What a weirdly entertaining book! I anticipated some crystal touting white girl witch book but then I get slapped in the face with “Hex me” and “his inner Wolf” and I let out a deranged scream because I’d unknowingly walked into an omegaverse adjacent book. Luck for me, this book didn’t seem to take itself too seriously because the silly phrases and light tone continued so I was able to thoroughly enjoy the campy nature of literally everything this books out out. Except not a single ethnic/BIPOC or queer person was explicitly mentioned soooooo that’s a bit of an issue considering this is literally a 2022 pub book, you’d think minorities and queer folks in a universe where succubi and demons exist. Either way, I had zero hopes for this book and therefore that made whatever this mess was quite enjoyable. Would definitely recommend this to people

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

Linc and Vi’s romance was a fun witty read. I enjoyed the childhood crush but wrong timing trope. I also enjoyed the world building and over all premise of the story.

Vi doesn’t have magic until a certain shifter shows up. Then her magic seems to go haywire. It was fun watching her learn how to control her magic. I also enjoyed the witty banter between her and Linc. I do wish we got to see her interact with Linc’s pack. I also thought it was interesting that Linc commented on the true mates option but Vi didn’t really touch on it.

Linc was a fun male character. I enjoyed seeing the possessiveness of the alpha and seeing him and Vi go at it. I do wish we got to see him running the pack. And more flashbacks to when him and Vi were children. I felt like part of the story was telling us rather than showing.

Overall I really enjoyed this rom com. It was witty and cute. I loved the premise of it and enjoyed seeing Linc and Vi find their love story. Looking forward to Ro’s story!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC copy in exchange for a review.

This is not your typical paranormal rom-com. We do have the banter and the communication problems in this enemies to lovers romance but we also have some pretty interesting world building and political intrigue. The two main characters-a witch and a shifter- would mutually benefit if it was thought they had a relationship so they decided to fake it. What could possibly go wrong? This was a fast paced story with the added bonus of some interesting side characters. I hope to visit their world again in another book!

I enjoyed this one.
It did take me a bit longer to get into it than I would have liked and in a way it felt like this was part of a series that I dove into smack in the middle....:/

This one will def be a series and looking forward to the next 2 books with the sisters.

Mare~Slitsread

OMG! Somebody plays trombone inside my head! I have to admit: this book was crazy, entertaining, wild ride as a production of urban fantasy waltzing with young adult romance. But it was also a little complicated for me to pick up the entire concept at the beginning !

The thing confused my mind : its ultra fast opening with bombardment of extra information summarize the detailed world building. I have reread some pages to make sure who’s who, what sister has more powers ( at least I got that our heroine is the one who has less power, witty, sarcastic, quiet lovable one)

There are so many supernatural entities in this book which deserve their own novels : witches, shapeshifters, werewolves etc. As you can see there is enough material to write more stories and sequels!

So I was a little disappointed with the extra fast, crashing beginning and I thought I would have hard time to catch up all details to understand how the entire system of arcane Supernatural Laws.

But when wolf shifter appears Lincoln Thorne on the pages, my interest also shifted to him. The playful, entertaining, sassy banters between him and Violet who were lovers in the past and now fueling their enemies to lovers attraction as pretending soon to be married lovers: things get more and more interesting! I smiled and lied down on my couch to enjoy the full smart and enjoyable, sparkling romance with powerful paranormal vibes.

After the complicated beginning, the pacing and development were balanced and the mix of humor, passion, fun, drama with supernatural concepts fit so good and promise you to have relaxing , less complicated, intriguing reading time.

This is a great fit for wine- popcorn- Friday night binge reading concept! I highly advise not to skip it especially you’re into entertaining paranormal romance and fantasy genres!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ St. Martin’s Griffin for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Thank you NegGalley for the ARC! I really enjoyed this book, I loved the characters, plot and development throughout the story. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of these characters in this world and I'm so excited for it. I need all of them to have their happy endings! I loved the romance between Violet and Lincoln it was sweet and I was definitely rooting for them. I almost wish this came out around Halloween because its a perfect fall read but alas its coming out a bit later. I would definitely recommend this one to a friend :)

Unfortunately this was a DNF. I really wanted to like as it was a most anticipated read but there was too much going on in the beginning with worldbuilding terms that I had trouble keeping up with who was who and what was what. The constant use of expressions like "witch's tit!" and "oh, goddess!" were too frequent and therefore pulled me out of the story when there was more than 1 on a page - which was often. Just felt forced. Cutting that a bit might help to not be bombarded by it. I did like the heroine for the most part.

*Thank you to Macmillan publishing, April Asher, and Netgalley for giving me a E-ARC of "Not The Witch You Wed" in exchange for an honest review*

This was really really cute! I loved the romance and the banter, but I loved the family dynamic in this the most. I'm not a huge fan of the Illustrated covers, but I really like the cover on this one.

This is my first April Asher book, but I doubt it'll be the last. I thoroughly enjoyed Not the Witch You Wed: the characters were excellent and their banter was funny. I appreciated the snark and how human the characters felt even though they well.....weren't. Asher's voice is fresh and fun to read. I read most of the book in a single day. The conflicts didn't feel manufactured or forced; they felt true-to-character and plausible. The chemistry between Violet and Lincoln at times didn't sparkle for me, but it never fell flat.

My biggest issue was the world-building. I genuinely had to check Goodreads twice to make sure that I didn't accidentally end up in the middle of a series...nope, it's the first. But there's so much in the first few chapters that is just...there and you're expected to catch up. I did catch on after a time, but I don't like feeling lost when I don't think it was the author's intention to make the reader feel so bewildered. And this is a very big nit-pick, but the system of magic was never well explained. There's a few vague, hand-wavey lines about how it works, but I never knew what was supposed to be impressive versus routine, for example. And I realize magic/fantasy isn't the central genre Asher is working in. So again. Big nitpick. The main genre here is romance, and that we got in spades.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone :)

Super light and fluffy and just what the doctor ordered. A combination of Charmed, the tv series, and a rom-com, Not the Witch You Wed got my attention from the first chapter title "Son of a Witch's %$@!". The characters are fun and interesting; the author has a great sense of humor and the next two sisters have been set up quite nicely. Check this book out for a relaxing, fun ride.

This is not your typical paranormal romance. Sure, there are shifters, witches, angels and demons in it but, there's also plenty of political intrigue and efforts to move forward that area being stifled. I love the relationship between Violet and Lincoln. They have a history and need to work together to keep themselves from forced bonds. There's plenty of humor, family, friendship and passion. I couldn't have loved this book anymore.

I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for a review.

This supernatural rom-com was the perfect fast paced read I needed while I was in a reading slump. The fake relationship trope was well done and whole story in general was very intriguing. This book is perfect for anyone that is in the mood for a fast read about an alpha wolf shifter and a witch falling back in love. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Sadly, despite the promising premise, this was a one-star read that narrowly missed getting a DNF from me. While the idea and world building is OK, the overall book just hits all the traits that I can’t stand. Immature/Not-Like-Other-Girls protagonist, cliched bad guys, poor execution of romance tropes, being mean parading as “snark,” one-dimensional cast of characters, character descriptions that felt very much “men writing women” and a resolution that seems to be completely out of line with the built world all contributed to this being an unenjoyable read. While I know some of these aspects are loved by other readers (no judgement, all reading is good reading!), but for me, this one just did not do it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC copy in exchange for a review.

I was initially excited for this book upon reading the blurb. Supernatural in NYC, relationship of convenience, partners with a history from long ago.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me. I found the language to be super corny like “hex me” and “hell’s spells” being used over and over again. I’m also not a huge fan of books where everyone has a nickname while you’re still trying to figure out who everyone is. And does EVERYONE need a nickname?!

The romance was just okay for me and the steamy parts felt as corny as the rest of the dialogue. Anytime it’s referred to as “naked time”, I’m out.

Great idea and premise for a story but this execution did not work for me.

Going into this book I didn’t have any expectations. The author is completely new to me. The blurb caught my attention so I figured it was worth a shot. I’ve been in a reading slump lately and after opening this book I got sucked in. It’s fastish paced and characters were intriguing. I can’t wait to see what else this author has to offer.

Great story and characters about realizing what you had all along.. Likeable characters with great chemistry and funny dialogue. Hopefully we get Rose's story.

This rom com was adorable! It was like I Dream of Genie meets Bewitched meets the 21st century. Full of snarkiness, swoon, and a relationship that you just love to devour. Perfect for the spooky season.

Magic-less witch Violet Maxwell wants nothing to do with alpha wolf shifter Lincoln Thorne—the man who broke her fragile, teenage heart. But when the two of them are forced by arcane Supernatural Laws to find mates, Violet and Lincoln agree to fake-date their way to a fake-mating in order to conjure themselves some time. Of course, their old feelings resurface....

I like the fast pacing of this book. It flows smoothly. The dialogue is fresh and fun. I like the characters too. They are nice without being boring.... The whole book was a fun entertaining read. Will definitely read more books about these characters.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC.

I received an advanced reader's copy of Not the Witch You Wed by April Asher from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I felt this was a solid novel and I found it to be well written. The plot was engaging and the pacing moved swiftly. I appreciated how nicely crafted the main characters were and found their dialogue to be entertaining.

This novel was a bit predictable, but was a quick, fun read.

This was an easy-to-read with likable characters and a supernatural premise - a new genre for April! I loved that the main characters were trying to follow their dreams while falling in love with each other. A reat read - different than a traditional romance - and truly entertaining.