Review: Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous by Autumn K. England

Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous (Everyday Magic #1)
by Autumn K. England

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Cozy Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: nb/f

Blurb:
STARDEW VALLEY meets STUDIO GHIBLI in a charming cozy fantasy about healing, redemption, and the subtle magic of simple living. Perfect for fans of Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea and The Spellshop. Welcome home, weary traveler.

When Oaklin Nettlewood accidentally joined an evil world-ending cult, mind control magic forced them to do unspeakable things. Years later, the realm’s heroes have finally saved the day, defeated the villain, and shattered the last remnants of the spell…leaving destruction in their wake. And so, with a spell-damaged memory and whole bushel of trauma, Oaklin escapes to a small farm on the edge of Mossley’s Rest and swears an oath: After all the things they were forced to do with their magic, they will never use it again. Ever.

The no-nonsense ghost granny who lives in Oaklin’s house has other ideas. As she coaxes Oaklin out of their shell and back into the world, they find companionship (a grumpy horse and a very good dog), friendship (a local bard and magical baker who should just kiss already), and tentative romance (a paladin-librarian who makes Oaklin’s heart come alive for the first time in ages.) Magic even seems possible again—though strictly for foraging magical mushrooms and protecting the farm from bugs.

Healing comes in gentle waves, and Oaklin doesn’t have to do it alone. So what does it mean when an inquisitor comes to town to hunt former cultists just as Oaklin begins to think that maybe, just maybe, they deserve a happy ending after all?

My Review

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous was one of my most anticipated releases of this year. The Stardew Valley comparison in the blurb caught my eye and I love the cozy fantasy genre, so I knew I had to read this one. I was so excited to get a review copy, but then somehow didn’t get around to reading it until it was almost release day. I am glad I read it as I had a great time reading this one.

I really enjoyed this book, it is a cozy fantasy story about Oaklin who used to be part of a cult which led them to be mind-controlled by an evil sorceress who controlled them and used them to kill people. The sorceress is dead now and Oaklin is trying to start a new life, but they have trauma from their time in the cult and they hardly remember anything from those years or his childhood before that. They land in Mossley’s Rest and buy a farm there, not realized the farm is magical and a ghost lives on the property. Slowly they get the hang of managing the farm with the help of Granny’s ghost and he gets to know the town and the people who live there.

This is a story about hope and forgiveness, about moving forward and processing trauma. As well as about found family and community. I liked that while it felt light cozy and uplifting, it did deal with difficult topics like trauma as well. I thought the mix was well done and worked here. There was a part later on that almost made me cry. The ending wrapped things up nicely and I am so excited to see there will be a second book and I think that will feature two of the side characters.

I liked reading about Oaklin and seeing them find their way, slowly starting to find a place in this community and making friends. I liked their interactions with Granny’s ghost. And there’s a sweet romance with Lior who is a paladin. There are also some other side characters, but a lot of those just have a certain role and that’s mostly it. I did like some more depth that got added to two side characters at the end, but wouldn’t have minded a bit more set up for that earlier on as it came a bit out of nowhere now.

I did feel there were a few parts were this book could’ve been even better. I felt like I would’ve loved to get to know the side characters a bit more. Lior has such an interesting backstory herself, but I felt like this didn’t get addresses as much. There are some great scenes with her, but I felt like they could’ve had a bit more emotional depth to show her own struggles and trauma. Same with Jules and Ryn, they just felt like the role they took in, Jules being a bard and Ryn the baker. And on top of that they are friendly and welcoming, but I just wnated to know more about them. I think the next book is probably about them, so maybe it will happen there.

I also would’ve loved more scenes on the farm and seeing Oaklin explore and get to know his new property. It could be hard to get a feel for the world and the magic as well, even with it not being the focus, I would’ve liked a bit more. The scenes that involve magic were so fun and I liked Oaklin’s land magic and the hints of different types of magic, but there was no space to really see more of that. The pacing also could feel a bit off at times, with things progressing quite quickly and I wouldn’t have minded a slower pace or a bit more lingering in certain places. This book spans 3 season and the start of a fourth even, so a lot of time passes and that was important for some of the bigger developments, but at the same time I just wanted to linger a bit longer at times.

To summarize: I really enjoyed this cozy fantasy book with themes of hope, forgiveness, found family and community. While having a light and cozy vibe it also deals with some more difficult topics like trauma as Oaklin was part of a mind control cult were an evil sorceress used them to kill people. I liked reading about Oaklin and seeing them settle on the farm and slowly get used to their new life. I liked their interactions with Granny’s ghost. And there’s a sweet romance with Lior. I liked the side characters, but would’ve liked a bit more depth to them as a lot aren’t more than their role in the story. That’s one of my few complaints that some parts like the side characters, world building and town could’ve been expanded a bit more for my taste to full come alive. The pacing also could feel a bit off at times and I wouldn’t have minded a bit more longer to linger at some places, although it was nice to see Oaklin and the town change throughout the seasons. All in all I enjoyed this one and look forward to the next book!

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.