really hope we get more of this world. The map is so complex and I want to know more about all the places listed.
Rating: 4/5
Notable Quotes:
None
Marlena Marie 
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