I love Avery Flynn, but this book fell short for me. I think there was too much going on and just didn't work for me. Enjoyable enough and a quick read. Just doubt I'll reread.

I absolutely adored reading this one for the Halloween season! If you love "cute-spooky" books like me (but aren't quite a fan of scary horror), WITCHA GONNA DO? is the perfect Halloween rom-com.

This one was solely a cover request for me, and its just a reminder why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I went in to this not realizing it was a YA, then questioning why everything felt so juvenile, only to check my request and see the YA tag and it all made sense. The writing was.. okay. The pacing was.. okay. The characters were.. okay. This book was just, okay to me. I so wanted to love it because I'm a sucker for a romance about witches, but, this one didn't hit the mark for me. Maybe it's my age, maybe it's the book - either way, I can't see myself recommending this to my friends, but I can see using this as a recommendation for a young teen that comes into the store looking for a romance.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me as it just didn't quite hit the mark. I would like to try Avery Flynn in the future, but this one's humor in particular was not doing it for me.

Awitty witch trying to navigate the challenges of her magical abilities while dealing with a series of personal and professional dilemmas?
Sign me up! Overall, Witcha Gonna Do? is a fun and enjoyable read, perfect for fans of magical romance who don’t mind a dose of predictability.

I have to start by saying that I've read pretty much all of this author's backlist, so I was excited to read this at first. But when I started, I was honestly confused because the writing style was completely different from her previous work. There was no fun, lighthearted humor. No flirty banter or palpable chemistry between protagonists. It was like there was a lack of her voice that made all her books so entertaining to read.

Maybe this was why the story felt so lackluster? Or maybe it was because the book was supposed to be a witchy romance but lacked a strong paranormal element? I'm honestly not sure but there was just a disconnect between me and the narrative/characters. I finished because it was a quick read but I honestly couldn't say it was particularly memorable. It was a huge disappointment because I really wanted to love this book.

Overall: it’s fast reading. I hope there would be more elaborated world building. I didn’t like the characters either. So I’m giving my solid three stars! It was still easy to read and enjoyable but I was expecting a little more!

Fun but all and all lacking a sense of excitement and movement. Really enjoy a supernatural romance but this wasn't my favorite.

«Love is a magic so powerful it gives nonbelievers faith, makes the impossible probable, and inspires hope in the most dire of circumstances».

I expected a little more, but it was entertaining.

Tilda is the daughter of one of the most powerful families of witches, but she is an "outré", someone who was born without magic. She lives self-consciously because she is the only non-powerful one in her family. She works managing the family's social networks because it is the only thing she can do since she doesn't have magic.

Gil, on the other hand, is a double spy who works with the Council and the Resistance of this magical world. He has been tasked with investigating Tilda, finding out if she really has no magic and what repercussions it may have in this power "war" in which Tilda's family has such a high place.

Tilda wants to find love, so she goes on blind dates and not once, not twice, but three times she ends up "mysteriously" paired with Gil. Things happen and there is a romance.

I had several problems with this novel. First, it's written in first person, and that's fine, but there were times when the narrative "talks" to the reader and that's something I personally don't like unless it's a novel written in letters or a personal diary, or into something that justifies them addressing you when you are reading.

On the other hand, I feel that the author wanted to give the book the label "enemies-to-lovers" and Tilda says several times "my archenemy Gil", "my nemesis", but why? We are never told why they are supposed to be enemies, in fact, they never are. It seems that Tilda only says that because she dislikes him a little and because she goes on a blind date with him 3 times (she, the one who never suspects that something is happening when those things happen). Gil never treated her badly, nor did he give any indication that he disliked her, so why enemies? There was no reason at all.

Along with this, Gil is constantly saying "a relationship can't be, she deserves more, she blah blah" but why? And okay, he gives a couple of reasons, like he's a spy and he keeps secrets and I whatever, but when he reveals the secrets no one makes a fuss about it, it's just accepted. So, half the book saying that a relationship with Tilda cannot be, that he knows he will have to go and leave her, but in the end there is simply a normal romance in which the reasons for "not being able to be with her" are not even discuss on. Again I feel that the author wanted to label this as "impossible love", but the plot was going the other way around.

The characters are all adults, but their narratives are like teenagers. I thought the whole time that they were 18-19 year old people until at some point she says she is 28 years old. Their thoughts, their way of reasoning, acting and feeling are completely adolescent.

There are several loose ends. At some point they tell us that there is a problem with this or that, boy the entire conflict centered on romance. An attempt was made to set it in the midst of major problems that were surrounding the main characters, but everything was left in the background so that we could see how the protagonists lust over each other with their gaze whenever they were together.

What I did like: the types of magic, especially Gil's (although they didn't fully explain it to me), Tilda's friends, a couple of magical action scenes that were there were nice. The secondary characters were a little more solid than the main ones. In general it was entertaining, the third third of the book was very exciting and I think it is just the right book to get out of a reading block. I do not recommend it, however, if you are looking for a magic rom com. (There was nothing comedy about it and the magic was left aside a bit for the romance).

I enjoyed parts of this. I think there was some really strong and good potential in the bones of the story. I actually liked Tilda and Gil as characters and I think there was so much possibility with their romance and the base plot but it was trying too hard to be too many things all at once.

The world-building really casts a shadow over the story with a lot of unnecessary info dumping. The development of story, characters, and overall climax to the plot were all kind of lackluster. Just felt like it needed more refining and length to really flesh it out.

My biggest complaint though is that often times it felt like Gil and Tilda's voices completely lost their individuality and blended into the authors voice. They also both did this weird-hyphen-talk-thing all the time, that I think was supposed to be quirky and just seemed forced and out of place. 😅

Sadly, this didn't work out for me. It left me feeling pretty meh overall and I'm sad about that because I wanted to love it. 💔

Witcha Gonna Do? by Avery Flynn is a delightful read perfect for fans of lighthearted, adventurous, and romantic comedies who enjoy witty banter, enemies-to-lovers tropes, and a dash of magic, as this book promises to charm readers with its humorous take on witchy woes and the blossoming of an unlikely romance.

Witcha Gonna Do is a masterpiece of mystery, romance, and deception.

Tilda Sherwood is part of a huge and prominent magical family. Except, Tilda is magicless. Not a magical bone in her body. All she manages to do is become fodder for Wichingdom's busybodies, and embarrass her mother. And for some reason, her matchmaker continues to set her up with her nemesis, Gil Connolly.

Gil Connolly is not who he seems. He has secrets and reasons for trying to get close to Tilda. Only, he's not supposed to catch feelings for her. He's an egotistical jerk and not at all the type of guy Tilda should be interested in dating. Things get even worse for Tilda's attraction to Gil when her non-magic causes one of her sister's spells to fail, epically. Now, the only person she can turn to for help is the one person who drivers her crazy....Gil Connolly.

Boy do I love me some Avery Flynn. Her books are phenomenal. I love how the characters occasionally turn, look, and talk to the reader. Witcha Gonna Do is a cute enemies to lovers paranormal romance. The book is perfectly paced, written well, and the setting and world building expertly descripted and set up. I read this book in one day because once I started, I was hooked.

Tilda's a witch without power. And she's talking directly to the reader with her self-deprecating magical and dating woes. Gil is using dates as a cover to see if Tilda's faking her lack of magic. The Council fears it could all be a ruse. When Tilda turns out to have a ~special~ power no one knew about, I cringed at the predictability of it all. Shock and awe, there was not. Particularly when it started to read like a shallow Discovery of Witches knockoff.

So let's talk about all the other ways this book made me mad/annoyed/frustrated.

It puts its big, basic world-building up front, centered around a conflict between The Council and The Resistance in the Witchingdom (capitalization and lame names not my own). The author's attempt to integrate these entities with the United States government only makes it worse. She also chooses to include a weird rewrite of Indigenous history. I don't mind erasing the genocide. But the concept that Indigenous people made a "favorable" land sale that still results in white people traipsing around and having a USA doesn't strike me as anything other than a half-assed attempt to make the witches' histories squeaky clean so we don't have to dwell on racism or colonialism that might ruin the book's fun. Plus, the magic is slapdash and nonsensical. 0 stars for the world-building.

The narration style was off-putting for me. The number of times Tilda says "Don't ask" about a past embarrassing mishap and then proceeds to tell us about it made me want to scream. And the number of times both Tilda and Gil were surprised to find they were talking to themself was infuriating. It was annoying enough to sit through without then pointing it out and dwelling on it, thank you very much. I just wanted them to both stop talking to me, like the urge to leave a conversation that won't end. Worst of all is all the body image issues that come up through Tilda because I'm not at a point on my journey where I can avoid picking that up via osmosis. So that was a bummer. 0 stars for voice.

And ugh the romance. Gil's overconfident and smarmy. Tilda would say the same, but she's secretly loving it while I just wanted to set him on fire. She calls him her nemesis for no apparent reason since a few bad dates seem to be neither party's fault-- more a cosmic intervention. It's a classically surface-level animosity crafted just so we can slap "enemies-to-lovers" on it and lure in the trope stans. But it doesn't count! Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy didn't suffer so we could put this book in the same category, thank you very much. I also personally hate the shortcut whereby magic explains an inexplicable and overwhelming force of libido. It's boring. It's meaningless. 0 stars for romance.

Finally, I love a romance epilogue ~except~ the unnecessary pregnancy/baby flash forward, with a few deserving exceptions where it suits the characters' specific journey in a heartfelt way. Aaaaaaaaand this has triplets AND a pregnancy so it's the worst ok bye. -1 star for the epilogue.

Talk about fun! Avery Flynn created a wild and chaotic world just for us. Witches, shifters, sprites and more! This Witchingdom is the place to be!

Personal growth, learning to trust, and falling in love aren't the spell! The spell Flynn casts on the reader is the true magic! I am all smiles as I wonder if the eleves will download book 2 faster than I can type this! Witcha think!?! 😉

Fun and adorably sweet, Witcha Gonna Do is the perfect romp.

[RECOMMENDATION] If you're looking for a fun spooky time romance, great for Halloween-time!

[SYNOPSIS] Our MC has no magical powers, and her family is the most powerful, magical family of withces of all time... oof. Then she keeps getting set up on dates with Gil, who aggravates to her to no end. However, he's the only person that can help break the magic spell when she accidentally cursed her whole family.

[REVIEW] Some of the chemistry in this book was super fun, but overall it wasn't my favorite. It is fun, quick, and romantic - and I enjoyed reading it during spooky season.

**This e-book was gifted to me by Berkley and Netgalley - thank you! All opinions are my own.

not the paranormal romance for me!

the cover and the idea of this book seem very cute. however, the execution was SEVERELY lacking. it almost felt like I was reading a teenage diary rather than a serious published work. I love a silly, goofy romance, but this was not for me at all!

I have been big on the paranormal romance train lately, and I feel like this tried to be too hard to be paranormal but also too hard to have suspenseful and plain-old contemporary romance vibes within it.

This was a great book with magic thrown in. I really enjoyed every page and will definitely be reading more of Flynn in the future.

DNF'd pretty early on because the FMC's inner voice was utterly absurd and frankly annoying. I'm happy to pass this on to someone who will enjoy it more.

What a fun and entertaining witchy romance — perfect for Halloween! It was just what I wanted at the time and I can definitely see why so many will enjoy it. There's magic and romance and the right amount of witchy vibes, what more could you want?

Witcha Gonna Do" by Avery Flynn introduces an unfortunate witch and her conceited adversary, Gil Connolly, in a spicy romantic comedy. Despite a lack of magical abilities, the protagonist must join forces with Gil when a spell gone wrong endangers her family. While the book faces criticism for a heavy information dump and a youthful tone, it could still appeal to readers who enjoy the genre.