Early Review – Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell (3.5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 352 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 14, 2023
ASIN: B0B3XPRVG6
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley for review from NetGalley
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
“Clara’s magic has always been wild. But it’s never been dangerous. Then a simple touch causes poisonous flowers to bloom in her father’s chest.
The only way to heal him is to cast an extremely difficult spell that requires perfect control. And the only person willing to help is her former best friend, Xavier, who’s grown from a sweet, shy child into someone distant and mysterious.
Xavier asks a terrible price in return, knowing Clara will give anything to save her father. As she struggles to reconcile the new Xavier with the boy she once loved, she discovers how many secrets he’s hiding. And as she hunts for the truth, she instead finds the root of a terrible darkness that’s taken hold in the queendom—a darkness only Clara’s magic is powerful enough to stop.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley to review.
Thoughts: This was a good romantic fantasy read. There is a lot about magic, growing up, family, and love in this story. It was a very quick and easy read and in general I enjoyed it.
We follow Clara, whose wild magic has prevented her from taking her rightful place as a witch. Since her magic is so unpredictable, the council wants to remove it from her completely, and when she accidently fills her own father’s chest with poisonous blossoms they aren’t inclined to change their minds. She strikes a deal with her old childhood friend, Xavier, that she will give him her wild magic if only he will help her learn how to do a blessing on her father to cure him. Unfortunately, Clara doesn’t know that Xavier has secrets of his own.
I did think the main protagonist, Clara, was a bit inconsistent in her character throughout the story. At times she was very naïve and passive and then at times she was very aggressive. In the beginning she was overly trusting but then later on she turned on her teacher without much provocation, it was a bit confusing. I thought Xavier was a bit of a creeper, especially in the beginning of the book. I didn’t really love him anymore as the book went on; he was just too messed up and conflicted…although the author tries to explain that away.
This was a quick and easy read; I read it in a night. I did enjoy watching Clara learning to control her magic and enjoyed the relationship she had with her father. I thought her relationship with Xavier was a bit shaky, they seemed to fall in love quickly but didn’t have a very trusting relationship. I didn’t love the relationship dynamics portrayed here, but that’s personal preference.
This is a fairly simple story. The magic system isn’t well explained (other than you use your heart to guide magic) and the world-building is fairly non-existent. If you are looking for a fluffy, cozy fantasy read about magic and love, this is a decent read.
My Summary (3.5/5): Overall this was an okay read if you want a cute little fantasy romance with some magic in it. Everything in here (characters, plot, world, magic) is kept fairly simple. I wasn’t hugely keen on the relationship dynamics between our two main characters, but that is personal preferences. If you are looking for a fluffy, cozy romantic YA fantasy read this is a decent one.
