Review by Booklist Review
When Harlow Estrada loses her dream job and her boyfriend in the same day, her first inclination is to leave New York City for her family's hacienda in the tiny village of El Viento, Mexico, where the Estrada women grow magical flowers blessed by the goddess Mayahuel. An encounter with a handsome but aloof stranger at a coffee shop piques Harlow's interest, but she's got bigger concerns--namely, despite her lack of magical powers, she's been chosen by the flowers to act as the hacienda's guardian while the women of her family take a vacation. One of her duties is to deliver an enchanted bouquet, but the delivery goes awry, and fixing the error brings her back into the orbit of her mysterious stranger, whose grandparents are the intended recipients. Harlow soon finds something awakening within herself--creativity, love, and a powerful magic. Cervantes' adult debut is a sensual tale of a young woman discovering herself, finding her passion, and falling in love. Lush descriptions abound, and the sweeping love story draws readers in. Fans of Zoraida Córdova and Alice Hoffman will feel at home in the Estrada family's hacienda.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Cervantes (Fractured Path) makes a promising adult fiction debut with this romantic, magical-realist coming-of-age tale. Harlow Estrada is having a rough day: she's lost her job, dumped her boyfriend, and moved back to the enchanted Hacienda Estrada in Mexico. While returning home is a comfort, it's also another reminder that the family's goddess-blessed magical farm gave powers to all the women except her. Harlow juggles the magical duties of her family, who cultivate charmed flowers, with her fears of failing to be an author, which is made more complicated by the appearance of an infuriating but handsome stranger. Now Harlow has to decipher if this whirlwind romance is real or if magic is finally talking to her--and telling her to stay away from him. The narrative strikes a balance of calls to follow one's instincts and to understand tendencies to self-sabotage while on the road to self-discovery. Emphasizing the importance of informed decision-making, even when it comes to magic, makes the world feel contemporary and complex. VERDICT An interesting, magical take on quarter-life crises for fans of Alice Hoffman and Zoraida Córdova.--Katherine Sleyko
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A 20-something returns home to find the magic within herself in this heartwarming tale. Harlow Estrada has just had the worst day: She was let go from her dream job as a book editor and broke up with her boyfriend, a lawyer, after she overheard him mocking her at a party celebrating his own promotion. It's a good thing she'd already been planning to go down to Hacienda Estrada, the family flower farm in Mexico, since her mother and aunt are gathering all her sisters and cousins for a special announcement. This isn't just any farm: It's full of magic that's been passed down for generations in Harlow's family, magic that only she didn't inherit. Despite this, for some reason Harlow is the one chosen for the family's magic-related task, and she must muster up the confidence to deal with the mishaps, troubles, and charismatic young men that come along with it to ultimately figure out what she truly wanted all along. Cervantes has created a charming world, the kind of place that anyone would want to spend time. The magic system, a combination of person-specific traits and magical flowers, is original and cozy, never entirely explained and yet incredibly familiar. Harlow's family is similar, a warm hug of a group, sometimes causing friction but mostly showering Harlow with love. Each sister and cousin is interesting in her own right and could easily lead to her own follow-up book. Though the beats of the book are fairly easy to predict, that doesn't take away from the story. If anything, it heightens it as Harlow comes into her own in multiple areas of her life, from writing to family to love. An enchantingly comfortable romantic dramedy. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
