For some reason I was under the impression that I wasn't that into the historical genre? But I think reading this book in basically one sitting starts to disprove that theory.

I don't know what it was about this book, but I was invested from the beginning. Maybe it was the whispers of small magic that seemed to imbue each scene and moments with a little 'extra.' Maybe it was the main characters I loved quickly and quietly. This book isn't all that fast, and not much really happens except some build-up towards the end. Still, I couldn't put it down. I still fondly remember the day I sat outside most of the day and just focused all my attention on this book. It'd been the first time in a while I felt so relaxed.

This is a story of families, magic, and society. It discusses wealth and its role in marriage in this society, how status isn't everything if you don't have what it takes to back it up. It's about clawing your way back up to where you think you belong, no matter who you hurt in the process, and how maybe being at the top isn't all that it seems. But mostly it's a story about love, how it builds and breaks you as a person, and what people are willing to do to keep it once it's found (and reciprocated). This story is a soft one, and I feel like you need to expect that going into it to properly appreciate what it's trying to do. For me, it was a safe spot to take a break for a bit, a space where I could just stop and breath, and spend some time with characters I was growing fond of.

I loved Mexican Gothic, and seeing the range that Silvia Morena-Garcia has in these two books has me excited to read even more. I genuinely enjoy my time spent in the unique worlds she builds up!