Love Charms and Other Catastrophes (Grimbaud, #2) by Kimberly Karalius Pages: 384
Published by Swoon Reads on May 17th 2016
Aspiring love charm maker Hijiri Kitamura was excited to come back to Grimbaud for her sophomore year-until she learns about the upcoming charm making competition. Grimbaud has just started to recover from the tyranny of Zita's love fortunes and it would be too easy for the winning charm maker to take Zita's place. The only solution is for Hijiri, with the support of her friends and fellow rebels, to win the contest herself.
Unfortunately, that's easier said than done, especially when Love itself has decided to meddle in Hijiri's life. Concerned that it's favorite charm maker has given up on finding a boyfriend of her own, Love takes matters into its own hands and delivers the perfect boyfriend to her in a giftwrapped box...literally.
Get ready to be charmed by this magical, quirky sequel to Love Fortunes and Other Disasters by Kimberly Karalius.
Note: This is a series that must be read in order, and this review will contain spoilers for book 1. If you are new to the series, you can find more information abouttThe first book, Love Fortunes and Other Disasters HERE.
Love Charms and Other Catastrophes is the second book in the magical young adult series, Grimbaud by Kimberly Karalius. The first book, Love Fortunes and Other Disasters was one of my favorite books of 2015. It is the kind of book that puts a perma smile on your face, and Love Charms and Other Catastrophes is no different. You do need to read these books in order, so if you have not checked out the first book yet, you really do need to. The series is set in the magical town of Grimbaud. I love the cover of these books so much, because their whimsical feel helps me imagine Grimbaud with the same touch of whimsy. Does that make sense? The town also reminded me of the Kissing Town from the tv series The Tenth Kingdom (which is an amazing mini series if you have not watched it yet, you need to!) So the entire time I was reading, I was imagining the kissing town with love in the air, everywhere. (After I finished reading the first book, I told the author about this, and she confirmed that kissing town was part of her inspiration for Grimbaud! How exciting is that??)
Love Charms and Other Catastrophes picks up in the wake of the events of the first book. The gang has defeated Zita and all of her evil-ness has fled the town. But, in her place a whole bunch of different charm makers have taken up shop in Grimbaud. Some bad in their own way. Love starts to get a little nervous so he decides a contest is the key. Winner gets to take Zita’s spot. Insert, our favorite student charm maker from book 1, Hijiri and you know where this is going.
I will admit that I was a little nervous about this story being about Hijiri. Not because I didn’t like her in the first book. I did. But I just felt like I didn’t really know her well. She was in the first book a good deal but I had my Fallon and Sebastian blinders on. But man, oh man did Hijiri prove me wrong. I am so happy that we had two plot lines going on. We had the love charm makers competition on one side and Hijiri’s love life on the other. And getting to see Hijiri open up to love made her more personable to me. It made me like her. And who wouldn’t love Ken. He was hand picked and delivered just for her! I mean come on. That is the stuff of daydreams.
Bottom line: If you liked Love Fortunes and Other Disasters you are going to love Love Charms and Other Catastrophes. It is every bit as fun and magical as the first book. I am completely loving this series. I hope I get to visit the town of Grimbaud many more times. This series is winner.
Other books in the Grimbaud series:
#Grimbaud has another hit! Love Charms and Other Catastrophes by @kkaralius @SwoonReads is a @BookBriefs favorite of 2016 Share on X
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sounds great! thanks for the chance
Great review, Michelle! This series sounds like a lot of fun and just like a sweet escape! I haven’t read Love Fortunes and Other Disasters but it sounds like something I would like, though! Glad this one didn’t disappoint! 🙂
The first book in this series was so much fun, and I look forward to reading more from Karalius.
This book sounds like it be a great read
This sounds like a very good series. Thanks for introducing it to me! I’m looking forward to reading the books.
Great review sounds like a great read.Thanks for the chance to win.