Amber Sand comes from a long line of witches. Her mother is a witch, her ancestors were witches, etc. But for some reason the coveted genes skipped Amber almost entirely – she is not a witch. Her only magic power is that she can see true love. In the Windy City Magic series by Crystal Cestari, Amber struggles to find her place in the magical world full of elves, werewolves, sirens, mermaids, vampires, and more, in addition to preparing to graduate high school and head off to her dream college. And while she may be able to see anyone else’s soulmate by staring into his or her eyes, she has yet to see herself in their reflection. 

Set in modern-day Chicago, the trilogy kicks off with The Best Kind of Magic. Amber is a match-maker in her mother’s magic shop in Navy Pier, and while her power has made countless clients very happy, it doesn’t always turn out well. For example, how would you feel if you went to see a match-maker and the person she sees in your eyes is someone different than your spouse? Her talents have gotten her into trouble on more than one occasion, but luckily she has the support of her mom and her best friend, (who happens to be a fortune teller). But no teenage coming-of-age story is complete without a mean girl who you love to hate (who is also a siren – more on her later), and a dream-boat love interest. 

The dream-boat in question, Charlie, is the son of Amber’s mom’s long-time friend. Needless to say, they’ve known each other all their lives. But now Charlie needs help finding his dad’s missing girlfriend. As Amber spends more and more time with Charlie, however, she begins to develop feelings for him. Unfortunately, she knows that she is not his match, so she struggles with these complicated feelings while still trying to help him and his dad. 

Cestari did a great job bringing these characters to life and helping readers imagine a world in which magic exists. I’ve heard many readers describe the Windy City Magic series as “like Buffy but fluffy,” and knowing what a die-hard Buffy fan Cestari is, I can totally see the influences that gave her the idea to create Amber’s story. While I am likely not the intended audience of this series, young adults will definitely enjoy the “magical realism” of this world – not to mention the sassy yet thoughtful characters. 

I like how she also touched on a struggle to which many can relate; what is the point of pursuing a love interest or relationship if that person is not “the one?” Amber sees another girl whenever she looks into Charlie’s eyes. As much pain and angst it causes her each time, she can’t help but fall for him and wonder what harm there could be if they were together now anyway, even if they won’t be together forever. 

Next up in the series is The Sweetest Kind of Fate. The mean-girl siren I mentioned earlier, named Ivy, has bumped heads with Amber in the past. While Amber always sticks up for herself, Ivy never ceases and they always throw some choice words at one another whenever they cross paths. However, Ivy is in need of Amber’s help in the second installment of Windy City Magic. Ivy’s sister, Iris, is getting married, but Ivy thinks she is making a huge mistake – her fiance is a mermaid. While Amber sees that Iris has indeed found her match, Iris must undergo a life-altering spell in order to be with her soulmate. Meanwhile, Ivy does everything in her power to stop it from happening – with Amber tangled up in all of it. 

I appreciated both Amber and Ivy’s character development in the second novel. Ivy swallows her pride while Amber has to be the bigger person. Readers see a softer and nurturing side to both of these characters, whom Cestari herself imagined might have been great friends under different circumstances. This book also brings back a few favorite characters from the first book and introduces some new ones as well – including Charlie’s actual soulmate! 

The last and final installment of Windy City Magic is The Fairest Kind of Love. Amber’s powers are on the fritz; they are not as clear as they used to be, meaning she cannot confidently see anyone’s match anymore. As if preparing for college wasn’t stressful enough, Amber is now eager to learn how to fix her powers – no matter the cost. 

An online matchmaker named Madame Lamour comes to Chicago, and Amber sees her ticket to fixing the problem – until she realizes that this person is not who she seems to be. Nevertheless, Amber is excited to meet another match-maker who also doesn’t quite fit in to her family lineage. Yet what began as a mission to fix her powers – and maybe even find her own match – turns into a complicated family feud of fairies and more serious challenges to face. Still, readers who have made it this far wondering if Amber will ever get her happy ending will have their answer at the end. 

I think this third book was my least favorite in the Windy City Magic series. It’s never explained why Amber’s powers go haywire, and there’s at least one other plothole that bugged me but for the purpose of avoiding spoilers, I will not get into. This one was also a bit slower. Overall, Cestari did a great job creating such an imaginative world for us and goes deep into the implications of how magic and having supernatural powers might affect one’s personality and sense of belonging.

Crystal Cestari was generous enough to meet with me at C2E2 2020 to discuss her trilogy and talk about her newly-released book Super Adjacent. Interested bookworms can listen to our conversation on Episode 75 of The Nerd Cantina Show podcast.