This book starts off kind of weird. You have the witch who says she loses memories as a result of using her magic. She documents absolutely everything and fights hard for people to take her seriously. I say it starts off weird because it kind of tosses you into her trying to get into a school then heading off on a witch’s quest.

That quest leads her to an entombed man and she just feels it in her soul that she needs to release him. While she questions it, she also just does it.

Memnon the Cursed has been released and instead of dealing with accusations he throws her way she just runs and hopes her problems go away. But that problem follows her right home!

He spends day and night trying to convince her of who she is and when she thinks she makes headway, it backfires.

She feels this connection to this man but with her memories being taken she just doesn’t trust it or herself around him.

The beginning of the hook was slow for me but then it picked up nicely. It kept me on my toes, guessing what would happen, to knowing it would, to second guessing it. I love the writing style of this author and the world building. Highly recommend for that easy read with a little bit of spice. I’d rate it 2 peppers out of 5 with the potential of book 2 being a 5! At least I’m hoping.

I absolutely adore Laura Thalassa and everything she puts out. Her writing style is so easy to follow and super enjoyable. I'm a sucker for witchy vibes, so I was dying to read this as soon as I saw Laura was releasing it.

Some of my favorite things included Selene and her BFF; their scenes were always fun to read. Nero enough said. And who doesn't love a hot hunky bad boy that gives off touch her and you die vibes? Sign me up every day.

Laura packs a powerful punch with this story and all that happens to poor Selene with her terrible memory-eating magic. Now I sit and patiently wait for the second book.

Thank you NetGalley, and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, for providing an eARC of Bewitched. This review is being left voluntarily, and all opinions are my own.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the e-arc for an honest opinion.

Please take in mind it’s my opinion, and everyone is allowed to have one.

I love Laura’s book and this one was just as amazing as her other books. I loved the whole mystery vibe and the plot twists. I cant wait for the second book, am curious to see how that one will play out.

A Magical start to the series!

I am new to the world of Laura Thalassa but I have many of her books on my TBR and on my physical bookshelf, thanks to the Arcane Society. I will admit that it took me a little while to become engrossed in the story but it did happen and I cannot wait for the next book in the series to see what happens between Selene and Memnon.

At the beginning of the book we meet Selene, a young witch that is trying her hardest to get into Henbane Coven, a school for young witches. Upon her last interview with them she is once again denied entrance but given a chance if she can connect with her familiar (spirit animal) and her powers through a quest. Well, this quest takes her on a trip where she awakens Memnon the Cursed, who believes that she is his wife...the one that cursed him.

If you think that's bad, that's nothing compared to the madness happening at Henbane Coven. Selene cannot begin to fathom what she has gotten her self into, and you won't either because it's non-stop and you don't know who to trust or if you can trust anyone at all.

If you enjoy Paranormal Romances, Fantasy Romances, New Adult Romances, or Second Chance Romances I recommend this book to you.

Happy Reading!!!

“You are my weakness, Empress,” he confesses, his voice gentling.
“You always have been.”

⭐⭐⭐⭐|5
🌶️.5|5


heads up - this review may contain spoilers!!


GENRE: paranormal romance
TROPES&TAGS: witches // magic // lovers to enemies to lovers // SLOW burn // a little bit of of insta lust-love
POV: heroine
TW&SAFETY: death// blood // violence // more dark themes
CLIFFHANGER: YES
HEA: we'll see!


LAURA 👏 THALASSA 👏

Selene, our lil' witch and Memnon, our big bad sorcerer. YES. That man is so insane, but also just absolutely crazy about our girl. It's everything we could hope for. right? RIGHT!


Selene has amnesia! When she uses her magic it eats away her memories, but she makes due by writing in a millions notebooks to keep track of everything. She's resilient and WE LOVE TO SEE IT!

Memnon was cursed 2000 years ago and uses his magic to lure Selene to the tomb he's kept in to set him free. Turns out, he thinks Selene is his beloved, HIS QUEEN, Roxilana. Who.... also happened to be the one to curse him all those years ago-
HOT


This story definitely kept me engaged and interested, but I needed MORE. There were a lot of things that weren't explained as well as I would have liked! I also think that's because it's book one and there's way more to the story to come. I'm excited for what's to come for Selene and Menny!


some of my favorite moments-
“You are the only goddess I pray to,”
Memnon murmurs, pressing a kiss to my inner thigh.
“You’re a fucking vengeful one too.”
“Let me show you how I pray to you, my wrathful goddess.”


“Let me see your face,” he demands. I turn to look at him. “Why?” His eyes gaze at me intensely. “Because you are the only thing worth looking at, and my eyes have missed you.”


“Little witch,” he says against my lips, “you cannot look at me like that and expect me to keep my mouth to myself.”


“You made a mistake crossing me.” The words come from deep within me, my power swirling out of me as I speak. The look Memnon gives me blazes with satisfaction. “There’s my queen.”


“You have never needed magic, est amage,” he murmurs, his roughened voice drawing out goose bumps on my arms. “You are entirely bewitching even without it.”


He burned your notebooks— your memories. Do not climb the man like a tree. Make him pay.

_________

I am absolutely obsessed. Desperate and confused heroine, an alpha hero that hates that he loves her, and a giant game of cat and mouse. The only thing I didn't like about this book is that the next one isn't already out!

I wasn't a big fan of some of Laura Thalassa's other books but this sounded interesting so I was hoping that I could get into this based on the story line but it was a DNF for me.

"Friendship, belonging, education, and a life that revolves around magic. I've yearned for it for as long as I can remember."⠀
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Laura Thalassa, Bewitched⠀
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Bewitched by Laura Thalassa is a paranormal romance with a witchy MC, a cursed antagonist, and an amazing feline familiar. The story follows Selene, a young witch who has made it her mission to join Henbane Coven, but has to go on a magical quest to get acceptance. She travels to South America where so finds her familiar, Nero, a giant panther and also accidentally releases a cursed sorcerer, Memnon. The result is a book long cat and mouse game where Selene finds out that her lost memories hold more secrets than she ever realized.⠀
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I absolutely loved the settings in this story! The Henbane Coven was magical and mysterious and reminded me of Brakebills Academy from The Magicians. The Medusa imagery and sisterhood among the coven was all about solidarity and girl power and I ate it up! The description of the ruins where Memnon was held and the jungle that Selene discovered Nero in was also so lush and beautiful that I felt like I was there. ⠀
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Unfortunately I didn't feel very connected with the characters and they were a bit repetitive and flat in their dialogue. I'm also not a huge fan of enemies to lovers or revenge plots so I don't think I am the target Audience for this story. It did end on a cliffhanger so I imagine the author has much more in store for readers that may flesh out the character arcs and plot a bit more so that's something to look forward to.

Such a great read - great world building, I really loved the push and pull of Selene and Memnon's relationship. The ending has me desperately wanting the next book!

While I own but haven’t read the Bargainer series from the world this book is set in, I have read and mostly enjoyed Laura Thalassa’s Four Horsemen series and when I saw this book was about witches I needed to read it immediately.

The plot jumped off quicker than I was expecting but then slowed back down a bit. The way that Selene’s magic works was interesting but some of the slower parts kept me not entirely motivated to finish. When there was action, though, boy did I not want to put it down.

As far as the romance goes, Memnon is definitely territorial asshole incarnate and part of that was compelling and enjoyable but part of it was hard to get into. I wasn’t feeling the chemistry between them for quite a while. The enjoyment I got from reading this definitely had to do more with the witchy magic than the intended couple.

Memnon is not only abrasive but mentally abusive whenever he doesn’t get his way and it was definitely rubbing at me. And I hope the author meant it to.

While I will continue the series because I really like Selene and want to find out what happens to her, my investment doesn’t have anything to do with her relationship with Memnon.

3.5 Stars

Thank you for this ARC of Bewitched.

The plot was engaging, but I felt there was a lot left to be desired as far as consistency. There were a lot of gaps in information and unanswered questions. The concept had SO much potential to be great, but did not feel fully fleshed out.

Having read the bargainer series by thalassa .. sadly this book wasn’t something I could give justice to and I m disappointed by it.
Maybe I m comparing and being biased here but having read any other fellow reader’s reviews as well, I can honestly say this book hasn’t hit the Laura thalassa standards.
The plot was very flat…with our MMC disappeared almost 50% of the plot, although the background building and concept was great and you can see and experience it unfold… the overall narrative and storyline were not relatable enough.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to share my honest review in exchange of the ARC copy.

*screaming* Laura Thalassa has done it again; repeatedly ripped my heart out and put it back in again. This book is like the physical version on Memnon, I shouldn’t because it’ll only break my heart in the end but I can’t stop myself from wanting more. So beautifully written I felt an undeniable connection to Selene. I do desperately want more on Kane though!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Thalassa created a charming world that may not be overtly creative in terms of creatures (witches, werewolves, familiars, etc.), but was still fun to immerse myself in. My one big gripe with it was that I sometimes really liked the main character, Selene, but other times I found her to be a bit juvenile for what the tone of the book was going for. Her love interest is pretty toxic but still charming, which means I spent half the time enchanted by him and the other half disgusted. Overall, I had a good time and will be keeping an eye out for the next one. If you like spicy romantic fantasies with fated mates and that sort of thing, then you may enjoy this book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

While i really enjoyed yhe story and plot, it was extremely predictable but ends on a big cliffhanger so I'll still be reading book 2

After reading Pestilence and Rhapsodic I don’t think I even had any doubts that this book would be as amazing
Nero is my fav character. Him just been him it’s something else.
I loved how she would interact with him and let’s be honest a panter as a familiar is pretty cool.

I liked the ship but I was expecting more 😂

I have yet to find a story of Laura's that doesn't grab me from page one and not let me go until I finish. Bewitched is enchanting and a wild ride of a story. It has everything magic, wild familiars, a bad guy that you want to hate but also want to see redeemed. Its going to be a long wait for the next book, almost complete torture!!

What a weird story… I’m not quite sure how to say this but it was not what I was expecting. I’m so used to the villain being sexy but Memnon was confusing. The whole storyline was confusing.

We have a FMC that loses memory when she uses magic. We have a MMC that was cursed and put in the ground but he disappears fifty percent of the story with no idea of what he is doing or why. I have a lot of questions but no real answers.

Would I recommend or buy this…. No. I loved her Queen series, four horseman, and bargainer series but this was just not for me I suppose. Will I read the next part ? Probably just to see why this part was so bland and pray part two is more exciting. Two stars.

I received a complimentary copy to read and offer my opinion.

I was absolutely enthralled by this book. I felt so invested in Selene as she tried to gain access to the Henbane Academy. The characters were so well-written. I did not want to put this book down!

Selene is a witch who wants to attend Henbane and use magic more than anything. However, she kept being denied entry because her magic comes at a price - her memories...

At the suggestion of one of the admission panel, she embarks upon a quest. Little did she know how this was going to change her life...

This book was phenomenal and I recommend it highly!

It took me a long time to finish this book. I was totally in love with the bargainer series by Laura, but this book lacks that extra spark that I loved in her other books.

Honestly, it was very predictable. It was pretty obvious what the ending was going to be like since it was all they spoke about.

I put the book down for a good amount of days before I kinda had to force myself to get trough it.

Honestly, I did like it. There where some parts that really made the book better, but it also felt like there was too much information we didn’t need.