Paige Crutcher

Get ready to be transported to the whimsical town of Matchstick, where nothing is what it seems.

The town of Matchstick and its quirky characters are quite intriguing, but the whole story is one big riddle that unravels slowly as you read. I found myself equal parts confused and captivated.

"You're not making any sense."
"We are. You simply don't understand yet."

What Became of Magic starts out with Aline in middle school and quickly progresses through her adolescent years as she grows her magic. I was drawn into the story initially very quickly, but with all the characters talking in riddles it became more of a chore to read. Like Aline, I'm not fond of riddles and the characters of Matchstick have them in spades!

The ending was satisfying, but a bit flat. With so much happening in the book, I was hoping for more from it.
All in all, a very unique story!

Read if you love...
Found family
Witches
Magical bookshops
Slow-burn romance
Magical worlds hidden in the real world

Thank you St Martin's Press for the ARC to read and honestly review.… (meer)

This is a magical feast! I completely geeked out over all of the witchiness and sisterhood and spells and can I say there is only ONE man in the entire story? (Kinda loved that too.) The main character is named Persephone so yes, she's a great character. Net is: anyone that likes stories about witches and magic will enjoy this. It features some great JK Rowling-esque quotes like: "Change could be its own magic, one of creating new possibility and a better future." As well as an awesome excerpt from Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market. It definitely is a good one for YA readers too as it's not mega violent or too mature romantically. This comes out in October and I think that's a perfect time for it to appear on shelves. I'm excited for maybe more adventures with this author to come?!… (meer)