Title: Love Charms and Other Catastrophes
Author: Kimberly Karalius
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Publication Date: May 2016
Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Fantasy
Series or Stand Alone: Series, Book Two
Synopsis can be found here.
I reviewed this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Review:
Hijiri Kitamura is excited to be in the charm-making competition. Until Love makes a surprise confession, he crafted a boy named Ken just for Hijiri.
The whimsical setting and charming story is back! This time, instead of concentrating on Fallon and Sebastian, we follow Hijiri’s journey. If you didn’t read the first book in the series, it might be a good idea to! You don’t want to miss the sweet and charming first story and a lot of the previous events from the last book are talked about in this one.
I like Hijiri as a character. She’s very smart and cautious and shy. There’s a lot to like about her and how she stands out amongst the rest of her friends. That said, she has a hard time trusting Love and being true to herself. I liked her internal struggles and how she was trying to cope with her new friends and her aspirations for her new role in the town.
Ken is sweet and kind and totally smitten with Hijiri. You’d think that this would make him soggy and uninteresting but he’s not. His love and admiration to Hijiri is sweet and the mystery of Love’s mark makes their interactions sometimes very funny. I think it’s hard to see Ken as a lot more than the love interest though, but that’s okay. The story is really Hijiri’s and her journey.
Love Charms is a fun and light sequel. I liked being brought back into this amazing magical world again, with the same characters there to guide me. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a fun, clever and sweet story.
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.