I really enjoyed this story, I just felt it was a bit slow. Not a whole goes on and it just kind of clips along at an easy pace. I love anything witches though and I thought the tie in to the elements and seasons was super cool. I have another witch book by the same author that I will read soon as well.

It was lovely and beautiful and made my soul happy. So many deep questions, while also feeling like a fantastic escape. Loved it.

This book did a lot of refreshing things right in the way it represented witchcraft, or even elemental fantasy. There's both a scientific and a sentimental appreciation for nature, and magic is described in ways that make sense: Both how to manipulate the elements to yield a natural response AND how we romanticize our connection to the elements. I loved the way in which covens were represented as people who trust and respect one another. They have a common goal, and a common love for the planet. There's no Satanic cult here, no animal sacrifices, no Latin chanted in the dead of night. Just people trying to preserve our one and only home planet. And I love how "spellbooks" are really more like field guides or log books, witches passing on their knowledge of both the planet's and human nature to the next generation.

BUT this book suffers from a technical writing standpoint. For a book that's supposed to be about how people change, all of the characters are mind-numbingly stagnant. Witches are reduced to one personality trait per season: Springs are patient, Winters are blunt, Autumns are melancholy, and Summers are... horny XD. The reductive characterization had me shaking my head a lot, because my sisters and I were all born in Spring, in the same month no less, and we could not be more different. But for the main character, especially, to not change much over time, despite the WHOLE message of the book, was supremely annoying. Clara learns to trust and learns to love, but her epiphanies both feel forced AND feel like they should have happened sooner. She has the same inner-conflict from beginning to end, she ignores every shred of evidence that ought to make her confront her doubts sooner, and it becomes harder and harder to sympathize with her when the answer to all of her problems is so obvious: Friendship is Magic. A six year old could have told her that. And yet, Clara only believes it after she stares directly into the sun. P.S. - Don't stare into the sun. It's realistic that someone doesn't just "get over" their trauma, and it's maybe believable too that someone can put their problems into a new perspective after immersing themselves in nature. But I found myself more sympathetic to Paige and Sang, who supported Clara in her grief, but grew frustrated when Clara wouldn't help herself. Why did it take an almost deific experience with The Sun for Clara to connect to the people in her life, when those supportive people have been there the whole freakin' time?!

My other peeve, was that this book is too preachy. Yes, global warming bad, human influence huge, hug a tree, hug your neighbor, kumbaya! But even though the message about being connected, empathetic, and engaged, is all VERY very important, I found the way that this author delivered that message to be very insulting. She basically points at the audience and says, "Hey you, muggle, you caused this crisis. What are YOU going to do about it?!" She's not wrong... But I didn't open up a fantasy book to get yelled at.

It's kind of ironic that I didn't like the book calling me out for being complacent, that hurt, but I had the same feeling towards the protagonist. I didn't want Clara to pull back from the painful truth, I wanted her to learn something and then do something different.

Ultimately, I didn't enjoy this book, because the protagonist doesn't practice what she preaches, and yet literally the entire world revolves around her. I could see that this book was striving to deliver a universal message, wrapped in a sentimental love letter to Nature. But I just felt like I was reading an emo girl's diary, and couldn't care less about her being her own biggest problem.

↠ 3.75 stars ⭐️

I really wanted to love this book, but it fell short for me. I didn't not enjoy it because I did overall, there's just something I can't put my finger on that holds this story back from being anything more than an average read for me.

I did enjoy the overall premise and magic system of the story. I loved this interesting take on elemental magic, determined by the seasons of the year. And I also enjoyed the emphasis on climate change and how it needs to be addressed. You can tell that the author did a lot of research into weather systems while writing this and I really enjoyed her descriptions of the weather events and seasons.

However, I really struggled with the characters. Not that they are bad characters, per se. I really loved Sang. I liked Mr. Hart. I liked Clara. But for a character-driven story, I seriously struggled to get attached to any of them. I didn't even find myself swooning over the blossoming romance like I usually do so easily. However, I will admit I did get emotional at one point when Clara finally accepted herself and her power. Regardless, there was something missing from the characters in the story that prevented me from developing some kind of attachment to any of them.

The more I think about it, maybe this was just too YA for me. And I say that as someone who usually enjoys YA.

All things considered, this was a good story and a good debut novel. It was a fast, atmospheric read, perfect for a cozy, autumn day.

Perhaps I'll feel differently about it if I reread it on a day like that.

A couple of quotes I particularly enjoyed:
"... But I as sure as sunlight know what it means to adore someone for no other reason than that they exist, for no other reason than that the universe created such a perfect person from the dust of the stars.

"You look at him as if he's magic."