Book Review: Lightning in Her Hands by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

Title: Lightning in Her Hands
Author: Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
Series: Witch of Wild Things #2
Pages: 352
Publication Date: Oct. 15, 2024
Publisher: Berkley
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary / Fantasy
Synopsis:

Gifted—or cursed—with the power to influence the weather, one woman must embrace her wild heart in the next electric romance from the author of Witch of Wild Things.

Teal Flores is desperate for two things—control over her gift of weather, and a date to her ex’s wedding. The first isn’t possible until she finds her long-lost mother, but the second has a very handsome last-ditch solution: Carter Velasquez.

Carter needs Teal too. His chance at receiving an inheritance is dependent on him being married by age thirty (blame his traditional Cuban grandmother), so who better to pose as his wife than Teal? But fake marriage and cohabitation prove tricky when mutual attraction charges the atmosphere—quite literally for Teal, whose volatile emotions cause lightning strikes.

Together, Teal and Carter embark on a quest to find her mother and the answers she’s searching for. But along the way, they’ll discover something even better: a love that can weather any storm.

LINKS: Goodreads | BookBub | Amazon | Bookshop.org

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Lightning in Her Hands is a fun and unique paranormal rom com that follows Teal as she searches for her mother, control of her powers, and a date for her ex’s wedding, and Carter who needs a wife to gain his inheritance. These friends turned lovers turned estranged people soon learn their feelings didn’t end when their relationship did.

Teal and her sisters all have abilities connected to the elements. For Teal, the weather is affected by her emotions. This is a power I definitely would not want to have. lol She can’t hide her feelings very well, as the tumultuous weather proves. She’s an interesting and layered character, who goes through so much throughout the story. I liked Carter too, though he definitely frustrated me at times.

Teal has been abused and emotionally manipulated for years and he, though understanding, doesn’t really get it. He’s being too vague with his feelings and letting her second guess herself. I hate this. He should know better. And he runs so hot and cold. I’m not loving his character. The fact that he sided with the grandmother earlier and then did this, which feels like a rejection even though I think it’s because she wants a quickie and he wants forever and making love, is so wrong. He has so much groveling to do. He’s so kind and understanding in some ways, it in others, he lacks empathy. I think, like Tral, he is a flawed person who doesn’t always do things right, but that doesn’t necessarily make him unlovable.

They definitely prove by the end that they are perfectly imperfect and they accept each other the way they are, and, overall, I liked their love story. I also really liked the strong messages about family, sisterhood, friendship, self-acceptance, and more. Though it’s a fun and romantic paranormal rom-com, it also has some touching and emotional moments and a lot of heart.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

• The romance!

• The magic.

• The sisters.

• Childhood best friends to lovers
• Fake relationship
• second chance romance

Raquel Vasquez Gilliland is a Mexican American poet, novelist, and painter. She received an MFA in poetry from the University of Alaska, Anchorage in 2017. She’s most inspired by fog and seeds and the lineages of all things. When not writing, Raquel tells stories to her plants and they tell her stories back. She lives in Tennessee with her beloved family and mountains. Raquel has published two books of poetry. Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything is her first novel.

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