How can you not love a badass witch with a panther familiar and a pension for docs and chucks? Covens, compelling and sassy incantations, bonds, spell circles, treachery, ley lines and one hot sorcerer culminate in this explosive book that will have you glued to the pages. Sorry Kane—Selene and Memnon have me routing for them through all the things! ✨♥️🔥

I read Bewitched and immediately stepped into this, and the momentum was strong. I must also give credit, this is one of the few (but very highly appreciated) books that has a "the road so far" summary at the beginning of the book. Let's all take a moment to appreciate authors who recognize that sometimes their readers need a reminder of what happened in the previous book!

This second installment continued to build on what happened in the first book. Everything turned up a level - the angst, the longing, the plot, the "I feel like something is sketchy here...." vibes. I read this entire book in 24 hours, I could not put it down.

Also, this is one of the few books I have read that uses a small amount of modern vocabulary and slang and isn't cringy. Rather, it feels natural and in line with the characters. It gives that feeling that this could be happening in our world, or at least it makes you wish it was.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for a digital ARC. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

5/5 ⭐️

Absolutely amazing! This book was…so INTENSE! Like, nail biting, breath holding, edge of my seat intense. It was one perilous blow after another for Selene. I can’t tell you how many times I found myself internally screaming “no, no, NOO”!
Oh the journey she endured, it’s heart wrenching and beautiful, all at the same time. Selene is such an all powerful badass witch and empress! The growth we witness her go through and the confidence she attains is extraordinary.

We also get to see a lot of groveling from Memnon trying to right the wrongs he put Selene through. But, at the same time he is endearing and humorous. His temper over anyone touching or trying to hurt her is explosive. I love their relationship dynamic and was so ecstatic to see her finally give in to her feelings for Memnon.

This book was everything I wanted out of a series sequel! There’s a shitload of drama, multitudes of action, adventure, immense fighting and steaming hot spice!
Through all of that we finally learn the backstory of their history from 2000 years ago; how and why he was entombed into a deep sleep and why Selene is now in the modern day world. It’s an utterly fantastic plot line that is gripping, captivating and has you yearning for more!

This is a must read series, especially if you are a fan of Laura Thalassa!

Thank you NetGalley, Laura Thalassa and Bloom books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

i read the four hoursemen series, LOVED IT. read the first book in this series LOVED IT, just finished this one, LOVED IT EVEN MORE. god i love laura thalassa

Laura Thalassa has once again exceeded expectations with "Bespelled," solidifying its place as my favorite read of 2024 thus far. The sophomore installment in her series shows no signs of a slump; in fact, it surpasses its predecessor, "Bewitched," with its enhanced writing and pacing. While it does provide answers to some lingering questions, it skillfully introduces new ones, keeping readers engrossed until the very end. Memnon emerges as a standout character, his morally ambiguous nature and enigmatic demeanor adding depth to the narrative. A particular scene around the 80% mark left me captivated, and despite wondering how there could still be more to come, the remaining 20% flew by in a whirlwind of action and revelations. I found myself devouring each page eagerly, eager for more. However, one aspect I wished for improvement upon was Selene's character development. I kept waiting for her to come to terms with Roxilana, and at times, I found myself frustrated with her lack of growth. Needless to say, I'm eagerly anticipating the next installment in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book!

Thank you to Laura Thalassa, Bloom, and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of Bespelled in exchange for my honest review.

This book was outstanding and also not at all what I had expected. I was expecting a heavier focus on the enemies-to-lover plot line, which there was a lot of. Instead, we got this continuation of a mystery that played out in wonderful ways. And while one mystery might have been solved, the book ended with another really big question. I will say the ending surprised me because I thought the story could have ended where it did. I am not sure where Laura Thalassa is going to take the next book, but I am certain it will be amazing. I have a good idea of what I am hoping to see in the next book, but I cannot imagine being disappointed, even if my expectations do not happen at all.

Bespelled picks up right where Bewitched left off, with Selene in prisoned. Now having regained her memories, she is able to prove to Memnon just how wrong he was. Riddled with guilt, Memnon enters a bond with Selene, where he will follow her will until she falls in love with him. Meanwhile, there is also the question of who is killing these witches and what is really going on Henbane Coven? I would highly recommend this book to all of those who loved the first book. The plot is everything and you can see some character development in Selene. It is interesting now that she remembers both her current life, and her former life. It changes who she is in some ways, and in other ways it does not all. It is an interesting dynamic that I hope is explored further in the coming book because Selene is not the same women she was 2000 years ago.

I really enjoyed this. It was exactly what I wanted in the 2nd book. Romance. Drama. Intrigue. And it was a fun read. If you like romantasy I recommend this series!

First of all, this series might be my favorite witch series to date, and I’ve enjoyed it far more than the Four Horsemen series by Laura. Witch + her familiar, a soul mate bond with issues, and magic that requires a price.

Too much of this book was Selene making absolutely stupid decisions, ones that we could have overlooked maybe if she still had her memory issues, but without that excuse they just make me want to bang my head against the wall.

Memnon made up for it for me, to the point where I’d have loved to get a few chapters from his POV as well.

I’m glad we finally got an answer as to why he was entombed and cursed in the first place. I found the answer to be satisfying and didn’t feel contrived, which earns the author points in my book.

I wanted more from the shifters in this book. There seemed to be a lot of focus on Kane for him to still not be a main character. Maybe book 3 will flesh that out for us some more.

All in all I’m looking forward to seeing where this series goes!

I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

I quite liked this! I really enjoyed Bewitched so I was very excited to read the sequel. I think overall I did enjoy the first book more, but there were some moments I really loved in Bespelled. I loved finding out more about Memnon and Selene's past especially, and seeing Selene's character develop and change through the book was interesting. This book had a lot more spicy scenes than the first in the series. I'm still digesting the ending trying to decide if I liked it (I think I did) and I am excited to continue in Book 3!

Another amazing book from Laura Thalassa! She weaves a world that leaves you wishing to be a part of it. Her characters are complex, yet relatable. Selene is an admirably optimistic person, even when bad things are happening to her and around her. I love her strength and determination. She rolls with the punches as best as she can and always gets back up.
Oh, how I love Memnon. He is unrepentantly himself. He does whatever he wants and makes no apologies for it. He is deliciously morally gray and a bit villainous and I cannot get enough!
I was on the edge of my metaphorical seat the entire time and I cannot wait to read what will happen next!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Thank you Laura Thalassa, NetGalley, and Bloom Books for allowing me to ARC read this!

Bespelled is the beguiling sequel to Bewitched by Laura Thalassa.

Picking up where Bewitched ended, Selene is continuing to try to solve the murders of witches. Memnon betrayed her and he is trying to atone for his mistakes and he does so in various ways.

Bespelled is absolutely beautiful and such a fun, but dark, read. I have loved Laura's works and I continue to absolutely love them! I still need to read The Unearthly series.

If you've read any of Laura's books or have read Bewitched, Bespelled is where it's at and I am absolutely obsessed.

The ending, although not as jaw dropping as the ending of Bewitched, was still surprising and a huge plot twist.

I love Selene and Memnon and I can't wait to see them in book three and what happens between them!

Content:
✨Magical College/Coven
🔥Enemies to Lovers
✨Fated Mates
🔥Touch Her & Die
✨Witches, Sorcerers, Shifts, & Fae
🔥Same World as Rhapsodic but separate series
✨Ancient Curse
🔥Familiars
✨Spicy!

Thank you Netgalley and Bloom Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Laura Thalassa. I will be honest. I love how this book just manages to continue the story. I know that sounds weird but I feel like in fantasy they try to make it feel like oh no this isn't the same story. This is a continuation of the plot of the first book. It isn't creating a new story out of thin air. Yet again though I will add. I need to read Rhapsodic and that whole series to feel in my opinion more connected to this world.

BESPELLED Laura Thalassa

This book, My goodness. I swear the only bad thing about ARCS is that you have to wait even longer for sequels, because there most be a sequel to this.

This book made me love Memnon even more (I was conflicted on Bewitched)

That ending!!! Why? Why?

I loved loved this book and I'm extremely eager to get another (I hope another is coming)

While the book kept prolonging the issue at hand since Bewitched it kept my attention and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen, I gladly lost sleep to reading.

This book should definitely be on your TBR.

I couldnt get into this book, unfortunately. I was so excited for it, but this genre just isnt for me i suppose.

Thanks to Netgalley for this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

WOW! This book was so good. I say Memnon did do lots of A$$ Kissing and making up for his pass sins in this book.
I loved the look back at their lives before Memnon was put to sleep. I knew Selena was and is a Badass) At first, I was feeling Kane for her, but after the look back, I can't see anybody but Mamnon for Selena.

I loved this book so much, and it is so hard to tell you all about it without giving too much away. I will say that even though Memnon is apologizing, I still can't fully trust him. I just kept second-guessing him and trying to see if he had other motivations. Or if he was really helping her or just guiding her to see what he wanted her to.

I NEED! The next book like yesterday. I am so curious about what is going to happen. Especially now that Kane just told Selena what he did at the end(it's a spoiler, so I don't want to give it away). Also, the last bit of the book ends with
"I hope you’re ready. It’s time to get married."

You would think I'd have more answers with this book, but with what I did learn, I have so many more questions I NEED answered now.
Is Memnon really sincere? or is he playing Selena? Can she trust her friends? Or the other witches, wearwolfs, police and teachers? SO. MANY. QUESTIONS!

BESPELLED
By @laurathalassa
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
ARC thanks to @netgalley
Book releases May 28th and is available for preorder!

I read this back to back with Bewitched and I am in awe of the stories that pour from Laura Thalassa’s hand onto paper. The plot of this, bouncing between timelines and past lives, was easy to keep up with and organized.

I was left wanting MORE, so much more, of Roxilana’s history with Memnon. I enjoyed every snarky second of Nero (I think a bonus chapter of his POV would be ah-mazing!).

This is available for preorder on Amazon, etc so order your copy!

This book was so much on the edge of my seat action. Due to work and personal life issues I had to read this book at a much slower pace than I would have if given the time to just fly through it. This is the 2nd book in Laura Thalassa's Bewitched series and it did not disappoint. After the events and the cliff hanger of the first book the amount of what could go wrong did go wrong scenes did eventually start to get a little overwhelming but tied up so well in the end. I Loved this book and absolutely can not wait for the next book to come out.

Last night, Memnon hated Selene. After the disastrous events of the Full Moon, Selene finds herself bound closer to the ancient sorcery than ever. She’d rather ignore his presence than engage, but as their common enemies draw closer, the two make a dangerous deal. Until the murders are solved—or until Selene falls in love with Memnon—he will be bound to her will, hers to command. As the danger intensifies and the two find themselves forced into closer proximity, Selene must ask herself who is the most dangerous? The enemies surrounding them or her own treacherous heat?

Laura Thalassa is the queen of pulling off weird romance tropes better than every other author. I adored her Four Horsemen (as in the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) series and her Bargainer series, and the Bewitched novels are no exception. I had so much fun reading the first novel in this series but Bepselled has stolen the place of my favorite Thalassa book. One word: groveling. Memnon finally realizes that being a horrible person to the one woman he’s supposed to love above all others is BAD and goodness does he make up for it here. There’s tension, there’s flirting, there’s banter, there’s an MMC willing to literally burn down the world for Selene. What more could you ask for?

Since I can’t really get into plot or character development because of spoilers unfortunately (feel free to message me if you’ve read the book and want to discuss), here’s a list of every trope I adored about this book.

𓆤 Touch her and you die (a slow and painful death)
𓆤 I would burn down the world for you and enjoy it
𓆤 Love me because otherwise, I’ll be sad
𓆤 Who did this to you? They will die. Slowly. (I’m sensing a theme here).
𓆤 Power struggles… in more ways than one
𓆤 Love that transcends time (literally)
𓆤 Villianous and wicked love interest
𓆤 Fated mates (but tension because of course there’s tension)
𓆤 A completely original ancient language with adorable and dangerous, endearments
𓆤 Banter that will make you laugh and swoon
𓆤 Groveling (I know I’ve already mentioned it, but goodness the GROVELING)
𓆤 Memnon’s Roman Empire is actually the Roman Empire
𓆤 MMC who really wants the FMC to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies
𓆤 Casual (and not so casual) intimacy
𓆤 Surppotive female characters
𓆤 Swoonworthy characters
𓆤 Personal growth separate from relationships
𓆤 Weirldy slowburn? Even though they’re together a bunch?
𓆤 Wonderful writing and pacing
𓆤 Seriously, just go read this series

I have been looking forward to reading Bespelled since finishing Bewitched last year. Overall, I personally enjoyed this! The beginning of the book gave me 1999's "The Mummy" vibes (and who doesn't love that movie!?) I found myself wishing I attended a school for witchcraft if for nothing else but to join in on the parties. The banter between Selene and Memnon gave me heart eyes and pretty much everything about Memnon I loved (and those spicy scenes!) The way their magic is described with each person's being a certain color, and they way it moves depending on the spell being cast is great. Sybil is fun and I enjoyed seeing more of her, and I wish I could give Nero a huge hug and chin scratches.

I gave this four stars because I felt like it was a bit predictable and everything seemed to wrap up a little too easily. However, this is only the second book, and that absolutely will not deter me from reading the next book in the series!

I loved this book!
Memnon and Selene have to figure out why witches are disappearing and then turning up dead. The way that Selene grows as a character in this books is absolutely incredible. Memnon is just as mysterious and the plot twist at the end is just chefs kiss. I already need the third book with that cliffhanger!