Pearl “Celeste” Dreger is a witch who can’t cast spells, much to her family’s embarrassment. She reluctantly leaves her friends at Hallowed Woods Academy and returns home for the Winter Solstice Celebration. All Celeste wants to do is disappear into a good book until she learns that she must help plan the coven’s seasonal events with the witches and wizards who have mocked her for years.One bad … years.
One bad day and a Pumpkin Spice Latte later, everything in Celeste’s world is completely turned around. Benjamin, the boy next door that her mother doesn’t approve of, breaks her heart. Carson, the handsome jokester, professes his love for her. But, strangest of all, the black cat, that only she can see, reveals a dark secret that puts her in danger.
Can Celeste prove that she isn’t powerless or broken to a town who looks down on her? Can she figure out the identity of the Shadow Masters before they harm anyone else close to her? Will she live up to her namesake and save her hometown?
Pearl is a YA Paranormal Romance Reverse Harem. It is part of the Jewels Cafe series.
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Overall, this was such a cute and well written story. This one was unlike the others I have read (I have read them in different orders. It was pretty unique. I did struggle a bit with the teenage angst. I am really picky when it comes to YA stories. However, the characters were very likable and I would definitely like to read this one again!
Love a story watching a young girl come into her own, and it involves her showing her courage, intelligence and compassion. Also love the family dynamics and how assumptions are made on both parts and later realization dawns.
Surprisingly sweet and romantic
I’m not much of a YA reader and typically this wouldn’t be my speed but I really enjoyed this book. It was sweet and romantic with grit without being angsty. I am definitely rewarding the sequel to see how all these characters fair in the future. This was a surprise that I’m glad I took a chance on. Definitely recommend it.
Honestly, this is the first book in the Jewels Cafe series that truly fell flat for me. As a standalone, it’s not horrible, but along with some other issues, it just doesn’t fit with the rest of the series (standalone or not, if two stories are set in the same universe, there are certain things that need to match up). The witch and wizard society you see in Pearl doesn’t blend with what is seen in previous books (where did casters and conjurers come from and where did the original witchy types from the series go??), & other than the name of the town and library, as well as the appearance of the actual Jewels Cafe (with cameos from Julian and Amber) this story feels like it’s set in a different bookverse. A lot of the humor, lightheartedness, simplistic easy-fix problems, & downright ridiculousness that I really enjoyed from other books in the series has also been lost. And then there’s the fact that the series jumped from seven books with *cough* quite the heat factor throughout to a clean romance, with underage MCs, that seems to have been written more for younger readers (why??). Inconsistencies with the rest of the series aside, excluding the FMC, the characters lack the depth and emotion I would like to see, & some do a 180 personality change without warning (or development), which was annoying. Perhaps some of this could have at least been remedied for Benjamin, Carson, & Noah if there were a few chapters written from their POV, but honestly, I have my doubts. On an unrelated note, there are also a few typos and one random character eye color change, but there aren’t too too many errors in the editing department. Overall, I do understand that each love story in the series is written by a different author, & in turn they’re meant to add their own bit of flair to the Jewels Cafe universe. However, Pearl really feels like this particular author has read none of the prior books, & they definitely missed the mark. While I look forward to continuing to make my way through the series (and seeing what steamy and or hilarious shenanigans everyone gets up to), Celeste’s part in it isn’t one I care to follow up on.
This was the perfect mix of cute, sassy and mystery. Great world-building and I loved the characters.
This is a more slow-burn than many of the other books in the series, but the writing is just as good. I could not stop reading – I had to know what would if to Pearl/Celeste and her guys.
I loved how she’s a late bloomer. It’s so amazing “watching” her grow in to her true self. It made me cry happy tears. And when she got all her guys I about cried even more!!! This book was amazing. I hope they get that dark wizard once an for all.
This was a lovely and enjoyable story. A young adult becoming story.
Pearl/Celeste faces mean girls, ridicule and misunderstandings yet manages to find herself and become who she was meant to be. Definitely a series I’ll be continuing.
This book was amazing. Following Celeste as she gets back home in sliver springs during winter break. She’s the odd one out due to being a witch showing no signs of power. The characters in this story are great. The development in her relationship with her mom is amazing. I am definitely looking forward to continue reading about Pearl.
This was a great caster/ conjurer romance that I want more of! Celeste has come back home to Silver Springs for Winter Solstice. She’s an outcast and loner within her community since she still hasn’t came into her powers, she gets bullied, and can see a cat that no one else can which has led her to many therapy sessions. When she drinks a spiked pumpkin spiced latte, her world starts to get even crazier. One of her bullies confesses his love for her, her best friend leaves her heartbroken, and her imaginary cat isn’t what it seems.
I really liked watching Celeste change into the person that she wants to be. She had so much character growth in a short amount of time and it was amazing watching her go from silent and cowardly to this fierce young woman and standing up for herself and protecting her coven. Even though she couldn’t use her magic yet, she studied as much as she could and it payed off so well. I absolutely loved that she had fluffy llama pajamas and it was probably the best little thing ever! I wasn’t a big fan of Benjamin, her best guy friend, but I did like Carson, one of her bullies, and Noah, her cat. Sadie, her best girl friend, seems like an amazing character and I’m hoping to read her series soon to get to know her better and the incident at Hallowed Woods Academy that keeps getting mentioned. I hope we get to see more of Celeste, her guys, and coven in the future!
*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review
Pearl Celeste Dreger was a late bloomer at the Hallowed Woods Academy. Her kind nature and insecurities made her the perfect fodder for taunting and bullying. Heading home for the Winter Solstice Celebration, she wants nothing more to be left alone, but, as fate would have it, she must help plan the big event and face the community who has spent years looking down at her for her unrealized magic. Will this be the year she takes life by the horns and show them all who she really is?
PEARL by Tabitha Barret is a coming of age story about a girl who must learn to find her inner strength not only for herself, but possibly to save the very people who look down on her.
As if it isn’t hard enough to be a teen, Pearl is crushing on a boy who breaks her heart, finds out another is in love with her, then add to that, the pressure of not coming into her magic, I couldn’t help but feel for Pearl. Then again, how often does a girl have a caster, a conjurer and a familiar all interested in the girl who had always been an outcast?
A heartwarming read where I couldn’t help but root for the heroine, magic or not! Tabitha Barret has done it again! Fabulous YA reading!
I received a complimentary ARC edition from Tabitha Barret! This is my honest and voluntary review.
Wow, just wow! I loved this book! We meet Pearl Celeste Dreger who.is a late bloomer. She has been teased and made fun of because she has not come into her powers. Pearl.is home for the week and her mom just informed her that she is the ambassador the YWWA. While she is only there for a week she is determined to be the person she wants to be. She has plans to tell the guy that she has been pining for a while now she feels. Unfortunately a cup of PSL reveals the truth of said feelings, but not just hers three others. Carson, Noah and Benjamin are the guys that have kept their feelings about her secret. However, Noah is different, he is a familiar. Carson is a caster and Benjamin is a conjurer. But her coven has rules about dating the opposite of their coven. This book is more of the emotional connection with all the characters. Oh then you have Mr. Westbrook is back. He is about to learn about late bloomers. Can she live up to her great great grandmother? The emotions are deep in this book, and you may need a tissue or two when reading.
This is a great book to read and the characters are wonderful. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series to see what happens.
I loved this novella! There was so much to the story. Celeste as a whole resonated so deep within me. This story allows for multiple spin offs and incredible secondary characters. I’m excited to see what happens with Celeste and her guys!
Am amazing addition to the Jewels Cafe series!
I loved this book. It is an amazing read that you will not be able to put down. Moves along at a great pace, has amazing characters that you will fall in love with and you want to know more about and a story that will not let you down. This is a must read for sure and you will want to add it to your TBR list. You will not be sorry that you did.
Pearl is such a sweet read stand-alone within the Jewels Cafe world. This is a young adult read, so don’t expect to get the heat you get from some of the other Jewels books, but that doesn’t make this one any less great. Celeste (pearl) is an amazingly bright young witch who has yet to come into her powers. If you’ve read Hallowed Woods Academy, you’ve already been introduced to her; no worries if you haven’t read it though because While Pearl compliments Hallowed Woods Academy, it is a complete stand-alone. But I’m saying that, if you haven’t read Hallowed Woods, check out Pearl, get a taste for what Ms. Barrett’s characters are all about, them go get yourself Hallowed Woods!! There’s not a thing about this book I didn’t love and I cannot wait to delve back into the Hallowed Woods world again to see more of our dear, sweet Celeste and watch how she grows into her powers.
Pearl is an outcast, an enigma, among her family and the witching community. Her magic has yet to awaken, despite years of study and numerous tests and trials. She’s home for the holiday and her Mom, the perfect society woman, has volunteered her to help plan the Solstice Ball. Putting her in the middle of the kids who have bullied her entire life. Even the boy next door, her best friend and crush, seems to have moved on with a new girl.
But, can a spelled Pumpkin Spice Latte help Pearl find the courage to talk to her best friend and tell him just how she feels? What about the boy she thought was always mocking her? And just when did the cat she confided in turn into a cute shifter boy? Why does she suddenly feel the feels for them? Will they return her feels? And can they stop the dark goings-on in town before she has to return to school?
Can the girl with no magic pull it all off? Solve a mystery, keep her friends and family safe, and figure out if one girl really can have it all?
A wonderful young/new adult read and continuation of the Jewel’s Cafe series. We saw Pearl in Tabitha’s “Hollowed Woods Academy”, but seeing her at home in Silver Springs brings a new depth to this quirky and sassy young woman!