By The Owl and The Orchid by Mariah Montoya | Audiobook Review

You are the hurricane that has ravaged my heart. – By The Owl and The Orchid

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I love judging a book by its cover, and By The Owl and The Orchid looked like a fairy cottagecore dream with a magic-filled romantasy summary to match. I instantly needed to read it.

And the ending? A cliffhanger that had me feral-Googling book two while my heart attempted to stabilize and my jaw slowly returned to its closed position. That is a good ending.

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What By The Owl and The Orchid Is About (Spoiler-Free)

Set on the island of Eshol, where magic is gifted whether you want it or not, By The Owl and The Orchid pulled me in with its structured magic system and academic setting. The Branding concept was so compelling I was holding my breath to see what would happen to Rayna.

I especially loved the added layer of tension between sanctioned magic and forbidden power.

All students are sorted based on their sanctioned magic, which almost gave me chaotic summer camp vibes… except you get infused with magical power. And possibly hunted for it. I did say chaotic.

By The Owl and The Orchid Audiobook Review

This was an audiobook ARC, and the narrator absolutely delivered. So many distinct voices and so much emotion. The performance added this texture to the magical world and made the institute (aka the chaotic summer camp) feel alive.

There were many distinct voices for young women, older women, young men, older men and of course animals. The emotional delivery was strong throughout all the characters, and one particular parakeet yelling “slut!” genuinely made me laugh out loud.

YA Romantasy Thoughts

I loved the structure of the magic system. Elemental wielders. Mind manipulators. Shifters. Summoners. Animal speakers. When Rayna discovers she can speak to animals, I was sold. Fully. Entirely. That is my dream ability. Give me spiders delivering gossip immediately!

The romantasy part of the story…

I did not love Coen right away. Yes, he has those smokey quartz eyes that cannot be resisted, but he came off cocky. For me: turn off. For others: turn on. I was cringing at the thought of being forced this love.

The playboy stereotype is not ever my thing. But as the story unfolded, he grew on me in a way that felt so earned rather than forced. By the end, his love and care for Rayna felt genuine, layered, and protective in a way that made sense for who he is and all the knowledge and secrets he carries.

By The Owl and The Orchid

I was tetterting on a 4 star rating most of the read. But that ending? That absolutely unhinged in the best way ending? That alone bumped up my rating. Please, I need book two immediately.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Five stars. If you have me this desperate for book two, you deserve all the stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!