Starred review from July 1, 2023
A family curse has passed magic down through generations of the Flores family, including sisters Teal, Sky, and Sage. Sage's magic focuses on plants, allowing her to hear their voices, encourage them to grow, and identify them from seeds. When Sky dies in an accident, Sage leaves home, haunted by her sister's ghost. Now, eight years later, Sage has come home to Cranberry, VA. Tennessee Reyes, Sage's first love and first heartbreak, has also moved back to town. When Sage and Tennessee are thrown together to search for heritage plants, their attraction is immediate and powerful. But Sage isn't sure she can risk her heart again, and she has secrets that could drive Tenn away. This engrossing, lyrical romance pulls readers into Sage's world, where the supernatural is everyday, yet still mysterious. A secondary plotline about broken familial relationships shares importance with the romance, adding depth. Magic and Mexican American culture are woven throughout the book, as are references to ecology and the preservation of nature. VERDICT Gilliland's (How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe) adult fiction debut is a beautifully written, entrancing novel that is a must-buy for all collections.--Heather Miller Cover
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Starred review from July 10, 2023
Gilliland (How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe) mixes magical realism, sisterhood, and, of course, love into a sparkling romance that will sweep readers off their feet. Eight years after the death of Sky Flores sent her guilt-stricken older sister, Sage, running from their witchy family, Sage reluctantly returns home to Cranberry, Va., to face those she left behind. As she works to mend fences with her youngest sister, her magical ability to communicate with plants lands her a job with the local nursery, where she works side by side with Tennessee “Tenn” Reyes, her first love. Tenn and Sage were digital pen pals as teenagers, but Tenn ended that relationship before it really became serious, and he doesn’t realize that Sage and silvergirl0917 are one and the same. Though Sage tries to protect her heart by keeping her distance, Tenn’s flirting is hard to ignore. Their rekindling romance is a delight to witness while the sister story line adds heft and heart. Fans of Like Water for Chocolate and Practical Magic will be enthralled.Agent: Elizabeth Bewley, Sterling Lord Literistic.
August 1, 2023
In Gilliand's entrancing, witchy romance, Sage Flores is forced to move back home after losing her beloved job as a teacher and live with her aunt who raised her, her sister who hates her, and the ghost of her younger sister, Sky. Doing her best to ignore the specter, Sage rejoins a local nursery to use her gift for communicating with plants, her own unique power in a family of secretly magical women. But when she's assigned to work with Tennessee Reyes, her high school's biggest flirt, who broke her teenage heart, Sage isn't sure she can keep pretending the past isn't plotting against her. As the spirit of Sky visits more and more, Sage finds herself thrown into the mystery of what really happened when her sister died and how she can fix her broken family. In a touching and sweet story about moving on from a haunting past, award-winning Mexican American poet, artist, and novelist Gilliland weaves together a complex tale of loss and new beginnings that still manages to be a fun and captivating romance.
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