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,

A humorous and entertaining book that will take your mind off the mundane. Nothing but pure enjoyment after a hectic day at work. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital Arc. This review is my own opinion.

As her wedding is approaching, something odd is happening to Bailey. She soon learns that her birth mother, Esme, is an actual witch, which means that she also has which blood. So as she is trying to tie up all of the details for her wedding, she has to navigate her new witch family, keep an invisible enemy from casting a hex on the ceremony, and ditch her fiancé to get Seton back to the 1930's, where he's from, before he was conjured by Esme. But she doesn't really want him to go back...
This is book 2 in the Cupcake Coven Romance series, but the first one I read, and it can be read as a standalone. It's a quirky, cute, witchy, paranornal romance. It does not, however, focus a lot on the romance. The focus is much more on Bailey and her self-discovery, the fact that she discovers that she has a witch heritage, meaning that the romance was very second plan and fell kinda flat. Also, I felt like there was no connection between Bailey and Wes for a couple that we're about to get married. And if you don't like emotional cheating, I suggest you stay away from this one. Otherwise it was a cute, cozy read, and I loved the parrot!
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

3.5 Stars

The Witch Hitch is the second book in the A Cupcake Coven Romance series by author Elizabeth Bass. This is my first book by this author, and I was excited to jump in because I love all things witchy!

The book follows Bailey Tomlin as she prepares to marry in a few weeks, and things are not going as smoothly as she had hoped they would. For one, she can’t seem to find the perfect wedding dress. She also discovers she has the ability to talk to her parrot, Django! But that’s normal for a parrot, right?

This cozy and quirky witchy story falls a little flat in the romance department for me; I wish there were a bit more of it. I did enjoy the discovery of her witchy heritage and birth mom. I will be reading other books in the series.

Thank you to Kensington Books and Elizabeth Bass for gifting me an eARC of The Witch Hitch via NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The witch hitch was so much fun to read. The cupcake coven adventures. I need to read the rest of this series. What other crazy antics are coming? Elizabeth Bass is now on my favorite list of authors to read.

BOOK REVIEW 📚 of The Witch Hitch by Elizabeth Bass

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to the author, Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC for review 💗

“Bippity-boppity-flippin’-boo.”

In three weeks, Bailey Tomlin is going to marry Wes Haverman in a fancy society wedding funded by his wealthy parents. That is if Bailey doesn’t drop dead from exhaustion first, being overwhelmed by constant texts from her wedding planner, her pushy mother-in-law and her failing attempts to find the <b> perfect </b> wedding dress. And why are her fingers sparking?! Wedding jitters?
Bailey is shocked when her birth mother, Esme, previously unknown, introduces herself and offers to make her dream dress. After visiting Esme’s house, Bailey discovers Seton Atterbury, a man who wildly claims that Esme is a time travelling witch who kidnapped him from 1930’s New York in order to save his life. When Esme confirms Setons story, proven with a magical demonstration a La cinderellas fairy godmother, Bailey now has to contend with keeping this development from her fiancée and his conservative traditionalist family. Oh, and Bailey is also a witch, she can talk to animals now, and her Mum is online dating. Great! 😅
Compounded by Wes’s ex girlfriend worming her way into the Havermans good graces AND the wedding, poor Bailey grapples with her own burgeoning magic and its consequences.
But while helping Seton find his place in this new time, and realising their friendship might be something more, Bailey begins to wonder if marriage on Wes and the Havermans terms is really what this witch wants?

I am a huge fan of witch fiction, particularly when there is romance involved and I thoroughly enjoyed this light read that moved apace despite it being a bit convoluted plot-wise. Because this is Book 2 in a series, and without having read Book 1, some of the character conversations and plot lines didn’t make sense as a new reader. The multiple storylines didn’t detract from the main story arc thought and Bailey was clearly the main character throughout.
There was so much to like about this story, from Princess Bride references to sassy parrot, Django, and his Shakespearean advice. Elizabeth Bass wrote a fantastic representation with the ‘Havermonsters’ of an upper-crust-old-money Massachusetts family who holiday in Martha’s Vineyard & Newport
You can’t help but feel sorry for sweet Bailey, and I immediately developed a fondness for Seton and his historically charming ways.
Perfect for fans of Erin Sterling and Annabel Chase- cosy paranormal fantasy with a hint of romance- fantastic!

This review will be shared on NetGalley, Goodreads and may be included in reels on Instagram @tinydragonbooks.

The Witch Hitch by Elizabeth Bass is the second book in the A Cupcake Coven Romance series. It features Bailey Tomlin who is weeks away from marrying wealthy Wes Haverman. However, things are not going smoothly. Not only can’t she find the perfect wedding dress, but she has the sudden ability to communicate with her pet parrot, Django, and finds out she’s a witch. That is just the beginning of the adventure leading up to the wedding day.

Bailey loves music, is kind, deflects conflict, and likes security. However, I felt she let others take advantage of her and wouldn’t stand up for herself. Wes is responsible, steady, has expensive tastes, and doesn’t like conflict. However, he doesn’t really listen to Bailey and will support his family and friends before he will support her. The other characters are a mix of family, friends, and others who are well rounded with varying degrees of depth. Some of the supporting characters were in book one as well.

The story was straight-forward, but enjoyable. The conflict moved the story forward with a few twists. However, there was nothing in the world-building that let me feel like I was in and around Rochester, New York. The novel does shine a light on themes of family, friendship, secrets, romance, love, connections, doubts, relationships, and the questioning of the assumptions of your life.

Overall, this was a fun and entertaining novel that I advanced through effortlessly. If you need a delightful, light, and fun paranormal romantic comedy book to relax with, then this may be the book for you.

Kensington Books and Elizabeth Bass provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via Net Galley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for July 25 2023.

4.5 stars rounded up

We start with Bailey looking for the perfect wedding dress 3 weeks away from her wedding. A red haired mystery woman offers to make the wedding dress of her dreams. Bailey who's desperate for a dress decides to drive to the mystery woman's house. The mystery woman isn't there but Bailey finds a man in her car talking of 1930.

Time travel, witchcraft, romance and an evil cousin. A perfect read. I really loved this book. I could not put it down. I ignored my to-do list to read this. I'm hoping there's more in store for the cupcake coven.

It's light, it's a little silly, it might be just the thing to relax with. Bailey has lived her whole life not knowing that she might be a witch. Wait, she is a witch. And now right. before her wedding, she's got to navigate the new reality as well as her relationship with her mother Esme. Then there's Seton, who Esme conjured up from the past who could be the person she's meant to be with. I missed the first book but I don't think that made a difference- this was fine as a standalone. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read for a lazy day.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Kensington Books. And I'm voluntarily leaving a review—all opinions are my own.

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Romantasy, Paranormal Romance, Romcom, Cozy Fantasy, Women's Fiction
Heat Level: Pretty sweet—you might have some kissing but nothing beyond that is shown
Enjoyment Level: High ;) It's for pure escapism
Tropes: Fish out of water, Snobby rich people, Mean girls
Themes: Adult coming-of-age

When I started this story, I kept wondering who this woman was . . . she's "normal" though with a high sense of nerves about her upcoming wedding. There were no nefarious activities or whammies. UNTIL her parrot starts talking to her. Then the rollercoaster ride begins as she tries to deny her genetic heritage.

*"Whoops—who did that spell? And where did that come from?"* antics ensue.

It was so fun to see the witches from A LETTER TO THREE WITCHES through a regular person's POV. I think the first book felt a little bit fresher than the second, but I enjoyed this one too. I needed more of the talking cat. And more of the bad witch's mischief. The twist with the 1930s was my favorite part.

Things to expect in THE WITCH HITCH:

Tension with family (lots and lots of family)
Talking parrot
Dancing
Archived newspapers
Family secrets (several)
Spells
Running away (in more than one way)
HEA

I really enjoyed this book. It's a bit lighter on the romance because Bailey is figuring out who she is and how she'll live her life.

I recommend this book for all romcom and cozy fantasy readers.

Happy reading!

This was such a cute, quirky, witchy novel! While there is a romantic element, I do feel like this book centers more primarily around our main character, Bailey, navigating her new discovery of her witchy heritage. As a result, the romance did fall a little flat for me in this book and I would have loved to see more focus on Bailey and Seton's romance, as I feel like there was a lot of potential there to dive deeper into their romantic journey.

Overall, if you are into stories with somewhat cozy, witchy, romantic, and paranormal vibes, this book is for you. This was the first book in this series that I've read (it appears that they are stand alone stories within a series-if I'm not mistaken) and I will be absolutely seeking out the other books in the series to read too.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had the first book on my want to read list for ages before I got around to it but once I did, I finished it within a day or 2. This book was no different, although I was initially shocked that it followed a new character ( I'm not a big fan of series that don't have continuity), it quickly became clear that the worlds were going to collide. All the things Madeleine did made me cringe but I couldn't stop thinking to myself why anyone would want to marry someone who's ex is always around. Quite a few fun witchy time traveling twists. Loved the ending, hoping there will be more of this cozy cupcake coven to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kengsington books for the ARC

This book is a cozy little closed door witch romance. Bailey the FMC suddenly finds out she’s a witch 2 weeks before her wedding and chaos ensues. Magical mishaps, quirky family members, talking animals, an evil poltergeist, and overbearing in-laws being just a few. While I enjoyed the hijinks, and the love story, it did feel at times, little overdone and campy. Overall the story was a bit predictable, and felt overly complicated with multiple antagonistic items to overcome.
While the book was generally enjoyable, with a few very laughable situations, I’m not sure I’d pick up the companion novel

I was given an arc by netgalley. My opinions are my own.

Hilarious! We have a group of "witchy" readers and this is the perfect summer read for them. They will love it as much as I did!

This was a cute little PG romance that was a lot of fun! The main story focused less on the romantic subplot and more on Bailey discovering who she is and who she wants to be.

The story is told in a single POV with a large cast of supporting characters: some good, some evil, and some avian! It is the second in a series but can be read as a stand-alone.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Elizabeth Bass for a chance to read this quirky and charming story.

Read dates: June 24- June 26
Goodreads review posted: June 26
Instagram review posted: June 27

I love reading books about all things witch and I loved this. I really enjoyed the style of writing of the author and felt the story spring to life as I was enjoying jt

I read Bass's book last year; A Letter To 3 Witches and I highly enjoyed it. It had fun magic, it had mystery, it had intrigue and romance. This book; The Witch Hitch just had romance and the sexual chemistry didn't ring true for me. This book didn't really grip me like the first one did. Maybe it was the hero who came from the 1930s (and I'm not saying time-travel romance is dull), it's just that he was dull. The heroine didn't believe in magic for half the book and now in a few pages she does.
I think actually it was the characters that didn't grip me...at all. I didn't even finish the book since you really know romance always gets a happy ending.

From Kensington Books:
Enchanted hijinks meet wedding antics in this witty, lighthearted romantic comedy set in the sleepy college town of Zenobia, New York, where magic is very real. Now, a bride-to-be on a quest for the right wedding dress realizes it’s time to embrace her inner witch…

Lots of people get pre-wedding jitters, but Bailey Tomlin’s are a bit extreme. Paranoia . . . the sudden ability to communicate with her pet parrot . . . something odd is definitely happening. And while Bailey searches for the perfect dress, she discovers the unexpected reason why: her birth mother, Esme, is an actual witch, part of a magical clan in the neighboring town of Zenobia, New York. Esme insists that Bailey, too, has witch blood in her veins. That’s not going to play well with Bailey’s uptight future in-laws . . .

Then there’s Seton Adderbury, the man Esme somehow conjured into the present day from 1929, and who keeps crashing into Bailey’s plans. In addition to figuring out seating charts and boutonnieres, Bailey now has to navigate her new witch family, keep an unseen enemy from hexing the ceremony, placate her fiancé, and get Seton back to his own time. But Seton doesn’t know if he wants to go back. And though Bailey’s about to marry someone else—someone who isn’t technically 130 years old—it’s just possible she doesn’t want Seton to go back either . . .
**********************
My review:
Super fun book. Granted, supernatural rom-coms are my jam and I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur but whatever...
Bailey is appropriately confused and freaked out by her upcoming marriage into a hoity-toity family when suddenly her bio mom (who is a witch) shows up. Then all heck breaks loose with time travel, bad witches, burgeoning powers, wedding planning, and hex learning.
The villain witch in the book was pretty villainous and understanding why was apparently in the first book of this series. Bailey and Wes’s relationship seemed a little one dimensional but that happens in a romance at times. I was able to figure things out though and it was an entertaining book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5 stars but rounded up to 5 stars for the fun and the humor. This is the second book in a series so now of course I need to go and read book one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an advance digital copy in exchange for my review.