This was a wonderful YA read for the season! 

Right away, the commentary on climate change is pretty obvious. It was kind of overdone at first (I think the story as a whole got the message across just fine without extra emphasis). While not strictly fantasy exactly, the world-building was a little too straight forward. Rather than experiencing and understanding it, I was just told (not shown) what the world was like right off the bat. These two factors made the beginning a little hard to get into at first. It improved drastically after 4-5 chapters. By then I was hooked. 

As the story goes on, we see a ton of personal conflict as well as tension between Clara and all of the people she’s connected to. She is so terrified of accidentally hurting any more people she loves that she cuts herself off and tries her best to tamp down her powers. This, of course, does not do well for her magic or her emotional well-being. Lots of personal growth here ❤️ 

I wouldn’t go in expecting a very detailed or mature handling of the magical element; this is 100% young adult and reads as such. It’s still a beautiful and fun read, and I’ll hang onto it for when my kids are ready (There are a couple of VERY closed-door intimate scenes. Nothing spicy at all, but not quite what I’m ready to hand my 11yo).



Some quotes that stood out to me:

“My point is that she still loved her magic—we all do, even though it comes with real pain. Pain that you will never have to experience because you’re an Ever. Your magic comes with its own kind of pain, and you can acknowledge it, hate it, wish it didn’t have to be that way, and still live your life. Still be happy.”

“But I like winter. Winter is the truest of seasons. It’s what remains after everything else is stripped away. The leaves fall. The colors fade. The branches get brittle. And if you can love the earth, understand it when all the beauty is gone and see it for what it is, that’s magic.”

 Overall Thoughts:
⁕ The book is split into 4 sections to reflect 4 seasons. I understand that this is to show how Clara's magic operates and changes, but the quick passage of time sometimes resulted in rushed scenes and passively explaining the action instead of showing it.

⁕ I feel indifferent about the main character but love many of the secondary ones. Each has unique motivations and experiences when it comes to their relationship with Clara that create such interesting dynamics throughout the story. 

⁕ I wish there was more extensive world-building around the history of magic, the founding of the schools, and the conflict between those with magic and those without.

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What I appreciate most is Griffin's worldbuilding and the way that she approaches the romantic relationship/characters. I'll be honest -- I devoured this book, and a large part of this has to do with how compelling Griffin makes the main characters struggle, and the way that I rooted for the relationship. I love how multifaceted all the characters feel, the way that it does feel like we're peaking into the world rather than reading something convenient. The magic of the world is interesting and very well thought out. 

A couple elements of the novel/plot feel a little bit tacked on and heavy-handed (mainly the message about climate change, which isn't really integrated into the overall theme), but overall this is a solid character-driven supernatural romance. I liked it.