Eunny’s Journey: Magic, Love, and Healing in “Growing Memories” Book Review

A driven mage. A brooding prince. And a second chance at love…or heartA shy gardener with a secret. The ex-healer who broke him. And an enchanted plant that could make their love bloom…if old wounds don’t bury them first.

For Eunny Song, magic is the enemy. At least, hers is, which is why she’s convinced everyone that her magic is gone. The former healer is content to run a repair café where she only fixes things, not people.

Ollas Nevin blames himself for Eunny’s bitterness toward her magic, but he’s never had the chance to make amends. The shy horticulture professor hopes his return to Sylveren University will provide a fresh start with the woman he’s loved since boyhood.

When Eunny’s shop collapses and injures Ollas, she insists on lending a hand during his recovery. Together for the first time in years, their closeness causes the magic plants at the heart of their past to wake. In the warmth of the greenhouse, feelings start to grow alongside the foliage—and secrets become impossible to keep. The plants could be the key to stopping a cursed poison ravaging a kingdom, but they require magic to bloom, and Eunny swore she would never touch the arcane again.

When the plants demand more than mundane care, will Eunny find the courage to face the past and reclaim the magic she used to love—and find new love too—or is the Healer Who Hurts beyond forgiveness?

Growing Memories is the second cozy fantasy romance novel in the Valley of Sylveren series of interconnected standalones. If you love swoony slow burns, childhood friends-to-lovers, and magical STEM academia, don’t miss Growing Memories!

• Author: Jaime Ryanne
• Release Date: April 7, 2025
• Genre: Fantasy, Romance
• My Rating:
• ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
• 🌶️/5

If you like academics, magic, sweet spice and planet daddies. This is for you! Growing Memories is book two in Valley of Sylveren, the interconnect standalone series. I do recommend reading book 1 Elemental Attraction to get a better understanding of the series and characters.

Spoilers Ahead

This one is all about Eunny Song. Eunny lost her magic years ago or so we thought… She believes magic to be the enemy, that nothing good could ever come from her healing magic. But she had the need to help people, however she could. Opening up her repair cafe to help out the people of Sylveren with their things and not on them. Until the cafe collapses and injures Ollas.

 I loved getting to know more about Eunny. Her struggles with magic, her desires to help people without using magic, her dedication to helping Ollas after his injury in any way she can. She is definitely the total opposite of Ollas, she is more outgoing, speaks her mind and knows what she wants. We also get a look into her family life and why she also left her mother and that side of the family business.

Ollas Nevin was there that day when Eunny lost her powers, bitterness towards magic and he has been blaming himself since. The shy, hot plant professor (I’m sure he has a proper title, but what is? Who knows lol) stops by one day to Eunny’s repair cafe, and of course luck was not on his side as the cafe collapsed on him. Or was it?

“I like Zhen, but…” Ollas spoke softly, his confession barely more than a whisper. Lost to sleep, Eunny didn’t hear him. He carefully got up and tucked the blanket around her shoulders. She didn’t so much as stir.

“It never would’ve worked,” he murmured. “She isn’t you.”

Swooning over here, clutching my pearls

He has been in love with her since childhood, maybe the roof collapsing was fate. I really enjoyed learning more about Ollas, his work at Sylveren and how it could possibly help with stopping the spread of the curse on the land. I feel like he knows Eunny a little better than she may know herself, her tells and that she isn’t being quite honest about her magic.

 ⁉️ Do you know what a Plant Professor is called?

Favorite Scenes 

She had broken him; Ollas should have hated her, not been in love. No one had ever put her first like that. She knew her friends and aunt loved her. She had people who cared, people who would drop everything and be there if she needed them…

Ollas was winning to go further than that. She’d never had someone make her the center of their world. 

Favorite Quotes

Eunny choked. “Oh, shit, Nev.” she looked down, saw the outline along the inside of his leg. “You’re an animal.”

“I think I should try sitting on my throne.”

“I’m the Healer Who Hurts. I can never take that back. I hurt you again.”

Valley of Sylveren Series

• Elemental Affections
• Growing Memories
• Mistral Hearts

✨💜Tropes💜✨

• 🪄Magic grad school
• 🌶️Sweet Spice
• 💛Childhood friends to lovers
• ❤️‍🔥Slow burn
• 💚He falls first
• 🩵Shy/feisty
• 🏠Found family