In book 2 of A Cupcake Coven Romance, Bailey is all set to be married soon. When the woman who gave her up for adoption shows up, everything is turned upside down. Her mother, a witch, has brought someone back from the past and wants a place in Bailey's life, especially as Bailey shows signs of being a witch too. Add on that there are things happening that can't be explained, Bailey's adoptive mother is starting to date and her newfound cousins want her to join their coven, Bailey just can't find time in the day to do everything.
Opinion
I went into this book not realizing it was part of a series, and actually didn't know until I went to write the review. It absolutely can be read as a stand alone. However, if the first is as exciting as this one, surely it is worth the read.
What amazed me was the number of characters that Bass was able to clearly define throughout the book. I have a tendency to highlight character names the first time they appear so that I can keep track of who is who. I honestly did a double take on the number of characters I had highlighted. I will have to say that my favorite character was Django, Bailey's pet bird. He was a hoot.
Followers of my reviews will know that I love witch books. This book offered so many ideas combined in one that I was fascinated. I loved the time travel paradox that came about during the bachlorette party. Finding out that Bailey is a witch fulfilled some childhood fantasies of mine as well. (Imagine being ten and being able to hex your siblings for their annoying ways!)
Overall, this book was a fun time to be had while reading. Many thanks to Net Galley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

If you are into cozy witchy contemporary paranormal/fantasy, this book would be right up your alley.

If you're looking for a story about how a 30-something who should be dealing with getting ready for her wedding-which is three weeks away-but instead has to deal with the aftermath of meeting her birth mom and therefore finding out she's the daughter of two powerful witches, and everything that comes along with that... This is the book for you.

My biggest problem with this book is that it is categorized as romance and PNR, when in reality, the romance is a very minot subplot, that in my opinion isn't executed very well. So don't go in expecting a romance novel, or you'll be disappointed.

Let's start of the review with what I liked, though. My favorite part of both books in this series are the snarky familiars. Griz was my favorite part of book 1; Django's replies were the only times I laughed out loud while reading this book.

(Bailey) "I'm not a witch."
(Django, after having snarkily asked for some fruit added to his dinner) "Fine. You do you. I'll just mind my own business over here and eat my tasteless parrot pellets."

Apart from that, I also liked the story overall. It kept moving and it was nice to see Bailey come to terms with this new crucial information about her life. The writing is also good, which makes for a smooth read.

**SPOILERS ahead, although it does contain a CONTENT WARNING of cheating**

Unfortunately though, like I said, my biggest problem with this book is that it is categorized as romance and PNR, when in reality, the romance aspect is a very minor subplot that is sudden, rushed and based on cheating. Although if we have to believe Bailey...

"I haven't cheated on you with him, except for a couple of kisses."

Right, sorry sorry, I forgot kisses don't *count* as cheating, because what's the big deal, right? *agressive eyeroll*

I started struggling with the book the moment Bailey started to suddenly get heat flashes toward Seton and I sniffed the rushed romance subplot coming along. Add to that the cheating aspect... Well, I dragged myself through those last 40%. Took me about a week to read those pages. Am I glad I did? Kind of, but only because reading Tannith's dramatic "HELLO? I've been a poltergeist for the past six months." made me chuckle. Other than that, there wasn't really anything special about it.

It's not a bad book, if you overlook the cheating aspect of it, but it's misleading to categorize it as PNR when the romance subplot gets barely any attention which therefore gives it a rushed and instalove feel to it.

**I received an ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own**

Bailey (or Izzy) is adopted and she is also a witch, but she doesn't know that yet. It all starts with her wedding to the heir to the Haverman dynasty. However, with two weeks to go she still hasn't found her dress. So, in desperation she turns to a lady she met in the bridal boutique who promises Bailey the dress of her dreams. Strange, this lady, Esme, looks a lot like Bailey and lives in Zenobia. When Seton Atterbury jumps in her car when Bailey is pulling away from Esme's house and tells her that Esme and her niece Gwen are witches, Bailey must decide what is important in this life. The story gets even more crazy with biological fathers who are time traveling witches, witches who are out to destroy the whole family, and a group of biological relatives who will drop everything to help Bailey.

This was a story full of twists and turns, but I felt like I could never really get into any of the sub-plot. Truthfully, I felt sorry for both Bailey's fiancé and Seton whose stories were never really completed. It was a fun read but just not my thing. I did love the found family aspect and Bailey finding her biological family. It gave me hope that Bailey would no longer be alone and that the backstory of her adopted mother wouldn't break her.

Big thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Books and Elizabeth Bass for this early release copy.

Whoops, I didn’t realize this was a series and I missed book #1. That being said, while the insanity level is high, I don’t think I missed much in backstory so was able to dive in here.

Bailey is engaged to be married but has run into a bit of bad luck. She’s saddled with reluctant wedding party participants, her soon to be husband’s ex returning in time for the wedding, and trouble finding a wedding dress. When Esme turns up offering to solve her wedding dress problems it seems to be magic. And it is. Magic is real here and it turns out that Bailey is a witch! Trying to hide this from her friends, family, and fiancé proves to be more than she can handle, especially when she is also responsible for Seton.

Seton turns up in her car after a magical run-in, having been relocated across time into present day. It is never a good sign when you find yourself connecting more with a man out of time than your intended husband. Things go very wrong before they can go right here, but the mayhem all ends up worth it for all involved. A nice HEA to end this magical ride is exactly what this witch needed.

Such a fun read. My first by this author! The Witch Hitch by Elizabeth Bass was a magical fun story. I enjoyed the characters, loved them all actually. Such a fun story. I can't wait to read more!

It’s book review time! This month, in a panic since the other book I’d chosen moved up a week, I decided on something that seemed relatively quick and cute. The Witch Hitch by Elizabeth Bass was released on the 25th by Kensington Books. I didn’t realize it was the second in a series until I was halfway through, so remember that I’m coming at it without having read the first book. Anyway, as usual, I must thank Kensington Books and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do it!

The Witch Hitch follows Bailey Tomlin as she prepares for her upcoming wedding. All she has to do is pick a dress. Easy, right? Not so much. And the wedding preparations are only complicated even more when her birth mother shows up. What a witch! Throw in a blast from the past (1930 to be exact), a pompous parrot, and a wicked witch of the aether and the wedding jitters just explode.

Like I said, I went into this not knowing it was a sequel. It reads just fine on its own. The only reason I discovered it was a sequel was because I glanced at the “also by…” section. I’m not even sure if the events of the first book come up here or if it’s one of those series that are only connected by the setting. The whole wicked witch in the aether thing could’ve come from book one, but it’s explained in a way so it doesn’t really matter if you’ve read book one or not.

As far as the plot goes, it was convoluted. There’s a wedding. The groom’s ex is still in the picture and she’s insane. The bride’s birth mother shows up and informs the bride that that entire side of the family are witches. A new love interest is pulled from 1930. An evil witch with no body is causing mayhem. And that’s just part of the drama. There’s too much going on and nothing really has room to breathe in this book. It’s very clunky. The romance part feels forced and unnatural. All of the relationships feel that way, actually. With everything going on, there isn’t time for feelings to build naturally in the story, so instead of a growing attraction to Seton (or warming to Esme and the cousins, or gradual detachment from Wes, etc.), we get random bounces of emotion that make no sense.

The characters are all cute, if somewhat flat. None of them do anything surprising or out of the box. They’re all very much the cookie cutter stereotypes they’re meant. There’s nothing wrong with that. It makes for a quick and cute read, but it also means that I’m not particularly invested in what happens to them. I couldn’t even remember most of their names while I was writing this if I’m being honest. But all the expected roles were there, so it wasn’t a bad story.

There wasn’t anything noteworthy about the writing. It was cute and quick despite the plot being clunky. Not a bad little read in the end.

Ultimately, I enjoyed The Witch Hitch for what it was, but have zero desire to search for other books in the series. It’s just not my cup of tea.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. If you like cheesy romances and don’t mind a cluttered plot, check it out. But you’re not missing much if you skip it.

Okay, so, hear me out. I’m not much of a romantic comedy girl, especially when it comes to rom com novels with little to no spice. This book and its predecessor, however? I love these books. I adore them. They are cute as perfectly frosted cupcakes, sweet as sugar, and as funny as a food fight conducted with the assistance of magic. These books are like an explosion of colored sugar crystals, edible glitter, powdered sugar, flour, and clouds of candy floss/cotton candy have all exploded into a romantic, screwball mess. I like to think of these books as Bewitched, but make it screwball comedy. Or, My Girl Friday, but make it magical. Cary Grant would make a great straight man to our protagonist, Bailey, who just so happens to meet her biological mother and discover she’s descended from esteemed witch stock with less than a month to go before she’s supposed to be married to a very uptight and upper-crust family. At the same time she comes across her well-meaning but wacky biological mother she also manages to come into contact with Seton Atterbury, a man whom her extremely powerful witch mother impulsively brought into the future from 1930 when she saw him plummeting to the ground out of the window of a high-rise building in Manhattan.

Poor Bailey. All she thought she had on her plate were overbearing in-laws and stressing out about finding the right dress for the wedding. You make plans, the universe laughs, and it laughs hard.

I like to think the subtitle of this book should be: “A story about collateral damage”. There’s just so much collateral damage and schadenfreude coming from every direction, all angles, and to and fro so many people in this book. Heck, there’s even a house in this book that’s nicknamed the “Schadenfreude House” by one of the characters. It seems that no matter where you turn in this book, someone is getting hurt or affected in a negative way by someone else. Sometimes it has hilarious results, sometimes it has sweet results, sometimes it has dangerous results, sometimes it has downright hurtful results, and sometimes it’s a step away from death. I love it though, because it certainly keeps you on your toes.

The first book in this series, A Letter to Three Witches, was superior only be sheer fact that the mischief was a little more funny and we got to see and feel the physical presence of the series’ main antagonist, Tannith, but that doesn’t mean this book doesn’t have it’s own strengths. Esme’s continued soft spots for illegal witchcraft deeds done in the name of a soft spot in her heart continues to delight, and Bailey’s thespian parrot is hilarious. The fact that Tannith only grew in power after the events of book one certainly was interesting. And the sweet, soft romance inside this book is the kind of stuff that melts my cynical, black heart.

I can’t believe so many people are sleeping on this series. Give it a chance. Seriously. It’s cuteness personified.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Book Series/Contemporary Romance/Cozy Mystery/Found Family/Paranormal Fantasy/Paranormal Romance/Rom Com

The Witch Hitch is an enchanting paranormal romantic comedy that is brimming with witty banter, guaranteed to make you burst into laughter. This captivating tale is a delightful blend of witchcraft, misadventures, and a captivating cast of magical characters. Brace yourself for a whirlwind of non-stop antics from these three extraordinary witches and a few others, that will leave you in stitches.

I liked this book for the coziness in a small college town and the paranormal aspect. I'm a sucker for witches. The romance between Seton and Bailey needed some work to me though; I just didn't buy their chemistry.

3.3 Stars
One Liner: Okayish; got its moments

Bailey Tomlin’s life feels worse than a rollercoaster ride. She has to deal with her wedding preparations, her fiancé and his rich family, her adopted mother, the entry of her birth mother, a handsome stranger from 1930, and her newly active witchy magic. Thrown in a talking parrot to up the stakes.
Phew! Bailey’s birth mother, Esme, is a witch and tells her that she, too, has powerful magic in her blood. Bailey knows she has to keep it a secret from her in-laws. However, that’s not the only thing she has to hide. Seton Atterbury from 1930 has entered the present time, no thanks to one of Esme’s time travels. Bailey wants to help him find a way back, but things get complicated too soon. Where will this lead to – disaster or HEA?
The story comes from Bailey’s first-person POV.

My Thoughts:
After enjoying the first book in the series, I was excited to find book #2, though I couldn’t exactly determine who the characters are. Luckily, Gwen and Griz make an entry pretty soon, and then I remembered that Esme is their scary aunt. Bailey is Esme’s daughter with Odin, the one she had to give up for adoption.
Also, this book works well as a standalone. Reading book one is not necessary as there’s enough info to understand the relationships between the recurring characters. Bailey’s story is quite independent and has no direct mention in the previous book (as far as I know).
The premise promises fun, with a good dose of drama and magic (romance, too, of course). While the book is entertaining in bits and pieces, it doesn’t live up to its potential on the whole. The issue is with the character development, especially of our lead pair. Bailey just couldn’t make me feel for her.
Django, Bailey’s parrot, is fun. His sassy comments and antics are good to read. The magic elements are also well-done and align with the theme. This magic is far from perfect. It’s messy and chaotic as the characters (except Esme) haven’t had magic for a long time. Gwen and the others are better now but not great.
Wes, Madeline, Olivia, et al. are pretty much one-dimensional. There isn’t much to connect with them or even know them. I did feel a little bad for Wes, but with Mad in the picture, it’s hard to empathize with him fully. Healthy boundaries are essential in every relationship.
Since the story comes from Bailey’s perspective, there isn’t enough to see others as anything more than cardboard cutouts. Furthermore, we pretty much know what will happen at the end. It’s evident from the premise (if you are a reader of this genre). Of course, I’d have liked it if Bailey did the right thing instead of justifying certain things.
Unfortunately, the romance doesn’t click. With so many threads, there isn’t time for any organic growth. The whole thing feels rushed and chaotic (just like the rest of the book). As much as enjoy light reads, I do like some depth to do justice to the plot. Give them more time with each other, at least!
Despite not finding it great, I still enjoyed the book and liked refreshing my memory about the core subplot. Looking forward to seeing where it goes next and how the family can clear their name. Tannith gets her due yet again, though she’ll be back, intent on vengeance.

To summarize, The Witch Hitch is a lighthearted witchy romcom with some interesting moments. It deals with a few themes like family, relationships, love, etc., but doesn’t have enough to provide a much-rounded story.
Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Thank you to the author Elizabeth Bass, publishers Kensington Books, and TLC Book Tours, for an advance paperback copy of THE WITCH HITCH. Thank you also to NetGalley for an accomanying widget. All views are mine.

When you read as much romance as I do, you ask yourself when you're reading, does the author use the tropes in a fresh way? In a way I just didn't really see coming? In this case, the answer is certainly, "YES," and I related to this book on more than one level! I don't want to give too much away here, so I'll keep it as secret as I can!

To start with, I love the "Hate His Family" trope in romedy, and we get a lot of that in this. I really feel for the fmc dealing with her fiance Wes's overbearing family. I mean-- his parents bought them a haunted castle for their wedding gift. Besides being annoying, this is like too cool for real, and I would just never sleep again such a castle. I kid, but I get it! Once my family got their hands on my wedding, it just wasn't mine any more! I said I wanted a vintage lace hippy dress. Hey it was the 2000s! So my mom's drags me to her best friend's dusty old boutique-- she only keeps one lamp lit in this place-- and Mom buys me the most expensive dress there. Not a hippie dress. One of my sisters made my wedding shoes, purple rhinestone pumps. They don't match the periwinkle dress, but at least they compliment it. I had wanted to go barefoot. My point, you see, is I love stories in which the wedding is never the bride's. 

I love when a romance protagonist-- heck any protagonist!-- makes a big decision that is a little rebellious, and at least culturally unpopular. Especially when this action is the climax of the story and is properly written, it makes for such a good story! I love me a little antihero❤️‍🔥

So, this was something a little wild and unexpected, even despite the witch on the cover. Don't ask me how that happened!


Rating: 👗👗👗👗 / 5 dresses she didn't choose
Recommend? For sure!
Finished: 7.22.23
Format: Gifted Paperback and advanced digital copy, NetGalley 

Read this if you like:
⏳️ Time travel
✨️ Magic
🧙‍♂️ Secret societies
💒 Weddings
👰‍♂️ Wedding dresses
👻 Haunted castles

The Witch Hitch is book #2 in the Cupcake Coven Romance series by Elizabeth Bass.

Bailey is engaged and needs to find a wedding dress. Things start going sideways when she encounters her birth mother.

This was an entertaining story. I like how Bailey changed over the course of the story. I guessed how it would end early on, but the journey getting there was quite a ride. I hope we get to see more of Bailey and Esme.

Thank you to the author, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun. fast-paced and kept me reading. I enjoyed this book and will look for other books by this author.

It was clear from the beginning of the book that, although Wes is a wonderful man, Bailey’s feelings for him aren’t deep enough for a lifetime commitment. She is putting off wedding decisions, forgetting dinner engagements, and procrastinating on packing up her apartment; with only three weeks until the wedding, pressure is mounting. Meeting the strange red haired woman at the Bridal salon who promises Bailey the dress of her dreams is the catalyst for events that spiral out of Bailey’s control.

The last thing Bailey expects in the weeks before her wedding is to meet her birth mother, discover that she has extended family, that they are all witches, and if that isn’t enough to deal with, there is an evil poltergeist/witch seeking revenge on their entire family. As an adoptive mother, I particularly appreciated the adoption positive tone in this book, especially Bailey’s insistence that her adoptive parents are her “real parents”, while also acknowledging the loving sacrifice that Esme made for the protection and well being of her daughter.

I’m not typically a fan of time travel elements, but in this case it worked for me. Seton is such a gentleman and it was fun to see his reactions to modern technology and other differences in the modern world. Bailey and Seton quickly developed a friendship that slid into romance, and while there is no cheating precisely, there are two kisses.

This sweet witchy romcom was an entertaining change of pace and I loved that Bailey isn’t the only one who gets her HEA.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for the advance digital copy. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Bailey is not a witch. Just ask her and she will tell you. But here’s the thing. She has witch blood in her. She wouldn’t know that because she is adopted. But her birth mother is about to spring it on her. Come to think of it, strange things have been happening around her. Like her pet parrot quoting Shakespeare.

Right before she is about to get married, Bailey learns of her heritage. This is, of course, terrible timing. Her fiancé and the extremely pushy, entitled, uptight in-laws are not going to handle this well. (Do I need to expand on the in-laws?)

As Bailey discovers more of her talent and her magical cousins, mayhem is a definite. And when part of the discovery includes a time-traveling, saxophone playing, handsome man from 1930, pandemonium is also a probability.

Reading this book, it didn’t take long for me to remember why I so enjoyed A Letter to Three Witches (book 1 in this series). The Witch Hitch is zany, twisty, funny, and a little romantic, pushing the happy button over and over again.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I wasn't a fan of the Letter to Three Witches but i enjoyed this one and had fun. I found the characters more developed and the plot flows and kept me hooked.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

In the second book of the Cupcake Coven Romance Series, Bailey Tomlin is suffering from a severe case of pre-wedding jitters. The closer it gets to her wedding to Wes Haverman, the more reservations she has. She doesn't feel comfortable with his uber-wealthy family and their lifestyle, Wes seems to have lost his sense of humor since they got engaged and is serious and judgmental all of the time, Wes's ex-girlfriend (who still isn't over him) is back in town and inserting herself in he wedding to get close to Wes, and Bailey is not having any luck finding the right wedding dress. Then, on top of everything, Bailey discovers her birth mom faked her name on the birth certificate, and now Esme is back and wanting to get to know Bailey. Oh, and there is one other issue.... Esme is a powerful witch, and Bailey is a witch as well. Add in Seton Adderbury, a man Esme accidentally brough back from 1929, who Bailey is starting to have feelings for, and a vengeful witch cousin, a parrot that will not shut up, and worrying about her mom dating again, and it is no wonder Bailey's nerves are shot, and her powers are all glitchy.

I love this series. This book was so much fun. It was so much fun seeing Bailey discover she was a witch, and learning how to use her powers. Her parrot, Django, was hilarious - he went from not speaking at all, to an all night at-the-top-of-his-voice sing-fest. I loved seeing the relationship between Bailey and Seton develop - first as a friendship, and then as it turned into something more. Wes's ex was a piece of work, and you could tell from the moment she entered the story, that she was trouble. She was definitely a character you love to hate. If you are a fan of fantasy fiction, or witch-y romances then you will definitely want to check this out. You wouldn't necessarily have to have read the first book in the series in order to enjoy this one, as the characters repeated from the first book, but it gave enough of a mention of each person's background that you wouldn't feel lost. Trust me though, they are both excellent, and I recommend them both. Myself.... I am already hoping there is a book three on the horizon,

This was a good read, though not entirely what I was expecting. Bailey and Seton didn’t seem to have much of a romantic connection and with his 1930s vernacular, I found it hard to envision him as a romantic lead. There wasn’t much of a connection between Bailey and her fiancée Wes, either. I loved the parrot and found Esme, Bailey’s birth mother also very amusing. Although this is the second book in the series, I didn’t feel lost by jumping in with book 2. I thought the witch theme, with all of Wes’ ex girlfriend’s magical mishaps, was very entertaining.

**Thank you Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.**

The premise of this story sounded whimsical, funny, and lighthearted. Throw in some magical realism and the misadventures of a woman who finds out she's related and is a witch. What's not to love?

The story begins with our main Bailey, who is planning her wedding to her fiance Wes, but while she should be happy and excited, she's just not loving it. She has pre-wedding jitters, and being unable to find the perfect dress, mixed with Wes's family pressure, has her looking for an escape.

In comes her talking parrot, whom apparently only she can hear, and her envisioning a strange older woman who reminds her of herself, she soon realises that something is definitely odd.

Turns out this strange woman is her long-lost birth mother, who just so happens to be a witch.

Adventure awaits, and soon Bailey is swept up in her birth mother's magical tirades, that Setton ends up in her car, a man from the 1930s and has no idea how to live in the modern world.

I wanted to like this story, and from what we know of it going in, it seemed light-hearted and funny, but sadly the characters fell flat for me. It felt as though they were written to be written, not much story progression came through, and a lot of the information we did get was repeated numerous times, even on the same page.
The main reason for my low rating was that the main character cheated, and didn't seem to care too much that she did. Yes, she felt bad, but it still happened and they didn't have any repercussions from it happening.

I also didn't realise that this was the second book in a series. I feel some people will get a kick out of this book, but sadly it fell flat for me.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the eARC. I am voluntarily revieiwng this book. This is the second in a series, but reads well as a stand alone. I found this to be a somewhat cute story, but not a true romance. This seems to be more of a self discovery story for Bailey-as she finds out she is from a witch family. I couldn't really relate to Bailey at all, as she seems to allow people to intimidate her. Wes her fiancee doesn't really listen to her, in fact they are like oil and water. His family is pretty overwhelming. This is a little out there but sort of funny. 3 stars I did think the parrot was super amusing and fun,