Okay I love this series - it’s witchy - so of course I do.

Anyways - I love Olive - she’s nerdy and kind, but people take advantage of her kindness and are really just jerks. I loved that she worked hard to get out of her comfort zone. I know it’s something I should work on as well. I don’t even know where I would start though?

Bax - this simp of a friend - has been crushing on and pining for our curvy little professor for a super long time. And then we throw in some forced proximity when they become roommates….🔥🔥🔥

Our angel is also an artist - we love that.

They were adorable, but there’s so missteps along the way - and some secrets.

But I really enjoyed it. I cannot wait to get Harper’s story next. I’m sure it’s going to be a doozy!

April Asher's supernatural characters always bring a smile to my face. They have the perfect amount of chaos to seriousness. Olive fit this character perfectly. I instantly loved her and rooted for her, even when Bax seemed like too much risk.

This is perfect for those fantasy fans who want a bit more romantic comedy in their lives!

This was the 3rd book in the series and I enjoyed it a lot. Definitely more than the 1st one. Olive was so relatable and Bax was so intriguing and I loved them together. Definitely for fans of Piper and Leo. IYKYK

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The youngest Maxwell triplet steps out of her comfort zone and into the light in Not Your Crush’s Cauldron. Staid professor Olive Maxwell would much rather be in a corner reading a book than doing something wild and crazy. Then she assigns her students a project about stepping outside their comfort zones and realizes she hasn’t ever put a toe out of hers. Determined to change that, Olive comes up with her own list…but never expected her new roommate to tag along.

Guardian Angel Bax Donovan has wanted Olive for years but has never mustered up the courage to express it. Then he finds himself with Olive as his latest assignment and he’s soon blasted out of his own comfort zone trying to keep up with the beautiful witch.

Friends-to-lovers is a wonderful trope and April Asher shows why in Olive and Bax’s sprightly romance. The attraction between Bax and Olive has been simmering for years but they just needed that push to act on it. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these two overcome their fears and do things to break out of the rut they’re in. Out of all the Supernatural Singles stories so far this one has the lowest stakes but it’s still engaging. Bax and Olive have an easy chemistry that makes their romance fun and entertaining. They’re both likeable protagonists who need a slight shove to come into their own and I really liked their journeys.

Not Your Crush’s Cauldron is the third book in the Supernatural Singles series and to fully enjoy it you should definitely read at least Not the Witch You Wed (the first book) before diving into this one. Olive’s sisters play strong supporting roles and Vi in particular continues on the path she started in her book. I really liked seeing more of the world Asher has created and though the last Maxwell triplet has now found her happily ever after, I hope that doesn’t spell the end of this series. All in all, Not Your Crush’s Cauldron is a magical romp with a bookish witch, a tattooed angel, and a sweet and spicy romance.

I enjoyed the first two books in the Supernatural Singles series, written by April Asher. I was very excited to read Not Your Crush's Cauldron. In this book, we follow the youngest witch-sister, Olive Maxwell. Olive is a quiet and introverted one. Instead of socializing, Olive prefers to spend time with a book or do work research. But when she decides to get out of her comfort zone and take risks, the GAA (Guardian Angel Agency) assigns her a guardian angel, who happens to be her friend and the new roommate, Bax Donovan.

Not Your Crush's Cauldron has some of my favorite tropes: friends-to-lovers, forced proximity, and a tattooed hero. And I enjoyed the book, but not as much as the first two. I didn't feel like there was a lot of relationship growth between Olive and Bax. I did like revisiting other characters from previous books, Olive's sisters, and the whole group of supernatural friends. I recommend Not Your Crush's Cauldron to paranormal romance and romantasy readers.

If you’re finding life stressful these days and you’re looking for a low angst, low stakes, funny, sexy, paranormal romance, look no further than April Asher’s Not Your Crush’s Cauldron. It’s the third book in the author’s Supernatural Singles series and the first one I've read. (The author also writes romantic suspense under the pen name April Hunt). Each book in this rom-com paranormal series can be read as a standalone though, of course, as the third entry, there are already two established couples from the first two books to play secondary roles here.

Bax Donovan is the least angelic guardian angel to work for Guardian Affairs. He’s a disappointment to his father Mikael, one of the Archangel’s Warriors of Peace, who had hoped Bax would follow more in his footsteps. Bax is a bad boy angel if there ever was one – a tattooed and pierced biker who happens to hate flying and heights. But there is one thing he is good at, and that’s being a loyal friend. When Olive Maxwell, a membee of his friendship circle is in need of a place to stay, Bax immediately offers up his spare room. He’s had a crush on her for ages but figures he can still keep it hidden even while she lives with him.

Olive is a witch and a college teacher of Supernatural Studies at NYU and is grateful for Bax’s offer of a place to stay. She’s not immune to Bax’s attractive, physical presence (including the nipple piercings faintly visible through his tight t-shirts) though she does a good job of pretending otherwise. When, in the course of one of her classes, she challenges her students to push outside of their comfort zones to learn more about themselves, she realizes that she should put her money where her mouth is and do the same thing. She creates a bucket list of tasks, including joining the circus (not really, but she does find aerial trapeze classes as a good substitute), doing something spontaneous, something socially frightening, etc. And naturally, this list puts her on Guardian Angel alert and Bax, to his consternation, suddenly finds himself assigned as a guardian angel for Olive.

There are three basic rules to being a guardian angel: 1) Don’t tell your protectee that you’re their guardian 2) Don’t get your procectee killed and 3) Don’t fall in love with your protectee. Since Bax can’t tell Olive she’s his new assignment, the only way to keep track of her and keep her safe is to offer to accompany her to her various tasks on her “dare docket”. Olive is glad of his company, and spending a lot of time together lets the mutual (if previously hidden) attraction they have for each other come to the surface, leading to some sexy times. But the more involved they get, the more Bax realizes that if Olive finds out about the assignment, she’ll think his romantic interest in her isn’t real. Will the trust and affection they’ve built come to a crashing end?

This is a fairly straightforward and predictable story but has lots of laughs and banter to carry it through. The secondary characters (Olive’s sibling witches, demon, succubus, animal shifters) are all really interesting (enough that I plan to read the other books in the series) and the friend scenes are quite enjoyable. Bax’s piercings include a genital jacob’s ladder (which, I confess, I did google on an incognito setting to be able to properly visualize the scene and for the purposes of this review!) and Olive is quite a fan. Sex in this story is steamy, lighthearted and fun, helped along by Olive’s friend, Harper, who is a succubus who happens to add some sex-related items to Olive’s list. Bax’s conflict with his father is brought up periodically (especially as his relationship with Olive gets more intense) and he eventually has to make some long-term career choices as a result. As for Olive, she has supportive sisters who are happily partnered up and are pleased to see her with Bax, once she spills the beans about their more intimate relationship.

As far as grading goes, the emotional stakes are never that high and as mentioned, Not Your Crush’s Cauldron is fairly predictable (no big surprises), which is what keeps it in the B range. The third act breakup scene is foreseeable but the happy ending is satisfying and overall, it’s a paranormal romance I’m happy to recommend. I’m hoping the next in the series will feature Harper the succubus, and Adrian, a lion shifter, as they seem to be always at odds, setting up a good enemies-to-lovers trope story.

Oh, Olive and Bax! This was such a cute love story. Two of the least compatible Supernaturals, yet they found their way to each other.

Olive, a by the book, rule follower witch, decides to go outside of her comfort zone and unleash her wild side. When rule breaker, Guardian Angel, Bax Donovan, offers to help her, she unleashes more than she expects.

With tropes such as forced proximity, friends to lovers, and he falls first, this makes for an adorable romcom.

3/5 ⭐️ Good pairing, wish I had read the first two before jumping into this.

Summary
Magical college professor, Olive Maxwell, has just moved in with her long-time crush and friend, Bax Donovan. After assigning her college students a project designed to nudge them outside their comfort zones, Olive decides it's time she participates herself. Bax is a tattooed (and pierced), motorcycle-riding Guardian Angel. He's on thin ice with the guardians, but his next assignment is a challenging one - to protect Olive as she commits to putting herself in new and daring situations. The challenging part? Guardian Angels are not allowed to fall in love with their assignments and Bax is already half-way there.

Thoughts
I went into this knowing nothing. I did not know it was a series. While, it seems like these can be standalone romances, I definitely felt like I was missing something in the first several chapters. I didn't know who any of the characters were or anything about the world, and I think the author assumed you should. It was missing the normal introductions to characters. I needed more backstory, so I guess that was my mistake in not reading the first two.

I did like this story, though it was cheesier than I expected. Bax is tasked with protecting Olive as her Guardian Angel, but she doesn't actually do anything dangerous. She goes tubing, falls into a hot tub, goes to speed-dating, and joins an aerial class. Bax plays it up, like she could have drowned in the hot tub, or been kidnapped by a stranger on speed-dating, but come on, really?

It was sufficiently spicy and I was interested in seeing the romance develop. However, if you aren't a fan of an MMC with male piercings, this is not for you.

This review is posted to Goodreads and Instagram (@_bookish.brittany)

3.5 stars
This was a super cute popcorn rom com. I loved the banter and the sass. This whole series was the perfect combo of cozy, funny and spicy.
Now when are we going to get Harper’s book!

Olive & Bax, eek! They are so cute together and I love how they both came to the same realization at the same time. On a side note, the idea of a magic ink for tattoos that guarantees your tattoo will last forever and never fade is so cool and makes me wish it was a reality. I don't know if there will be further books in this series but if there are, I will read them.

i’m submitting the reviews for books by you that I already have, but I will never request another one. In October one of your employees made a horribly racist statement and you have chosen to do nothing about it. People have continuously asked you to say that you don’t stand with what the employee said, and you refuse to. This is not someone who I want to promote ever because you are sending the wrong message. These reviews will not be posted on social media because you don’t deserve the promotion. By not speaking out you are also not preventing your followers from stalking and harassing people who are participating in the boycott. Your silence speaks volumes. I hope that all of your authors move to other publishers because you are standing with a genocide. You are also currently saying that you support black women in black history month but you have ignored their concerns for months and shown them no support.

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Olive loves her triplets. She does. And she's ecstatic that they've found the loves of their lives. But. Could she maybe catch a break? Chubby, with dirty blond hair that doesn't hold a curl or a color, Olive is generally happy about her life but she really could use a break. Or two. Moving into her crush's apartment isn't exactly the break she was hoping for. However, she's decided to take on the assignment she's given her students and try to stretch her wings. And now that her roommate seems happy to help...
Baxter Donovan is a Guardian Angel but he doesn't much like the position. He likes it even less now that he's been assigned to guard Olive. There are three rules to being a guardian angel: don't tell your Assignment you're their designated guardian, don't get your Assignment Killed, and don't fall in love with your Assignment. Bax has come a little too close for the Guardian Angel Affairs lately and his father isn't pleased. It's just too bad that this latest assignment might find him breaking more than one of the rules.

Three and a half stars
Supernatural Singles #2
This book comes out February 13, 2024
Follows Not Your Ex's Hexes
ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Not Your Crush’s Cauldron by April Asher
Supernatural Singles series #3. Witchy paranormal romance. Can be read as a standalone but better as part of the series of the three sisters.
Olive Maxwell prefers teaching about the supernatural world rather than taking part in it. She gets a bit of a wake up call career wise, and after assigning her college students a project designed to nudge them out of their comfort zones, she decides to take her own assignment to heart and make changes in her own life. First on the list of changes is moving in with Baxter Donovan, a long-time crush, friend, and tattooed, motorcycle-riding guardian Angel.
Bax Donovan believes his charges should have free will, so his records aren’t all top marks. His newest assignment is Olive, who is usually low-risk. He’s more than willing to spend time helping her expand her boundaries and try new things. Bax needs to remember to keep his hands to himself while they are both trying new things. He has his own rules of Conduct to follow even though it’s going to be one of the hardest things he’s ever done.

Amusing, sexy, and empowering. A reminder to get out and try your own new things.
Bax and Olive have some serious issues but by putting the worry aside, living and loving, and trying new things, they feel better able to deal with obstacles.
Olive’s list is crazy! I’m not going to be an acrobatic silks performer, nor am I going anywhere near the rest of her list. But a little fantasy love play may be doable. Inspiring, if only…

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

Love this series by April Asher. I enjoyed the first two books in this series immensely, and this book is no different. Love the world that Asher has built, but I do think this is my least favorite of the three books so far. Still a worthwhile read, and definitely enjoyable. Love the opposites attract trope and the steam is top notch. Would recommend for sure.

Not Your Crush's Cauldron was a delightful, fast paced read perfect for cold February nights.

Olive has lived in her sister's shadows, playing it safe, for a long time. When she gives her students a task of putting together and acting on a list of ten "out of character" tasks, she decides to do it with them.

Bax, guardians angel, can't fight his attraction to Olive. Assigned as her secret guardian, he decides to do her list with her. But he's got one chance left to prove himself as a guardian. He's got feelings for OLIVE and she- him. It's more than just a crush for angel and witch.

I enjoyed tandem listening and reading Not Your Crush's Cauldron. The catchy chapter titles kept my interest and made me laugh! The third in Asher's series had the beloved characters from precious novels while allowing Olive and Bax to have their shine. The spicy scenes were well plotted out and weren't written just to check off a scene. Overall, this was a solid listen and I'm curious if another novel will be coming soon!

Not Your Crush's Cauldron is the third book in April Asher's Supernatural Singles series. Featuring Olive, the last of the Maxwell triplets and Bax, a guardian angel. Olive and Bax were such a cute pairing from the get go, you could feel their chemistry come off the page.

Olive is a professor and department chair at a college and assigns her students a project to push them out of her comfort zone, which she also decides to participate in. I loved this idea so much, especially since Olive was so supportive of all her students picking things that are right for them (they don't all have to be big and bold things!). Sent such a great message about pushing out of your comfort zone a bit.

Due to the list Bax is assigned to watch over Olive, which leads to some sticky situations, especially considering his father wants him to be something that he's not.

I love the way this ended and how in the end both Olive and Bax found their true selves.

This book is adorable, and I am in love with the tatted, pierced 👀, motorcycle-riding Bax who’s a complete sweetheart. There’s nothing he won’t do for Olive, no fear he can’t conquer to reach her. He appears tough, but he has the soul of an artist.

Not Your Crush’s Cauldron is the definition of a sweet and spicy romance, full of flirtatious banter, heart-rate spiking roommate encounters, and adorable face caresses between Bax and Olive. The underlying theme of stepping out of your comfort zone and taking the leap to pursue your dreams is beautifully woven into the arc of our characters.

Olive is an intelligent, no-nonsense kind of gal. Though she hasn’t done anything too adventurous, she won’t be stopped once she’s decided what she wants. I wouldn’t say this book really has a third-act break-up; it’s more that time is needed to process new information that’s come to light. And it’s barely a day. Because the miscommunication actually makes sense.

Add in witchy vibes and sisterly love, and it’s irresistible!

3.75⭐️ rounded up!
This is the 3rd book in the Supernatural Singles series and is about Olive Maxwell, one of the Maxwell triplets, and Bax Donovan. Olive prefers the quiet life that revolves around books and teaching at the local college. After she assigns her students a project that asks them to step outside their comfort zones, she realizes that she herself never leaves her comfort zone. So she decides to make a list of things that will push her to try new things.

Bax is a Guardian Angel with a few too many marks against him for broken rules. So when he’s assigned Olive as his next person to protect, he’s a little worried he will break the one last rule he’s been able to keep since he started, Don’t fall in love with your assignment.

Bax and Olive’s story is so cute! Once again April delivers a fun supernatural romance that revolves around magic and family. I will always love the found family trope, and this series definitely delivers on that. Their friend group is fantastic!

With that said, it didn’t quite hit like the first 2 books in the series bc I didn’t connect to Olive as much as Vi and Rose, but so glad to have read it. It’s quick and fun, and I recommend this series for people who love lighthearted/witchy, friends to lovers!

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review! Happy pub day!

Side note: I would LOVE if we could get Harper and Adrian’s story!!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing the ARC.

In the third installment of the Supernatural Singles series, we get Olive's story with her friend turned roommate, Bax.

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, but this one just felt flat for me. I struggled a lot getting behind Olive and Bax as a couple, even though previous books had already addressed the will they/won't they tension between the two of them. I never really got that feeling while reading this book.

Olive didn't really get interesting for me until closer to the end. Maybe it was a style choice in that she was supposed to be the "boring" one, but I have read about wallflowers like her before and have been perfectly engaged. And Bax, I really just wanted him to be more fleshed out than he was. He was also a flat character and it made for a pretty boring read.

Not my fave out of the group.