Review: Succulents and Spells by Andi R. Christopher

Succulents and Spells (Windflower #1)
Andi R. Christopher

My Rating: 4 stars

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

Blurb:
Previously published as Succulents and Spells by Andi C. Buchanan

Laurel Windflower is a witch from a family of magic workers – but her own life is going nowhere. Living in the damp, sunless side of Aro Valley, she works in a café, unable to produce anything more powerful than the most basic herbal potions.

Until, one winter morning, Marigold Nightfield knocks on her door. Marigold is a scientist, but she knows plenty about magic. There are strange things happening in her house, and her future discoveries require careful negotiation with monsters.

Laurel can’t walk away from a mystery – and she can’t walk away from Marigold either. But what lies ahead could reveal all of her shortcomings to the woman she’s trying to impress… or uncover the true nature of her power.

This second edition also includes the bonus short story, First-years and Familiars.

My Review

Re-Read Review
I read this one for the first time in 2023, I recently got reminded of this series and wanted to continue it as I had bought the rest of the books in the series. As I didn’t really remember much of the first book I decided to re-read this one. Despite not actually remembering much of the book I do think I remembered the vibes of it as I enjoyed it more than the first time around and found it easier to get into the book.

Succulents and Spells follows Laurel who is a witch, except she doesn’t know what her specialization is. She lives in a flat with a few others and practices her magic mostly in secret. She also has a cat familiar. In this book she meets Marigold, who is researching monsters and wants a sample of the monster living in the flat where Laurel lives. The two meet and they grow closer.

The writing style takes a bit of getting used to and some of the jumps between sections could feel a bit jarring, but I remember struggling with this way more the first time I read it and now it wasn’t as much of an issue. It also kept my attention more and I think reading it faster also helped.

I liked the cozy vibes of this one and the witch-y themes. I liked the way magic worked and how I got a feel for how Laurel used magic. I liked reading about the succulents that Laurel grows as well. There is some interesting development plot wise later on as well as the beginnings of a romance between Laurel and Marigold and I look forward to seeing more of that.

This book now also included the prequel Familiars and First Years which takes place a few years back. I think it works better reading this one after Succulents and Spells instead of before like I did the first time around. The prequel is a nice addition and I like the twist in there.

To summarize: I am glad I re-read this one as I had forgotten a lot of the plot, but having read it already meant I was easier able to get into the story and I enjoyed it more this time. The cozy and witch-y vibes are well done and I liked reading about the magic and how it all worked. The plot is interesting and I liked the twist at the end. This book also includes the prequel novella, which is a nice addition. I look forward to continuing the series!

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

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.