Bummed as I just did not enjoy this :(

I loved book 1 and really liked book 2... but this one was just, boring? The plot didn't grab me at all and while the relationship between Baz and Olive was sweet, that's all I can really say?

Low angst, witchy romcom is my best way to describe this and hopefully it will work for others!

The supernatural singles series is just so fun! I loved the first 2 books and this was no exception.

I listened to this audiobook at 1 to 1.25x speed, depending on what I was doing. In general, I listen at slower speeds so this was normal for me. This audiobook has a single female narrator. Her tone is varied and she does a great job differentiating character voices. Overall, a very engaging and enjoyable audiobook experience.

I think Bax and Ollie are so cute together. They are friends and each have a crush on the other but believe their feelings are one sided. So there's quite a bit of pining on both sides before they get together. I love this kind of set up, so I was immediately hooked. Bax occasionally infuriated me with some toxic macho man moments, but Ollie made it clear she wasn't ok with that behavior each time.

During the climax, I really love that the other guys supported Bax but also were clear that he was in the wrong and they would have a problem if he couldn't see that. I think that's what actual friendships look like and sometimes male friendships are lacking that accountability.

I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoyed the first two in the series. Also if you enjoy lighthearted romances, strong female MCs, friends to lovers, and/or forced proximity. And you could read as a stand alone if you really wanted to, but you definitely lose some backstory on the other characters.

Thanks to the author, Dreamscape, and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you're a fan of witches, romance, and a healthy dose of magical mischief, then you're in for a treat.

I am a longtime fan of the Maxwell Witches and I was thrilled to finally get Olive's story. Olive Maxwell is not your typical witch. She prefers teaching about the supernatural world than taking part in it. But when she assigned a project to her class that nudges them outside their comfort zone, Olive decides it's time to step into the unknown along with them with her own list.

We met Bax, the tattooed, motorcycle-riding Guardian Angel who's acquired quite a few black marks on his record earlier in the series. And what else is Baxter Donovan? Olive's new roommate! No Biggie? Baxter's been given one last chance to keep his Guardian wings, and Olive's sudden appearance on his radar might just be the toughest assignment yet. How is he going to keep his hands off his crush and roommate? Lucky for us he doesn't!

I absolutely loved the dynamic between Olive and Bax. Their chemistry sizzles off the pages, and I loved watching them navigate the ups and downs of their mutual crush's. From heart-pounding stunts to daring adventures, these two kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. But "Not Your Crush's Cauldron" isn't just about romance, It's about self-discovery, friendship, and the courage to step outside your comfort zone. Olive's journey of growth and empowerment is incredibly relatable, and I found myself cheering her on every step of the way.

As for the supernatural elements, Asher does an excellent job of blending magic and reality in a way that feels both whimsical and grounded. From spellbinding spells to Guardian Angel shenanigans, this book has it all!

"𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐧!𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞𝐝!"

This review is for the Audio ARC I received from Netgalley for my honest review. Thank you!

From the start I knew this was probably going to be my favorite one of the trilogy. Because we had already gotten to know the FMC Olive and the MMC Bax in the previous books it felt really rewarding to get to their book.

Olive is known as the bookish sister and Bax is known as the guardian angel and by the end of the second book Olive is moving in with him as a roommate. *brow raise*

I adore Olive. She's quirky and fun and bookish and introverted but she isn't a prude.

Bax had to grow on me because at times in the other books he was too standoffish and protective for his own good. But boy did he GROW ON ME.

I probably laughed at loud more during this book than the others. He was hilarious and the pacing was great and it's just fun and cute.

Also Bax is a tattooed angel with *piercings* and what's not to like.

The narrator did a phenomenal job even though as always I wish it was dual narrators because the POV does switch back forth but she did a wonderful job.

Highly recommend this whole series and I'm dying to know if there are plans for a Harper and Adrian's book because I feel like that would be super hot!

RATING: 5/5
SPICE: 3.5/5
GENRE: Romance, Plus-Size, Witchy, Spicy
TROPE: Friends-to-Lovers

​

I absolutely loved reading this. I don’t know what it is about this year, but the books have just been hitting! This is the third book in the Supernatural Singles series by April Asher. The series focused on three plus size witch-sisters and their stories of falling in love. I have absolutely loved Asher’s previous novels, but this one really takes the cake. Olive is the timid teacher who moves in with her Angel friend Bax. He offered up his spare room to Olive knowing that she wasn’t in the safest living environment. There are definitely some sexy encounters that start from the moment she moves in… The trouble starts when Bax is assigned to be Olive’s Guardian Angel. There are three rules to being a guardian angel, and one of those rules, and most important one is DO NOT FALL IN LOVE with your assignment. Oops!
This read was fun and romantic and sexy. Asher writes very well and I really commend her on making the characters (and dialogue) feel very real. April Asher should be added to your “instant-buy” authors. She is for me.

Not Your Crush’s Cauldron
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: April Asher

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Dreamscape Media and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Olive Maxwell much prefers teaching about the Supernatural world to taking part in it and leaves the magical shenanigans to her two sisters. After assigning her college students a project designed to nudge them outside their comfort zones, Olive realizes she’s never once stepped a toe out of her own—and it’s about time that changed.

Her first trip into the unknown? Moving in with her longtime crush and friend: tattooed, motorcycle-riding, and pleasantly pierced Baxter Donovan.

Bax Donovan, Guardian Angel not-so-extraordinaire, has acquired so many black marks on his record it looks like a Scantron test. He’s been given one last chance to keep his Guardian wings, a high-profile Assignment he knows all too well. Olive is usually as low-risk as it gets. Hell, she wrote the safety manual.

But something landed her on the Guardian Angel Affairs radar, and he guesses it has something to do with the heart-pounding stunts she’s determined to check off her Dare I Docket list. Keeping Olive out of trouble is about to be his toughest Assignment. He’s at real risk of shattering the only Guardian Angel code of conduct rule he’s yet to break: don’t fall in love with your Assignment. And he isn’t so sure that’s a bad thing.

My Thoughts: This book published yesterday. This is the third book in the Supernatural Singles series and I was so excited to see how the third Maxwell sister ended up and I was not disappointed. I typically do not like paranormal romance or fantasy, but I love Asher’s books and will dive right into the supernatural world. We were introduced to these characters in the first book. Even though this is a series, it could be read as a standalone, as the author does a great job with details. Olive is the quieter of the Maxwell sisters and is stuck in order and routine, until she moves in with her longtime crush and friend, Baxter Donovan, also the local guardian angel. Bax has a lot of “black marks” on his record and has been given a last ditch assignment, one he knows very well, Olive. Olive doesn’t take risks, until she decides to embark on Dare I Docket List, just like her students are doing. Bax has to go above and beyond to keep Olive out of trouble. Bax, himself, is at high risk of shattering the only rule he has not broken, falling in love with his assignment. Although Bax has secretly crushed after Olive for years. Follows the tropes of friends to lovers, paranormal romance, forced proximity and found family.

The story is narrated by both Olive and Baxter, through their POV. The author does an amazing job with the plus size representation. I loved the continuation of the character development from prior books. This supernatural family is superb! Olive is shy, introverted, compassionate, and is loyal to those she loves. Bax is charming, sexy, a bit introverted, and has a bad boy persona. The characters were well developed with depth, witty banter, hot chemistry, endearing, and intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, funny, steamy, heartwarming, and just beautiful. The supporting characters, including the Maxwell sisters, their partners, and their grandmother really elevates this story. I instantly fell in love with Olive and Bax and rooted for their HEA, they really deserved one. The author did a great job with continue world building in this third installment. Bring me all of the witches and demons. I loved the message that this book brought, to try new things, to step out of your comfort zone, while still staying true to who you are, while embracing all of life’s challenges. The one thing that I missed with this installment was the lack of magic, there was some, just not as much as the first two books.

The narrator, Zura Johnson, did an amazing job with voice variation and distinction. The flow and pitch worked well for this story and I was able to listen at 2x with no issues. Zura carried the emotion that the author was portraying with excitement and frantic when needed. I adored this story. It was sweet, fun, endearing, lighthearted, and heartfelt. While this is the conclusion on the sisters, I really hope that Harper gets a book. I highly recommend this book, and the entire series!

This was a fun addition to a great paranormal romance series. I liked the exploration of comfort zones and what it means to stretch those boundaries. I’ve been waiting for Olive and Bax to get together ever since I first read Not the Witch You Wed, and these two did not disappoint. It was intriguing to see Bax in his role as a guardian angel, especially considering the weird dynamic he has with his dad.

The audiobook is narrated by Zura Johnson. I enjoyed her performance and the way she brought Olive, Bax, and their crazy friend group to life.

Note: This is the third book in the Supernatural Singles series. Each book is a standalone following a different couple, but it’s still a good idea to read them in order.

***4.0 Stars***

Overall,
As the third book in this series going into it I knew what to expect, a funny romcom, with lots of witchy slang, pop culture references and a super hot broody hero for our last triplet, Olive. Besides the pining and brooding a lot of what this book is about, is stepping out of your comfort zone. Sometimes new experiences can lead to finding new passions in life and in love.

Narrator,
The narrator was ok, I was not a huge fan of Olives voice, but that might be a me problem not a narrator problem.

Recommendation,
Do you want a witchy romcom that doesn't take it self seriously? Then I would recommend this book to you. You could probably read this out of order or only read this book, but it is the third book and it would spoil bits of the first two.

Let me start with saying the Supernatural Singles series is a wonderfully sweet, funny and spicy series that is a delight to read.
💗Not the Witch You Wed
💗Not Your Exes Hexes
💗Not Your Crush’s Cauldron

These books follow the three Maxwell sisters on their journey of self discovery, power and love.

Not Your Crush’s Cauldron is the third in the series following Olive Maxwell the studious and goal oriented Maxwell sister as she leaves an unsavory living situation to move
In with her friend Bax (the guardian angel). Sparks instantaneously fly even if they are both trying to ignore it.

Olive is given an opportunity to apply for a grant that allows her to set up a supernatural exchange program and together data she asks her students to make a list of items that take them outside of their comfort zone and try to achieve some of the items. Not wanting to assign something without doing it herself she makes her own list.

Bax is granted an assignment he doesn’t think he can follow the rules for…

The banter, slow burn and unwavering support Bax and Olive give is simply perfection. I love the glimpses of the precious couples that April gives us throughout the book as well.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Format: Audio and Physical

The audio for this book was so well done. The narrator was engaging and easy to listen to.

This was pretty cute! I struggled to get into it at first - usually I’m able to jump into a series at any point, since each book is about a different couple.
With this one I’d recommend reading the first two books before, since I felt like I was missing a lot of context about their world, and their friendship prior to the start of the book.

While this is a romance book, I don’t think the relationship between Olive & Bax is really the central focus. It’s more a story of self discovery, and how the people you love in your life make it even better.

I’m a sucker for friends to lovers, and roommates, so I did love how their forced proximity got them to admit their feelings for one another 🥰

🎧 audiobook thoughts:
I tandem read - audio + ebook - and I wasn’t a huge fan of the narration. While I think the narrator did a great job with Olive, I didn’t love the other voices. This could have been far better with a second (male) narrator as well.

Tropes + topics:
🏠 roommates
🫶🏼 friends to lovers
🧙 witch fmc
😇 guardian angel mmc
💫 curvy rep
💟 found family
💞 dual pov/3rd person

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Dreamscape Media for advanced ebook and audio copies. All opinions are my own.

I love a good witchy romance. Give me a witch and guardian angel and I was sold! This book was just pure entertainment and I really enjoyed it.

Love this addition to the Maxwell sisters series! The tension between Olive and Bax is delicious, and I love that they have a solid friend group to help talk things through with.

Not Your Crush's Cauldron is the third book in the Supernatural Singles series. Each has followed one of the Maxwell triplets. Olive is the quiet sister that is not prone to taking chances or risks in life. When she assigns a project to her students asking them to step outside of their comfort zones she decides is time for her to do the same. Bax Donovan is her roommate and he is a guardian angel that is on his last chance with his job. He is assigned to protect Olive without her knowledge and joins her on her new adventures.

I really enjoy paranormal romance books. This series is a lot of fun. This particular book was not my favorite from the series but it was still a lot of fun. Olive and Bax are so cute. I really enjoyed Olive's journey. I had the audiobook and loved the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Triplet witch, Olive Maxwell, decides to step out of her comfort zone and try a few new experiences accidentally triggering the Guardian Angel Association to assign her a guardian angel. Baxter Donavon, her longtime friend and new roommate, is assigned to her case. He also happens to be secretly in love with Olive. Bax can’t tell Olive any of this, so he keeps her safe, while sparks fly and she falls in love with him. When Olive and her triplets Vi and Rose find out Bax’s secret, can he convince Olive and her sisters he is truly in love with her?

Not Your Crush’s Cauldron is the third paranormal romance in the Supernatural Singles series. I have read the first two, but you don’t need to before you read this one. The author does a great job with explaining the backstory. Olive and Bax have such amazing chemistry, and their love story is real and relatable. I also enjoyed catching up with the couples who fell in love in the previous two books. I think you should read all three in order, they are that good!

Wow! April Asher does it again with this super cute witchy rom-com about the youngest Maxwell triplet. I absolutely love these books and the 3rd book did not disappoint.

The narrator in the book does such a fabulous job on all of the voices and you can easily distinguish between characters.

I loved the found family among the different paranormal species and the amazing friends they are. I hope the series doesn’t end here as I’m not ready to put these characters away.

I love how the last book involved even more of amazing grandma and all of the sisters and their boys from the previous books as well as Harper and Adrian.

As with all the books the author does pick a nickname for the two love interest to call each other which may get on some nerves but I find endearing.

Great 3rd book in the series highly recommend the audiobook. Perfect cozy paranormal romance!

Thank you to the author, publisher, narrator and NetGalley for providing this arc for my honest review.

A fun addition to the series! I loved seeing Olive and Bax’s story play out. They went to well together and the chemistry was off the charts! Bax, being a professional guardian angel, is assigned to watch over Olive. She is very reserved and doesn’t break out much. But after making a list, Bax agrees to do the list with her.

Things get heated and they start to catch major feelings! I really loved this story. The mix with magic was so much fun! It is spicy and sweet!

I hadn't read the 2 previous books in this series when I read this book -- and I really think it would have helped ease me into the world a little bit better. However, I think that you can read this one as a standalone.

The sexy banter between Bax and Olive is perfect from the opening chapter and the more the characters interact the more the sexual tension builds. When the first kiss happens, I was on the edge of my seat and so ready for the bad boy guardian angel to help bookish Olive be wild for a change.

The characters are sweet and fun. I loved Harper, the succubus friend, who is always encouraging Olive to step out of her shell in a sexy way. I really hope that she gets a book with the lion shifter.

The narrator was great but it was difficult at first to know when the POV switched. However, I got into the feel of the book quickly.

This is third in the Supernatural Singles series and Asher gives us another funny, happy paranormal rom-com. I've enjoyed all three of these and I really hope we get Harper's book (succubus bestie). These aren't terribly inclusive, but they also don't engage in the "supernaturals are so oppressed even though they have powers" trap. Pierced, tatted guardian angel x bookish professor witch room-mance with a get-out-of-your-comfort-zone list. This is the first in the series I read on audio and while I'm glad I read it, narrator Zura Johnson didn't do enough to differentiate between all the female voices for me to keep track without careful attention to dialog tags. I would also have preferred dual narration since the book is in dual POV, but at least the POV switches were easy to note.

I just really adore this Supernatural Singles series!

I think there is something so fun about a contemporary paranormal romance series that you can tell is just written to make you feel good! The SS series doesn't take itself too seriously, all of the books are fun, sexy, big on happy feels and love, and then you add in the paranormal aspects and i'm basically a puddle of happiness begging April Asher to just never stop writing them!

Book 3 focuses on Olive and Bax, both characters I've been dying to get to in the previous books, and this book didn't disappoint!

Olive Maxwell is the quiet and safe sister.. she prefers teaching about the supernatural world to taking part in it and leaves the magical shenanigans to her two other sisters (the FMCs of books 1&2 in this series!) But after assigning her college students a project designed to nudge them outside their comfort zones, Olive realizes that she’s never once stepped a toe over her own…and it’s about time that changed.

Bax Donovan, Guardian Angel not-so-extraordinaire, is given one last chance to keep his Guardian wings intact, a high-profile Assignment he knows all too well. Olive is usually as low-risk as it got. Hell, she wrote the safety manual. But something landed her on the Guardian Affairs radar and his guess was it had something to do with the heart-pounding stunts she’s determined to check off her Dare I Docket list.

Keeping Olive out of trouble is about to be his toughest assignment yet, He’s at real risk of shattering the only Guardian Angel Code of Conduct Rule he’s yet to break: Don’t fall in love with your Assignment. And he isn’t so sure that’s a bad thing.

Read this if you love:
-paranormal/supernatural stories
-forced proximity, roommates with plenty of post shower run-ins!
-Friends to lovers
-forbidden romance
-bravery bucket list plot
-opposites attract
-tattooed, motorcycle-riding, and pleasantly pierced MMC
-fantastic character growth
-Dual POV
-a steamy good time: 3/5 spice!


Not only did I have the chance to read this one as a digital ARC but I also had the chance to listen to this ALC audiobook as well thanks to Dreamscape media! I LOVED the audiobook performances! Dual narration, really well performed, and it completely draws you in! I could feel the longing in the narrators voices really adding to the pining in the story! loved it, highly recommend the Audio as well!

3.75 ⭐️

This series is so sweet 🥰 and April Asher finished this series off well! I will say that book 1 is still my favourite. It was cute but I’ll argue I’ve read this story before - it was very very cute just nothing overly special.

The audiobook was great :)