💜 BOOK REVIEW: The Only Purple House in Town 💜

SUMMARY:

Iris Collins is the odd man out—even in her own family. Her mother and sisters are super successful, but everything she tries seems to go sideways. An unexpected inheritance allows her to start over in a new house in a new town, where she quickly befriends a motley collective of offbeat individuals.

I enjoy everything Ann Aguirre puts out there. Her stories are maximally cozy and notably inclusive, and this is no exception. The Only Purple House in Town is a great small town, low-drama story to ease you into spooky season. Check it out if you like:

💜 Cozy supernatural romance
💜 Forced proximity
💜 He falls first
💜 Found family

⭐⭐⭐.5

This was a nice witchy read to start the fall spooky reads season! I expected this to be a fluffy, fun story and was quite surprised to find an extra layer of almost-stalkery behavior, which is what dropped my rating down to 3.5 stars. If the male main character was less of a stalker, I'd have rated this much higher. The cast was diverse with various ages, sexualities, and economic statuses. I thought the writer did a really good job portraying the family drama and the female main character's financial difficulties.

This was a very fun book, the main character is on a search to learn who they are and it is very rewarding. I enjoyed this read a lot.

While this is labeled as the 4th book in a series, I did not read the others and that did not alter my opinion or withhold any important info that could of contributed to the plot in any way! This can completely be read as a stand alone!
For starters, the cover of the book is a perfect depiction of what the inside consist of! This was such a cute and cozy fantasy with romantic elements. I felt that the romance was more of a side plot than anything, as it fell kind of flat for me.. but the found family aspects, friendship and bonds between the main characters are what made me enjoy this. I really love that a group of misfits came together and formed a little family, although they were different they complimented each characters personalities beautifully. The LGBTQIA+ rep was also wonderfully done! lastly, the sprinkling bits of paranormal were intriguing.
I did not enjoy were the bits of stalking that were mentioned, i found it weird and a gross. I also felt that the dialogue and plot was a bit choppy sometimes and it didn’t flow as smoothly as i would have liked. Overall, this was a cute and cozy little book and i did enjoy it for the most part.

While I only read the first book in the series before this (and didn't like it), I adored this one! First of all, the cover is amazing. I love a little supernatural romance and even better when the guy falls first. This could definitely be the perfect cozy read for fall.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Many diverse characters & heartwarming moments in this book, and such a cute romance! I absolutely loved this ☺️ The FMC was so chaotic and funny I really liked her, she’s still finding her place in the world. If you want a cute, cozy, witchy YA romance, with found family trope in it, and some paranormal genre added in, I highly recommend this!

The Only Purple House in Town is a sweet Paranormal romance with a fun story, lovable characters and a cozy fantasy vibe!

A thank you to NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, and of course, Ann Aguirre for providing me with an eARC of this novel. I am voluntarily leaving a review, all opinions are my own.

This is a hard review to write, I normally love everything I've read by Ann Aguirre, so this one was very difficult to come to terms with. I'm sure I would have loved this book a whole lot more if I wasn't just automatically sceeved by the fact that there's so little repercussion to someone being a stalker. That's a huge no-go for me, if I EVER found out someone I was interested had stalked me in any way, that would be an automatic no for me. Like cheating, that's just not something I'm ever okay with.

I enjoyed the premise of the book alright, but it felt like a huge thing to me and I couldn't really move past it mentally.

Another fun book from Ann Aguirre!

I fully admit when I started this book I didn't realize its set in the same universe as the Fix-it Witches series and so when those characters were mentioned, I was thrilled!

This is a lovely story of finding oneself, found family, magic, and, of course, love.

Irs is the 'odd one out' in her family, never quite fitting in and always disappointing her mother.
Eli, wealthy now as an adult, was and in some ways still is, an outcast.
Both are seeking community and they find it with each other and others after Iris inherits a house - the Purple House - and in order to afford it, rents out rooms, including one to Eli who actually doesn't need a room, but simply wants to be near Iris.

This is definitely a slow-burn love story, and there is great balance between the romance and the found family. I really loved how supportive the residents of the Purple House are with one another, the way they balance each other out. The Purple House becomes a place where those feeling a bit lost, and/or in need of a safe home, can rest easy, knowing they are welcomed for who they are.

The part that threw me for a loop a bit was the explanation for why Iris feels like (is?) the odd one out in her family. It definitely introduced a new element to the magical universe created by the author and it'll be interesting to see if there will be future books that dive into this.

All in all, a lovely read.

Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and the author for an eARC of the book. Thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

A cute and cozy story perfect for those who like to match their reading to the spooky season, but don’t like things too spooky. I love house renovation stories so I enjoyed the story of Violet Gables and bringing the house back to life. The cast of characters is quirky and super likeable for the most part.
My only real gripe is the deception element that weaves through the romance in the book - the “I’ll tell her next week” thing isn’t my favorite.
A huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A good addition to the series but not my favorite. I enjoyed the new cast of characters and the cozy vibes of the purple house, but wasn't sure how to feel about the stalker vibes of Eli. I definitely had mixed emotions about his and his relationship with Iris. Otherwise I love all the other house mates and their individual magic

Ann Aguirre has the capability to create magical realism read that are fun, spicy, and still cozy. While this newest book in the Fix It Witches series stands out with new supernatural characters, I still enjoyed the quirky found family vibes and unique blend of personalities living in the only purple house in town. The blooming relationship between Iris and Eli was endearing and charming. This book is a perfect way to kick off the upcoming fall season with cozy witchy rom-coms with heart and heat!

I can see this working for some people, but it didn't quite do it for me, and felt like the kind of story that appeals to me more as a concept (I still enjoyed the barest bones of the story!), but falls short in the execution.
The light-hearted and humorous tone didn't suit my taste (truthfully, I had expected something like THE VERY SECRET SOCIETY OF IRREGULAR WITHES, and this sort of paled in comparison), and it felt quirky for the sake of quirkiness without ever really hitting the emotional intended highs for me.
I also found the male love interest to be ................ a bit stalkerish and also a bit of a loser where he's meant to be whipped and endearing.
Overall, sadly not for me, but I think people who like their romances on the lighter side might enjoy this.
Round of applause for Carly Robins's audio narration, though.

Iris Collins is struggling. She doesn’t feel like she fits in with her family. She’s behind on her rent which is causing tension with her roommates. Nothing is going her way. So, when she inherits a house from a distant relative she sees it as the perfect chance to start over. Find new roommates and finally get her jewelry making shop started.

Eli Reese is incredibly successful, but he hasn’t always been. Even with all of that success, there is a part of him that still feels like the outcast he’s been in the past. When he see Iris, his childhood crush, he’s determined to help her and soon enough he ends up swept into everything.

At the time, I didn’t know this was part of a series. A series where I read the first book and really didn’t vibe with it. If I had known that from the start, I wouldn’t have picked this one up.

The setup for this one was pretty messy. Iris’ family is awful, a complete disaster and then it’s never brought up again. There was so much that went along with that I felt could have been brought up and it wasn’t. Instead it moved on to the theme of found family while also bringing up ‘real’ family which felt gross.

There were also moments when it was trying to be inclusive, but it felt so weird. It would come out of left field and felt forced or the author was trying too hard to include it and have discussions about it.

Each side character ended up getting their own arc. While I think it’s wonderful and I love to see side characters get developed, with the sheer amount of characters it quickly felt overwhelming for me.

Iris in general is truly a mess. She’s been struggling with money, so this house was going to be a way for her to earn money. Yet the decisions she makes don’t make any sense for that. It drives home that she’s poor with money, but then never seems to learn or help her. Not to mention the money issues seem to disappear. If you suspend belief here, that’s fine. With all the other issues that I had, I was unable to suspend belief.

I found Eli creepy. He was hinging on one interaction with Iris, that she doesn’t remember, and completely in love with her. He even admitted to stalking her and it wasn’t a vibe I could get behind.

The romance also didn’t do anything. Part of it could fully be that I didn’t like Eli. But, there felt like there wasn’t really any chemistry between them. Their relationship seemed to move quickly and didn’t give time for any possible chemistry to build before they were suddenly in a more domestic life.

Overall, this really wasn’t the book for me. If you’ve liked the other books in the series, definitely try this one and see what you think!

📖My Thoughts📖

I can’t love this book enough! It was one of the best rom-coms I’ve read this year! I love the characters and the whole dynamic between them all. I think my favorite part was the beautiful relationship they all developed in such a short period of time. It was so sweet and heartwarming. I would love to see this as a Hallmark movie. I had so much empathy for the characters. To see complete strangers that came to live together becoming more like a family and accepting one another, offering support and kindness, was so heartwarming. I really enjoyed this book. I couldn’t stop reading it!
Thank you Netgalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Ann Aguirre for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This beautiful purple book was my first „witchy" book for the coming season. It is set in the same town/ realm as the Fix-It Witches. This book does work as well as a standalone - Iris Collins and Eli Reese the MCs in this new book have both just recently moved to St. Claire.
The Fix-It Witches coven is mentioned and asked for help but ultimately this is more of a spin-off since neither Iris and Eli are witches - this is paranormal romance so they aren't human either but you'll have to read to find out.
This is a wonderful book of found family since Iris coverts the old purple Victorian house she inherits into a safe haven for all sorts of different people - ages, ideas, and all by letting rooms to earn a bit of money and renovating just bit by bit. I just so enjoyed seeing how all the people come together and offer each other support. In some wavs the romance between Eli and Iris felt secondary to Iris' journey to self-sufficiency and the building of a home where she and the other misfits who find her can be safe, home and appreciated. lenjoyed this book and now I want a new addition to this series since several characters basically offer themselves up!

Cosy Fantasy und ich werden einfach keine Freunde mehr in diesem Leben. Süßes Cover, nette Idee, aber für meinen Fantasygeschmack dann doch zu „low-stake“.

A cozy fantasy book with fixer upper vibes. This book is the fourth book in the fix it witches series but can be read as a standalone. I co-read this book with the audio version and I totally recommend it! The audio reader is perfect for jumping between the different characters and highlighted the funny moments.

We follow Iris who recently inherited a purple house with gingerbread trim. After inheriting the house, she filled the house with roomies and started to decorate. I loved the range of characters but it had a lot of characters so take notes as it’s hard to follow at times. But, I really enjoyed following Iris in finding roommates and finding herself.

The ending is sweet and had me hugging the book!!! I absolutely loved it and would recommend to anyone interested in cozy fantasy.

Thank you net galley, the publisher, and author for gifting me this ARC ✨

I expected a wholesome, heartwarming read, similar to The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, but unfortunately, this fell a little bit flat for me. It was a pleasant enough read, but I didn’t fully warm to the characters. My favorite part was the found family trope and the setting: a big Victorian house that becomes a home for all kinds of supernatural characters; I also like the fact that this book is really inclusive. I didn’t however really like the romance part of this novel: the MMC was a bit of a stalker, which I didn’t find cute or charming at all. All in all, there’s nothing wrong with the story but I didn’t find it particularly memorable. It’s part of a series and even though it can apparently read as a standalone, it maybe would have felt different if I had read the other books first?

This is book four in the Fix-It Witches series, but it feels more like a standalone or even the start of a new series. It's in the same universe but mostly unrelated.

Iris Collins moves to St. Clair, after inheriting a house from her aunt. She's been the black sheep of her magical family, and this fresh start is a good opportunity for her. Iris ends up accumulating a diverse group of roommates that help her in fixing up the dilapidated old Victorian house.

I adore a book about found family, and this one is magical, super cute, and a load of fun.
The roommates are a very unique cast of characters that end up loving and supporting each other.
There's also a romantic element to the story, and that too was sweet and enjoyable.

This was absolutely my favorite book in this series! I'm definitely hoping for more.

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