Iris is propelled by a mix of guilt and sadness after her best friend accidentally kills her boyfriend during a ritual gone terribly wrong. That event fractured her parents' marriage, resulting in her now living far from Nebraska, in the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest. She and Mom manage a wildlife refuge where they use their magic to help injured birds and animals heal. Pike, an intern volunteering at the refuge annoys the heck out of her. She thinks him arrogant and a know it all.
Iris' late grandmother taught her a most unorthodox stress management tool, that of creating spells and then directing them into herbs that she burns instead of casting them. It's a pretty complicated stress management tool, but so far it has worked.
After her patience with Pike grows too thin, she creates a spell that could turn him into a warlock. When she tries destroying it, an injured and endangered owl swoops down and absorbs the spell.
The latter part of the story is a blend of her and Pike dancing around hidden feelings, trying to rescue the owl who has flown deeper into the old growth forest, plus her trying to figure out how to destroy the spell without Pike learning about it, or being harmed. The author does a masterful job of keeping readers on the edge of their seats while all this takes place. ( )

* I got this book for review*
I really loved this book. I sometimes struggle with hate to mroe romacnes and don't aways read stalones novels. This book was a really fast pace read that did both these elements in such a fun manner and quick. I also felt connected to both characters even though we only got Iris chracter POV. i LOVED the focus on animal magic and also how this contempory novel invovled elements of a classic quest!! It had many elements and plots that tugged at my heart and it was really engaging read. I think this is def a new favorie and think her writing just better, and think the world of this book was so unique!! Def worth the read!! ( )

* I got this book for review*
I really loved this book. I sometimes struggle with hate to mroe romacnes and don't aways read stalones novels. This book was a really fast pace read that did both these elements in such a fun manner and quick. I also felt connected to both characters even though we only got Iris chracter POV. i LOVED the focus on animal magic and also how this contempory novel invovled elements of a classic quest!! It had many elements and plots that tugged at my heart and it was really engaging read. I think this is def a new favorie and think her writing just better, and think the world of this book was so unique!! Def worth the read!! ( )

I was not impressed and a bit outraged that this type of book is marketed towards young impressionable girls. The enemies-to-lovers trope might be fun in a bodice ripper or romance book, but this story is about teenagers. The boy is very mean and hostile and suddenly they're kissing?!
There is a plot about witches and owls, but honestly, so much of it happens in flashbacks to the past, that it doesn't take main stage and is really just a setup for the boyfriend/girlfriend to happen.
The amount of carnage that happens on the mountain and everyone survives (eventually) also seems very unrealistic even with witchcraft. ( )

FROM PUBLISHER: After a night of magic turns deadly, Iris Gray vows to never let another person learn she’s a witch. It doesn’t matter that the Witches’ Council found her innocent or that her magic was once viewed as a marvel—that night on the lake changed everything. Now settled in Washington, Iris
hides who she really is and vents her frustrations by writing curses she never intends to cast. And while she loves working at the wildlife refuge she runs with her mother, she loathes Pike Alder, the witch-hating aspiring ornithologist who interns with them.

When Pike makes a particularly hurtful comment, Iris concocts a cruel curse for him. But just as she’s about to dispel it, an owl swoops down and steals the curse before flying far away from the refuge. The owl is a powerful amplifier, and if it dies, Iris’s dark spell will be unleashed not only on Pike but on everyone in the region.

Forced to work together, Iris and Pike trek through the wilderness in search of the bird that could cost Pike his life. But Pike doesn’t know the truth, and as more dangers arise in the woods, Iris must decide how far she’s willing to go to keep her secrets safe.