This book is very much a cosy read. It follows Bella, who is rapidly approaching her 30th birthday and is a witch - though keeps her magic very much under wraps. When she's approached by her coven to test her magic, she is pulled away from her life with her housemate and job in a bookstore, to unravel some secrets and find herself.

I've followed Lucy Jane Wood online for a long time and so was keen to pick this up - and the cover was gorgeous. I found this to be a super easy read, and the magic system is fairly well drawn. I did wish there was a tad more detail woven into the novel, but we are working with a protagonist who has hidden away form her magic for a long time. I liked the concept of the magic trials, and enjoyed the focus on familial and friendship relationships that are drawn through this novel.

I did find that the characterisation wasn't as strong as I had hoped it would be - I couldn't work out if I found Bella a believable person to be similar age to me, and I found her decisions at times to be pretty puzzling. There's also the introduction of of a romance which and romantic interest that didn't really work for me - Wood did seem to hint in one of her videos that Rune wasn't necessarily always a love interest which makes sense as to why it felt a bit left field. I would have preferred Bella's story to be focused on her growing into herself without necessarily the help of a man.

At times I also found the writing a bit twee, Wood's clearly a talented writer but some sentences were quite overwritten and sometimes felt more YA than adult fantasy fiction writing.

This was a cosy wintery read, and an enjoyable time - but think I'll wait for the paperback release of Wood's next novel.