I enjoyed Small town, big magic, but I think this second book in the Witchlore series is even better!! Picking up where the first book left off, we get to know more about Emerson Wilde's younger sister, Rebekah who was cast out of their witchy society and the town of St. Cyprian after a terrible incident marked her as dangerous.

Having returned for the first time in years to help her sister, clairvoyant and natural born rebel, Rebekah has to come to terms with an old crush and the lure of getting her magic back. The catch, she is forced to work closely with her old tutor, the grumpy immortal Nicholas Frost.

Full of great chemistry, emotional depth, found family, romance and a great mystery/suspense plot that sees Rebekah and her sister uncovering dark secrets that have underpinned their town. This was also great on audio narrated by Natalie Duke and the perfect book to kick off Spooky Season!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! I can't wait to see what happens in the next book as the Wilde sisters start their own Coven and battle against the corrupt Joywood witches.

A big thank you to Hazel Beck, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for an aARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Big Little Spells comes out August 29, 2023!

I pretty much fell in love with this stunning second novel in Hazel Beck's Witchlore series. Big Little Spells is the direct continuation of the storyline that was started in Small Town Big Magic, meaning that it is kind of important to read it first to truly understand the storyline. In this one we switch POV to Emerson's sister, Rebekah. A woman who is messy and has been struggling for ten years about what she did to cause her exile. A huge part of this book was about her learning to accept not only herself but also her magic, and also about forgiving herself for her past actions. I absolutely adored her and Nicholas' relationship, even though I wish that these books were in dual POV. I also continue to love the found family feeling the "coven" creates and am very excited to see their stories. If you are looking for a action packed, witchy, romantic novel the Witchlore series is for you.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish, much more than I was expecting! I really enjoyed the first book and Emerson's faith in herself and overall Warrior-ness, so I was a little skeptical about the POV switch to Rebekah. However, I ended up loving Rebekah just as much, if not more, than Emerson. She's so messy and imperfect and I adore her. It was truly a pleasure to read about her finding some catharsis and learning to forgive and value herself. Some of the side characters still fall flat for me- I tried so hard, but I just do not care about Zander or Ellowyn, and I definitely don't care about their relationship. I like the concept of them, and I loove the found family vibes the seven of them give off, but individually? I just can't find it in myself to care or connect with them. I do really love Rebekah and Nicholas' relationship though. It's a cliche and predictable but I eat up the immortal falling in love with a mortal trope every single time.

I think a really wonderful message this book gets across quite nicely is that making mistakes and hurting people isn't the end of a relationship, platonic or romantic. Some of the most meaningful scenes in this book were when Rebekah was owning up to her mistakes and realizing that while the people she loved and who loved her were angry, they never stopped loving her. In particular, there's a scene where she's talking to someone she hadn't seen since being exiled but who she loved and respected very deeply, that made me cry. I think Hazel Beck is really really good at nailing relationship dynamics, particularly within a family, and all the complexities that come with loving someone in all circumstances.

I just discovered this excellent author duo of Hazel Beck, and they write together so well! I’d seen the first book in the Witchlore series (Small Town Big Magic) promoted all over the place, but didn’t read it until I had this second book in my hands. I’m glad I waited to be able to read them together - so I didn’t forget any of the characters or details in between.

Small Town Big Magic and Big Little Spells are extremely linked together and it’s very important to read them in order. You will be extremely lost without the details from the first!

That said, I really enjoyed the first, but completely and totally loved this second book in the series! Book 1 is where Emerson Wilde has her witch heritage restored to her after some crazy incidents in her small town, with the help of her powerful friends and especially high school crush Jacob, and the town hermit and immortal Nicholas Frost, fighting against the world witch council. Book 2 is the return to town of banished younger sister Rebekah Wilde (of course, against her wishes), to continue the battle against the witch council, and her past friendship and assistance by that town immortal is discovered, as he helps them to study again to pass their next big (literal) test.

I don’t read a lot of paranormal romance but I have been reading some more, and this is definitely at the top of the list of best witch romances around! I definitely recommend this to paranormal fans and those looking for somewhere to start alike… but read the series in order! I’m just sad that now I have to wait a full year for the next one.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing (Graydon House), and this is my honest feedback.

4.5 stars

This book masterfully expands on the storyline, magic, and emotions of the first one, and I enjoyed it more because of that. All of the characters felt more fleshed out and relatable in this one, and I liked how high the stakes were, leaving me both rooting for Emerson and Rebekah and questioning what was coming next for the entire time. I also liked reading from Rebekah’s perspective more than from Emerson’s, her emotions felt so raw and relatable, and she grew a lot, overcoming a lot of personal struggles that I really understood. Nicholas Frost is a GREAT character. Who doesn’t love the sexy, snarky, immortal?? I was much more invested in his and Rebekah’s relationship than Emerson and Jakob’s as well. They seemed to have a much more intense, genuine, and passionate connection, which I really enjoyed watching unfold.

I really liked the world building in this book, and all that we learned about St. Cyprian’s history and about the history of magic. I think being in Rebekah’s head helped with that, since she has more background knowledge than we had in the first book with Emerson, and I can’t wait to learn more about how the magic unfolds! This book did leave me with a lot of questions, about the origin of Nicholas’ immortality, and his immortal coven, about the origins of the Joywood, and about how it’s all connected. But I know that this book is part of series, so I enjoyed the evolution of the Joywood as the villains, as well as watching the Emerson and Rebekah’s coven grow and learn, and I’m sooo excited to see what happens next!

Thanks to NetGalley and to Graydon House for the ARC

I had a lot of fun when I read Small Town, Big Magic as it was a fresh, funny and compelling story.
This story starts strong but I wasn't a fan of the high school part as it was a bit too long and quite YA-like.
Rebekah is a well plotted and well round character, flawed and sweet. I like her relationship with Nicholas and her family.
It's entertaining but some less part about high school would have made it an excellent novel.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I enjoyed the first book of the Witchlore series, and so I was looking forward to reading book 2 to see how things in St. Cyprian evolved. And while Big Little Spells was a perfectly fine book, it didn't totally grab me or draw me in. I will admit that this is probably due to circumstance - I happened to be reading this book during a super busy week and didn't have much time to read. But I do think that the book itself was also a little bland.

Rebekah Wilde is used to being the screw-up little sister, but she's doing her best to change after years of therapy and exile. But back in St. Cyprian, she finds it hard to escape her past - or her feelings for local immortal, Nicholas Frost. As he helps her prepare for her second chance at being legitimized as a witch, sparks fly, despite concerning prophecies, family meddling, and general town chaos.

I think this book suffers a little from coming right after the bombastic, revelatory events of book 1. While the evil Joywood Coven is still scheming and plotting, their current punishment for Rebekah and the rest of our heroes involves... sending them back to high school magic training. The stakes of taking a test are just never going to match up to the stakes of saving a whole town from a cataclysmic flood. And while Rebekah and Nicholas do have decent chemistry, I was never quite able to get over the weirdness of him being an immortal who had worked with her as a teen, knowing that she was his fated love. It all felt a little icky. Plus, that past connection meant that I just had to take Rebekah on her word for a lot of their past chemistry. There was a lot of telling in this book - about Nicholas, about Rebekah's attempts to deal with her past trauma, about her character growth - that grew a little repetitive and never seemed to quite be shown.

Again, this book is totally fine, and the world of St. Cyprian and its witches remains engaging. I'm looking forward to the other coven members' stories, but this one just didn't shine for me.

3.25/5

I just LOVED this book! What an excellent sequel! I already had such a fun time reading Small Town Big Magic, and I think I had even more fun reading this one! I just love all the characters and their relationships with each other! This was truly magical witchy read and I definitely recommend it, or the first one of you haven’t read it yet, for the upcoming witchy reads season!!!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harper Collins, specifically Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to read this one early!!!

Big Little Spells is the second book in the Witchlore series AND LET ME TELL YOU IT IS SO GOOD! I wasn't a big fan of the first book but it got so much better! The romance between Rebekah and Nicholas was top tier. Love a good enemies to lovers. So excited for the rest of the series!

An anticipated sequel ever since finishing the first book. Love the setting and characters this time focusing on Rebekah and Nicholas. A couple with a history and a pining romance.

Wasn’t a total fan of how high school came into play, transporting the characters back, and I wasn’t sure if I liked the way Rebekah’s piercings were brought up like it was something to be shamed by everyone as if they had never seen anything like it before. It’s a weird thing to get hung up about someone, but I guess it’s more reason being unfavourable towards some characters.

Loved the relationship between Rebekah and Nicholas, and I do wish we get more out of them. A power couple for sure but would’ve loved a couple more moments and build between them. Overall a great witchy read!

Thank you to #netgalley for a copy of #BigLittleSpells in exchange for a honest review.

I bought and read Small Town, Big Magic, book 1 in the Witchlore series, in preparation for this ARC. I'm not going to lie. I was slightly nervous about this one. Book 1 was slow for me, and I wasn't interested in reading Rebecca's story.

I'm happy to say that I was very wrong! I was sucked in by chapter 2.

A cozy, witchy read. It has it all. Love, loss, magic and answers...

We finally find out what happened the day of Emerson's mind wipe. Why did Rebecca leave town? Why did their parents leave town? We relive their high school days, although, not by choice. We also get more of Nicholas Frost! I loved him in Small Town, Big Magic, and I love him even more in Big Little Spells.

What does a witch do when there is a price on her head? Return to her home town and face the spells and disgrace.
Rebekah faces her worst nightmare and also encounters Nicolas.
That was the nest part of the entire book, the kinetic energy between Rebekah and Nicolas.
I love how she keeps breaking down all of his barriers and how he finally lets her in. What he says to her at one point is so sweet.
I liked his dark, brooding, serious nature, very Mr. Darcyish but with lots of magic and Witchery involved.

Hazel Beck is an author you want on your must read list! This story is mesmerizing and the depth of characters and storyline will have you turning the pages over and over and over again. I really wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it blew me away and this was one of those 'read in one sitting' books.
I highly recommend and I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

I gotta be honest, I did not love Small Town, Big Magic. I love a witchy rom-com, but I found Emerson to be very annoying. I would not have read Big Little Spells if I were not hooked by the premise. I actually liked Big Little Spells a lot more than Small Town, Big Magic, and I will definitely read future installments in this series.

While Emerson was still pretty insufferable, I found her younger sister Rebekah very likable and relatable. I loved the dynamic between her and Nicholas (the banter!!!). Big Little Spells also had a liiiiiitle more spice than Small Town, Big Magic. Which I appreciated.

Another thing I loved about the book was the dynamic of Rebekah's friend group and how they deal with the core conflicts in the book together. I think Big Little Spells tries really hard to balance romance with the high-stakes plot with varying degrees of success. There are some parts of the plot I really enjoyed (ex. the "Midwest nice" villains). And some other that felt a little cliche (ex. how each protagonist turns out to be some sort of "chosen one" that's never that well explained).

I loved Rebekah and Nicholas together, however there was one big romantic reveal at the end that I think could have tied in really well to the plot and wasn't. Instead it just wasn't really explained and wasn't returned to. I've also gone back and forth on whether I think some of the earlier aspects of Rebekah and Nicholas's relationship were problematic (i.e. how Nicholas was Rebekah's "secret tutor" when she was a teenager). I know that with fantasy romance I need to suspend my disbelief a little, but this was set in a contemporary/real world setting. However, I think the book tries to make clear that Nicholas had no romantic intentions at the time, so maybe that makes it fine?

3.5 stars

Thank you Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Rebekah is back in town and she's going to take back her life (in a positive way). Fans of the gentle witchcraft novel will like this for the good characters and the world building. I missed the first book, which wasn't a problem. This has all sorts of themes, including a bit of romance. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. It's a nice entry into a genre that seems to be increasing in popularity.

Gilmore Girls + Discovery of Witches = MAGIC!! I was a little hesitant heading into this book because I had some major complaints about Emerson (FMC) in the first book but this one is from Rebekah’s point of view and it was amazing. I loved it. Such a great found family, and magic system, and setting, and I thoroughly enjoyed the love interest. The pacing was awesome and the plot was great. That ending had me sweating. A perfect witchy fall read and I can’t wait for the story to continue!!

Rebekah is pulled back to her hometown and witchy way of life to help her sister. Now, against her will, she needs to retake an ancient witch test she failed once and accost the help of sexy immortal, Nicholas.

This is the second installment in this series and it has all you could want in a fall read. A small town of witches, a close knit group of friends, and a love story. Rebekah was an interesting character. She’s wrong and independent. I liked seeing we interact with her sister and Nicholas the best. Both challenged her. The story itself was good, but I wish it moved a little faster and revealed things more. There was a lot of backstory that I wanted but never came. Or it was explained briefly even though it was important to some motivations.

All in all, this was a good book and perfect for fans of cozy witch stories.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted copy. My reviews are always honest.

Big Little Spells by Hazel Beck is an enchanting and captivating magical tale that was a sure to delight to read.

Okay - full transparency - I almost DNF'd book one (Small Town Big Magic) because of the FMC. I kept reading though, because I loved the plot and the storyline and the rest of the characters, and ended up enjoying it.

But this book... SO MUCH BETTER! I absolutely loved this book. I loved Rebekah - she's edgy and wild and fierce, but she's dealing with a lot of trauma. Her return to St. Cyprian after a decade of exile was chaotic and not something she ever imagined she would do. And after the end of book one, maybe one would think it was over... but the story is just beginning.

Rebekah's storyline also gives us more insight into a handsome, yet broody and grumpy immortal with who lives in his 'haunted' mansion on the top of the hill. Their history is complicated and full of delicious angst and tension. I literally devoured the scenes between the two of them like I was starving and couldn't get enough.

This book definitely has an epic ending, and sets us up for what is likely to be at least one more book in this interconnected stand-alone series set in St. Cyprian. I was sad to say goodbye to Rebekah and her immortal, but I'm hoping we will get plenty of them in the book(s) to come! I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment and can't wait to read!!

Definitely recommend if you like witchy, paranormal romances, small-town dynamics, found family, and delicious slow-burn tension.

Reviews will be going up this Thursday/Friday (8/24 or 8/25)

Big Little Spells is the second in a series, which I was completely unaware of as it wasn't mentioned in the blurb. The first book is called "Small Town, Big Magic", which I hadn't read, and it soon became evident that that would be a slight issue.

The book picks up after a fairly big event, one that's not explained very well. We're thrown straight into the world and we're expected to know and understand several strange terms (like a test called a "Pubertatum" that just made me think of the baby from Addams Family Values). Usually in a series, there's a little catch-up, and I felt that really would have helped here because it took me a while to figure out who was who and what was happening.

In saying that, the story romped along fairly quickly, and soon morphed into a solid tale of two witch sisters who had spent some time estranged and were now working on repairing their relationship and proving to their community that they had earned the right to use their magical powers. There's a romance subplot, it's a very early Buffy/Angel dynamic with some similar banter and some closed door scenes ("we tumbled this way and that" was about as explicit as it got).

There's a wider issue at play here - local witches are succumbing to some kind of illness that kills them, and the sisters and their coven are sure that the local equivalent of the town council are to blame. The same people they must impress if they're to be seen as true witches. The sisters failed the test once before, ten years ago - now they must do it again. This means revisiting some of the preparations and rituals they did as teenagers (think Never Been Kissed if Drew Barrymore was playing a witch trying to prove herself).

I didn't really take to the teenage elements of the story (like the Prom) - I imagine fans of the first book who enjoyed it will LOVE this one, especially the progression of the relationship between Rebekah and Nicholas. I couldn't put it down for the last quarter, but I did feel like the book overall could have lost 50 pages and been none the worse for wear.

Will I read the rest of the series? Probably not, but I imagine fans of this author and this series will be happy with this installment.

Thank you to Justine at Harper Collins for having me as part of the blog tour program.