Lightening in Her Hands by Racquel Vasquez Gilliland
Publisher: Berkley
Pub Date: 10/15/2024

Thank you to Berkley and PRH Audio for the free copies in exchange for my honest review. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Teal Flores, struggling to control her weather-manipulating powers and in need of a wedding date, agrees to pose as Carter Velasquez’s wife to help him secure an inheritance. As they search for Teal’s long-lost mother, their fake marriage sparks undeniable chemistry, leading to a love that can withstand any storm.

Teal is such a complicated character. I absolutely hated her in Witch of Wild Things so I was hesitant to pick up this book, unsure how Teal could be made even remotely likable. However, Lightening in Her Hands gave more insight into Teal’s childhood, strained family relationships, and her complicated past which made me sympathize with her. I appreciated how the author explored friendship breakups and the effort to mend family relationships. Teal and Carter’s romance felt more secondary in the story and I didn’t really care for their relationship. The ending was a bit too neatly wrapped up for my taste. We also get more insight into Sky’s personality in this book, but I’m not sure if I’ll read her story given my mixed feelings about Lightening in Her Hands.