What a delight! I loved reading this book so much and all the zany things that Gwen, Milo and Trudy get into with a witch family that’s not supposed to practice magic. The characters get flung into a high stress situation of figuring out who’s significant other is going to run off with their distantly related cousin Tannith and of course chaos ensues.

This is a highly lighthearted, quick read filled with cupcakes, best intentions and family curses related to the Dust Bowl (yeah the 1930s Dust Bowl).

I could not put this book down. It was so highly enjoyable and even though it's not a strict romance book, you see how the relationships of the cousins are functioning and now they're growing.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fast and fun now that's the way to grab the reader ! What I think kept me reading was wondering just how more complicated things could get as the cousins lives rapidly descended into a comedy of errors. Yes some things I could see a mile coming but in the main it was just a joy to get sucked in and surprised. I am not usually a huge fan of light hearted paranormal stories but I enjoyed this break from reality and would happily read more from this new to me author.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

It all started with a letter to three witches who are cousins. Three witches whose family has been banned from magic because of a great great grandfather's horrible spell. He caused the Dust bowl, nothing major or anything. 😳

Tannith sent a letter to her adopted sister and two cousins hinting that she was taking one of their partners with her when she moved. And she was notorious for stealing dates and new relationships away in the past. We all know those people that are prettier and more popular and this girl is also cruel.

So this letter sends the three - Gwen, Milo and Trudy into an epic tailspin full of magical meltdowns and conundrums that keep layering on top of eachother. Just because they aren't allowed to do magic doesn't mean they can't do magic. Also, all of their partners are away on business at the same time which then makes them suspect more that something is up.

Ok I just love the story of cousin Odin who tries to get to the bottom of this magical ban on the family and gets vaporized and Aunt Esme who is now a decrepit old crazy CPA. Yes she was cursed to be good with numbers cause she went against the Grand Council of Witches, I am choosing to not be offended since I can see how that can be a punishment 😂. Btw I am a financial auditor, it's ok I wasn't cursed.

This was such a fun story and I wasn't expecting what happened at the end since they might have been almost caught by a Watcher for using magic. That was quite unexpected. And Griz was probably the best character - such a good cat! I also want one of those aphrodisiac cupcakes from Trudy!

Fair warning it does end with a set up for a sequel which I am curious about.

Read if  you like:
✨ Witches and spells
✨ A combination of Bewitched and Practical Magic
✨ Rom-coms

Q: If you could cast a spell what would you cast?

Thank you kensingtonbooks and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.
🌟🌟🌟💫

This was such a fun read and fun take as a loose remake to the 1940s movie A Letter to Three Wives (which I have seen and loved). This book has the perfect, autumn witchy vibes that I am alwaysss after. The atmosphere and setting of the story, as well as the actual witchcraft and witch characters, make the reading experience so cozy and fun. There is an overarching mystery to the story that is introduced in the letter to the three witches and this mystery definitely kept me engaged and intrigued. However, the shenanigans that the witches get into after the letter is where the fun begins! the perspective from the cat is also just great. Such a solid witch story for lovers of all things autumn/halloween.

This was my first read from this author. I really enjoyed this quirky story about a witch line that has been cursed or "bound" from practicing witchcraft despite their natural ability and affinity to do so. If you've seen (or read) Practical Magic, there are definitely some parallels and similarities. Is it romance per se? There wasn't a ton of romance in the story but definitely has that rom-com vibe to it. Definitely some great funny moments and I would enjoy reading other books by this author.

This novel was the fun lighthearted campy read I needed in between reading very bleak novels. I liked that it didn’t take itself too seriously, but the trade off is that it didn’t feel like it had a ton of emotional depth. I also enjoyed that it had a romantic component but wasn’t romance-focused!

After Tannith sends a letter to her sister and cousins about moving away and taking one of their partners with her, everything erupts into chaos.

The more they try to fix it, the worse it gets. Because, you see, they aren't trained witches, their family was forbidden from using any magic for 150 years due to an incident caused by their great-great-grandfather and now they have to pay the price for his shenanigans.

A Letter to Three Witches surprised me with how fun it was to read. The comps were definitely correct, because I did get both Bewitched and Practical Magic vibes.

I fell in love with the characters, it was hard not to with all that was happening to them. One accident(al bunny) after another and wouldn't you know it, I found myself crying!

If I had to pick a favourite it would be Griz. I have a weakness for talking animals and he was no exception. I hated how Tannith treated him, THE POOR BABY DIDN'T DESERVE THAT.

Most of the magic here was very explosive, but I appreciate the little things too, like the cupcakes, that was a great idea.

There's not a lot of romance in the book, but the parts of it that are present are very sweet.

One thing that I wish we saw was the parents helping out. Gwen and the gang went far and beyond to keep them out of it, but I was hoping they'd figure it out and lend a helping hand.

The ending wraps things up, and leaves room for a sequel at the same time. I NEED A SEQUEL. There's still so much to explore in the world, even if we don't mainly follow Gwen next time.

4.5

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I was so bored.

Don’t let the cover fool you. I too am a sucker for cartoon character covers, but man did this disappoint. Everything from the characters, to the plot, to the setting…it was all very bland, cookie cutter, average. I never connected to the characters; they never reach their potential, all worried about totally dumb average things that I could not bring myself to care about. Milo is the campaign manager to the next town mayor in a town that nobody cares about; he is worried that the mayor has been unfaithful! Because he went to Tiffany’s and bought jewelry… like man take a hint. Trudy is the 39 year old whose children (who I assume are twins, since they both left home to go to college and very little information is provided about them other than that) left for college, and now her and her husband are on the outs because it turns out they don’t actually love each other and stayed together for the kids. Oh and Gwen! She moved in too quickly with her boyfriend and now seems to not like him as much? All of these simmering problems come to the surface because of ONE letter her evil witchy cousin sent them, kind of saying she would bewitch one of their significant others by the end of the week…

There is some talk about a council which forbids their family from practicing magic for 150 years, and they like suckers just let it happen. Not that it matters, since unless they cause a big enough stink it doesn’t seem the council cares very much. I felt the whole magical system was very poorly constructed, there are no rules so much as some people are able to do this or that because. It seemed to want to focus more on the relationships of the characters, but when even that is done so poorly that I didn’t even care which partner ended up leaving? Eeeks.

We also get two different love stories happening, each more unbelievable than the other. I hated Gwen’s more than Trudy’s to be honest, as Gwen’s love story was just ridiculous and she should have ended up alone (in a good way!). The relationships were just built very poorly; we literally spent a week with these characters. The ending was also so boring and made no sense as the story is built. The cousins construct a potion for someone, using specific items meant for that person, and it somehow doesn’t matter and it works on anybody. Then what is the point of the personal item!? They also keep coming up with VERY weak excuses as to why not to bring someone back to their original form when THEY HAVE THE SPELL RIGHT THERE AND IT ALREADY WORKED ONCE.

I was very frustrated with this book because it makes no sense, it is not fun or exciting, and it just wasted my time. I really wanted to DNF, but I needed to review it and SOMETIMES books get better by the end so I decided to just finish it. It doesn’t get better, it gets worse.

Would not recommend.

PS; I even forgot to mention. We get a cat’s POV! Which is cool! But not when it does very little to add anything to the story other than to give us a glimpse into what the “bad girl” was doing at the time. How dare you, the cat deserved better.

<i>Thanks go to the publisher for the E-ARC copy. Sorry I didn’t like it, it is what it is.</i>

I really wanted to like this book, I really did. I made it to the half point of the book, but just couldn't justify going further. That is not to say that others wouldn't enjoy this story, I just found it very far fetched and the characters unlikeable and inexcusably incapable. I was spending more time thinking when the book would be over, instead of getting invested in the story.

Again, it's not that others won't like the book, I think they will. Those that liked Fairy Godmothers, Inc. by Saranna DeWylde and Witch Please by Ann Aguirre will definitely like this book as the styles are very similar.

Thank you again to Kensington for this ARC in exchange for an honest review and thank you to Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

What happens when a witch family is banned from performing magic for 150 years? Magical drama, that's what!

There were many parts of this book that I enjoyed. The writing was light and fun and kept me interested the whole time. The mystery plot lines were gripping and kept me picking up the book to see what would come next. The chapters told from the perspective of Griz, a cat familiar, were delightful. I did not think at the beginning of the book that I was going to like Griz as much as I did by the end.

The trio of cousins who haven't been allowed to use their powers discovering what it really means to be witches was wonderful! I loved that, even though the story was told from a single perspective, each of the three main cousins got their own plot line and it was clear they each had their own motivations and goals.

Unfortunately, a few pieces did fall short for me. Once the plot got going, it felt like there were too many plot lines to fully focus on any of them. It left some parts feeling rushed or not fully explored.

The big issue for me was that this book was sold to me as a romance. While there are romantic subplots for the secondary cousins that I enjoyed, the main romance plot line was between Gwen and Jeremy. I found this particular romance plot entirely unappealing because the entire time their romance was blossoming, Gwen was in a relationship with another man.

I enjoyed the mystery and the witchy-focused parts of this book, but I found the romance piece disappointing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington books for the advanced copy!

Gwen Engel’s great-great-grandfather cast a spell with disastrous effects. As a result, his descendants were banned from practicing magic. They had been following this rule for over 90 years until one of the cousins sent a threatening letter to her 3 cousins. This triggered a series of events that caused them to use their powers.

This was a fun story. It was entertaining to see what happened when they started using their magic and the mishaps that came along with it. The 3 cousins are likable characters. It is described as a Rom-Com and that certainly fits. I don’t know if this is intended to be a series, but I certainly hope it will be!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This started out cheesy until Aunt Esme got involved. It was still heavy on rom-com, but the story became interesting. Great ending.
Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.

Thank you to Netgalley & Kensington Books for this copy of A Letter to Three Witches by Elizabeth Bass!

I was really intrigued by this book when I saw it was about witches and would be a really fun time. Although the book was enjoyable and I did like the magic aspect, I just found that I never really connected to the characters and there were quite a few questions I never got answers to. I think towards the middle, it seemed to pick up and I was having a good time but that just didn't last very long for me.

I think fans of the ex-hex would enjoy this, because I felt the same way about that that I feel about this, and everyone else loved it.

Synopsis ⁠
Gwen, Trudy, and Milo are the closest of cousins, but, more importantly, they are a coven of witches with no practice at witching. Why? Their family was forbidden to practice witchcraft by the Great Council after a distant ancestor caused the Dust Bowl. So, imagine everyone's surprise when Cousin Trudy accidently performs a hex! Could her sudden craft have anything to do with their other, less-than-cordial cousin, Tannith, and her threatening letter? The events that follow that strange correspondence are sure to be hare-raising! ⁠
⁠
Musings⁠
What a fun read! This is everything I wanted The Ex Hex to be, and more! Lots a spells, witchy commentary, a talking cat, bewitched baked goods, and a witch on the run make this the perfect read for Witchy season, or any time you want a wild ride. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between the cousins, which totally reminded me of growing up with my own band of close cousins. Just like this trio, we always found ourselves in a pickle with no idea how we got there. While they might not seek out trouble, trouble certainly finds Gwen and her cousins! This fast-paced read with fun characters and witchy goodness is sure to put a smile on your face.

As a Bewitched fan, I was excited to read this book. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. There were some funny moments, and I enjoyed Aunt Esme and Grizz, but I think the plot could have been more developed. Thank you to

A Letter to Three Witches comes out tomorrow!

Plot | ⭐️⭐️
Characters | ⭐️⭐️
Ease of Reading | ⭐️⭐️⭐️

••••••••••••••••••••••••

RATING | ⭐️⭐️

Great witchy fun! Gwen Engel's entire family has been banned by the Great Council of Witches from practicing witchcraft. This was due to Gwen's great-great-grandfather causing the great Dust Bowl in an incident nearly a hundred years ago. The family is monitored by discreet "Watchers" to make sure they do not use their craft. The family has fearfully followed this ruling until a letter arrives to Gwen and two of her cousins from Gwen's adopted sister Tannith saying that Tannith is running away with one of the cousin's men. Gwen and her cousins, Trudy and Milo, don't know which man Tannith has bewitched and is running away with.

The story is a light-hearted rom-com filled with lots of magic. It's a lot of fun and I enjoyed the plot and the characters. Oh, and there's a talking cat, who is a great character too! I liked the premise of the family being forced to live without using their witchcraft and found that to be an interesting obstacle for the family to work toward overcoming.

Thanks to Kensington Books through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on January 25, 2022.

This was a cute little witchy book. Pegged as romance buuuut not really. It's like a family drama? Kind of cozy mystery? I'm not sure. But it is fantasy. That's all I'm really sure about. A little similar to [bookcover:Witch Please|56233936] [bookcover:The Ex Hex|56554626] but THOSE are definitely romance. I like the uptick in contemporary witchy books lately. They're fun! Nothing amazing, a lot still needing explaining (why did we even have a Griz POV?). This must be the start of a series because there's a lot to still be explored, especially repercussions.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

⭐️3.25 🌶0
Gwen’s family has been forbidden from practicing witchcraft after causing what has since been covered up as a “natural calamity” a hundred years ago. For generations, they obediently follow the Grand Council of Witches’ order on this — until one day, Gwen and her cousins receive a letter from Gwen’s adopted sister, Tannith. Tannith claims she has bewitched one of their partners and will run away with him at the end of the week. Magical mayhem ensues as Gwen and the cousins each try to secure their relationships, discovering their hidden powers in the process.

WHAT I DIDN’T QUITE LIKE IN THIS BOOK
Though pitched as a comedy, the book is not so much about the romance as it is about the comedy. Gwen’s supposedly romantic relationship with a character named Jeremy felt completely flat and flimsy; her cousin Trudy had more chemistry with a passing police officer. The first few chapters were a bit winding as well, so the plot doesn’t quite materialize until halfway into the book. And even then, even when Gwen mentioned something as permanent as the Grand Council of Witches possibly obliterating her, the stakes never really felt significant or urgent.

WHAT I LIKED IN THIS BOOK
This book is such an easy, light, entertaining read: perfect for if you’re just looking to dip into some witchy vibes on a breezy afternoon — with a side snack of cupcakes. (Really, you’ll want to have some cupcakes on you while reading this.) It had the feel of a black-and-white screwball comedy in the old Hollywood style.

With the story told mainly in one person’s POV, Gwen shows a smart sense of humor. When her observations are funny, they’re REALLY laugh-out-loud funny. And speaking of POV, there’s a special treat in this book for certain animal lovers!

I really enjoyed A Letter to Three Witches, it reminded me of my childhood when I would watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch and wonder what a "witchy life" would be like!. This story although pulling heavy at the childhood nostalgia also brought to light many meaningful issues. The family all suffered in one way or another because they were unable to be true to themselves - it was only when chaos ensued that they started to understand their true strengths and feelings! I also did not expect some of the surprises that were revealed as the story went on, making it a very exciting to go from chapter to chapter. I really enjoyed this read and the very colorful characters, it was so easy to just imagine everyone as the story went on. I have to say my favorite is Trudy - she just seems like an emotional hot mess, who can whip up magical treats! Highly recommend this read!

This book is as much screwball comedy as it is a romantic comedy. To me, it’s as much “What’s Up, Doc?” as it is “My Girl Friday”. It’s zany, kooky, and whimsical in all the best ways. It’s like someone merged the show “Bewitched” with the movie “Bringing Up Baby” and just waited to see what chaos Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and the rest of the cast would get up to when they combined witchy powers with screwball comedy plot.

It was so good. Pages kept turning. My Kindle stayed in my hand. I kept smiling. I was completely diverted, smiling endlessly from ear to ear. I ignored everything around me in favor of my fixation on what happens to the three titular witches (Gwen, Trudy, and Milo) after their “cousin” Tannith drops a mysterious letter on each of their doorsteps one night and then disappears without a trace. Once those letters are dropped, events start to unspool that upend the lives of everyone in the family. Their days go from mundane and inane to insane and enlightening. Everything changes in a rapid order when these people are used to everything moving slower than molasses in winter.

I was fully invested in all three of these witches who are suddenly caught in cagey Tannith’s game: scared Milo, bored Trudy, and insecure Gwen. Each of them utterly stuck in a rut, only to be shoved out of that rut when Tannith’s forces their hands. Only things don’t exactly work out exactly as Tannith planned.

This book is charming, funny, witty, and quick. It’s light on its feet and will make you smile. There’s really nothing better than a book like that when you’re feeling a bit down or when you are looking for something sweet and cute. Plus: bunnies, toads, and a cute black cat that probably needs a therapist. You can’t go wrong.