I love a cute book about witches! Aria is a dud with her magic. But does that stop her from entering a competition to win the Garden of Enchantment?! It sure doesn't. And guess who else enters... Callan Hawthorne, the sexy billionaire mage who she's hated for years. It was just a charming story.

I absolutely adored this lighthearted and warm story! The characters were lovable and interesting, the story was like a warm cup of tea and the world-building was perfect. It was such an easy read and one I will enjoy time and time again.

I received an arc from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

A modern day witchy rom-com! A slow burn enemies to lovers romance that had me wanting more! I loved seeing Callan and Arias relationship bloom from its initial misunderstanding into something lasting!

I love a good witchy book! Add in romance and it's even better! I loved Aria from the start. Her magic was so cool. Boris is such a sweetie. This book had one of my favorite tropes, enemies to lovers. It was a romantic comedy full of chemistry and laughs. It was also heartwarming with lots of family and friendship moments. I cannot wait to read more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In The Modern Girl’s Guide to Magic we meet our main character Aria. For her entire life Aria has had difficulties controlling her magic. It made her life hard, because the magical townsfolk and children at school called her a dud. That is one of the reasons why she left Charming Cove behind and dived into the busy city life of London. However, Aria’s life isn’t really working out in London. Ze jumps from job to job and feels very lonely So when her grandmother shows up hat her doorstep to ask for her help, Aria returns to Charming Cove. But now Aria has to proof she is a talented witch to help save the family shop. For decades Arias grandmother bought her supplies from Mr. Sparrow, who owns a magical garden. But he has announced his desire to retire and he is organizing a contest to name an heir. A magical competition were mages and witches will need to proof their worth to inherit the magical garden. When Aria enters the competition she soon learns that her self-proclaimed arch any Callan is joining too.
I absolutely adored this book. Is it predictable and do you know from the very first page where the story is leading. Absolutely! And that is what makes it so lovely to read. No high stakes here. Just cozy reading about magic, witches, a tightknit community, a magical contest and blooming romance. Not to mention the best animal companion I have read about in the last few years. I fell head over heels in love with Boris, the Badger.
This book is an enjoyable, quick, easy, cosy read. Like I mentioned the stakes aren’t high and it is all so predictable. Even the magical contest doesn’t really challenge Aria. It is all smooth sailing for her the entire book. But I didn’t mind. I read it in one sitting and was left with a huge smile on my face. I cant wait for more books in the Charming Cove series!

What a delightful read!
This story allows for exploration of self-esteem, self-worth, and self-confidence. It demonstrates wonderful character development and growth. The relationships between the characters and their support of each other is wonderful and truly a delight to read about.
It does all of this with the perfect amount of magic and whimsey sprinkled in!
The author describes the picturesque settings within this story in incredible detail.
The love story that's unfolding seems, for the most part, to progress naturally and at a pace that makes sense given the circumstances the main characters find themselves in.
The reason that our main characters find themselves in proximity to each other is fun and exciting and brings so much to the story with regards to character growth, the development of many relationships within the story, and in describing a magical environment with such lovely language that the reader can picture it perfectly and wish they were there.
From the (gorgeous) cover of this book we will continue to explore life within Charming Cove, something I am absolutely looking forward to!
Are you in the mood for a light and cozy fantasy with a bit of romance? If so, this is the perfect book for you!

3 stars

Aria is a bit of a hot mess when it comes to her magical abilities. Her hometown of Charming Cove thinks she's a dud, but when her grandmother asks for her help to save their family shop, she can't say no. Now Aria finds herself back home and in a competition with the man she loathes, Callan Hawthorne. Callan is the sexy, billionare mage who has been intrigued by Aria since he met her. He sees the competition as an opportunity to change her opinion of him.

• enemies(ish) to lovers
• one bed
• romantic comedy

Alright. Before I even get into my review, the biggest complaint I had about this is that when Aria and Callan first meet, she's seventeen, and he's twenty-one. It's obvious from their initial interaction that Callan wanted her, and he even admits that he knows he shouldn't think about her because she's seventeen. I REALLY wish the author would have just aged her up to eighteen so we could avoid this uncomfortable situation to begin with. You can still have an age gap romance where both the characters are adults. Let's not make it weird.

This book was a cozy and lighthearted read. Although this is an adult book, it read a bit more like a YA book. I liked Callan and his determination to win over Aria, he's sweet, and you can tell how much he adores her. Aria has a lot of self-doubt, and watching her become more confident in her abilities was such a fun journey. The plants. Oh man, a witchy book with lots of plants? I didn't know that was something I needed in my life, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading about all the plants.

The pacing was a little on the slow side in the beginning, but then it picked up about halfway through during the competition. The characters felt a bit flat, and I would have loved for them to have more depth.

Overall, it was a fluffy, easy read! I loved the magical fun, and the story was unique enough.

This book was such a fun, light hearted read. That’s not to say it didn’t have its moments eliciting emotion from me, but most were just genuine smiles and laughter. I’d consider this a nice, cozy read for sure. I would absolutely read more stories set in this world.

review posted on good reads on 6/5/23

I love a cozy witchy read, but this book felt a little rushed to me!
The book is set in a dual POV, but it wasn't executed properly. It is cute how Callan is obsessed with Aria and is determined to make her his, but the interactions between them were a bit awkward at times and honestly uncomfortable for me to read.
Initially, I was hooked on the plot of this mysterious billionaire mage and a witch with struggling powers. But there was no buildup whatsoever to any of these. I wish they were both described more, I feel like I dint get to know the FMC or MMC at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this e-book for me to review! All opinions are my own <3

This was such a cosy light read, exactly what I needed after more intense fantasy books. Aria was such a strong and interesting character to follow, she has to face her old bullies and try to win a competition for her family. I adored this one and enjoyed it so much. Would recommend so much!

I see witchy.. I read, I see Romcom .. I read , I see light hearted , fluffy witchy fun… I’m all over it! I loved this , I’m a sucker for a witchy romance & this ticked all the boxes for me 😍 such a fab paced book with a sprinkle of humour, magic , plants & love. Couldn’t have wished for a better book to keep me occupied & suck me into a whole new story.

I didn't have any kind of expectations when I started to read this book, but it turned out to be a very cozy and light read. It's a witchy rom-com, with cozy vibes in a modern and beautiful small town by the sea. It tells us the story of Aria, a witch that has problems with her magic, and Callan, a very powerfull and rich mage. They don't get along very well, and Callan doesn't really understand why, but Aria has her reasons. The thing is, this had everything to be perfect and one of the best reads of the year, but I didn't liked that much. Not because of the story itself, but more because of the writing style. It had very little details and it explored almost nothing of the story and the world. I also didn't like Aria! She's a very strong and capeble woman, but by the end of the book she was more annoying than anything else. Despite this I stand by what I say - it's a very light and funny read, but I wanted more and I didn't find it. Nevertheless you should give it a shot! Maybe it will surprise you.

Not a lot of depth and semi predictable storyline but honestly we just need that sometimes! There’s comfort here and I really enjoyed. The cozy, witchy vibes make for a perfect fall book! Aria was super loveable.

This book was a fun, cozy read. If you enjoy magic, enemies to lovers, and feel good, gooey reads, I suggest trying it.

I voluntarily read an early copy.

Aria is a witch who just blows things up any time she tries to use her magic. Bullied for her lack of ability, she escapes her Cornish home town, Charming Cove for London. Eight years later, after losing her home and job because yet again her faulty power got her fired, her grandmother brings her home to participate in a competition to win the Garden of Enchantment, which supplies her family's potion shop. Her competition? Some of the bitchy witches who bullied her, and sexy billionaire and property developer mage Callan Hawthorne, the man who she vowed to hate after he ruined a special spot of hers.

I adored Aria and Callan. I loved how Linsey Hall addressed him being a billionaire and how gross they are. (I know these billionaire trope books are fiction but I detest capitalism and the fact we have them so I can't suspend disbelief even for a book of fiction). Callan was supportive, sensitive and just the best kind of book boyfriend. He believed and could see Aria's power even when she couldn't, and supported her to find it. I also loved the supporting characters, especially Boris, Aria's badger familiar.

This book was cosy, fun and sexy. I couldn't put it down. It was also refreshingly free of the same old tired cliche obstacles that are placed in books that feature a competition. Instead it was a lovely fun character-driven book about a young woman having the confidence to claim her power. I'm really looking forward to what I can see will be a new series, I hope we see her best friend's story next.

ETA: I bought the audiobook of this and I have to say I'm disappointed that the publishers cast someone who clearly isn't English or could do a decent English accent. WHY????!! There's so many amazing English actresses who could've done this!

Thanks to Bonnie Doon Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was just the break from reality I needed. Let's start with our characters, we have Aria a witch who's magic is questionable at best, Callan a man with more money than common sense at times, a town full of magical folk all trying to win, and a badger that just wants to eat everything in sight while spying on Aria for her grandmother.

This competition is complicated though for more than one reason, you see Aria and Callan have a history, one that neither of them can forget but for very different reasons.

Fast forward a few years and they meet again, this time competing for something they both want very much but again for very different reasons.

Through our competition, getting to know each other, and learning more about themselves than we expected these two bloom into one of my favorite couples so far this year.

Did I mention the ending, it is swoon-worthy, downright swoon-worthy and I'm here for it.

Thank you to Bonnie Doon Press and NetGalley for providing a copy of this E-Book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Modern Girls Guide to Magic had a little bit of everything I love 🌱 plants, 🌙witches,✨magic, competition, 'enemies' to lovers!!

I'm a sucker for a witchy romcom and the balance of magic, romance, and of course laughter was perfect. I will most definitely be recommending this and 🤞hopefully we see more from this (spell)cast 😉 of characters in the future.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for an arc!!

BRB, packing my bags for Charming Cove 🧳

The Modern Girls Guide to Magic by @linseyhallauthor
This was the perfect cozy witchy story that I needed. I loved the feeling of closeness Aria had with her grandmother and other characters in the small town.
I love when a book is well researched and I definitely got that vibe from this book. Such a heartwarming book with perfect characters and development. I can't wait to come back to Charming Cove and visit with these characters again.
5⭐️ & amazing vibes
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What an absolute gem of a book. It is packed full of warmth, charm and wit and with a host of wonderful characters you can't help but root for. This is the perfect summer read.

This is a sweet small-town romance with an enemies to lovers, competition setting. I enjoyed the small coastal witchy village of Charming Cove and all the neighborhood characters. You can imagine the small community clearly. Everyone has an intertwined story. Even the animals can communicate and who wouldn’t want to have a cute familiar they can talk to? This was a light and engaging read. The romance was heartwarming and endearing. Aria grows significantly as a character throughout the story with the help of the community she left behind for so long.

Thank you to Linsey Hall, Quill and Bonnie Doon Press, and NetGalley for a digital copy of The Modern Girl's Guide to Magic.