Double Booked is a collaboration between two Black romance reviewers, myself and Christine to read and review books by and about BIPOC characters. We’re prioritizing our ARC TBRs to share our perspectives of every swoony line, every lust-fueled plot, and the scenes that literally stop you in your tracks.
Hi Librarygoer!
I know it’s been radio silence on my end most of the month but I promise it was for a good reason. I needed all my writing words available to ….
… finish another draft of my WIP novel Legacy in Bloom!
Thanks to such amazing feedback from my Smoochpit mentor, Leela and Braxton’s story feels so much stronger. I’m excited about the next steps in their journey. In addition to falling deeper in love with the story of the banking heiress and bartender-turned-restaurateur she had to leave behind, I commissioned character art! I can’t wait to see (and show off!) the characters that have been living in my head all this whole time!
There’s lots of fun stuff ahead on that front as I approach the Smoochpit showcase and I’ll be sure to keep you updated!
Outside of writing, I have been able to do some reading! I’ve actually read two new releases that I’m OBSESSED with. And we’re going to talk about one of those today.
Actually, Christine and I are going to talk about it because I talked her ear off about it until she disrespected her TBR to bring it to the front of the line.
The book? The Magic of the Untamed by Raquel Vázquez Gilliland.
Whether you’re saying goodbye to all the witchy Flores sisters or meeting Sky for the first time, this is a cozy, emotional story well worth your read!
Happy Reading!
-Aleia
After years stuck as a ghost (literally!), Sky Flores is learning how to live again. Like her sisters, Sage and Teal, Sky has a kind of magic that comes at a cost—magic that cost her eight years as a ghost living in a tree. Now two years later, she’s more at ease with animals than people and is an outcast in the quiet, small town of Cranberry.
Sky’s neighbor Adam Noemi needs a story big enough to save his career after returning back to the small Virginia town from New York. Sky needs the town not to actively hate her. Their deal is simple: one exclusive, extended interview for one very public friendship. But as trust takes root and magic stirs, their arrangement becomes something else entirely. To fall in love, Sky must risk her carefully guarded heart—and Adam must decide if the truth he’s chasing is worth the life he thought he wanted.
Consent and communication during sexy time? Hot. As. Hell.
This book is sweet and quietly powerful, but let me be very clear: the intimacy scenes absolutely stole the show for me. Phew, was it hot in there? Desire is mutual and intentional. The kind of sexy that makes you feel safe and feral. Top-tier intimacy, no notes.
Sky Flores is an undiagnosed autistic, Latine FMC, her big emotions and the way she researches the hell out of anything she wants to do “right.” What I loved most was how natural the representation felt. It never turned Sky into a lesson or a checklist.
Adam, our red-haired, sober MMC, is gentle in a way that doesn’t feel soft-spoken or boring. He’s steady and kind, and also dealing with job loss, grief, and the slow heartbreak of a grandparent slipping away. The neighbors-to-lovers dynamic is cozy and organic, and the anonymous pen-pal element adds just enough tension without overstaying its welcome (bless).
This is book three in an interconnected standalone series, and I read it first with zero confusion. It stands beautifully on its own, but yes, I immediately want to go back and read the sisters’ stories because the family-forward energy here is chef’s kiss.
Watching her choose self-acceptance (despite her sisters annoying the hell out of me), desire, and connection anyway was worth it.
Also: animals everywhere. Food is woven into the story in a way that makes you hungry. Cozy magic without high stakes. Sweet spice that sneaks up on you. This book understood the assignment.
Read Her Previous Double Booked Reviews
She really saved the best for last in the series!
Sky deserves everything after giving me my first five star read of the year!
I fell in love with the Flores sisters two years ago on page one. The series includes my favorite literary style, magical realism, presented to me as a wee undergrad courtesy of my Caribbean Literature professor and Alejo Carpentier. Magical realism is my forever love because it blends the real world into a life where magic seeps in along the edges. It makes it easy for me to insert myself in the story (doesn’t everyone imagine themselves as the main character?!) and imagine a more magical life—one that includes solutions around the corner that transcend the confines of our reality. It’s not like high fantasy where the magical systems make me feel like I need Spark Notes and a tutor. It’s soft and wondrous and exactly what I need to disassociate from all the foolishness outside.
We’ve met Sky in the previous two books, and we had a very different understanding of her there compared to this one. In previous books, specifically book 2, she was seen as funny and frequently asking uncomfortable sexual questions to her elder female relatives. However, in this book, when it comes to her family, it feels like she’s the often neglected butt of the joke. They ignored her texture aversion, her inability to understand social cues, and the fact that she doesn’t care if people think she’s different. She just cares if they’re mean.
Sky is coded as autistic and it’s clear that it didn’t just occur as a result of being in a coma inside of a tree for eight years. Sky’s the baby sister, raised by her eldest sister after being neglected by the three women who should have been responsible for raising her.
All of the women in the family have difficult relationships with their magic. Sky’s magic allows her to communicate with animals and because of who she is, it doesn’t bother her that people see her being different. If she’s seen talking to squirrels, or carrying bundles of (live!) foxes in her arms, or commanding a murder of crows to attack she doesn’t have shame about her abilities.
And that’s what draws a big line between her and the five other women in her family. With this as the foundation pre-coma, post-coma the chasm is all the more obvious. Which is how we find Sky seeking the services of Adam. Respectfully of course.
If Sky is the pariah, Adam is the town hero. When we meet him, he’s returned back to their small Virginia town after an illustrious career at the New York Times. He’s weary of Sky because he meets her in his grandfather’s kitchen where she regularly brings him food. Which, okay?
Due to the townspeople’s intention to be the number one villain, Sky needs a reputation rehaul when she’s not delivering enchiladas to her elderly neighbor.But she does attract someone in need of a win. Their friendship never actually feels fake, which is my favorite type of fake relationship!
Adam is a horrible fake friend because his support for Sky always feels easy and genuine. Especially when he delivers justice to a bully!
In addition to the townspeople giving Sky grief, I spent the solid first half furious at all the women Sky’s related to and their selfishness. I eventually forgave them and remembered why I adored certain characters (Sage and Teal) and tolerated others (here’s looking at you Ama and her sister!).
And then there are a couple of stories within the story that make this a delight to read.
Sky is just an adorably fun character to live inside of and I love to see her grow in strength, ambition, witchcraft, and love. Adam starts grumpy and then thaws over the course of the story.
Their love story is intertwined with a fun mystery and a touch of second chance vibes.
I’m so obsessed with it and hope you will be too!
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Are you a fan of fake friendships /dating / marriage? Let me know your favorite below!
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