Small Town, Big Magic captures hearts with a fierce witch and slow-burn romance with the farmer, all while dealing with her hidden magic and impending apocalypse.

Small Town, Big Magic follows Emerson Wilde as she begins her journey into witch hood alongside her friends to fend off dark magic and the pending apocalypse.

Storytelling

Small Town, Big Magic is really such an engaging read for me. This is a book that the publisher decided to label as romance, except I don’t particularly see this book as a romance. This is more like a witchy cozy read that focuses a lot on the storytelling first and the romance second.

But that’s what made the story really good. Beck decided to focus on building up this story. So we follow Emerson as she discovers not only is she a witch but has always known she was a witch. That was until the coven decided she wasn’t powerful enough to contribute. This led to the coven rewriting her memories and making her forget magic altogether.

She has always been at odds with Mayor Skip ever since childhood. Still, now she discovers he dabbles in dark magic. He’s trying to kill her, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Emerson finds an impending apocalypse that has been affecting the town. And Emerson being Emerson, decides to take on herself. Emerson decides this is something she needs to challenge and fix to prove to everyone that they were wrong but also prove to herself that she has worth.

It’s such an engaging story to follow the magic to see the plot build and rise to the occasion while allowing that slow-burn romance to really take effect and latch onto the characters.

Characterization

Really the characterization is the star of the novel. This is very much a character-driven story. There are times when Emerson is a little insufferable. There are times she comes off as egotistical and narcissistic. We understand that Emerson is a feminist, she understands her family history, and that the Salem Witch Trials was just a power trip for men to subjugate women. However, being a feminist does not mean she cannot ask for help.

Emerson has always been the worker bee of this group. Emerson organizes everything and plans things out to a “T.” She even makes a plan for the plan. Emerson is the woman everyone goes to because of her thoughtfulness and determination. Ultimately this makes Emerson a captivating character.

However, one of her more realistic attributes is that she feels this need to show she does not need help. She’s got it into her head that asking for help even from the opposite gender or her romantic interest makes her weak and less then. That is not the case, and she comes to realize that.

The family unit here, those character dynamics, focus on building each other up. Her friends challenge her and call her out on her nonsense. Together, the love and devotion make this group of friends a family stronger than blood.

And even though Emerson can be a little egotistical and narcissistic, I appreciate that when her friends confront her about her behavior, she takes that. As a result, she improves upon herself, so there really is a lot of character development and character growth in this story, which makes for an overall enjoyable read.

Final Thoughts

Small Town, Big Magic is funny, witty, and romantic from beginning to end. Reading this book feels like you are wrapped in a wool blanket on a cold rainy night.