Out of all of fantasy hopes and wishes, I would bet that being a witch is probably the most realistic of them all. Being a pirate is never going to happen, as I live in a landlocked state. Dragons are highly unlikely, unless I discover a dragon egg. Time Travel involves science, but I am firmly a word girl. But witchcraft??? Entirely possible.
I’m just saying, maybe I could start tossing ingredients together to make a potion, surely I would hit a winning combination at some point. The odds are in my favor, that’s all I’m saying. Plus, I’ve been working on perfecting my cackle.


Book: Sweet & Bitter Magic
Author: Adrienne Tooley
Published March 9th 2021 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Format: physical book
Trigger Warnings
Death of a loved one, Grief, Anxiety, Depression

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..

The magic system was fully developed and super cool. I feel like the words “super cool” reek of middle school awkwardness and don’t fully convey my love for the magic system, so let me elaborate.
I’m going to do a quick crash course. Ok, there are witches and sources. Both can use magic (to some extent), but witches rely on sources to heighten their power. Dark magic = earth starts dying, so dark magic has been banned. Bargains can be made with ribbons that will choke you to death if you break them, sealed by a kiss. Little tidbits of fairytales and other folklore and tied into the world. Magic is a reservoir that can be depleted, and better yet doesn’t solve every problem. All of it is absolutely glorious.

I fell in love with both of the main characters slowly. Towards the beginning I felt pretty neutral towards both, but slowly there were little moments that endeared me to both Wren and Tamsin. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but the way that both of the characters progressed made them both charming protagonists.
Wren and Tamsin had this sunshine-and-grumpy adjacent dynamic going on that I fondly call the feels-too-much-and-doesn’t-feel-at-all. Or always-feeling-and-emotional-skills-of-a-walnut. You get my drift. The point is, this dynamic is one of my absolute favorites! The self doubting, the so-thought unrequited angst, the second guessing and did I do something wrong??? Brilliant. All of it. Also, bonus points the one bed trope.
Spoiler ALERT, proceed with caution
My absolute favorite moment of this dynamic was when Tamsin said “Did I do it wrong” after professing her love. I WAS DYING!! It was such a moment of vulnerability but also so sweet but I was also definitely laughing
I do wish that some of the dialogue, especially in the beginning, had been a touch less mean and more passive-aggressive-sass. I honestly think this is more of a personal preference, and less of a flaw, but I still wanted to mention it. That being said, as the book progressed we definitely found ourselves firmly in the more banter-esque zone.

The only reason I wasn’t able to rate Sweet & Bitter Magic a full 5/5 stars is because of, for a lack of a better word, the “villain.” Without going into too much detail, I found the motive to be somewhat lacking and then the consequences after similarly lacking. That being said, the character development, shocking midway plot twists, and interesting magic system more than compensated for any parts in which said “villain” fell short.

Overall, Sweet and Bitter Magic is a compelling debut featuring a sapphic enemies-to-lover romance, witches, and a fascinating magic system. The characters, and their development, is an absolute delight and I flew through the book! I’d recommend this book to fellow aspiring witches (or witch lovers in general) and to those on the lookout for standalone fantasy!
Also, thoroughly enjoyed screaming about it with Birdie @ Birdie’s Booktopia. Do check out her interview with the author, Adrienne Tooley, here!

Have you read Sweet and Bitter Magic?? What did you think??

Great review April! I love how you described the magic system. A good power/magic system is as good as a hot bowl of soup on a cold winter day hehe. And despite having no ocean around me (do lakes count?) I’d love to sail the seas 😆 (Says that as she has eczema in which salt water hurts) Dragons do sounds fun tho lol
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ahaha thank you so much Saniya!! ooo yesss that simile is 110% accurate lol. hmmm i’m going to go with lakes counting, otherwise my own situation would be even more dire. being on the waves is so relaxing i absolute love boats. sailing the seas would be such a vibe (hopefully the ~magical~ seas can prevent salty sea pain?????). and yes, you can’t forget the dragons. maybe just go for an all i one package and get sea dragons??? thank you so much for reading : )
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Ooo yesss sea dragons sound so cool!! I love it! 😆
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Awesome review! This was the Owlcrate march book so I look forwards to reading it, it sounds super awesome!
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ahhh thank you!! ooo i look forward to hearing your thoughts once you get to it!! happy reading!!
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I need to get a copy of this one, I always appreciate a super cool magic system!
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ahhh yess super cool magic systems make everything better! i hope you’ll enjoy if you do end up picking it up!! happy reading!!
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Amazing review April! I LOVE magic systems! I definitely need to pick this up soon!
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ahhh thank you so much! me too! could bask in the glory of a good magic system for days! can’t wait to hear your thoughts if you do decide to pick it up!! happy reading : )
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ohh this book sounds quite good! But I am a sucker for a good villain so I don’t know if I’ll like it all that much
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yesss I really enjoyed!! yea if good villains are more your jam, then this one might not be our cup of tea. But you never know, the other elements might outshine it for you! thank you so much for reading Jayati!
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I really want to read this book! Great review!
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ahhh it’s def worth a read! I do hope you’ll like it if you do decide to pick it up! thank you so much! happy reading : )
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Aaaah thank you for including my interview, April!! I loved chatting with you (or more like…screaming lol) about this book and ADORE your review!! I loved this so much aah!!
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for sure! I always find it so interesting to see what the author has to say haha!!! umm yep, screaming is a pretty accurate description lol. thank you so much!!! I literally cannot get over the fact that I read a book about sapphic witches and IT WAS SO GOOD! I need more, like now haha. thank you so much for reading!!
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