Book Review: Heart and Hearth is a warm and cozy comfort read
Heart and Hearth is a lovely novella, perfect for reading on a cold and rainy day. I found myself drawn into the world of witches, but not the typical elements of broomsticks, hags with hawkish, wart-covered noses, or cauldrons filled with frogs legs and eyes of newt. This world brings a unique perspective to witches, one where women are encouraged to immerse themselves in their own power and grab hold of their destiny with both hands. It’s one part self-reflection, two parts magical realism, and a dash of sweet, innocent romance.
Anna Klein’s Heart and Hearth is part of the contemporary witchy fiction project, a collaboration of authors celebrating tales of magic, spells, and familiars from around Aotearoa New Zealand. This story follows Addie, a bewildered graduate stuck at an overwhelming crossroad in her life. Running out of her graduation ceremony for her Master of Financial Analysis, she jumps into her car and blindly heads north. Something isn’t right — with herself and the world she once fit into. Struggling to conform to her predestined path, she winds up in the almost forgotten, small town of Araporo. What she finds is a run-down bed and breakfast, two friendly faces in Jonno and Diana, a cat called Avocado, the yearning to release her witchy abilities, and a decade-old mystery she has been called to solve.
While the book centers around the three witches (Addie, Jonno, and Diana) and their attempts to uncover the past, the heart and soul rests on the journey Addie takes to embrace her power. Filled with the pressure of living up to her parents’ expectations, her conflict is extremely real. Who hasn’t felt the difficulty of turning your back on what others expect of you, in order to follow your own path? In Addie’s case, following her very destiny! Klein shows this perfectly, describing with loving detail the conflict Addie feels, as she realizes what she actually wants out of life.
Throughout the novella, Klein uses Te Reo Māori, the Eastern Polynesian language spoken by Māori people, the indigenous population of Aotearoa New Zealand. It was so refreshing to see the native language and culture being represented. And for those who don’t understand the language (like myself), the author included a glossary at the end so readers can educate themselves. Marvelous!
Klein’s level of detail and care taken in describing each character really helped drive the story and maintain my interest. Although at times the message gets a little lost in overworked sentence structure and elaborate words which at times interrupted my reading flow, it does a good job of capturing the essence of these three characters: Addie the hospitality witch, Jonno the food witch, and Diana the garden witch.This book is altogether a cozy gem — magical and comforting, mysterious and compelling, romantic and relatable, and soaked in indigenous culture and self-discovery. In our world right now, which is often unpredictable and all-too-real, Heart and Hearth is the perfect, soothing balm for someone looking to escape.
Want more recommendations like this one? Check out the Narrative Muse matchmaker and discover new stories by (and about) intersectional women and gender-diverse folks.
