Witch of Wild Things

Author: Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

Genre: Fiction, Magical Realism, Romance

Format: Physical purchase

Publish Date: September 2023

Read: March 2024

Favorite Quote: Bad things happen when white people discover the gifts of brown women.

Story Synopsis: Sage Flores is moving back in with her Aunt Nadia - the woman who raised her. At 29, life has not worked out the way Sage hoped, and now she’s forced to start over in her rural hometown of Cranberry, Virginia. Still at home is her sister, who blames Sage for their other sister’s death. Thanks to the small-town nature, Sage is able to get a job quickly, but she must work with her high school crush, Tennessee, the boy who broke her heart.

Why does this book beguile? Since I read In the Shadow Garden by Liz Parker (link below), I’ve been searching for something to read in the magical realism/witchy world. I liked this book, but I feel like it was trying to be too many things at once. Is it a romance? Is it a coming-of-age? Is it a book about sisterhood and family? Who can tell? My other pet peeve throughout this book is the description of the made-up town of Cranberry, Virginia. As someone who’s lived her whole life in NC and visited Virginia more times than I can count, the landscape and geography described in this book is not plausible. It really pulled me out of the story.

The book started slowly but got more enjoyable about halfway through. I read it in one day, so it’s a nice, quick weekend read.

Rating: 3/5

Link*: Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

If you’re interested in this, read*: In the Shadow Garden by Liz Parker