Savvy and Griffin are getting married. Too bad the old relatives at their wedding are about to murder each other. It seems that the two lovebirds have been keeping huge acronymic secrets from each other. Griffin is a H.U.N.T.E.R. — Humans Undertaking Nocturnal Terror and Evil Reduction; and Savvy is a C.R.O.N.E.—Covert Responses to Occult Nightmares by Enchantresses, two organizations sworn to destroy each other (like warring Mafia families). As the wedding guests sneer and growl at each other, Savvy and Griffin are swept away by their respective families and suddenly expected to terminate each other. But these two are really in love, and love conquers all. Right?

In a magical reimagining of the film “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” this book is sheer fun. The guys have techy anti-magical gadgets and the girls have pocket brooms and cool familiars (like best friend Brie's capybara, typically “glamoured” as a fluffy white dog). The bride and groom each have a loyal set of friends who vow to protect them and rebel against the corporate orders. I loved this book a lot — it’s beguiling and tantalizing and phenomenal. 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Savvy has them, but Paris the Leopard’s are mentioned more often.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO The usual musical herbs like rue, hemlock and lavender are present, but mostly dried.

Super cute read! I personally, absolutely love anything to do with witches! I’m not sure what it is, but I’m always drawn to books with them!! I highly recommend this book to any witch lovers out there !

I loved that this was a revamp of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It was such a fun spin on witches vs. hunters as modern day spy organizations saving humans from all things that go bump in the night. I really enjoyed the magic written into the story, the familiars pairing with their witches being my favorite.

Savvy and Griffin were also two cute cinnamon rolls who just wanted to be happy and in love. They go from lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers as they learn the truth about each other and try to figure out if their relationship was all a lie. I will say that I didn't really feel like they were truly enemies for long so the sexual tension between the duo fizzled out. It hurt the pacing and didn't give me the deeper relationship evolution I longed for, especially because you could tell they loved each other "no matter what" pretty early on in the plot. Though, I will say they were so ride-or-die and I'm definitely here for that!

Another thing I wished for was that the action scenes had been a little more elaborate. I always felt like a fight scene would start, but then be over super quickly and easily. It made me never fully satisfied with the more adventurous aspects of the plot. Likewise, the big bads and their ending seemed too simple and was over without any fallout whatsoever. I'm not saying the author needed to kill off anyone, but the lack of any consequences seemingly throughout the entire plot made it feel a bit limp. I think if you are going to attempt a Mr. and Mrs. Smith reawakening, the action needs to be captured as that is part of what made the movie such a success.

Overall, it was a lighthearted and magical approach to a love story. The side characters always gave me a laugh and the strength of the women witches was awesome. There are definitely some cute and spicy scenes scattered throughout that any romance lover will enjoy!

For anyone who is an enemies to lovers trope lover, this is the book for you. After a quick romance, Savannah and Griffin decide to get married but rushing into things is not the best course of action as they soon find out. Griffin is part of an organization that hunts witches and, well, Savannah just so happens to be a witch. Now they have to decide whether or not to take each other down, or the organizations that they work for before they get taken down first.

For fans of "Mr and Mrs Smith" which this was inspired by

Mr. & Mrs. Witch by Gwenda Bond is one of the best paranormal romances I've read here lately!

I really enjoyed this book. I found the characters to be so much fun, and very interesting.
Which makes this book a fun and highly entertaining read.
The storyline/plot was phenomenal and I really loved it.
Y'all the world setting is carefully laid out with a neat plot that will have readers turning those pages.
And of course the writing style was light and engaging.
A cute, light and such a delightful paranormal romance. That kept me hooked and not wantig this one to end.
I loved that Mr. & Mrs. Smith vibe.... So brilliant!
It is sure to keep readers entertained from the very first chapter.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

St. Martin's Press,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

I clicked on this ARC offering from the author, St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley, because I loved the idea of combining the Mr. and Mrs. Smith concept with witches. The resulting story didn’t work completely for me. The story became more and more complex, as the magical world had to be built and just tied itself into knots. The Mr. and Mrs. Smith movie worked because it was nonstop intense action with little time spent in exposition. I did learn about capybara, which was cool but I wouldn’t want to have one as a pet or familiar! Giving this one 3 stars.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an advanced reading copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars !!

Enemies to lover

I laughed and cried with this book.

I loved how this was A paranormal retelling of Mr & Mrs Smith, it was done perfectly!!

Book description
Savannah Wilde is a witch, a very powerful one—an identity that only her fellow witches know. Following a whirlwind romance that surprised herself and her family, Savvy is all set to marry the love of her life. But she isn’t the only one with a secret that needs to be kept, even from her soon-to-be husband.

Griffin Carter is a top agent for a clandestine organization that, well, used to primarily hunt witches, but now mainly tries to shut down supernatural threats their own way. He can’t wait to lay his eyes on the woman he’s about to spend the rest of his life with.

As Savvy walks down the aisle to Griffin, the wedding quickly goes from blessed day to shit show when their true identities are revealed. To say there’s bad blood between their factions is putting it mildly. Savvy and Griffin are tasked to take the other out, but when they discover a secret that could take down both of their agencies, they realize the only way to survive is to team up. With assassins hot on their trail, will Savvy and Griffin make it out alive to try again at ‘I do’?

This is a delightful fan-fic like reimagining of Mr. and Mrs. Smith starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Both are spies working for their respective organizations and fall in love without knowing the other’s true identity. All is revealed on their wedding day leading to a battle between witches and hunters.

The tale of Mr. and Mrs. Smith itself calls for enemies-to-lovers and with that should come some tension and some doubt. Savvie and Griffin are just two delightful cinnamon rolls and were never true enemies-to-lovers. Once their first encounter after their secrets were revealed the story kind of fizzled out for me. At their core, they are really two cinnamon rolls who get the surprise of their lives. The lack of tension thereafter kind of ruined the pacing for me and I found I lacked any sort of anticipation towards the evolution of their relationship. Their hearts were made up long before their heads were, and so there weren’t many tension filled encounters between the two. Whether we were flashing back to the past or dealing with the aftermath of the big reveal, they seemed like a sure thing to me, and even to Griffin, when maybe Savvie didn't want to admit to it.

The overall story takes a lighthearted, warm approach to a well-known trope. I didn’t necessarily get the emotional build-up I thought I would based off of the concept, the book still manages to have some spicy and cute moments. Though I think some of those moments could have maybe waited? The two disappeared to bang out their problems, while their family and friends patiently waited downstairs to formulate a plan to deal with their impending crisis, all of which were fully aware of what was happening upstairs. What’s that saying, patience is a virtue? Certainly not one I possess but I digress…

I know a lot of my Bookstagram friends will enjoy this one and I encourage them to check it out even if it didn’t land quite where I hoped it would.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an advanced reading copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is fun Adult Paranormal romantic comedy that is best described as similar/re-telling of 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' but with magic. Highly recommended to adult supernatural/paranormal readers, and to fans of the 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' movie.

The concept was fun but it always felt like the author was constantly winking at the audience and waiting for them to get the hint.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I just couldn’t get into this at all. It seemed more excited about telling all the supernatural things than character development- I would’ve been so excited to dive into all of that if I cared about the characters- but I just didn’t so it was pretty boring

A very fun book!

I enjoy enemies to lovers. And this one was kinda enemies? I cant explain it too well without spoilers.

I love magical books, especially ones where theres magic but not a whole huge magical self contained world. So magic with this world.

It had romance, adventure, animals...

I liked both main characters, and we go back and forth with their love story. Give this a try! I will def read more from this author.

I haven't seen the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith in years but this book made me want to go back and watch again as it is essentially a witchy version! This book is about two people whose respective careers unfortunately makes them enemies. I thought Savvy and Griffin were really cute. I love the trope and the witchy vibes. This book was full of action and adventure, and it was such a fun read.

I really enjoy when books have POV changes & timeline changes, and this book had both. It kept it quicker and more entertaining in my opinion and wasn't confusing at all!

I definitely recommend this!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Savvy, a witch, and Griffin, witch hunter, are both essentially secret agents working for rival clandestine organizations whose members are all convinced they're saving the world from the other. The couple don't know about each others' secret identities, and the book opens on their wedding day. Both of their notorious bosses show up, are recognized, and Savvy and Griffin discover they are supposed to be mortal enemies. But they don't kill each other immediately, giving them enough time to realize that not everything they've been taught about each other seems to be true.

After the opening, the story alternates between present day and the period following their first meeting and whirlwind romance. I enjoy a dual timeline and thought this worked well here. I wasn't immediately grabbed by the beginning, as first couple chapters were a little info-dumpy and felt a little abrupt in terms of writing style. However, this soon improved. I quickly got absorbed by the story and really enjoyed it. Also, many bonus points for all the fun animal familiars, and particularly for giving one a POV chapter.

3.5 stars . . .

This story was cute and entertaining! All the characters were lovable and people you wanted to root for. The description is perfect for what to expect throughout Savvy and Griffin's journey. Would recommend for anyone in need of some magic and love!

Well, I don't know how to start... Savvy & Griffin... I love the way they met, felt like fate and I really enjoyed it and it was really sweet the way they felt about each other, even with *that* twist. It's like Mr. & Mrs Smith but with magic!

4.5 stars! This story was so cute and fluffy and I can’t wait to officially review it when it’s released in March! Savvy and Griffin were adorable, the villains were unpredictable, there were themes of personal, communal, relational, and familial betrayal, and the relationship the main characters shared with the supporting cast was rich and heartwarming. In this novel, the power and beauty and magic of love shines! My only complaint is that I feel like Claudia got off too easy!

I really wanted to love this book, and was so excited to read it. The premise is amazing…Mr and Mrs Smith but with magic? Great idea. No matter where your Brangelina loyalties lie, we can all agree that Mr and Mrs Smith was a sexy movie. And the girl power from Angelina! We all wanted to be her just a little, did we not? This book tried to emulate that, but with witches and magic hunters. Loved the premise. However, it ended up not being for me.

The story follows Griffin and Savvy, the perfect couple that ends up being not so perfect after all. Griffin is a hunter who works for a secret organization that vows to shut down supernatural threats, including witches. Savvy happens to be a witch, who works for an equally secret organization with the same goals (except they hate the hunters). This conflict is, of course, realized while they are standing at the altar. The book follows them and their friends as they reconcile this, and try to stay alive despite a bounty on both of their heads.

My biggest negative is that the story and characters lacked depth, and their perspectives were loosely held and flip flopped too quickly, which made the romance and passion feel somewhat tepid. It felt hard to connect with and root for Griffin and Savvy. We were told many times how powerful and badass she was supposed to be, but the chaos of the book made it hard to internalize that. There was a lot going on in terms of subplots that was confusing. I still don’t understand what the deal with Melissa was, and I felt like there were elements of the story and thoughts of the main characters that we were supposed to understand, and I just didn’t. Finally, I am a really fast reader, and the way that Ms. Bond writes isn’t necessarily compatible with that. Simple sentences really work for me. They can be long, but she used a lot of asides and turns of phrases in the middle of sentences, which made it hard for me to follow.

I did love how the book went back and forth between times and we saw their relationship develop. That did make you root for Savvy and Griffin as a couple, and the entire world that the author created was so detailed. I also loved the dual points of view. And the supporting characters were set up perfectly for a sequel. If you love light and fluffy books, modern magical realism and chick flicks, and don’t want to get invested, this could be for you. But if you want a real girl power magical adventure romp, maybe keep looking.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was a really fun and surprising book! Savvy and Griffin were exploding with chemistry whew! No the paranormal aspect was very different for me and not my usual go to but this book was pleasantly surprising. I thought this was a fun and quick read which highlighted the enemies to lovers trope. Without giving away any spoilers I highly recommend this book.

**Thanks to NetGalley, Gwenda Bond and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

Much like Mr. and Mrs. Smith, this book follows the story of two people who learn the hard way that their respective careers make them enemies. This book was so much fun, and Savvy and Griffin make the cutest couple. Perfect witchy read.