Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of This Spells Disaster by Tori Anne Martin!

3.5 rounded down to 3

This is such a cute story and I had a fun time reading it!

I loved the fake dating, but wish there was less miscommunication. It felt like most of the conflict wouldn’t have happened if Morgan just talked to Rory instead of assuming her feelings.

Both Morgan and Rory (the two main characters) were well rounded characters! I would have liked for the side characters to have more of a personality, a lot of them fell flat for me.

I would definitely love another book set in this universe because the competitions and covens were super interesting! There is so much more we don’t know about the magic, and I also think it would be fun to get a prequel about Rory competing.

Thank you Berkeley and NetGalley for the advanced eBook!

I had a lot of fun with this book. Thank the stars and the publishing houses that witches are back in favor. This book was absolutely entertaining. I love a fake dating setup and how I would have loved to attend a witchy festival like NEWT. I cared for both Rory and Morgan and appreciated that the author address the consequences of potions messing with free will. This could easily fit with the thistle grove witches created by Lana Harper. So if you like one, you’ll like the other. Highly recommend. More please!

This is a delightful and magical romance novel that will cast a spell on readers. With its endearing characters, clever dialogue, and a touch of enchantment, this book is a delightful escape into a world where love and laughter intertwine. Fans of lighthearted romances, witchy tales, and sparkling chemistry will find themselves utterly charmed by Morgan and Rory's journey to discover if their connection is simply an illusion or a true bewitching love story.

thank you net galley for an arc of this book.
all opinions are my own.

*actual rating is 2.5?*.

This was.... okay? I honestly can't even say what it is I didn't like, it just wasn't for me. I wanted to love this. I went in hoping to swoon over an adorable lesbian couple and ended up feeling nothing. And the "nothing" Is honestly the problem for me. I didn't hate anything about it. but I also didn't love anything. I honestly didn't care about the relationship. When they finally kissed, I didn't get the exciting heart stopping feeling I usually do when I love a romance. When they argued, I didn't get upset with them. I wasn't rooting for them, because I didn't feel much chemistry - and maybe that's because the book is spent through the point of view of a woman who thinks it's impossible for the other to have chemistry with her. Maybe I would have enjoyed this more if we got to see Rory's point of view as well, something to go against the pure self loathing of Morgan believing that nobody could possibly love her. I understand self consciousness, believe me. But when the whole book is just "no way she loves me I'm horrible no redeeming qualities", it starts to become a downer and not fun to read. It would have been nice to see some of Rory's internal thoughts about Morgan and about their relationship.

Thank you to Tori Anne Martin, Berkley Romance, and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review. “This Spells Disaster” will be available September 12th, 2023!

This was a really cute sapphic witchy romance! It started out a little slow, but once it picked up it was easier to get into. I do wish that this book would’ve had dual POVs. It would’ve been nice to have a break from Morgan’s internal dialogue and see what was going on in Rory’s thoughts. Without seeing what Rory was thinking it very much gave off the vibe of insta love. It also feels like readers are swimming in miscommunication, because all we read about it Morgan’s internal freak out.

All of that said, I did really enjoy reading about Morgan and Rory’s relationship and their relationships with their friends and families. I just felt like their story was missing something.

Book Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️

An incredibly fun story that covers all of the tropes I love like fake dating and magical love potions and misunderstandings when real feelings come in to play.

The characters were well written with just enough depth and uniqueness to keep them interesting and the plot had all the right highs and lows for a magical romance. Its definitely a little cheesy but also a lot of fun if you dont take some of it too seriously!

Two witches find themselves in a very complicated disaster when fake dating, love potions, and very real feelings are thrown in the mix. Morgan Greenwood is a potion making witch and she’s been secretly in love with bartender and talented bad ass witch Rory Sandler since forever. Morgan has never had the courage to ask out Rory, in fact she thinks that Rory is out of her league... but when Rory complains about an ex visiting during the annual festival and coming with her parents, Morgan thinks it’s the perfect opportunity to propose to fake date Rory, despite the fact that Morgan is very much in love with her. Morgan thinks this is the only chance she can get to be close to Rory, but the more time she spends with her the more she is getting confused between what’s real and what’s fake. Yet when a potion that Morgan makes might actually be a very illegal love potion, Morgan knows she messed up yet she doesn’t know if she can tell Rory the truth that she might have violated her free will or if she can secretly find the antidote and cure her without her knowing... the only problem is that Rory keeps pulling her in closer no matter how much Morgan tries to get her to dislike her. Can these two witches figure out their relationship and what their feelings for each other actually are??? or is it all just a potion? This was an okay witchy rom com that mainly relies on the huge misunderstanding and lack of communication between Rory and Morgan. I just didn’t really find myself that invested in the relationship between Rory and Morgan, however I feel like that might just be a me problem. It was an okay romance read, it just didn’t really wow me or make me feel very invested. If you like cute witchy romances give this one a go!

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

While I enjoyed This Spells Disaster I found it to be quite similar to a book that I recently read. Only difference is, this one has LGBTQ themes (which is great BTW). I think if I had read this one at a different time I may have enjoyed it more.

Fucking fantastic. A trope filled cheesey witchy romcom that i could not stop once I'd started. I adored Morgan and teared up with her several times. As someone else who has a terrible ex named Nicole she hit a little too close to home sometimes. I loved that even though knew where it was going, the how it got there had me wondering how in gods name she'd get herself out of it. I loved the casual magic setting and how easily it felt like it could have just been reality. A fantastic romcom for the spooky queers to eat up.

This book is a lot of fun. It doesn’t take itself seriously and so even the part of fake dating that I normally hate (miscommunication) wasn’t unbearable. I was really rooting for Morgan and Rory.

I don’t think there was anything particularly remarkable about the book. In six months will I remember which witch romance book this is? Maybe, maybe not. But if you want a beach read? This is it.

Berkley, as always I am thankful for an opportunity to have an ARC!

Unfortunately, i have to DNF this. It's a little too cheesy for me.

Very fun. It's a little more cheesy than I typically like a romance to be, but given that we're in a world full of witches and love spells, it feels appropriate.

This book was such an unexpected delight. I loved how the book centred conversations around consent but did not cross any boundaries. I loved both Rory and Morgan, their chemistry, the goofiness, and the small town vibes. I thoroughly enjoyed the magic system of this world as well. Morgan’s growth to self love was adorable and encouraging to read as well. Amazing amazing amazing.

This is a sweet and swoony queer contemporary romance. Watching the relationship between Morgan and Rory develop was charming, both of them so fiercely invested in the other’s happiness. The magical parts were fun and well-developed, especially the idea of competitive spellcasting.

I loved Morgan’s strong support - her mom, grandmother, and friends - all willing to back her no matter what.

The mental health rep was relatable as Rory talked about the stress and anxiety of competing and how hard choosing the healthy option was - especially with so many people, including her family, pressuring her to start competing again.

-Small town setting in Maine with most of the story happening at a witch festival.
-Opposites attract with one sunny, neurodivergent chaos demon pining for a painfully organized, reserved grump.
-Pining and crushing
-Fake dating and practice kissing
-Love potions and magically orgasmic chocolate
-Witchy vibes

I really struggled with this book. The characters are great, but it felt like it took a long time to get going.

<i>Thank you to Berkley & Netgalley for this eARC</i>

This book should have been a no brainer. A sapphic, fake-dating rom-com in a magical world between two witches? I should love this! Instead, this book was very frustrating to me. Clearly based on the reviews, others didn't find this to be the case. And good, my mileage is not, nor should it, going to be the same as others.

But let's not start off on that foot. Let's start off positive. I love the author's note regarding consent at the start, it was fantastic.

Like many others, I seem to have a crush on Rory fucking Sandler. She was awesome! Funny and affectionate and sweet and badass and imperfectly perfect. I 100% get the Rory stans!

The world Tori's created is also phenomenal! Lush, and rich, and different. A world where magic co-exists with the mundane in a way that feel fairly original yet also plausible, that they play up the fantastical and playful nature of magic for the mundane crowd while hiding the more dangerous side. It makes complete sense that powerful witches can be celebrities in the same way as actors or professional athletes can be! And as much as I don't want it to be the case, it also seems plausible other aspects, like the seeming praise male witches seemingly get for just existing. If this book was more about this magical world itself rather than being a rom-com set within it I think the author could write many books set in this world!

But because this is a rom-com, let's focus on that. The fake dating side of things is well done, and Morgan and Rory's chemistry together is awesome. Super sweet and wonderful and everything I would want it to be. Even after Morgan's revelation at the mid point, there was wonderful, sweet stuff. The concert, the scavenger hunt, the private chat on the field. It was all sooo good...but it was marred by Morgan herself!

Morgan was an infuriating protagonist to be spending all our time with, in the thoughts of! She manages to be both simultaneously the most self absorbed and self deprecating person I think I've ever encountered, in fiction or real life! Like, I thought I was good at dismissing my own worth, but I've got NOTHING on Morgan Greenwood! She manages to constantly dismiss her power, as a witch, as a potion maker, yet she has no problem thinking she managed to <i>accidentally</i> create the most powerful love potion of all time. We're constantly told how loud she supposedly is, how often Morgan speaks without thinking, and yet all she seems to do it think, and then overthink and then doesn't talk, and doesn't talk some more. Yes, miscommunication happens, yes, nerves and anxiety make things tough. Maybe Morgan is meant to be neurodiverse as well, I don't know. All I do know is after a certain point, it becomes less about a natural characterization and more about 'well, I decided this is the plot twist I'm going with in this book, and I'm gonna stick with it against all sense and reason'. As much as Morgan thinks she cares for Rory, is falling for her, she displays an immense disrespect for her, and kind of infantilizes her by making these decisions for her. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely appreciate her concerns about potentially violating Rory's consent when they kissed, in fact I applaud her for it. But Morgan realizes she mixed up the potion she gave Rory at the midway point of the book, almost exactly, and we have to deal with that for nearly the entire 2nd half of the book, and the frustration nearly overshadows everything else, like Rory's exhibition. Our communal love, Rory fucking Sandler, deserved better.

By comparison, my only other major complaint is with Hazel. Not with her characterization, even, she was a fantastic best friend trying to get Morgan to see reason. No, it was this weird decision to at multiple points talk about how she was introduced to a friend of Rory's, and how they seem to hit it off...but that's all we know about them. "Rory's friend". No name, no gender, no description, just Rory's friend, and as such, this person feels more like a forced reason why Hazel wasn't in Morgan's face trying to get her to come to her senses and be honest rather than anything else. It was weird, and I wonder what into that in the editing process.

I wanted to rate this book so much higher. There's so much good here, but a frustrating protagonist, and no other POV's to balance her out, drags down the score. 3.5 stars because what's there to love is SO worthy of that love.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was a fun, light, queer, low angst, low steam read. Morgan's crush on Rory was so sweet, she was awkward around her and just trying to keep her cool as she fake dated her and finally got to see her crush in real life.

This Spells Disaster is a charming, if predictable, fake dating/ miscommunication rom-com. The writing let it down a bit, giving what it needed to but not much more, leaving this book firmly in the category of fun to read but not particularly memorable. Additionally, for a book that is so heavy handed on the topic of informed, enthusiastic consent (as it should), some of the main character’s choices felt very antithetical to that theme. Obviously characters are not required to make good “moral” choices all the time for a story to have that moral, but using the main character believing she has violated her love interest’s consent as the miscommunication-as-comedy on which the narrative hinged was not it, in my opinion. Honestly, I wanted a lot more from this book but I had fun anyway. I do think I’ll recommend it anyway, because it was overall a fun time. While I did find this very easy to guess - just a note - there is no actual sexual assault in this book, and the love interest is not actually dosed with love potion.

Morgan is a self-proclaimed “messy witch”. She swears she was hexed at birth. When she offers to fake date her crush, she wonders what she is doing. Rory is the spellcasting champion and a brilliant elemental witch. When the two get together, they can’t decipher if their feelings are real, or just part of the plan. Things are going to plan for them both until Morgan realizes she may have messed up and given Rory a love potion instead of a relaxation potion. Can Morgan figure out the mess she caused before things go too sideways? Or is the love of her life gone forever?

This book is a light and fun read, but it was slightly lacking in some ways for me. The miscommunication trope on this one was strong, but the fake dating trope was on point. So much of this book could have been solved by actually talking to each other. I find miscommunication is a hard trope for me because I strongly value communication and it grates on me when people just don’t talk. However, this book did a really good job with consent. I immensely appreciated the author’s note at the beginning about this topic. It helped explain the reasoning within the pages. The love story was enjoyable, and it was heartwarming how it all worked out.

This was worth the read and I am glad I read it. It is a nice light read just be prepared for the miscommunication.

If you’re looking for a magical sapphic romance then I hope you check this one out September 12th.

Thank you to the publisher Berkley Publishing, @berkleypub, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.