Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Released: 16th May 2017
My Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Find it on Goodreads
Amber Sand is not a witch. The Sand family Wicca gene somehow leapfrogged over her. But she did get one highly specific magical talent: she can see true love. As a matchmaker, Amber's pretty far down the sorcery food chain (even birthday party magicians rank higher), but after five seconds of eye contact, she can envision anyone's soul mate.
Amber works at her mother's magic shop--Windy City Magic--in downtown Chicago, and she's confident she's seen every kind of happy ending there is: except for one--her own. (The Fates are tricky jerks that way.) So when Charlie Blitzman, the mayor's son and most-desired boy in school, comes to her for help finding his father's missing girlfriend, she's distressed to find herself falling for him. Because while she can't see her own match, she can see his--and it's not Amber. How can she, an honest peddler of true love, pursue a boy she knows full well isn't her match? (from Goodreads)
This book was so cute, I really loved it. It had a little bit of a shaky start, but after a few chapters, I was fully engrossed, and I’m very much looking forward to the sequel.
Amber was a fab main character. Apart from being really funny, she was very relatable. As a matchmaker, she was often looked down upon for not being a “proper” witch. It wasn’t that she wasn’t powerful and good at what she did, but rather that what she did was very specific, and didn’t have many other applications. The other witches viewed her as not really one of them, and Amber often felt left out because she wasn’t allowed to attend coven meetings or really know what was going on in the witchy world. Sometimes she thought her own mother wished she could be different and carry on the family tradition, and I could really sympathise with her. That being said, she was a top notch matchmaker, and seemed to know a lot about the supernatural world. Amber could be a little judgmental at times, but she had a tough time at school and I could understand why she acted that way. I also found myself deeply relating to her on a person level when she was talking about group projects – they really are the worst.
Amani was another great character! She was Amber’s best friend and I really believed their relationship. Amani was very funny too, and she knew that Amber often felt like she wasn’t good enough because she was “only” a matchmaker, and did her best to be there for her. She was often a bit on edge when it came to her precognition though, and I would definitely love to see more of that in the next book, and get to explore her power a bit. It was interesting, and the way she never wanted to reveal anything about Amber’s future had me curious. And her reaction to Vincent! I am very intrigued to see what happens there (is there hope yet?).
Charlie was really lovely, and I very much enjoyed seeing his relationship with Amber develop. He originally approached her for help finding his missing stepmother, but as he became more acquainted with the supernatural world, he and Amber got a lot closer, and it was so cute! I do wish we had found out a little bit more about him (maybe in the next book) but overall, I liked him. He was sweet and had a lot of great lines that made me smile and laugh. I could completely understand Amber’s struggle in regard to her feelings for him – he wasn’t her match, and her whole business was finding people their matches. She kept thinking that surely she would be a fraud, a terrible person for being with Charlie when she knew some other girl was really the one for him? It was a difficult situation to be in!
Plot-wise, this book started off a little slow, and the writing was kind of cheesy to begin with, but as I said, a few chapters in and I was really engaged. I loved exploring Amber’s supernatural world and seeing how she used her matchmaking power. I actually wish this had been explored a little more, because I wasn’t a 100% sure how Amber’s powers worked (but then, neither did she!) and it was strange that she was still putting so much stock in who was and wasn’t a match when she was in such a tangled situation herself. However, I know this is a series (and I am very glad), so hopefully we’ll get some more answers in book two (especially after Kim joined the mix! Kim! And what did the Fate guy mean?! So many questions!). I am personally hoping the next book will be from Amber’s POV again, just because I really enjoyed her narrative, but I’ll still be reading it even if it’s not!
Overall this was a very fun, very adorable read, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for something fairly light-hearted with a bit of magic. Now to wait for book two!
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