REVIEW for Parties and Potions

A big thank you goes out to Random House Children for sending me this absolutely delightful book!

TITLE: Parties and Potions

AUTHOR: Sarah Mlynowski

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars

I have read Sarah's adult novels, but I had never read any of YA books. I just discovered this series and was worried that I would be completely lost since this is the 4th book in the series.

First off, kudos to Mlynowski for writing a series book that is easily readable without having had to read the previous books. In Parties and Potions, we find Rachel and Miri - they are sisters and have just recently discovered their powers.

While Rachel is happy to live in the "normal/mortal" world, Miri is intent on discovering and exploring her "magical" side. Miri hears about a Samsorta - parties that are for witches and warlocks and talks Rachel into attending. But wait! as Rachel parties it up, for the sake of her sister of course, she meets Adam. This becomes a real problem as Rachel feels attracted to Adam - but refuses to acknowledge it - after all, she is perfectly happy with her "mortal" boyfriend Raf who knows nothing of Rachel's special powers!

This book reminded me of a YA chick lit set in the world of magic and potions. I loved the humor and the down to earth writing and I loved the triangle romance that Rachel finds herself in.

I also really liked the apparent conflict in which Rachel finds herself for much of the time - not sure which world she should be in, which world she belongs in. This sounds suspiciously like "real life" to me - with a little more magic and potions thrown into the mix. I definitely thought this book was wonderful and a fun read. I am planning on reading the previous 3 books in the series as soon as possible.