Sweet & Bitter Magic
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- Create Date：2022-06-02 09:51:43
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Adrienne Tooley
- ISBN：1534453865
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
In this charming debut fantasy perfect for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Girls of Paper and Fire， a witch cursed to never love meets a girl hiding her own dangerous magic， and the two strike a dangerous bargain to save their queendom。
Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation。 But after committing the worst magical sin， she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love。 The only way she can get those feelings back—even for just a little while—is to steal love from others。
Wren is a source—a rare kind of person who is made of magic， despite being unable to use it herself。 Sources are required to train with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities， but Wren—the only caretaker to her ailing father—has spent her life hiding her secret。
When a magical plague ravages the queendom， Wren’s father falls victim。 To save him， Wren proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague， then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father。
Of course， love bargains are a tricky thing， and these two have a long， perilous journey ahead of them—that is， if they don’t kill each other first。
Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation。 But after committing the worst magical sin， she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love。 The only way she can get those feelings back—even for just a little while—is to steal love from others。
Wren is a source—a rare kind of person who is made of magic， despite being unable to use it herself。 Sources are required to train with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities， but Wren—the only caretaker to her ailing father—has spent her life hiding her secret。
When a magical plague ravages the queendom， Wren’s father falls victim。 To save him， Wren proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague， then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father。
Of course， love bargains are a tricky thing， and these two have a long， perilous journey ahead of them—that is， if they don’t kill each other first。
Reviews
Georgia
，
A fun read！ Parts felt a little rushed but I really enjoyed the relationship between Wren and Tamsin。 Writing style overall was very concise and I never felt lost throughout the story。 3/5 stars。 Cute， magic and gay。
Katelyn
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This story was very straight to the point。 Minimal world building that would only be mentioned when explaining a current scene， which I didn’t hate。 It’s a standalone novel and a YA read so I didn’t expect too much information or characters from it。 It centers around the two protagonists， a story from the past， and a short journey to their location。 While reading， it felt like something was missing。 Maybe more character exploration or a longer length？ The pacing to important parts felt quick， bu This story was very straight to the point。 Minimal world building that would only be mentioned when explaining a current scene， which I didn’t hate。 It’s a standalone novel and a YA read so I didn’t expect too much information or characters from it。 It centers around the two protagonists， a story from the past， and a short journey to their location。 While reading， it felt like something was missing。 Maybe more character exploration or a longer length？ The pacing to important parts felt quick， but some smaller parts felt slow。 It felt like it didn’t hold my attention easily。 The concept and story are cute and drew me in。 I found the protagonists to be fine， if not a bit shallow to a trope at some points。 They each had clear motivations and traits， which I enjoyed。 However， if this wasn’t a wlw read I don’t believe I wouldn’t have finished it。 The villain is kind of boring and predictable， but this is a YA read so I didn’t pay it too much attention。 I think for its target audience of teens， it did a good job of sticking to that audience。 The storytelling was good and I never once didn’t understand a scene。 I would recommend this book if you want a quick read， or something fun。 Overall， this story was just a lot of fun。 I wouldn’t read it again， but I enjoyed it for what it was。 。。。more
Thornblue
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Didn't work for me unfortunately even though I'm really craving a sapphic epic fantasy。 Tamsin's whole thing is she's cursed not to love so she spends the entire book being a cold selfish jerk to Wren。 So we get like 300 pages of assholeish behaviour and then 50 pages of romantic development？ When do I ship this。 And the world building was just so sparse， the magic system never really made sense。 I'm still here wondering what the witches even do。 Just huddle in their secret private town and exis Didn't work for me unfortunately even though I'm really craving a sapphic epic fantasy。 Tamsin's whole thing is she's cursed not to love so she spends the entire book being a cold selfish jerk to Wren。 So we get like 300 pages of assholeish behaviour and then 50 pages of romantic development？ When do I ship this。 And the world building was just so sparse， the magic system never really made sense。 I'm still here wondering what the witches even do。 Just huddle in their secret private town and exist？？ Tamsin was pulling food out of thin air one minute and then another she couldn't light a candle without experiencing the negative repercussions of magic。 And I really cringed at how Wren and her disabled father's relationship was handled。 There are literally lines where Wren is saying if her dad doesn't love/care/recognise her， she doesn't really need to love/care about him。 When his illness was very reminiscing of fantasy-version dementia。。。this sucked。 Plus most of the book was just walking。 I was not engaged。 Plus Tamsin had ALL the storyline （traumatic backstory， sister bonds， complex magic history， curses， secrets， etc etc） while Wren's was just。。。that she could see magic。 Wren didn't even need a pov？Beautiful cover though for sure 10/10 there。 。。。more
Alexis
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SAPPHIC WITCHESSSSNeed I say more？ But if I must， Tamsin's pain and grief and emptiness in this novel were loud and clear。 Wren's chronic people pleasing and need to put family duty over personal happiness hit very close to home。 I loved every minute of this book。 And those girls together。 Powerful。 Lovely。 Soft yet fierce。 SAPPHIC WITCHESSSSNeed I say more？ But if I must， Tamsin's pain and grief and emptiness in this novel were loud and clear。 Wren's chronic people pleasing and need to put family duty over personal happiness hit very close to home。 I loved every minute of this book。 And those girls together。 Powerful。 Lovely。 Soft yet fierce。 。。。more
Megan Lowde
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I wanted to like this a lot more than I did - witches， dark magic， a pact to work together and a slow romance that formed over the course of the novel seemed like it would be right up my alley， but I just didn't care about the romance， characters or plot。 Marlena lacked depth， and Tamsin and Wren were just kind of bland。 This definitely had potential， but in the end my attention drifted and it all felt too easily resolved for my liking。 I wanted to like this a lot more than I did - witches， dark magic， a pact to work together and a slow romance that formed over the course of the novel seemed like it would be right up my alley， but I just didn't care about the romance， characters or plot。 Marlena lacked depth， and Tamsin and Wren were just kind of bland。 This definitely had potential， but in the end my attention drifted and it all felt too easily resolved for my liking。 。。。more
Indira
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So creative and heartwarming。 Beautifully written。
Janvi :）
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This was a two day read after finishing the song of Achilles because well i needed something smooth and sweet， yet a little intense。Perfection won't define this book becausea） TAMSIN and WREN are literally so relatable they may as well be you ！b） It is a light sapphic fantasy with a really amazing plot c） Did I mention the characters， the plot and how beautifully it is written？ Seriously i just read it because it was a stand alone but it was one of the books that changed me a little， i enjoyed i This was a two day read after finishing the song of Achilles because well i needed something smooth and sweet， yet a little intense。Perfection won't define this book becausea） TAMSIN and WREN are literally so relatable they may as well be you ！b） It is a light sapphic fantasy with a really amazing plot c） Did I mention the characters， the plot and how beautifully it is written？ Seriously i just read it because it was a stand alone but it was one of the books that changed me a little， i enjoyed it AND the ending was so satisfying that i wouldn't even want a sequel！ I think the author did a great take on love throughout the whole story because the plot is driven by Wren's love for her father and Tamsin's love for her sister。 The way each incident so beautifully lines up to weave a story that begins from a mistake too grave to be fixed to the part where the efforts and love fixes it all ！ Truly a masterpiece :） 。。。more
annselm。e
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Fantasy is really my all-time favourite genre。 Witches， magics， spells， curses are just the best reads for me。 I don’t know…maybe I was a witch in my past life。 A wicked witch who poisoned her step daughter with an apple。 Haha！ 🧙🏽♀️But kidding aside， Sweet and Bitter Magic is definitely a good read。 Not saying that it all about witches and stuff like that。 So just imagine that you are the most powerful witch of your generation but got exiled by committing the worst magical sin and got cursed wi Fantasy is really my all-time favourite genre。 Witches， magics， spells， curses are just the best reads for me。 I don’t know…maybe I was a witch in my past life。 A wicked witch who poisoned her step daughter with an apple。 Haha！ 🧙🏽♀️But kidding aside， Sweet and Bitter Magic is definitely a good read。 Not saying that it all about witches and stuff like that。 So just imagine that you are the most powerful witch of your generation but got exiled by committing the worst magical sin and got cursed with the inability of love。 That the only way to feel love is to steal from others。 Also imagine that you are a source of magic， the rarest of its kind。 But instead of learning to yield this power， you chose to hide it while taking care of your ailing father。Complicated isn’t it？ It is my first time to read an LGBT book and loved it。 Who said that a great story only revolves around a hero saving a damsel in destress or a prince charming kissing a princess who got cursed by a poisoned apple？ 🤔 This book is definitely a good read！ 。。。more
Sydney
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I thought this book was going to be really good but it wasn't it had such an interesting story line and it could've been so good but it only focused on their love well "love " if you can even call it that Tamson can't feel like period Can't so I don't understand how the ending is supposed to be happy when deserves better and the whole thing with the sister is not a good flightline how she just dies but actually doesn't like she supposed to be dead don't make it this big deal that she's going to I thought this book was going to be really good but it wasn't it had such an interesting story line and it could've been so good but it only focused on their love well "love " if you can even call it that Tamson can't feel like period Can't so I don't understand how the ending is supposed to be happy when deserves better and the whole thing with the sister is not a good flightline how she just dies but actually doesn't like she supposed to be dead don't make it this big deal that she's going to die and then not kill her I just didn't really like it but someone else might so read if you want to 。。。more
bly
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3。5
Tbirdplanstoread
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DNF at 58%。I had zero connection to either of the MCs。 More than halfway through and I honestly just didn't care about what they were doing。 The story was just eh。 I'd already figured out who the dark witch was from the beginning。 No GR rating since I'm DNFing this but personally: ⭐💫Also， I listened to the audio and the narrator for Wren was terrible。 She sounded like a robot。 The other narrator was fine。 DNF at 58%。I had zero connection to either of the MCs。 More than halfway through and I honestly just didn't care about what they were doing。 The story was just eh。 I'd already figured out who the dark witch was from the beginning。 No GR rating since I'm DNFing this but personally: ⭐💫Also， I listened to the audio and the narrator for Wren was terrible。 She sounded like a robot。 The other narrator was fine。 。。。more
MM
，
nice
Trisha
，
I loved the characters' interaction and growth in this book。 It was well-paced and interesting and I couldn't put it down。 Tamsin's evolution with love and making peace with her sister were both entertaining and satisfying to see。 It was interesting to see how her morals， especially around her sister， evolved as she learned more about what her sister felt and wanted。 It was interesting to see the dynamics of Tamsin， and those who rejected her for being a witch， and how it represented the rejecti I loved the characters' interaction and growth in this book。 It was well-paced and interesting and I couldn't put it down。 Tamsin's evolution with love and making peace with her sister were both entertaining and satisfying to see。 It was interesting to see how her morals， especially around her sister， evolved as she learned more about what her sister felt and wanted。 It was interesting to see the dynamics of Tamsin， and those who rejected her for being a witch， and how it represented the rejection queer people face in society。 It was also nice to see Wren learn to prioritize herself over her responsibilities to her father， and the burden she carried。 It was nice to see them both learn to forgive and heal those to who they felt burdened。 It was also a nice lesson on prioritizing power。 。。。more
Mahfer
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Beautiful cover。 Beautiful story *-*
mirs！
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this has SOOO much potential。 but halfway thru the book i had to force myself to continue it。 but they were some enjoyable parts。
Ly Terán
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Disfruté mucho este libro y como Tamin y Wren construyen su relación。 Me encantó encontrar una novela de fantasía con representación lésbica。 Me hubiera gustado mas situaciones de Wren y Tamsin en el aquelarre pero entiendo que el objetivo era otro。
Caitlin
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3。5 stars
Britt Rivera
，
"Each day she struggled to fold herself up into the small， perfect pieces the world demanded。" "Each day she struggled to fold herself up into the small， perfect pieces the world demanded。" 。。。more
Holly Davis
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This sapphic YA fantasy had a lot of the tropes I love-- enemies to lovers， only one bed， and others that go into spoiler territory。 :） An enjoyable read！
Sara
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I couldn't find many book club questions， so I'm sharing the ones my book club used。Sweet & Bitter Magic Book Club Questions1。tAt the beginning， why do you think Tamsin's sister's diary is all of a sudden asserting itself on her？ Did you think it has something to do with the plague？ Did you think Marlena is somehow involved？2。tWhat do you think Wren is going to do to get Tamsin to pay up for the fake coins？3。tDid you have a theory about exactly what the plague is doing to people？ Did you think t I couldn't find many book club questions， so I'm sharing the ones my book club used。Sweet & Bitter Magic Book Club Questions1。tAt the beginning， why do you think Tamsin's sister's diary is all of a sudden asserting itself on her？ Did you think it has something to do with the plague？ Did you think Marlena is somehow involved？2。tWhat do you think Wren is going to do to get Tamsin to pay up for the fake coins？3。tDid you have a theory about exactly what the plague is doing to people？ Did you think there's a cure？4。tWould you have sacrificed your love for your father， like Wren did？5。tWhy do you think Tamsin is such a powerful witch， while Marlena suffered so much trying to perform magic？6。tDo you think the Wood will try to prevent Tamsin from entering？ If yes， how so？7。tDo you have any particular theories of who this new dark witch may be？8。tWhy do you think Amma didn’t flee when Tamsin cast her dark magic？9。tDid you find the villain predictable？10。tDid you know who the dark witch was before it was revealed？ 11。tWere you surprised to find out that Marlene was still alive？12。tWhat did you think about Vera being the person to banish and curse Tamsin？13。tWhat did you think about Tamsin being cursed not to love？ Should the curse have been more specific as to who or what she could love？14。tWhen we are fixated on power and we allow ourselves to disrupt the balance， what kind of future does that hold？15。tWhen being told that strength is good， and weakness is bad， how does that affect the ways a person can grow？ How does that affect their relationships？ How does that affect their own perceived value？ And then， on the flip side， how does a person deal with the consequences of that power？16。tDo you think Wren used her father as a crutch？17。tWhat other books did this remind you of？18。tIf you were making a movie of Sweet & Bitter Magic， who would you cast？19。tWould you read another book by Adrienne Tooley？ Why or why not？20。tIf you could hear this same story from another person’s point of view， who would you choose？ 。。。more
The Sapphic Nerd
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I liked it。 It didn't take over my life or make me obsessed， but it's cute and sweet， and I find the sister relationship really interesting。 I liked it。 It didn't take over my life or make me obsessed， but it's cute and sweet， and I find the sister relationship really interesting。 。。。more
mieko
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idk like it could have been better but sapphics！
soureinne
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 3。7 for me。 But there's no 3。7 option here sooo。 The books started out decent。 It wasn't boring but it didn't intrigue me that much too。 First 15 chaps were OK。 But chapter 19 to 24 threw me off。 It was so boring。 There weren't surprising twists。 Marlena being the dark witch was pretty predictable。 The narration was dry sometimes。 Their supposed heartfelt and dramatic dialogues made me cringe。 The main problem for me was the 3rd person point of view。 I didn't feel connected to the characters bec 3。7 for me。 But there's no 3。7 option here sooo。 The books started out decent。 It wasn't boring but it didn't intrigue me that much too。 First 15 chaps were OK。 But chapter 19 to 24 threw me off。 It was so boring。 There weren't surprising twists。 Marlena being the dark witch was pretty predictable。 The narration was dry sometimes。 Their supposed heartfelt and dramatic dialogues made me cringe。 The main problem for me was the 3rd person point of view。 I didn't feel connected to the characters because of that。 It literally threw me off。 I cannot empathize with the characters。 Chap 19 onwards i forced my self to read it。 Wlw parts were cute and fluffy but it was not enough for me。 The ending was not satisfying。 。。。more
Sav
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In the beginning I was so excited cause it had great potential， the concept was so fascinating and I mean c'mon a queer witches enemies to lovers fantasy book？ I was sold from the start but then as I was reading， I realized it was not what I thought It would be。 I felt like it lacked character development， plot development and the romance part was non existent。 One day they just magically got feelings for each other without actually showing how or just these little moments of realization。 Also， In the beginning I was so excited cause it had great potential， the concept was so fascinating and I mean c'mon a queer witches enemies to lovers fantasy book？ I was sold from the start but then as I was reading， I realized it was not what I thought It would be。 I felt like it lacked character development， plot development and the romance part was non existent。 One day they just magically got feelings for each other without actually showing how or just these little moments of realization。 Also， there was no chemistry between these two characters， I wasn't rooting for them nor did I get attached to them。 Everything happened too sudden and the conflict resolved too fast for my liking。 And the villain？ full of hatred for wild and absurd reasons that made no sense to me。 It could've been a great book but it was just ok？ a fun read for sure but that's it。 Rating: 2。5 stars 。。。more
Lex
，
3。5 stars rounded upThis book had a strong start， the prose was very easy to read， the main characters were interesting， and I liked the setup/worldbuilding。 Unfortunately it became a bit of a slog in the middle， mostly because not a lot of action happened--the book is much more character-driven than plot-driven。 But overall it was an enjoyable read。 The romance wasn't enthralling or anything， but I liked their interactions and the progression of the relationship through the story （reluctant all 3。5 stars rounded upThis book had a strong start， the prose was very easy to read， the main characters were interesting， and I liked the setup/worldbuilding。 Unfortunately it became a bit of a slog in the middle， mostly because not a lot of action happened--the book is much more character-driven than plot-driven。 But overall it was an enjoyable read。 The romance wasn't enthralling or anything， but I liked their interactions and the progression of the relationship through the story （reluctant allies to lovers， the YA version of enemies to lovers haha）。Honestly I think the most interesting part was the world/magic system and would definitely be interested in reading more in this universe if the author ever wrote another book set here。（I also have to comment it was so funny how hard everyone went after this 12 year old as if she were a genocidal adult dictator and not like， a child making a mistake for a loved one。 Fam she might not even have hit puberty yet and you want to execute her？ Maybe a sequel needs to be about overthrowing the Coven lmao） 。。。more
Teddy G。
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Keepers - I do love a good enemies to lovers story - the most useless magical queer women aw who can rid the land of a dark magic plague but spend 89% of the book avoiding telling each other how they really feel - ok love language of physical touch go off！Upgrades- tells more than shows - rushed pace - doesn’t allow much room for natural development of characters or growth of relationships - you don’t really get a sense of who the characters are aside from their tragic backstories
Maggie H
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This had so much potential。 I wish the world and the magic system had even more developed。 Unfortunately I also didn't buy the romance。 This had so much potential。 I wish the world and the magic system had even more developed。 Unfortunately I also didn't buy the romance。 。。。more
Ella Roe
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I ADORED THIS BOOKThe world-building was phenomenal for how long the book is （though it isn't small by any means）。 I found the magic system extremely intriguing and the characters even more so。 I bought the book because of a Booktok recommendation and was drawn in by the premise and I do not regret it。 I will admit， I am a sucker for sapphic fantasy but this one was up there for me。 I loved Tamsin and Wren and I felt like their relationship was very natural。 It was not insta love （though I am a I ADORED THIS BOOKThe world-building was phenomenal for how long the book is （though it isn't small by any means）。 I found the magic system extremely intriguing and the characters even more so。 I bought the book because of a Booktok recommendation and was drawn in by the premise and I do not regret it。 I will admit， I am a sucker for sapphic fantasy but this one was up there for me。 I loved Tamsin and Wren and I felt like their relationship was very natural。 It was not insta love （though I am a fan of love at first sight） but it didn't feel incredibly drawn out。 YES YES YES 。。。more
G
，
Well， this was a lackluster and disappointing read。 The "lesbian witches" premise is what drew me to the book。 However， the plot was slow， the characters dull， and the romance， contrived。 The author delivered the two "twists" in a very anti-climatic way。 There is a lot of telling rather than showing which is probably why the book flatlined。 I expected to experience a range of emotions while reading， but in reality I was so bored！I didn't sense the love that Tasmin had for her sister。 I knew she Well， this was a lackluster and disappointing read。 The "lesbian witches" premise is what drew me to the book。 However， the plot was slow， the characters dull， and the romance， contrived。 The author delivered the two "twists" in a very anti-climatic way。 There is a lot of telling rather than showing which is probably why the book flatlined。 I expected to experience a range of emotions while reading， but in reality I was so bored！I didn't sense the love that Tasmin had for her sister。 I knew she did， but I didn't feel it。 There seemed to be a wall between the characters and the reader—I couldn't connect with them at all。 The author could have easily added more flashbacks or glossed over an item that Marlena owned which Tasmin had kept， or something that reminded her of Marlena。 。。。more
Elyse Manhollan
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An enjoyable， solid standalone。 I really enjoyed this one， the writing was simple and flowed nicely。 The magic was interesting， the characters enjoyable。 The only things that keeps this from being amazing for me are the setting change and the big villain reveal。 The setting began with interweaving familiar fairytale stories and characters。 By introducing those elements， I was expecting this story to go in a completely different direction。 However， it changed quickly into its own magical story。 I An enjoyable， solid standalone。 I really enjoyed this one， the writing was simple and flowed nicely。 The magic was interesting， the characters enjoyable。 The only things that keeps this from being amazing for me are the setting change and the big villain reveal。 The setting began with interweaving familiar fairytale stories and characters。 By introducing those elements， I was expecting this story to go in a completely different direction。 However， it changed quickly into its own magical story。 I enjoyed that story so much more but I don’t see why the beginning was left the way it was。 It’s as if they forgot about it when editing and left it in there。 Mentioned but never brought up again。 It wouldn’t be such a big deal really if it just didn’t bother me so much。 I wish this story was actually a duology so that the magic system and world could be explored and developed more。 I won’t spoil the ending but the big villain was just lame。 It wasn’t surprising， it didn’t bring anything to the story。 It began and ended very quickly which is really upsetting。 Don’t get me wrong， it makes sense that that would be what happened but it just wasn’t done well。 Not in a way that would make you enjoy it。 Once it was resolved that was the end of。 The characters were great， I wish we saw more of them。 Overall it was a good palate cleanser。 If you like adorable sapphic romances with witches then this book is definitely for you。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Sweet & Bitter Magic
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Sweet & Bitter Magic&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Sweet & Bitter Magic&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0