Love, Lies & Hocus Pocus follows Lily, a young girl and wizard, through many magical adventures which she was dragged into by her love interest, a young boy witch named Sebastian. They start with a thrilling adventure to a haunted house where the truth of the curse upon the house is revealed and the story eventually gets deep as Lily uncovers family secrets and Sebastian gets into more trouble. Lily, the main character, is a very prim and property lady who likes tea and manners which is all good except it gets to the point where she is just acting like a snob who thinks she is better than everyone else. Sebastian on the other hand seems to be trying too hard to be the “chill” guy who is “misunderstood” and he comes off as a douche with no respect for others. The romantic tension also seems to be forced between them. For example, Sebation forces a kiss on Lily to “hide” which seems ridiculous. The book also starts with Lily describing a bad date and one of the main points is that the guy was overweight and had a second burger. The intro had many fat-phobic notes and seemed exaggerated, however, it is a fiction book. Overall the characters aren’t anything amazing and occasionally annoying but, nonetheless, the story was compelling and I was eager to find out what happens next. I was glad that the romance wasn’t a focus point, instead, the family or adventure took precedence. The author goes into a detailed explanation of the magic system, which confused me initially, but I came to appreciate the author’s attention to detail and the sense of realism it brought. I probably won’t come back to read the next book in the series, as I wasn’t as interested as I thought I would be, but I don’t regret choosing this book. My advice for future readers is to not have too high of expectations. I believe this book is a lovely story to read after an intense book or perfect for anyone looking for a relaxing and not emotionally draining read. However, if you are looking for character complexity or development and a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this book is not for you.
- Rachael L.