Published in 2023, Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland is a lightweight urban fantasy crossed with modern drama/romance. It’s about family, healing, and acceptance.
There are instances of magic, but primarily it revolves around the main character learning to let people in past defenses she built for very good reasons. Raquel Vasquez Gilliland approaches mental health and family flaws with a realistic touch that feels lived. The misunderstandings and animosity aren’t dispraportionate to modern romance/drama.
As someone roughly the shade of mayo and growing up the suburban farm life – entering into a LatinX household and those experiences was a lovely experience. It was nice to see that representation and to learn a level of empathy or sympathy that I am developing with regard to diverse cultures from my own. I can be accepting and an ally, but I also need to do the work to better understand other people’s lived experiences to do better.
I couldn’t fully relate to the drama in the story. The logic wasn’t quite working with my flavor of neurodivergence. So, some of the animosity and misunderstandings between the family, friends, and love interests were a little outside my wheelhouse. However, I think the conversations and circumstances were well written and thought out.
The editing was clean. It read like mass market rather than literature, and that is perfectly fine for the style of book and length.
I rented it through my local library, and I’m alright with that. I think this would be a decent book on a shelf for folk who enjoy modern drama/romance on the regular.
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