I was hesitant to read this book, not because I hadn't heard good things about it, but precisely the opposite: everyone I've heard talk about this book has raved, and I am curmudgeonly about hype. Plus, this fits squarely in the romantasy genre, and it's straight, and since coming out I just don't really want to read straight romances, sorry.

But. I've also been craving cozy reads with spooky-adjacent vibes, and this just sounded so much that that I decided to give it a try on audio for my commute and see if I bounced off of it.

Surprisingly, I didn't bounce off of it. I can see reasons why someone would--if you don't want twee little magical kids, steer clear--but I didn't. I thought the overall story was a good balance of cuteness and angst, I liked the grumpy/sunshine dynamic, I liked the characters (especially the grouchy librarian I could project myself onto), and I liked that there were queer supporting characters (although one could argue that one of them reads like a caricature of an older gay man). Really comforting escapism with enough conflict to fuel the plot and make me listen intently to find out how they were going to get out of the bonkers mess they got themselves into.