Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley Pages: 368
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on March 9, 2021
In this charming debut fantasy perfect for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Girls of Paper and Fire, a witch cursed to never love meets a girl hiding her own dangerous magic, and the two strike a dangerous bargain to save their queendom.
Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation. But after committing the worst magical sin, she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love. The only way she can get those feelings back—even for just a little while—is to steal love from others.
Wren is a source—a rare kind of person who is made of magic, despite being unable to use it herself. Sources are required to train with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities, but Wren—the only caretaker to her ailing father—has spent her life hiding her secret.
When a magical plague ravages the queendom, Wren’s father falls victim. To save him, Wren proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague, then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father.
Of course, love bargains are a tricky thing, and these two have a long, perilous journey ahead of them—that is, if they don't kill each other first..
Sweet & Bitter Magic is a young adult fantasy by Adrienne Tooley. I can’t wait to discover more books from this author because I really enjoyed her writing style and the world setup in Sweet & Bitter Magic. I wasn’t able to connect too deeply with the characters, but overall I really enjoyed their journey and the overall story. I think this book will really appeal to plot driven readers who are looking for a witch based fantasy with a diverse cast and queer romance. Overall, I liked Sweet & Bitter Magic.
In Sweet & Bitter Magic, we meet our two main characters, Tamsin and Wren. Tamsin is a very powerful witch, but she commits a very serious coven crime when she is trying to save her sister. As a result, she is exiled and cursed with the inability to love. Tamsin retreats to a small town where she helps the people in the town, but her help comes with a hefty price tag. Because of the curse placed upon her, the only way for Tamsin to experience emotions, like love, is to take the emotions from other people. So that’s the price of her help- she takes love from the towns people. Because of this, she is feared and hated by almost everyone in their remote town.
Wren on the other hand, lives in the same village as Tamsin, but their paths never cross because they are both their own kind of reclusive. Wren is caring for her dying father, which takes up almost all of her time. And Wren has a secret of her own. She’s a source, which means that she is made up of magic, but can’t wield magic on her own. Sources are paired up with witches and they work as a team, but Wren has never had that chance because she has to care for her father.
At the start of our story, a magical plague is released on the queendom, and as it starts to infect everyone, including Wren’s father, Wren and Tamsin reluctantly team up to try and stop the plague. Initially, these two really dislike each other. I liked Wren and Tamsin each on their own, but I never really felt connected to either of them, which made it hard for me to get into the romance in this story. I was very invested and interested in their quest like journey, which is why I think this book will be great for plot driven readers. The source of the plague intrigued me, as did the glimpses into Tamsin’s past. I was very interested in learning more about what happened to her and her sister at school. Adrienne Tooley does a great job dropping little hints and clues throughout the story to keep you interested, and I thought the pacing of the book was great. The plot clips along at a good pace. Overall, I enjoyed Sweet & Bitter Magic and I look forward to more books by this author.
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