Raquel Vasquez Gilliland is back with the third book in her Wild Magic series, The Magic of Untamed Hearts. It’s a sweet, satisfying story that focuses on the natural world around us and the magical Flores family’s place in it.
Sky Flores is the Witch of Criaturas (Creatures), and she was in a supernatural hibernation for eight years while her sisters Sage and Teal lived, loved and survived magical ordeals. When the book opens with Sky building a charm to seduce a man, it’s understandable . . . because eight years. Her transition to the “land of the living” after being awakened has been slow and arduous. She’s had to adjust to everything that changed while she slept, and she’s basically a roadside attraction in her small, coastal Virginia town of Cranberry: the strange woman who everyone thinks is the town liar.
That’s where Adam Noemi comes in. He’s a laid-off reporter looking to reclaim his position at the local newspaper, and the easiest way to do so is Sky. If he can tell her story, it will not only restore his position at work, but also redeem her position in the community. In order for Sky to grant Adam an interview, she has one request: Adam must befriend her publicly.
There’s a lot of substance woven into this delightful, magical story. During her time asleep in the woods, Sky had nothing. Not just in terms of possessions, but in corporeal form; she had no way to touch and experience things directly. Stuck in the space where the laws of physics didn’t exist, Sky spent her time unapologetically frolicking through the ether and snooping on her neighbors. This observation taught her how to read facial expressions and social cues. But her existence was also lonely and—given the fact her spirit was tied to her sister Sage and sensed the strongest when Sage cried—depressing.
While The Magic of Untamed Hearts is a standalone, there are many nuances that relate back to the first two books about the Flores family. If you’re not familiar with the series, it’s best to go back and read Witch of Wild Things and Lightning in Her Hands. Still, Gilliland’s prose is familiar and comfortable, and she draws you in with such little effort that it’s like Sky’s seduction enchantment on the first page is aimed at the reader as well. The magic is practical and normalized, summoned by things like a molcajete (the traditional Mexican mortar and pestle) and rich, black garden dirt. It’s present in the ways Sky returns to the woods and the creatures for comfort and companionship. And in the way the veil between a hesitant Adam and her lonely heart is lifted. Gilliland’s series finale is beautiful, and so very enjoyable.