Where do I start?
This was a really cool book and a solid five stars.
The characters were NOT flat nor static.
the character change and development was there
and i was there for it and the characters.
I loved all of their personalities
oh my gosh, i loved Ethan
towards the end, he made me a bit mad but yeah
and luca turned weird?
This whole concept was just super cool and it seems like a but similar to instant karma?

OKAY I AM POSITIVE THAT MY INTEREST IN BOOKS IS STALKING ME.
FIRST THE VOCAB FROM ENGLISH IN WE HUNT THE FLAME AND NOW THIS.
THE WHOLE PLOT IS LIKE WHAT WE WERE DOING FOR OP-EDS IN ENGLISH
FOOTBALL AND CONCUSSIONS
OH MY GOSH
AHHHHH
AHAHHAHA


okay i actually DO NOT know how to write reviews so this was a good interesting really cool book.

it ended a bit weird sooo i think a sequel would be cool

i really like Angie Barrett's writing and I'll be looking out for her books in the future, as this is her debut.

solid book :)

LOVE SPELLS AND OTHER DISASTERS by Angie Barrett is the sweet romance with a sprinkling of magic you didn't realize you needed. Rowan, our main character, starts writing out love spells as a joke until suddenly, they're coming true. Shenanigans ensue and Rowan finds herself way over her head. The premise is fun and lighthearted and contains a wide cast of interesting characters.

Love Spells and Other Disasters is a wonderful YA romance. The main character is immediately likable and you continually root for her throughout the book. The magical aspect of the book is great too. I highly recommend giving this book a try!!

Thank you so much to Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours, Entangled Teen, and the author for providing me with an earc in exchange for an honest review.

"Trust me when I say, there is nothing in the world more socially crippling than having a mother who rehabilitates ghosts for a living."

Rowan Marshall, our teenaged MC, has always hidden in her mother's shadow. A famous parapsychologist (read: ghost hunter), Dr. Marshall is constantly conducting paranormal research throughout their inherited mansion. Between daily conversations with her deceased husband, filming auras, and the occasional séance, Rowan's mom firmly believes in ghosts & their stories. Rowan, however, does not. And it's this disconnect that causes Rowant to keep her mom at a distance, confiding instead in her only friend, Ethan.

Comfortable with her invisible identity, Rowan is less than thrilled when she's paired with one of the most popular girls in Fern County for a charity-fundraising project at school. Even more so when she finds out they'll be crafting "crush spells," in order to make their money. Assuming no one would take them seriously, Rowan agrees to Abby's plan and writes their first spell. A spell that seemingly works!

"Once again, I'm amazed at how much people are willing to believe in the unbelievable when they want something."

Soon everyone from students to teachers are lining up for love spells, and Rowan finds herself wondering how this is even working. Is it magic? Or is it simply a confidence boost? Was Rowan's mom right about the powers of the paranormal? Or is Abby somehow scheming Ro & her peers?

As the spells continue to grow in popularity, so does Rowan. From being invited to exclusive parties and shopping sprees with the cool kids to a new love interest with a "heart-slaying" smile, Rowan finds stepping into the light and taking more chances isn't as scary as she once thought.

"There are things that can happen when you cast a spell like this one. Side effects & blow back that will impact your life in ways that you won't like."

But magic comes with a cost, and this cute romance quickly morphs into a dark tale of warning. I can't delve too deeply without diving into spoiler territory, but I will say I was shocked with some of the dark twists Barrett delivered in this story. While heavy, I feel like these effects truly pushed our MC to make some tough choices with severe consequences.

Ultimately, this is a very character-driven novel, and I appreciated watching Rowan evolve throughout the chapters. There were moments that made me laugh & swoon, and moments that made me cringe and left me filled with anger. Some of the supporting characters come across as selfish & self-centered, but I guess we all have our moments, right? At the end of the day while I feel this read a little long, it's fully realized ending made it worth the journey. If you're looking for a romance with a paranormal twist, consider picking this one up this Valentine's Day.



TW: death of a parent, death of a grandparent, parental abandonment, toxic relationship, physical abuse

This book was a solid 3 stars for me. There was a couple things in the book that I cringed at because they felt so unrealistic which was how Abbey one of the side characters acted in a couple of the scenes as well as the party scene that is in the book and how Rowen seemed to be expected by Abbey and some of her friends to do specific things. Also the "plot twist" on why love spells aren't something to be messed with was what left me feeling the most uncomfortable as I was not a fan of how the author chose to go about showing the love spells were going wrong since it's a topic I would consider to be pretty serious.

My Thoughts:

The Cover:
The cover of Love Spells and Other Disasters is very cute and one of the reasons I chose to read it. It is all soft colors and whimsical pink hearts, perfect for the YA nature of the story

The Story:
Right from the very beginning, I was enchanted. A story about magic that starts out surprising and wonderful, but quickly goes awry. I mean, come on-lets mess with magic we know nothing about! When did that ever go to plan? Rowan has so much going on in this story about peer pressure, young love and heartache. I mean high school along equals heartache. Throw in magic and you got the perfect combo about coming of age in my dreams lol

The Characters:
I loved and identified with our protagonist, Rowan, as in being a bit of an outcast in school and an introvert as well. I love the way she rises above, proving she is a very strong individual. Abby was the perfect high school barbie girl, the villain you love to hate, but surprisingly she became one of my favorites. Luca- what can I say? He was the perfect boyfriend, sweet and sensitive, yet a handsome jock. I really did expect to see his bad side. I kept expecting him to cheat or beat Rowan. But I'm not going to tell you what he does.
Now Ethan was my absolute favorite. He really stole the show. Such a fun character and so proud of who he is.

Was It Worth Reading?:
Yes, yes, yes! Such a fun read! Imagine if magic was real. Who would you cast a love spell on, or would you? I would be worried about the obvious consequences. I want my love to feel that way about me for real. I highly recommend Love Spells and Other Disasters to readers of romance and drama and give it 5 out of 5 crossbows.

The idea of the story was interesting, the characters were good, the writing was good, but I felt it a bit flat. Rowan is an interesting character, having magic and creating a spell was something I found interesting, and looking forward to reading it. The connection and relationship with Ethan and Abby was entertaining, I love their friendship and interactions and even Luca with his bet. It was an overall nice YA fantasy reading, with magic involved. It's a cute light read for any YA that enjoy a bit of magic.

This is a story about a girl with good intentions.

I was so surprised by this book! Who hasn’t wished for something to magically happen without any thought for the consequences? Because it’s not as though there’s any potential for wishful thinking to manifest into reality. This is the story of what might happen if it did. It was so much fun! I loved the characters, even though they were brash and selfish at points, @authorangiebarrett did an excellent job of making sure they were multifaceted. If you’ve been looking for something light, but with enough depth to have an impact- this is an excellent choice.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫

Thanks NetGalley & Entangled teen for this e-Arc!

"Magic is real, my dear. It's all around us all the time just waiting for the right conduit to come and wield it."

*3.75 Stars

Trigger & Content Warnings for death, loss of a loved one, manipulation, toxic/abusive relationships

Love Spells and Other Disasters follows a variety of characters throughout the ups and downs of high school. We have Rowan (Ro for short), Ethan, the best friend, Abby, the project partner, and Luca, the mystery guy.

Overall, this story was cute, and it definitely had its moments of laughter. I will admit, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the characters develop and come to terms with their choices. I was grateful to see how the relationships between certain characters changed and grew through difficulties.

Rowan and Abby are partnered together for a marketing project. Abby is desperate to get an A and hopefully get a certain internship to change her life around. Abby has the brilliant idea of making crush spells that later lead to love binding spells. They test the crush spells out at first and realize they only come true when Ro writes them out.

The booth they set up for their project gains more attention from students and faculty. This attention leads to more spells being cast and more drama occurring throughout the characters' lives.

Meanwhile, Rowan is starting to date Luca. A guy she has liked but never talked to in person. We read about her expanding her social life and talking to his friends. I do like how their relationship seemed normal and how they were willing to talk within the relationship.

Then we have Rowan's mom who is a well-known author that still talks to her dead husband. Rowan wants her mom to move on and tries to help with that. However, each spell she casts has a side effect, and she will have to determine if it is worth it all in the end. I do wish that Rowan was more willing to talk to her mom about things throughout her life. I do see why she might have held back at times, but I think she could have been more upfront with her mom, especially about who she was dating.

A few things I wish were discussed more was the full consequences of their actions when it came to the spells. The story did talk about consent kind of briefly, both before casting the spells and after. However, I wish it went more in-depth because I think that is always crucial, and how that can be an issue when casting spells with only one party involved aware of what is happening.

I do consider Abby a bit of a toxic character because we do read about her guilt-tripping Rowan into writing the spells. Abby uses Rowan's feeling of wanting to help and wanting to correct a wrong to her advantage. Every time Rowan tries to change or stop something, Abby tries to manipulate her. Abby even goes as far too kind of hinting that going through some pain is worth it in the end if you are with someone way out of your league. I was also kind of surprised by Ethan's willingness to go through what he went through, just to be with someone, and how he was willing to let a friendship go if he didn't have his way. I will say that being part of a spell does change people. This is made clear throughout the story as things are resolved.

Overall this story is an enjoyable read. It would be a nice winter or Valentine's Day read. It had a cute romance and also the development of family and friendship relationships that I loved reading about. It was refreshing to read about a character growing closer to their parent, especially in a YA book. But it does also contains some heavier topics.

"And people attribute strange happenings to places where they expect to encounter strange happenings."

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book and the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own*

This book is such a perfect read. I absolutely loved all the adorable characters in it, but of course, Ethan is my favorite. I don't care if he isn't the main character. I just love him so much. Anyhow, I really enjoyed the story, and it's kind of cute how these teenagers try to dabble in the "love spells." What can go wrong? Right!
Rowan stands out as a weird one at school. Mostly, she tries to ignore how everyone looks at her, but unlike her best friend Ethan, she isn't very good at it. Now, adding to this weirdness is the fact that the love spells she is writing actually seems to be working. But that can't be right, because there is no such thing as magic. Or is there? Find out in this fun, entertaining, and adorable story.
By the way, I love the cover! It's perfect and really gives the right kind of vibes for this story. I highly recommend this book to all the readers. Especially if you enjoy YA fiction, then don't miss it.

Rowan doesn’t have a normal life–she’s the daughter of the famous Dr. Marshall: Ghost Psychologist. Not that Rowan even believes in that stuff. Honestly, watching her mom try to talk to her dad, who died when Rowan was young, is kind of depressing. Being related to her mom is probably why her partner in her school project wants to build a business plan on writing and selling love spells. But what Rowan doesn’t understand is why the spells seem to be working. Or why a hot football player wants to date her.

Barrett writes a great story arc that takes the reader along for a big bite of character growth. Rowan at the end of the story is almost a different person from the Rowan at the beginning, and we got a front seat look at the weird and amazing journey that took her there. I love stories where everything seems to go wrong and this one did not disappoint. Plus, it has magic!

I do wish there was more character growth for Rowan’s best friend, Ethan. He basically disappears for half of the book and gets why too distant from Rowan for someone who’s been her only and closest friend for so long. I just wanted better friends for her.

Rowan Marshall does not believe in magic. Her mother is famous for her pursuits in the spiritual world and that makes Rowan a non-believer and a little embarrassed. But then she writes her first love spell and it's actually working.

All of this is happening because she's been paired with one of the popular girls for a project. She usually avoids Abby but they are now forced to work together. Abby's plan is to sell crush spells, which Rowan is not necessarily on board with. She only agrees because she feels she owes Abby for a mishap that happened years ago.

With the spells working Rowan is suddenly getting a lot of attention from everyone at school. Specifically the football hottie Luca Russo. He likes her just the way she is and than things start to go array.

Thanks so much to Entangled, NetGalley and the author for this ARC to review.

Love Spells and Other Disaster by Angie Barret​t

Wow I couldn’t put this book down! I really hope this book continues into a series! I know I would love to see what happens with all the characters and even the teachers who had a love spell! I’ll be one of the first to read it!

6 stars

Love Spells and Other Disasters was a fun, entertaining YA read!

Rowan and her classmate Abby are working on a school project together. Abby convinces Rowan to play off her mom's paranormal work and sell love spells for the project. But what happens when the spells seem to start working and Rowan finds herself falling for someone too?

I really liked the balance of the magical elements and the focuses on friendship, family, and love. I was really curious how everything would be resolved, especially with the spells, and had a hard time putting the book down. This was a really nice read and I am looking forward to reading other books from the author.

What a fun ride this book was! Young adult readers will gobble up 'Love Spells and Other Disasters" in a heartbeat! Thankful to NetGalley for allowing me to read this copy.

Love Spells and Other Disasters by Angie Barrett
Rowan lives with her ghost-whisperer mom in an old family mansion that belonged to Rowan’s deceased father’s family. Her mother is famous for her abilities and Rowan is slightly embarrassed by it all, since she doesn’t believe in any of that stuff. At school, she’s paired with a snobby Abby who isn’t nice to Rowan. Their assignment is to create a lucrative business together. Abby comes up with the idea of making love spells and has Rowan write them up and fold them into origami hearts. Luca is helping with the renovation of Rowan’s home. Luca and Rowan talk and begin dating and everyone seems surprised by this because Luca is popular and was a star athlete until an injury ended that and everyone thinks Rowan is odd. The love spells were supposed to be harmless fun but Abby finds a real love spell and Rowan uses it on her mom because she seems lonely. Afterward, Rowan notices that some of the couples are unhappy and her mom has gone loopy. She finds a reversal spell that undoes the real spells, causing angry customers. She deals with the backlash through acts of kindness that seem to appease and calm people down. 4 stars for this romance with a bit of magic!

💕 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 / 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝗪 💕⁣
⁣
Title: #LoveSpellsAndOtherDisasters⁣
Author: @authorangiebarrett⁣
Publisher: @entangledteen⁣
Pub Date: 2/1/21⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Type: #eBook (thanks @netgalley)⁣
Genre: #YoungAdult #YA #Teen⁣
Must Read Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⁣
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𝘚𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴:⁣
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𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳…⁣
⁣
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭? 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧, 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?⁣
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𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦...𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘔𝘦, 𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥-𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰-𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦-𝘓𝘦𝘵-𝘔𝘦-𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵-𝘪𝘯-𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢 𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘰, 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭-𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘢𝘮. ⁣
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𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:⁣
This was a very sweet and entertaining YA romance novel. This one gets a lot of creativity points as it was a very unique storyline and I really loved the paranormal aspect. Reader be warned - you'll need to let go of the "believability" of this one to really enjoy it. I will admit - this on started off a little slow for me, but I am happy I pushed through. I love to support #debut authors and I think Angie Barrett did a great job with her first novel. I am excited to see what she publishes next!

What I Liked
- It’s true that I am a sucker for magical realism in YA contemporary books, as even though I know it’s not *technically* possible/scientifically accurate, it still allows a girl like me to dream 😍 I really liked how the author developed the “love potions” concept. While love potions may (sadly) not exist in real life, for what it’s worth, I could definitely see this happening in an alternate universe! (P.S. if anyone happens to have directions to this alternate universe, please let me know!)
- I also really liked the way that Rowan’s quirky personality leaped off the page. She was cynical in the best and funniest possible way, relatable on a personal level, and tons of fun!
- Speaking of characters, I couldn’t get enough of Rowan’s lipstick-wearing and culinary genius BFF, Ethan! Ethan was such an awesome addition to the storyline, and while I didn’t always agree with a couple of the actions he took (like running off to NYC with his new boyfriend instead of keeping his childhood promise to Rowan to visit the city with her), I still really liked how natural and real his friendship with Rowan felt.

What I…Didn’t
- Honestly, while I really loved Luca’s (AKA Rowan’s love interest) characterization, I sadly just could not get past the extreme insta-lovey-ness of their relationship. It literally only takes them a few days to start dating after seeing each other outside of school for the first time. And okay, *maybe* this is just my demi-ness showing, but even still, it just felt waaaaayyy too rushed and entirely unrealistic, which was definitely a little disappointing.

OVERALL:
If you’re looking for a cute YA contemporary to get into the Valentine’s day spirit, I definitely think Love Spells and Other Disasters is a great selection. Filled with witty banter, awesome friendships, swoony moments, and *just* the right amount of magic, this book is sure to warm your heart on a cold winter's night.

If you like magic and are into stories about modern-day witches, this book might be the one for you. I like that the author just went with the magic premise, and dove right in. The love story isn't quite believable, and everything seems a bit too easy, but this is a fun little book.

I will start by saying, I am not a fantasy person. I have read a few fantasy novels but never run to them. My brain struggles to buy into the magic.
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The funny thing about that is that is Rowan. Rowan struggles to buy into magic that she is creating herself and I think that is why I enjoyed this fantasy novel.
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This story is a wild ride full of magic, ghosts, and clichy high schoolers. This story demonstrates ways to accept individuals as they are. This story supports the LGBTQIA+ community. This story shows support for individuals with disability.
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This story has a heavy focus on ethics and choosing to do what is right even when others are telling you otherwise.
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The ending to the romance portion of this story was abrupt and didn’t really work for me, but I still enjoyed this story.