The summary seemed cute and I couldn't wait to read this. I stopped after the first chapter because of two things: Rowan had a long stream of consciousness and went into explaining every little thing. The mean girl clique was also a negative due to that stereotype being overused. Rowan even went into detail listing all the reasons the head of the mean girl clique didn't like her and I didn't need to know any of that.

I recieved an e-arc of this from netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

So this isn't my normal genre by any means, I don't really read romance novels. Not because I have anything against them, I just vibe with fantasy a lot. But the premise was just enough fantasy to draw me in. Not going to lie to you guys, this didn't wow me and I was slightly bored throughout it.

I loved the first line of this book, "Trust me when I say, there is nothing in the world more socially crippling than having a mother who rehabilitates ghosts for a living." It caught my attention straight away!

We meet our main character Rowan, and her lipstick wearing best friend Ethan. I immediately fell in love with their relationship and banter! They are the typical "I'm not like other girls" and the gay best friend troupe from the start, not my favourite but I rolled with it.

The plot starts when Rowan, who is a sceptic when it comes to magic thanks to her mother, writes a love spell “Uhhh…” Abby reads the book. “Yeah, you have to read it out loud when you’re alone tonight. Light two white candles before you do and then…” She continues reading. “And then burn the spell when you’re done."

The spells were fun and I enjoyed Rowan's septic nature towards it.

Of course we see the 'typical hot guy is interested in quirky shy girl' cliche. And of course our girl Rowan immediately is roped into changing her appearance by the popular girl.  "Abby reads the text and snorts. “Do you want to look cute tomorrow night or do you want to look rock-Luca’s-socks-off hot?”

Also, the romance in this moved so fast. Like one date and they're official? That type of insta-love just doesn't work for me and I couldn't get into their relationship at all.

The plot moved a slowly and nothing really happened for a huge chunk of it. It was very character based and that just isn't for me. When spells went wrong it was interesting and I'm glad it was all resolved in the end.  The ending made up for it for me, and raised it a star because of it.

3.5/ 5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I ended up really enjoying this book. This first half of the book was just okay, the second half was way more enjoyable for me. The magic in this book isn't really built at all, you just kinda have to believe in it. All that being said I did have fun reading this. It was an easy read, so I completely flew through the book. I would recommend it.

Love Spells and Other Disasters is a YA novel full of romance, friendship, family and magic.

Rowan starts to sell love spells for a school project. She was planning on making money for the school project and helping out her partner. Rowan doesn’t believe in magic so she more shocked than anyone when the love spells seem to be working. Rowan also starts dating an attractive, popular, ex-football player. Rowan’s life is going great until the spells start to have unintended consequences. Rowan has to figure out how to fix the spells. Magic always has a consequence but will Rowan find a way to fix the spell that doesn’t make everything worse?

Love Spells and Other Disasters is a very entertaining YA romance. Everyone treats Rowan like she is weird, so she only has one friend, Ethan. Rowan and Ethan know eachother very well and have always been there for eachother. It is interesting to see how their friendship changes when they are involved in romantic relationships. The story is interesting. I liked how spells and other paranormal elements. Rowan’s mom’s livelihood revolves around paranormal and talking to her late husband, but Rowan doesn’t believe in any of it. Rowan is working on a school project with her enemy, Abby. Rowan and Abby are very different, and Rowan feels like she owes Abby. They start selling love spells that Rowan writes. Love Spells and Other Disasters is unique with the perfect blend of romance, paranormal, friendship and family.

Thank you Entangled Teen and NetGalley for Love Spells and Other Disasters.

I can definitely see why this book would appeal to people. The writing was solid, and the character building was absolutely there. The story progressed very well, and the pacing was decent.

But this one was not for me.

We start out with a teenage introvert Rowan Marshall. She has one friend, the very best in fact, Ethan. He is out and proud and beautifully flamboyant. He balances her simple subtlety perfectly. Rowan’s mother is a psychologist with a love for everything magical and ghostly and she has made quite a living from it. But the woman is still struggling to see past the death of Rowan’s father fifteen years ago when Rowan was just a little baby.

Already, the story was starting off okay. Nothing I had not seen before, but it was fine. It is not until we meet Abby, a popular girl whom Rowan secretly wronged in the past do things start to heat up. For a school project, Abby has the bright idea to incorporate Rowan’s family legacy and the upcoming Valentine’s Day where they will supply love spells to fellow students in a business proposal. And everything seems to be going okay until the spells prove to be working. Soon, people are paying left and right for these spells and Rowan is thrust into the popular realm. Meanwhile, the boy she has always had a crush on, Luca, is suddenly interested in her.

So, you may ask why I did not like this book very much… The absolute lack of consent some of these students are given when love spells are made it so ridiculously off putting to me. While the topic is addressed and it becomes a main concern in the book later on, I was grossed out from the minute the first love spell was cast on students who were unaware. I simply could not see past that and it soured my enjoyment of the book.

As I said before, I can absolutely see why others would enjoy this book. It was not a bad story. But I did not like the non-consent and I didn’t like how it all ended too perfectly after all the chaos that was caused.

The story had so much potential but didn't really deliver. Rowan was probably the best character. The others were a bit flat to me. Her supposed best friend since forever, Ethan, went back and forth in his thoughts and actions in regards to their friendship. Even with the effects of the spell I feel he should have been more loyal since the spells were crush/true love not hate the person who did the spell. Never did like Abby. Story was a bit lighthearted in areas and then pretty heavy in others dealing with abuse. Book needs some fine tuning and a direction.

This was such a cute, quick read!! I loved the idea of the book and I thought it was executed perfectly!! Who doesn’t love a little magic and a little love!?!

Rowan is a quiet character with a whole lot of strength. Luca is a great male character for young readers to crush on- he’s respectful and patient and sweet. The instalove was a little much but hey, this is a book about magic!!

Overall, this was a fun read- they’re not joking about the consequences but I liked seeing everything not get wrapped up with a little bow and a swish of the wrist. This author is definitely one that I’ll be watching!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled for this advanced copy of Love Spells and Other Disasters in exchange for an honest review!

This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Entangled Teen!

Love Spells and Other Disasters is the first book I’ve read by Angie Barrett and it won’t be the last one! I really enjoyed reading Love Spells and Other Disasters, it was such a good YA book and I really liked the characters. The story was really unique, I haven’t read something like Love Spells and Other Disasters before.

I’m a big fan of Rowan. She’s really cute and she tries to be a good person by helping other people with love spells. When she realises her mistakes, she tries to correct them. I think this is a beautiful example of character development. I also loved that Angie Barret created a non-binary character who wears makeup and heels. Luca is also a character that I really liked and I had so many swoon moments. He’s so respectful and cute, and I’d definitely fall for him too!

"That’s chemistry, Rowan, and it’s something we’ve got with or without a love spell."

I really liked Love Spells and Other Disasters, but I do have to admit that the book had a slow start and some parts were a bit too long for me. But besides that, I really enjoyed reading this book and I really liked the characters. If you’re looking for a fun YA read, then I definitely recommend this book!

Incredibly unique storyline. This was a little slow to start but once it pulled me in I couldn’t put it down.

For a school project, Rowan winds up working with a popular girl named Abby. She kind of owes Abby one after accidentally ruining her chance at winning a STEM competition a few years ago. Abby is probably playing on Rowan’s family legend a bit when she comes up with the idea though.
Abby talks Rowan into the idea of them selling love spells. She says it’ll be something cute for a holiday like Valentine’s Day and they’ll raise some money for their teacher’s favorite charity by selling the spells.

Rowan’s mom is involved with the paranormal, she is famous for books about reconnecting with those that have passed away. Rowan doesn’t believe in the things her mom believes in, she dislikes it even and it makes her worry about her mom. Her mom has never gotten over the loss of Rowan’s dad and she keeps trying to communicate with him.

Rowan agrees to write the spells but she isn’t expecting them to work.
It seems like a coincidence when the first couple work.
But then Rowan and Abby can’t really argue that it’s beyond reason that some of their love spells work.

Rowan knows she should stop but she feels like she can’t.

Rowan starts dating a new guy named Luca who seems perfect. She starts spending less time with her best friend and he wants a love spell too because he feels alone.

As the spells and relationships start taking on a life of their own, Rowan has to figure out how she can fix everything.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thank you! I really enjoyed it.

**Review will be posted on my blog on 1/21/21**

What I Liked:
*Rowan has an interesting mom who is famous for being a parapsychologist, someone who studies the mystical and unexplainable. Ro feels like people at school thinks she is weird because of it. She has one best friend, Ethan who’s been friends with her since childhood and that pretty much consists of her social life, or lack there of…until a project at school makes her realizes she has the power to cast spells.

*The romance is cute with a touch of heat. There are some sexy scenes but it stays PG-13 for the most part. Luca is the hot jock who is actually a nice guy. The romance comes of as insta-love but he did confess he was into her way before he talked to her. I mean, there are love spells involved so it gets complicated.

*I did like how Rowan and her project partner, Abby, innocently start making these love spells for a project without thinking of the consequences but when it all hits the fan…the consequences are bad. Rowan does the right thing and takes responsibility. She tries her best to fix broken relationships by doing acts of kindness, which I thought was awesome.

*I think this story had a good blend of romance, drama, and witchcraft.

Random Notes:
*Rowan isn’t your typical strong girl who can stand up for herself, Ethan helps her do that. Abby pushes her around when it came to doing the spells, but I guess Rowan felt guilty also for her part in ruining Abby’s science project years ago. I think Rowan is strong in her own way, not loudly, but in telling the truth and acts of kindness.

*We don’t learn much about Rowan’s magic lineage in the story until her mom starts finally talking about her dad which is near the end of the book. It would have been nice to get some idea of how she could do the spells earlier in the book.

*Ethan was her best friend until that spell really took a turn for the worst and he turned on her. That sucked to see since yes Ro cast the spells, but Ethan asked for the spell. I’m just glad they made up.

*I read an arc copy so there were some errors near the end of the book which probably will be cleaned up by publication.

Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading this witchy romance story because it was a nice blend of sweetness and drama. I liked seeing Rowan blossom as she starts dating Luca and also it was good to see her tackle the consequences of the love spells going bad by helping the ones she hurt. Even though Rowan and Luca seems like an insta-love kind of deal, he actually was into her way before the spells and I loved their relationship. We get a happy ending and it gave me all the feels in the end, that’s all I wanted, so goal accomplished.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Love Spells and Other Disasters in exchange for an honest review!

This was really cute, for the most part. A little bit of insta love and a significantly larger slice of predicability, Love Spells and Other Disasters follows Rowan--high school sceptic and daughter of famous medium--after realizing that the love spells she's been jokingly writing for a school project actually work.

Where this book loses me a bit is with it's price of magic. You're warned pretty early on that someone'll go wrong if Rowan keeps using the love spells, but what that thing is was surprisingly dark for how light the book had been so far and it makes this book's "protagonist isn't sure whether doing the right thing at a personal loss is worth it" moments cast Rowan as really unlikable. It also speed runs a redemption arc that goes by so quickly that it felt forced and undeserved.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure what to say about this one because instinctually I wanted to say that it didn't have a lot of substance, but was definitely a cute, fun, read, but it feels weird calling something with the negative effect of magic used here in it cute. It's hard to talk about without spoilers.

This book was ooey-gooey amazing. While some might say it had a little too much cheese, I loved it. I thought while there were some serious consequences to these spells, the book felt light and was a good escape for me. I really enjoyed it and thought the characters were perfect as they were written.

Love Spells and Other Disasters by Angie Barrett is a cute YA romance. While I felt some of it was a little strange, I liked the premise and message of the book. It’s a fun easy read and a nice little escape from reality.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a book you read when you just want to relax, turn off half of your brain and maybe dream a little about that hot high school crush of yours. Maybe with a dash of magic, strong friendship, true love, and making everything right with good deeds.

In short, Rowan (a gray mouse) and Abby (your classic cheerleader) got paired on a business project to raise money for charity. Abby, wanting to impress her teacher, decides that they should sell love spells. Just for fun. Until these love spells start working. And then malfunctioning.
Rowan has to decide whether to break the spells, ruin it for a lot of people and be hated, but make everything right, or leave the spells as is.

For me, this book was too slow and too cute, especially the ending. I'm not a big fan of thing magically (ha!) working just the way you want them to work. A little bit of work still doesn't save the deal here.

I wanted to rant about the insta-love moment in this book, but it was eventually explained so I can't complain, but all the sweetness practically gave me a toothache, and I'm not the biggest fan of it. But it was okay, I didn't hate it either.

To be honest, I didn't like the characters all that much.
Rowan is a simple girl, once you wouldn't notice normally. She works hard to have good grades and please her mother, even tho she doesn't believe in her work (okay, cool, she wants to support her). But she decides to ditch her future just to stay with her mother and the boy she likes in a town that offers no future. She is also no one without her best friend and her boyfriend lately. And she is very prone to falling under peer pressure.

Rowan's mom is a lady so caught up in her work that she forgets to feed her child. A 17-year-old boy is the one feeding both Rowan and her mom. She doesn't console her daughter when she feels bad, she doesn't do a lot of things that a mom should do, but when she needs Rowan to do her work, that's somehow okay. And when she doesn't like stuff, she is all of a sudden a concerned caring mom. No lady, it doesn't work that way.

Luca the Jock is not like his other jock friends. He is loving, caring, patient, he doesn't want to push Rowan into something she doesn't want, he protects her from his friends (what's there not to like, you think. well, isn't there always someone like that... a little bit too "already seen" for my taste). But most of all, he picked Rowan out of all the girls he can have because she is not like his ex cheerleader girlfriend who dumped him.

Abby and Ethan are your classic popular mean girl who bullies everyone into doing what she wants to do and a trans-as-hell best friend.

I also felt that this really didn't need to be this long! Some parts were practically just copy-pasted, and in some parts nothing happened for pages and pages!

To summarize, this was a cute book, the plot was fun but predictable, but it was too sweet, too slow, and I didn't like the characters at all.

This was the perfect read for winter, it was cute, fluffy, and romantic. If you look past the unlikeliness of it, it was a super enjoyable read!

Blurb
As a project for their business class, Abby and Rowan decide to write “crush spells” for their classmates. Only problem is, Rowan soon discovers that her spells actually work, and soon enough, everyone wants one. Used to being a wallflower, being desired by popular boy Luca and cast into the spotlight soon comes with serious repercussions.

I think my favorite thing about this was the way that it was written! I loved how when things all started going badly, everything wasn’t just fixed with the flick of a finger. Rowan actually had to work to fix things, and I really liked her character development. The ending was satisfactory, I loved how cute it was.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I’m not a fan of insta-love. Sadly, Rowan and Luca came off as slightly insta-lovey. It didn’t irritate me too much because it was explained, and they were cute together, but I really wish a bit more time had been spent developing their connection.

If you’re in the mood for a simple yet entertaining book, this is perfect for you! The characters were adorable, and the conflict was cute. I really enjoyed this!

Thanks to Netgalley and Angie Barret for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

This book takes the cake for cheesy romance. I definitely feel as if it was predictable and that’s the last thing I want in romance. However I pushed through and the ending really was amazing

Love Spells and Other Disasters is a cute young adult book. When Ro and Abby decide to write crush spells for their class project. The two are shocked when the spells seem to have worked. So, with their friends falling in love what possibly could go wrong???

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book given to me by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


Love Spells and Other Disasters is the kind of book you read when you're cocooned in your blanket, and want to shut down every analytical cell in your body to just enjoy the fairytalish romance and maybe daydream about THE ONE.


Ro is your typical plain jane, but with a twist. She's awkward, unconfident and a humble A student who keeps to herself and only stick to her best friend "Ethan". In fact, she perceives herself as a weirdo due to her mother's fame and occupation, and embraces her low high school social status. Between her uneventful life, school, and her mother's ghost rehabilitating practices, things run smoothly for Ro, or at least they did until she is paired with her rival Abbey for a class project. Things take a different turn when Abby's silly idea of writing spells reveals Ro's ability to manifest them. With this realisation Abby chooses to exploit her and prompts her to write crush spells for people in exchange for money. Not only this, but Ro's dream of finding a lover has come true when she attracts the attention of Luca; one of her school's "hottest" jocks. Navigating love, magic and friendship Ro finds herself facing peer pressure, a desperate need to fit in, insecurities, and the consequences of messing up with people's lives because magic has price.

The premise of the novel is appealing (it gave me a bit of Practical Magic vibes), and I really enjoyed how fluffy the romance is even though the characterisation is problematic and their relationship felt fishy. I assumed that Luca is playing her, and that he'd made a bet to sleep with her. Also, I felt sorry for Ro because everytime he said that she is not like the other girls I wanted to hug her because she definitely deserves better than someone like that. Luca wouldn't have given her a second glance if his football career hasn't tanked, and he only chose her cos she's different from his ex and the crowd he is surrounded by.

I didn't like the misogynistic undertone of such a statement, and it's 2020 so I thought that we're passed that. Besides, I hoped that she'd achieve some character development at the end because through the novel she was a doormat who let everyone push her around. She was codependent on her mother and friend, and she planned on sacrificing her future to cater to her mother's needs, but that was not the case. She's still the same innocent purposeless girl who's choosing to stay in her hometown and to settle for less. Truthfully, I would have rated the book higher if the characters were multidimensional and the plot was more suspenseful.

Overall, Love Spells and Other Disasters had so much potential. It's an enjoyable work with a sprinkle of puppy love and magic.

This was a super cool book with an amazing idea. This was a lot of fun to read. It is a great novel for teens.

This is your typical sweet, fast read. If you're looking to escape reality, this is the book for you. If you're a seasonal reader, this book is perfect for Valentines Day.