This Spells Disaster by Tori Anne Martin

Pages: 354 

Publisher: Penguin 

Released: 14th of September 2023 

When 'messy witch' Morgan Greenwood drunkenly offers to fake date her dream woman Rory Sandler during the New England Witches' festival, she's sure she was hexed at birth. And things go from bad to complicated when Rory accepts.

But although they're 'pretending' to be a couple, their undeniable chemistry soon starts to feel like the real deal -until Morgan realizes she may have broken one of the most sacred Witch Council Laws, and accidentally given Rory a love potion. If this is true, she'll have to prove how incompatible she and Rory are to break the potion - and her heart in the process.

Morgan is no stranger to a disaster, so ruining their relationship should be easy.

Is Rory destined to be Morgan's latest screw-up?

Or could the magic between them be real?

What I Have to Say 

This book was really cute and I loved the couple in it and the setting and everything really, except that I found that I couldn't enjoy a good half of it as much as I wanted because it used my least favourite trope, when lovers don't talk to each other and so they spend most of the book struggling with a problem that could be fixed in five minutes. It was also a little predictable 

Morgan should have told Rory about the love potion immediately. Honestly, I think the fact that she didn't is almost as bad as giving someone a love potion to begin with! Rory deserved to know that her feelings were being messed with. And although the consent issues in this book were definitely handled well, I just hated Morgan the whole time for not telling her. 

I loved the magic in this book. It was interesting to see the rituals and spells woven into the life of everyday witches, using potion-infused bath products and drinks that are spelled to create different effects was so interesting. Honestly this was the sort of book that I would like to live in if I could. 

Overall, the issues around not telling Rory was really the only problem I had with this book. The plot, the humour, the characters, the settings all added up to be really entertaining. I would recommend it as a good witchy read. 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Penguin for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

Painted Devils by Margaret Owen

Pages: 512 

Publisher: Hodderscape 

Released: 16th of May 2023 

Let’s get one thing straight—Vanja Schmidt wasn’t trying to start a cult.

After taking down a corrupt margrave, breaking a deadly curse, and finding romance with the vexingly scrupulous Junior Prefect Emeric Conrad, Vanja had one great mystery left: her long-lost birth family… and if they would welcome a thief. But in her search for an honest trade, she hit trouble and invented a god, the Scarlet Maiden, to scam her way out. Now, that lie is growing out of control—especially when Emeric arrives to investigate, and the Scarlet Maiden manifests to claim him as a virgin sacrifice.

For his final test to become a prefect, Emeric must determine if Vanja is guilty of serious fraud, or if the Scarlet Maiden—and her claim to him—are genuine. Meanwhile, Vanja is chasing an alternative sacrifice that may be their way out. The hunt leads her not only into the lairs of monsters and the paths of gods, but the ties of her past. And with what should be the simplest way to save Emeric hanging over their heads, he and Vanja must face a more dangerous question: Is there a future for a thief and a prefect, and at what price?

What I Have to Say 

Despite the fact that my favourite character from the first book was barely in this one, I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a good adventure with the same level of excitement and creativity as the first book. It's a series that takes tropes like hauntings and virgin sacrifices and turns them on their head, making something original and unique. Really this is exactly what I want to see in a book, especially a fantasy book. 

I really like the relationship between Emeric and Vanja and this book was all about them getting ready for the next step in their relationship. In short, they're getting towards the point where they might, maybe be ready to have sex and they need to talk about it. I honestly thought it was a really good portrayal of the awkwardness and need for assurance that comes into these conversations. 

I really liked the ending of the book. I had a wonderful moment just before it was all revealed that it all came together and I figured exactly what was happened, which gave me the fun sense that I worked it out by myself, without it feeling obvious. 

Really looking forward to the next book in the series! 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Hodderscape and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Ocean's Echo

Pages: 464 

Publisher: Orbit 

Released: 3rd of November 2022 

When Tennal - a rich socialite, inveterate flirt, and walking disaster - is caught using his telepathic powers for illegal activities, the military decides to bind his mind to someone whose coercive powers are strong enough to control him.

Enter Lieutenant Surit, the child of a disgraced general. Out of a desperate need to restore a pension to his other parent, Lieutenant Surit agrees to be bound to Tennal and keep him conscripted in the army, a task that seems impossible even for someone with Surit's ability to control minds.

Tennal just wants to escape, but Surit isn't all that he seems. And their bond may just be the key to their freedom.

What I Have to Say 

This book caught my attention at the start, but I got bored of it. It started out with very fanfic tropes and if it had continued in that vein, I think I would have really liked it, but for me there wasn't enough about the relationship between the two guys. It didn't have much romance in it. They were just getting to know each other and then suddenly they were in love? It just didn't hit for me. 

I was really interested in the syncing and the way it would work for two minds to sync as well, so the fact that they put that off for so long disappointed me. It raised interesting issues about conscription and consent though and that was good to see. 

In all, I just wasn't that into the book. I guess I was reading it for a romance when it was more political than that. But some bits were interesting. 

 

3 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Orbit for providing me with this copy for review. 

Arrowheart by Rebecca Sky

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 384

Publisher: Hodder 

Released: 14th of June 2018

Kiss the boys and make them cry...

The gods are gone. 

The people have forgotten them. 

But sixteen-year-old Rachel Patel can't forget - the gods control her life, or more specifically, her love life.

Being a Hedoness, one of a strong group of women descended from Greek God Eros, makes true love impossible for Rachel. She wields the power of that magical golden arrow, and with it, the promise to take the will of any boy she kisses. But the last thing Rachel wants is to force someone to love her . . .

When seventeen-year-old Benjamin Blake's disappearance links back to the Hedonesses, Rachel's world collides with his, and her biggest fear becomes a terrifying reality. She's falling for him - a messy, magnetic, arrow-over-feet type of fall.

Rachel distances herself, struggling to resist the growing attraction, but when he gives up his dream to help her evade arrest, distance becomes an insurmountable task. With the police hot on their trail, Rachel soon realizes there are darker forces hunting them - a group of mortals recruited by the gods who will stop at nothing to preserve the power of the Hedonesses - not to mention Eros himself, who is desperate to reverse the curse . . .

Rachel must learn to do what no Hedoness has done before - to resist her gift - or she'll turn the person she's grown to love into a shadow of himself ... for ever.

What I Have to Say 

Never judge a book by it's cover! I went into this thinking it would be a bit lighthearted with a good adventure plot. Luckily, I absolutely in the mood for the book I got instead. This was such a beautiful commentary on consent and free will, showing Rachel as one of the few Hedonesses to see what their "gift" really was. My stomach was turned as much as her was while reading it! 

This was also less of an adventure and more of a resistance. This book was so dark with secret underground societies of Hedonesses running the world. It was amazingly addictive and suspenseful, the characters in danger at pretty much all times. Though there was the fact that I wasn't really sure what would happen to the characters if they were caught, it was more the boys and the world at large that I was worried for. 

The ending was really great and left a big wide opening for a sequel so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next! 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hodder for providing me with this copy for review.