https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezVRqhFOUMs&t=1s

This book absolutely warmed my heart and would be such a fantastic book for new readers growing into YA as well as anyone feeling a slump coming on. It's just so whimsical with the magic and simple to read being set in our world with pop culture references made that we all know.

The characters, lessons and relationships are adorable and healthy. They promote cherishing these things as well as give the tools on how to deal with bumps in the road. Amber battles to keep those relationships healthy and at the centre of who she is. We find out about her mother's past but Amber pushed forward to support how good her mother has become. She continues to do that with her co-worker Bob in the magic shop. She also really emphasized that fact that it's okay to have an argument and say sorry admitting you were wrong.

The romances are so sweet in this. Brooke and Iris had very little screentime together but I couldn't help but root for them and love them. They just have so much passion for each other and it made my eyes water.
The beginning with Charlie and Amber was so hard to read since we know she is working against fate but you cannot possible imagine how things will change. I did struggle with the ending of this though. The book emphasized that matches are like the end game and it doesn't just change however the conclusion just left me really underwhelmed with the "she decided to fight fate" explanation. I actually kind of liked how the ending came together for the romance. It gave the book a realistic touch to the relationship that could sometimes come off as cheesy (or chickflick-ey).

I loved that the side characters got so much screentime. Amani is a particular favourite of mine and she finally stops putting off "fate" in a way that seemed right for her character. It wasn't overly cheesy making her seem like a totally different character.

The comedy is hilarious. Amber has a near identical inner monologue that I do with sarcasm. That plus her antisocial tendencies and love of baking just kept making me see myself in her more and more!

I found the ending battle to be pretty anti-climactic--it seemed almost rushed or half attempted. There's a lot of build up and tons of history and threats of magical capabilities yet it was over in a few pages in a pretty clean way. I assume this is the conclusion of this series but I feel like there were a few things left unwrapped up. They were minor details so maybe they were forgotten?

The cover design is absolutely beautiful and I loved how the design kept going inside the book at the beginning of each chapter.

There are some pretty impressive and memorable lines in this book (especially in the last 20 pages) but my favourite has got to be:
"They say that all's fair in love and war, but for that to be true, you need to be part of the crusade."