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book notes
title: The Enchanted Haciendaauthor: J.C. Cervantes
series: Estrada Family #1
published: 16 May 2023
publisher: Park Row
Source: library
genre(s): magical realism
pages: 363
format: hardcover
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | BookHype | StoryGraph | Goodreads
rating:
| series rating: the blurb
When Harlow Estrada is abruptly fired from her dream job and her boyfriend proves to be a jerk, her world turns upside down. She flees New York City to the one place she can always call home—the enchanted Hacienda Estrada.
The Estrada family farm in Mexico houses an abundance of charmed flowers cultivated by Harlow’s mother, sisters, aunt, and cousins. By harnessing the magic in these flowers, they can heal hearts, erase memories, interpret dreams—but not Harlow. So when her mother and aunt give her a special task involving the family’s magic, she panics. How can she rise to the occasion when she is magicless ? But maybe it’s not magic she’s missing, but belief in herself. When she finally embraces her unique gifts and opens her heart to a handsome stranger, she discovers she’s far more powerful than she imagined.
a few notes
steamy rating: 🔥🔥
language level: 🤬🤬
POV: 1st person
keywords/phrases: magic, flowers, Mexico, legend
my review
Much of the book takes place on the family farm in Mexico, tended by Estrada women. They grow beautiful flowers and use them to create magic, each woman having her own gift. All except Harlow, who has no magic of her own and who has always felt very different from the others in her family. But when she escapes New York to Mexico after a disastrous break-up, everything changes for her.
The book was whimiscal amd magical, enchanting. Everything I could want in the magical realism genre. The mix of the contemporary time and Mexican folklore made for a rich background for the story. It was wonderfully descriptive, bring both the settings and the characters to life, which truly added to the reading experience.
The characters, too, were lovely. For Harlow, it was almost a coming-of-age story in as she came into her own as an Estrada woman. For Ben, it was also a journey of self-discovery, which was fun to watch. And the romance between them was a delight to read. I love a romance that isn’t too perfect, that has its obstacles. I also loved the tight-knit family of women that the Estradas were, always supportive and loving with one another.
About J.C. Cervantes
J.C. is a New York Times best-selling author. Her books have been published in more than twelve countries and have appeared on national lists, including the American Booksellers Association New Voices, Barnes and Noble’s Best Young Reader Books, and Amazon’s Best Books of the Month. She has earned multiple awards and recognitions, including the New Mexico Book Award and the Zia Book Award.
She currently resides in the Land of Enchantment with her family and spoiled pups, but keeps part of her heart in Southern California, where she was born and raised. When she isn’t writing, she is haunting bookstores and searching for magic in all corners of the world.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2023 Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge
- 2023 Library Love Reading Challenge
- 2023 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge
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