"Neither wolves nor humans are meant to be on their own."
GENRE: Cozy Fantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25/5
FORMAT: physical Arc
Would I recommend to others?: Yes, this is a lovely, wholesome cozy fantasy that delves into what its like to be a parent, the strain of it, emotionally and financially in a magical community with a private elite magical school
Long Review:
This book has been on the top of my list for my 2025 anticipated releases and it definitely will be in the top list of my favourite books in 2025!
This story explores a lot of feelings of what it is like to be a parent, especially of a child who is part of a magical society that you do not understand AND are new to. Not only that, the magical school that Aria needs to go to is an elite private school that is SUPER expensive and placing a financial strain on Vivian and her husband. As someone who is not a parent, I was able to relate to Vivian in so many ways as the feeling is very similar to what you'd feel as an elder sibling or if you are responsible for anyone in your life.
Both Vivian and Daniel are parents who never fitted in their community growing up and do not want their daughter Aria to feel that way, especially after spending a few months feeling that way in the non-magical community. Vivian, as Aria's mom, feels the responsibility of this and tries to make sure that she fits in with the parents in Aria's new school so that her daughter doesnt get casted out again:
"She was going to charm the pants off them (other moms) and make sure no one ever told her daughter she didn't belong somewhere again."
Not only is the pressure to fit in a new community getting to Vivian but also the guilt of letting her daughter get bitten by a werewolf (even though she couldnt logically do anything to prevent this) and this guilt is something that is ingrained in all of us as we try to navigate life by preventing harm from getting to the ones we love:
"She always thought that she would be the kind of mom who lifted the car to save the baby, who grabbed the kid right before they fell off the bridge. Instead, she had frozen at the point where she could have changed the story. Stood there locked in fear and panic."
And Vivian goes through the whole notion of whether Aria would be better off growing up with the werewolf's family (I won't share the details as to exactly why to avoid spoilers) because essentially she will be surrounded by people who understand her and are able to help her navigate her new life. Vivian tries to shoulder through it all and thinks that she was the "cause" of the problem and therefore, she must fix it all on her own. Rozakis addresses another fear that I, as an elder sibling, have felt: letting your kid/younger sibling...etc. experience things in life that did not necessarily work for you or help you at all.
As we progress through the book, we get to see Vivian understand that it truly takes a village to be able to raise and parent your kid, especially if its in a community you do not know anything about. Once we start seeing everyone in her life come together to help her, it is so wholesome to see Vivian accept the help she thinks she doesnt deserve and the lovely think about this book?
We get to see the outcome of the help too! We get to see how each member in their "village" helps Aria in a different way:
"Vivian's eyes prickled. She had felt weird calling on the pack to even give advise; she had never expected them to involve themselves. And for the other parents to rally — she tried to remember a time she'd ever felt like a community had had her back before, and she came up blank."
Essentially, Vivian learns that she needs to address her own insecurities, which we get some backstory throughout the book and how that relates to her own upbringing. Vivian tried to do everything the "right way" rather than what felt authentically right to her and was better for her family and realises that this may not be a sustainable way to live her life:
"She'd made friends with the right people, and it hadn't been enough to keep this from happening.
Because the people who she was supposed to make nice to, the people her mother would have told her to befriend, were jerks. No matter how many favors she'd done them, it wouldn't have kept this from happening.
Because nothing she could have done could have kept this from happening.
Because it wasn't her fault."
She then gains a new community that is supportive of her and likes her for who she truly is through her daughter and their worst event:
"Aria's one of our own," Mrs. Fairhair reminded her. "And by extension, so are you. Neither wolves nor humans are meant to be on their own."
Thank you to the publisher for the physical Arc and the eArc on Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
