Jamie Pacton has been one of my favourite authors for years and I previously read two other of her works in collaboration with Rebecca Podos and I liked both of them. The first was Homeward For A Spell’s predecessor, Homegrown Magic, the other was Furious. Inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, I was very ready to get back into the Homegrown Magic world. Continue reading to find out if Homeward For A Spell met my expectations.
Synopsis of Homeward For A Spell
Sage has made her living as a ranger, moving constantly between adventuring parties, but has never had the chance to lead one. So when she’s offered the chance to hire a crew of her own in pursuit of a rare magical artifact, it seems a dream come true—until she learns that they’re headed into the most inhospitable part of the kingdom with winter looming. Still, it’s a chance to finally put her name on the map… and how bad could it really be?
Araphi has always loved music, in defiance of her powerful family’s priorities. All she wants is one last chance to perform before she’s married to a man she does not love for the good of the family. So when she sees a poster seeking a bard for a party, she eagerly sneaks away to audition. Only to discover that the party in question is no festival, but an adventuring party, led by a woman she’s been fascinated with since she first laid eyes on her. It’s an unexpected twist, but if she takes the job, she’ll still be back in time for her own wedding… and how bad could it really be?
What follows is a life-altering journey for them both, filled with danger and misfortunes as their ragtag band of adventurers—most of whom have just met—must learn to work together to overcome the many obstacles before them. Not the least of which is the explosive chemistry between the rugged party leader used to watching her own back, and the pampered city-girl bard who may be far out of her element but is beginning to feel at home for the very first time.
Book: Homeward For A Spell | Series: Homegrown Magic #2 | Authors: Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos | Publisher: Del Rey | Pages: 368 | Genre: fantasy, romance, romantasy | Rep: wlw MCs, wlw main relationship, non-binary side character, queer side characters
*Note: I have received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
Review of Homeward For A Spell
I love Dungeons & Dragons and it is obvious where the idea for this book came from. Whereas book one also has dnd elements, this one really went with the quests and the party vibes. And not the party of the celebration kind (looking at you, Araphi). Since I love dnd a lot, that absolutely met my taste! I liked that Sage’s profession is adventurer/ranger and Araphi really thrives in her role as bard. This book truly felt like a campaign and actually, I kind of want to play it and see where it gets me.
The whole book was honestly so fun to read. There was sarcasm and banter, flirts and minor arguments, tense moments and interesting fighting scenes. I enjoyed the writing and the characters so much, though I would have loved some more background stories and page time for the other characters but sind I loved both Sage and Araphi and their PoVs, I can let that slide.
The two of them are so obviously attracted to each other it hurts. Since they already met prior to Homeward For A Spell, they have a small history together. That just adds to the romantic and sexual tension growing between them. What I liked about both were that they were tough in their own ways while still allowing themselves to be soft and to make mistakes. They grow a lot throughout the story and they also grew on each other and on me as well. Since the focus of the story was heavy on their relationship, I could really follow their development, both their personal one and their relationship. They had such sweet moments, some delightful ones and some stressing them and me out.
While I liked the focus on them, I feel like the plot suffered a bit from that from time to time. I mean, Homeward For A Spell is mainly a romance, but I still think there could have been some more plot. As I said earlier, I would have liked more info about the side characters. I also would have liked to see more of them, period. And more of their adventuring together, more of Araphi and Sage’s time away from them and meeting other people. I think the world and its characters have so much more potential and I would love to explore it a bit more.
But Homeward For A Spell was definitely my favourite book by the author duo so far! It was such a cozy, fun and magical read. It has a queer normative world with wlw protagonists, a really cool world and loveable characters I’d love to visit again.
Please note that while this book is the second instalment of the Homegrown Magic series, you can read Homeward For A Spell without reading book 1 first, though I definitely recommend reading them in order.
Rating:
YOU MIGHT ENJOY HOMEWARD FOR A SPELL IF YOU LIKE…
dungeons & dragons | queer books | queernormative worlds | banter and flirting | adventuring | nature | romance with a dash of fantasy | music | poetry | fast pace | dual POV | self discovery
Have you read Homegrown Magic or plan to pick up Homeward For A Spell? What’s your favourite book by an author duo? Have you ever played DnD?
Until next time,
