It's the first book I read in the series and even though it took me a little while to finish, I really liked it. It was funny and sad and I'm glad how it ended, it was sweet.
I struggled with the writing, but other than that, it was a great book... Now I need to read the first three

3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Iris Collins is an outcast in a family of prosperous psychic vampires. With no magic or close friends to speak of, Iris doesn’t hesitate to relocate to the quirky town of St. Claire to claim the shabby but charming Victorian home left to her by her late aunt. When Eli Reese, a successful app developer, returns to St. Claire to help his grandmother sell her house and bumps into his childhood crush - Iris - in a coffee shop, he can’t resist the opportunity to enter her orbit. This is a sweet found family story with hints of romance and magic.

The idiosyncratic vibe of St. Clair elevated this book from 2.5 stars to 3. It is one of those fictional towns that just feels like summer and that alone made it a pleasure to read. Iris and the rest of her quirky found family make for a lovely cast of characters. I wish the paranormal and romance elements had flowed better. At times, the magic felt like an afterthought, which almost makes it seem unnecessary. In the same vein, there were long stretches in which Eli and Iris got lost within the broader conflict. Lastly, I found Eli and Iris’s relationship to be very sweet, but the stalking narrative was off putting and didn’t really mesh with everything else we know about his character.

Iris is not like her successful witchy sisters. She feels lost until she inherits a purple Victorian house from her dead aunt. As her plan to rent out rooms for cut short her living expenses, she discovers that she’s not the only lost soul of there.
Eli is successful in his work, but still feels like he doesn’t belong anywhere he goes. When he accidently signed up into his first crush, Iris’s rent-a-room scheme, he winds up renting. The more time he spends with Iris and the other residents, he finds himself feeling at home. Can this happiness last for everyone?

The romance was sweet, but the highlight for me with this story was the development of a found family. The sub characters were fun to read about and I loved their interactions with each other.
This book is perfect for someone enjoys a feel good story and found family.

This book was a hot mess. Right out of the gate, I was so disturbed by Eli admitting to stalking Iris. The author tried to excuse it as a quirk and something completely innocent, but I was unsettled. The rest of the book was boring, the fantasy elements were random and confusing, and the found family wasn’t cozy enough to keep me engaged. It’s also book 4 in a series, but the cover didn’t look like the others so I thought it was separate.

I’ve read so many contemporary “soft” fantasies where the heroine doesn’t have powers (for now) and has a really shitty mother. The Only Purple House In Town was no different. That setup is so TIRED. Give me heroines with agency, self confidence, and a metric fuckton of powers.

The writing style didn’t work for me either. The book was in third person POV (dual between Eli and Iris), but it used too many first person italicized thoughts. Just write the book in first person then! The italics were annoying and pulled me out of the story, and in Eli’s case they creeped me the hell out. They turned him into a weirdly patronizing simp.

✨

Eli was a legitimate STALKER. He was CREEPY and OBSESSED. It was NOT a turn on. He openly admitted to himself that he’d be creeped out if someone had been looking at his social media accounts for YEARS like he was doing to her. Yet when she found out he was like haven’t you also kept tabs on people? It’s not weird! Yeah buddy people she had actually relationships with. And she wasn’t stalking them online monthly for years.

This dude and her had one interaction when he was ten and she was twelve, she didn’t even remember it, and he idolized her ever since. Then he moves in with her and tries to support her financially without telling her the truth until like 80% because she overhears his lies. She rightfully kicks him out but then blames HERSELF for being too harsh because “he’s not perfect but neither am I. ❤️”

I could tell that the author knew some readers (me) would find this man creepy, so she kept trying to make him self aware by admitting his creepy stalker ways. That doesn’t work!! It actively makes it worse because he acknowledges he’s in the wrong but KEEPS DOING IT. His actions in the book made him the “hero” but in any other book he’d be the villain.

✨

Overall, nothing about this book worked for me. The end tried to do SO MUCH and it made my brain hurt. The fantasy elements weren’t strong enough to warrant that wild af ending (that still didn’t convince me of Iris’s agency but whatevs). The found family was disrupted by terrible neighbors and went off in so many tangents that it lost the focus. The romance was the kind that mentions Love after one kiss. The book tried to do way too much, namely trying to convince me that stalking is both normal and attractive. It was too boring to hate enough to make it a one star read. But it sure was close.

⭐️.5/5 0🌶️*/5

*The book is entirely closed door and all we got was that their bodies became one.


P.S. Also this woman needed rent money but she kept letting people work to reduce their rent. I get she’s a good person but the rent was so low already and I guess I’m just not nice enough 😭

P.S.S. I already didn’t buy that her jewelry business warranted another employee, but the fact that they charmed it with a viral spell to actually make it profitable???? I had to LAUGH. That’s so unserious.

P.S.S.S. Oh yeah, he’s a HAWK shifter and the language was vague enough to where I can credibly think that they had sex as hawks. No one tell me differently.


Thanks to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.

Found family with magical elements makes this read feel like a warm hug. I’ve read Ann Aguirre’s other books and I wasn’t disappointed with this one.

We meet a few people, some magical, down on their luck and all find their way to each other in a purple house. Iris and Eli are the glue that keep the story together and their romance was very sweet.

I thoroughly enjoined this easy read.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ann Aguirre for the ARC.

This book was an absolute delight. The found family was excecuted excellently, and I honestly found more joy in the platonic relationships than the actual romance. Iris seemed like a real person, despite her magical powers, and all of the renters turned family were amazing, fleshed-out characters. Eli fell first and harder, and we love that.

On the fantasy side of things, it was great to read a fantasy book not about the world ending or some great catastrophe. the only conflict here was between iris and her nosy karen neighbour, which is neatly resolved by the end of the book. The witchery and general magic felt like a side aspect, and sort of just added in.

Overall, this book was light, fun, and a great book to read for found family.

This was a cozy little romcom, but I struggled with Iris’ self-sabotaging personality. She gets better, but her and Eli’s relationship was way less interesting to me than the found family that developed between all the house mates. However, the supernatural element to the book … it didn’t feel important — very surface-level, which I think I’ve seen called soft fantasy here and there online? It’s got fantastical elements but it felt like the same story could have been told without the fantasy aspect because it didn’t add a lot to the book, and this is coming from a fantasy lover.

I haven’t read the other books in this series, so maybe I’m missing things, but it felt like it stood alone well-enough.

This book is a total vibe that I am here for! This was so good!! I read this in one sitting.
I just reviewed The Only Purple House in Town by Ann Aguirre. #NetGalley
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I really enjoyed this book! It’s the first book I’ve read in the “Fix-It Witches” series. It’s about trying to find out where you belong in the world and being different. I was rooting for Iris the entire time in hopes she’d find her true family and a place to call home.

Such a cute, cozy read! I think readers who especially love magical realism and found family will enjoy this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 stars. This was such a cute and whimsical found family story. Violet Gables really came to life in this!

Loved the continuation in this world. Iris was a delight to read along with her roommates. It needs to be a TV show.

3.5 stars

This was a fun feel good light hearted story. It hit all the right notes. Though I dont love romance, I dont feel like this book over did it. It was quite an enjoyable read.

"The Only Purple House in Town" by Ann Aguirre is a charming and whimsical romance novel that will warm your heart. The story follows the messy and chaotic Iris Collins, who unexpectedly inherits a house from her great aunt. Despite her failed attempts at turning the house into a bed and breakfast, she finds herself renting out rooms to a variety of lost souls. One of these lost souls is Eli Reese, a successful app designer who has never found a true sense of community.

As Eli becomes enchanted by the misfit boarders in the house, he also finds himself drawn to Iris. Aguirre weaves a magical tale of two people who have struggled to find their place in the world, and who find solace in each other's company. The addition of paranormal elements, such as witches, adds an extra layer of intrigue to the story.

Overall, "The Only Purple House in Town" is a delightful and heartwarming read that will leave you feeling good. Aguirre's writing is engaging and her characters are lovable and relatable. This book is perfect for fans of romance and fantasy who are looking for a lighthearted and enjoyable read.

Super cute and fun read! This one is excellent for those that love a friends to lovers trope with a serving of fantasy on the side. The author did a great job of incorporating a diverse array of characters and the book was very LGBTQ+ friendly. I highly recommend this one for anyone looking for a feel-good read that makes you fall a little in love with all of the characters.

Witches, vampires, and fae— oh my! The Only Purple House in Town follows Iris as she finds her way and finds a found family along the way. Iris opens her newly inherited home to roommates as a way to help her financial situation. You’ll love all the roommates and their relationships especially Iris and Eli.

I had a little trouble getting into the story, but once I got to around 30% I started getting more into it. My main other reason for only 3 stars is that I wish the reveal about Iris happened earlier in the book. Otherwise, I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, particularly Sally. I would recommend to anyone who wants a cozy type read with some elements of fantasy and romance!! Thank you for the ARC!

I went into this book without knowing it was a fantasy romance, which is definitely not my thing. It’s also book four in a series, but it can definitely stand alone. It has a cast of quirky and diverse characters, but the romance felt underdeveloped. It was pretty cheesy overall, but not unpleasant. I could see someone who likes fantasy romance enjoying it more than I did. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the the e-arc.

Serving up just the right proportion of magic and mayhem, Ann Aguirre’s THE ONLY PURPLE HOUSE IN TOWN is a light and lovely read.

Iris, Eli, Henry Dale, Sally, Mira and Rowan (and more) all start off as strangers. But circumstance, and Violet Gables, a sprawling old inherited house, brings them together. Despite challenges and oppressors (in the form of meddling neighbors, hateful relatives and even the occasional psychic vampire) they stand by one another. At its core, this is a story of found family — an ode to the people we choose, who choose us back.

THE ONLY PURPLE HOUSE IN TOWN is a whimsical, fictional renaissance that steals you away from the real world — inviting its readers to experience what life is like from the vantage point of extremely likable characters. And what’s better than that?

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.*

Oh my goodness. Iris and Eli were wildly sweet together as they worked on figuring out how to be be in a relationship. They went from being strangers (-ish) to sharing living space (of sorts) to getting a little smoldery when their other housemates weren't looking. They were just sweeeeeet.

But let's start at the beginning. Iris and Eli both felt a little out of step with those around them in different ways. Iris didn't really fit in with her family (yikes, to that, btw) and Eli was becoming mildly detached from human life (or whatever you want to call it) as time went on. His ties to his grandma and his businesses are keeping him grounded for now, but for all his success, he's as adrift as Iris.

Fortunately for the both of them, Iris's plan to rent out rooms in her big house draws them together. Well, them plus a few other lost souls who needed a place to land. Which turns out to be everything they collectively needed because the group as a whole work together VERY well. And let's face it, found family can be the BEST family sometimes.

An interfering (and annoying) neighbor, a house with a whole lot of character, a secret or two, a few quirky individuals, magic, minor mayhem caused by said magic, and two people who find each other at exactly the right time. *thumbs up*