Bewitched by L. Thalassa, published by Sourcebooks Bloom Books, is the first installment in this new series.
Memnon is a trapped entity who's waiting for his wife to find him for eons. His beautiful wife Roxilana, who has no clue what she really is.
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Selene is a witch who wants to attend a coven university. But time and time again she was denied for reasons unknown to her.
She has a , lets call it a medical condition, means using magic leads to losing her memory, how fitting for the powers that want to keep her away from her mate.:
The story ends in a majorcliffie and continues in the next installment.
A fast paced, complex read that had me in suspense from start til the last page, 4,5 stars.

I have genuinely no idea what to rate this because for the majority of the book I was thinking this is not how LT writes but apparently it is and we seem to have gone backwards. This feels like her earliest work and not her most recent which is why it kind of reads a lot like telling you rather than showing you and I have read almost everything LT has written and dare I say they are a lot better.

However, I enjoyed this book enough (writing aside) that I finished it in one sitting. The premise had potential and I liked the idea of this ex husband believing Selene to be his long lost wife. I did find him annoying though and I couldn’t get past what his intentions were with her. If he loved her surely he’d want her to be happy?
The smut scenes were good but I felt like the chemistry between our two characters was very forced upon and not organically grown - it was also very sexual which is fine but the book was pushing for this deeper connection and I didn’t see it anywhere.

I thought the magic system was pretty basic but easily understandable and there is clearly more to Selene’s magic that meets the eye. The world building was fine as it’s set in our world who know about supernaturals.

I would pick up book two just to give it a chance as I always enjoyed LT’s books.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn by the blurb it was compelling and intriguing! The first half was an easy read and a page turner for me, I was excited to follow where the story would go. But as I read further the plot just fell flat to me. Selene was denying Memnon so many times but couldn't stay away from him. I also was curious about Memnon, where was he staying at, where did he get his money from and what was he doing if he wasn't with Selene. I actually didn't know anything about Memnon until the end of the book.

I actually was looking forward to their character's relationship development. I thought Selene would warm up to Memnon and Memnon to do something or anything other than calling Selene "Empress" all the time alas, their relationship was based on threats and violences.

Maybe this book is not for me, but to all fantasy readers you might want to give it a try!

Thank you to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Bloom Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

I was given a free copy of Bewitched by Laura Thalassa in exchange for an honest review. The story centers around Selene Bowers, a witch who’s power comes at a high price. Every time a witch uses her magic she pays a cost, for Selene the use of magic removes her memories. I loved this aspect of the world building. How hard it would be to love something so much but hate what it does at the same time. Every time she would use her magic I would hold my breath wondering what she would forget.

Selene is desperate to get into a coven and in order to do this she must find her familiar and complete a quest. I love animal companions in stories and Selene is a lucky girl. While on her quest she is called to awaken Memnon, an ancient and powerful sorcerer, and soon learns some terrible secrets. This book was a wild ride and it gave me total whiplash. I have such mixed feelings about Memnon. One chapter I’m rooting for him and the next I hope she overpowers him and locks him up again. I feel like there are so many secrets yet to be discovered. Part of me was team Kane and the last few chapters make me wonder if there’s still a chance. This was such an enjoyable read I can’t wait for book two!

“Two thousand years, and I still burn for you.”

✅️Enemies, to something, to enemies again
✅️Witches
✅️Ancient magical asshole, recently awoken, who happens to be sexy and thinks the MC is his long-lost wife who cursed him, so he needs to get revenge but also bone her
✅️Tension and smutt 🌶🌶
✅️Sexy wolf shifters
✅️Some truly terrible rhyming spells 😂
✅️Sassy best friend
✅️Animal familiars (Laura, I know you'll like this one!)
✅️Past life coming to light
✅️Murder mystery

Selene is a witch, but unfortunately, whenever she uses her powers, it takes memories away. The coven she desperately wants to join is reluctant for this reason and sends her on a magical quest. Which is how she ends up in South America, accidentally awakening a being who has slumbered in a locked tomb for millennia.

And he claims to be her husband.

Selene was such a great character, and her strength of will was admirable, especially in regards to people considering her memory loss as a weakness or something to be fixed.
Memnon is an asshole. However, I'm so intrigued about the past and what caused him to be cursed in the first place.
For now, I am solidly #TeamKane because that guy is hot AND sweet, unlike Memnon, who is mercurial and infuriating.

I am hooked and cannot wait for the next book!

I first discovered Laura Thalassa after reading the Fallen World Series and have been obsessed with her writing ever since.

Selene is a beautiful natural born witch, powerful beyond existence yet but at what cost? Memories. So many gaps you don’t know what’s real or not. When she goes on a mission that will grant her entry of Henbane Coven she least's expects to unearth and free a man known as the evil Memnon the Cursed. Memnon was cursed for an eternity by his wife Roxilana, and he believes Selene is her. He vows vengeance will be swift.

Suddenly Selene’s life start’s falling apart, witches getting murdered and she is the prime suspect add on her memories are leaving her scared and conflicted about Memnon. Selene is starting to question maybe he isn’t her enemy after all.

Bewitched was a crafty, spellbinding and addictive fantasy romance. It was a fantastic start to this new series and I can’t wait to see what happens next! Truly magical.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this ARC!

Holy seven hells okay. This was my first Laura Thalassa book. Do I own some others by her? I do, I just haven’t gotten to them yet but you best believe that I’m be reading them soon now that I’ve read this.

So much angst and feelings and realness mixed in with the magic of it all. These characters have depth and feeling amongst and incredible world building story. There is so much to this that I’m still thinking of how to write this review so so many hours after finishing it.

I adored these characters. I adored the way you thought they were building and the emotions take complete left turns at times. I liked the focus on character flaws and how there’s ways to find strength in them. How ones flaw does not define them even if that’s all everyone else sees.

Incredible story, I cannot wait for the next ones in this series!

Another fantastic book from Laura!

The spice - amazing (per usual).

There is mystery as a string of which murders goes unsolved and it’s unclear who is responsible.

But she leaves us only wanting more (which is both a good thing and bad thing). Ugh idk what I’m going to do while I wait for the next one. I’m unwell. What a cliffhanger.

A must read for Laura fans and anyone who loves fantasy romance, enemies to lovers, and mystery!

This was a great read. I loved Memnon. He was such a wicked character. But I really love how Selene had overcome her memory loss and keep reaching for her goals. It's just like fate to intervene just when she got what she worked so hard for..
She set him free.. He set the trap and sprung it..
So good! Can't wait to read the next one.

Synopsis: a witch finally gets accepted into the Witches Coven she has been desperately trying to join. However, bad luck seems to follow her everywhere.

I don’t want to give away spoilers so I’ll be pretty vague. I liked Selene’s power because I haven’t read another one that deals with memories being lost post magic. it sounds terrible, except for those nights you wish you could forget 😂. I also am obsessed with her familiar. I want a NERO!!! in the want department, I would let Kane claim me anytime (yum!) and boy that Memnon is intense. The twists and turns in their story is brutal. And poor Selene is always stuck right in the middle of a disaster (which she can’t help but forget).
All in all, an entertaining read. Seriously, Kane if your out there please come find me 😍😍

Selene Bowers is a witch. A witch who, every time she does magic, loses some of her memories. Desperate to get into Henbane Coven to continue her magical studies, Selene drunkenly purchases a trip to South America to fulfill the requirements they gave her to join. After crash landing in the jungle, she discovers her familiar and is drawn to ruins by a voice that calls to only her. The voice belongs to a powerful sorcerer, Memnon, who thinks Selene is his wife.

After she accidentally releases him from his magical stasis, he follows her back to her life where bad things start to happen almost immediately. Witches are being murdered and Selene is a suspect. Between the murders and Memnon, Selene is trapped and struggling to find a way out.

Bewitched is absolutely a Laura Thalassa book. Morally grey MMC and FMC torn between what she sees and what she feels. It jumps right in and hits the ground running, keeping the pace throughout the whole story. As always there are wonderful side characters and a plot where we are kept guessing from one moment to the next. That ending was *chef’s kiss*! I can’t wait for the next book to see where it leads us. Knowing Laura’s work, I won’t even be able to guess the twists and turns ahead! If you enjoyed the Bargainer and Horsemen series, you definitely want to give this book a chance.

Bewitched is Thalassa newest series entering in the world of magic of witches, sorcerers, and werewolves.

Selene was born a witch but with a flaw. Every time she uses magic she loses a memory. It does not stop her from loving and using magic. Instead she meticulously records her life and makes reminders to live with the rebound effect. Her mission is is to belong in a witch community. One that has rejected her so many times. But Henbane Cove has decided to give her a chance.

Find a familiar
Go on a bomb ass quest.
And entry is hers

A quest in South America leads her astray.
She’s finds her familiar but what is worse she unleashes a powerful sorcerer from a tomb. One that thinks she’s his beloved and is sorely angry at her, echoing vengeance one day.

Witches are being murder.
Someone is framing her.
And memories and skills she didn’t know are subconsciously at her disposal.

Who is she?

Bewitched is an introductory to a series we have yet to dive into. The plot is fast and sometimes choppy but the message is clear.

Ancient past.
Fated love.
V. Spicy.
Curses.

What happen 2000 years ago?

Thalassa has us at the edges of our seats and I’m intrigued to want to know what happens next.

Thank you @netgalley and @read_bloom for this advance reader copy for an honest review!

4.4 ⭑
ehm omg?
A great start for the series, the characters are quite interesting because we got menmon the powerful sorcerer who‘s kind, villainous & kills everyone who dares to touch her and selene the interesting witch which loses some of her memories when she uses her magic. this was my second book by laura thalassa and definitely not my last one. i’m so excited for the rest of the series!

This book was a rough start for me, which is devastating since I absolutely adore Laure Thalassa! Something was just missing for me, in regards to the connection I felt with either character and the plot itself. I have read almost off of Laura Thalassa’s books that are published currently, and they are always a guaranteed great time! For anyone that loves fantasy romance I would recommend you still give this one a try!! The potential is there!

if a spell was needed for making it through this book, one of the ingredients would be:
"tears from a broken heart (using mine-hope they work)"

I badly wanted to like this. I mean I adore this author so of course it's a no brainer. . . Needless to say, I am disappointed. I can't even begin to tell you the emotions I've had throughout this book and the ending cliffhanger brought on something completely indescribable. Some of which is frustration, that is for sure.

I mean the blurb says it all. I don't have the capacity to summarize this book, so my recommendation is: just read the blurb.

The main characters are entirely unlikeable. Selene is naive, easily coerced, has very little self-respect, and not the most memorable character. Memnon is probably one of the worst MMC ever written. You know how in an enemies to lovers romance, when one of them does something bad, its usually redeemable? THAT IS NOT THE CASE HERE. I have read plenty enemies to lovers books and I feel like I've read it all. Different levels of groveling can usually do the trick in any one of them. Here? There is no going back from the things Memnon put Selene through. He is legitimately the definition of an asshole.

Meanwhile Selene:
"'What are you doing?' I demand. I should rip his hand away. The ugly truth, however, is that I like his touch, even after all the shit he just pulled."

Um excuse me. Have some backbone, Selene! I mean the girl legitimately suffers from Stockholm syndrome nearly within a few days. This book would've been better if it was slow burn because with the amount of repetitive spice and kissing it is entirely unreasonable for the timeline and relationship status. Also, Memnon is very - touch her you die. Which for anyone that loves a possessive MMC, that is entirely acceptable and wanted. But he nearly kills the most genuine character in the book, and I just wanted to scream. If the victim was unlikeable, okay, but he was probably the best character in the book other than Selene's best friend and familiar.

A lot happens and very fast, your kind of just left hanging on throughout the ride wondering which direction its headed. There are a few scene jumps and the timeline feels rushed.

The two MCs also spend 80% of the entire book in disagreement. Selene finally gains common sense around the 84% point, then immediately loses it after seeing Memnon in a tux. . . I'm once again speechless. The switch flip between Memnon's moods. Holy gods, I could not grasp it. Talk about whiplash. Selene will no doubt have to see a therapist by the end of this series. I would've liked to see a tougher FMC.

Also, most of the spice and kissing is non-consensual but still somehow consensual that I couldn't wrap my mind around it. The number of times I asked myself, how are we supposed to even like him at this point? And if you're looking for a love confession that sets your soul on fire. You're not getting that either.

The best parts of this book are:
1. Selene's familiar.
2. Selene's best friend because she is genuinely funny and a great friend.
3. Kane. The love interest that we all would've actually liked.

The cliffhanger was shocking only because I was so wrapped up in the events of the last chapter that I was sitting there in silent shock. All I could think was, why? This book gets two stars because I am just barely hooked enough to skim read the next one to see how any of this is resolved.

A very well written book. I found this a slow burn to start with, then its all drama. I found the internal monologue vey entertaining. I do love an anti-hero. With his almost obsessive love/hate for his queen. Filled with action, drama, a bit of very steamy sex. The only downside is the fact it’s a cliffhanger.

This was a pretty solid start to a promising series (I hope!). Considering the cliffhanger at the end I know we can expect at least one more. I'm eager to explore more of this lush witchy world!

I always dig some dark academia vibes and I feel like we got some of that here. I'm pretty sure we just scratched the surface of all that Henbane Coven has going on and I'm into it.

LOVE the addition of familiars. Nero is a hero and must outlive us all! I love that while he is definitely team Selene he is a panther with big cat energy.

Selene and Memnon are great leads. There's a lot of mystery between them along with loads of heat and I am a suckered for the push-and-pull enemies to lovers flippity-flop.

Selene has an immaturity/innocence about her and I think that plays well with the memory loss that accompanies the use of her powers. I love the way Selene looks at this as a part of what makes her who she is and adjusts accordingly as much as she can. Although I believe Selene's lost chunks of memories was done well, I do wish we would have got to see more layers to her. We see at the beginning how dedicated she was to get into Henbane Coven but we don't really get to find out why. It seemed such a big thing for her and I would have liked to understand better what the driving force behind that was. I'm hoping as the story continues her past and more about her will come into play a lot more.

Memnon was SPICY and FRUSTRATING and MYSTERIOUS af. I really felt in-line with Selene, there's so much about him that draws you in but man you definitely want to fight his face at times. The arrogance alone. But GD if he didn't back it up every time. I think that made me more upset at times! I love a good anti-hero/morally grey character and right now I think he falls into that category. There's still a lot of mystery around him even after the end though. I'm really looking forward to knowing which side of the fence I land on with him. I can't help but root for these crazy kids (or ancient beings) figure it out and make it work. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens next!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book for an honest review.

… Yes. This book is what I’m talking about. Laura Thalassa understood the assignment.

Picture this:

You are a beautiful, talented witch in your early twenties. You can do incredible magic, but it comes at the cost of your memories, so you have uncountable gaps in your brain and can never fully trust yourself.

You really want to join a coven, so, at their recommendation, you consider going on a trip so you can be a part of a «quest» in the wilderness. You fall asleep thinking about it, and, when you wake up the next day, you have inexplicably booked a trip to Galapagos.

On your way there, your plane is invaded by the voice of a man which only you can hear. The voice calls you an Empress, demands that you come to him and starts pulling the plane down.

You use an incredible amount of magic to safely land the plane, which means that, when you wake up after hitting your head, you have no memory of doing so.

The voice continues to call you, so you and your recently acquired familiar, a panther named Nero – no, I will not be taking questions at this time – go after it. You end up at an old mausoleum in the middle of the woods, where you find a casket.

Inside the casket, you find the body of a man who looks like he is just sleeping, but cannot wake up without magic.

So you wake him up.

Turns out, he is Memnon, a warrior king who was apparently cursed into eternal sleep by his wife, Roxilana, who he believes to be you. So, while he loves you more than anything, he will also get his revenge. One way or the other.

This is the story of Selene Bowers, the main character of Bewitched. Are you sold yet?! Because if you’re not, I feel like you might need a hug.

This book was very dark, sexy and action-packed, while also having that trademark Laura Thalassa snark and humor. As all of her main female characters, Selene was incredibly strong, confident and sure of herself. As all of her main male characters, Memnon was obstinate, manipulative and completely gone for her (even though he did also hate her).

The plot had so many moving parts, and, just when I felt like I had my bearings and I knew where this was going, the ending completely threw me off. I was so surprised and it made me so much more excited for the next book in the series.

This was very much my id book and I can’t wait to see what else this author has up her sleeve!

such a good book. i hate books ending in cliff hangers especially when there is no indication when the second book will come but it was worth the read. i enjoyed these characters even if on a darker side of romance.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC of Bewitched in exchange for an honest review.

Frankly speaking, this was very underwhelming and terrible. It felt less like a whole book and more like a collection of cliches.

There wasn't any plot at all. The description of the book is all the plot it actually has. There was no world-building and I was fairly confused for the most part. Also, the supporting charters were hardly there and had no personality.

As for the lovely leads, they were, well, there. They didn't do anything and remained very passive.

Selene was okay, I guess. She was really naive and stupid. All she wanted was Memnon. All her thoughts were about Memnon.

As for Memnon, I hated him. All he ever said was - Empress. This word was repeated so many bloody times, it gave me a headache. He spent the book controlling and gaslighting Selene.

The ending made me very angry and I wanted to slap some sense into Selene. She needs to stay away from Memnon.