I really wanted to love this one but I just couldn't care as much for the characters. I did like learning about the curses for each of the characters that are included and that was what kept me reading more. I also enjoyed the sapphic elements included and I loved the potential romance between our main character and Briar.

I will forever read anything Kayla Cottingham writes. I love her writing style and the characters she creates. She so easily creates these worlds that stick in my head and characters that stay in my heart. Will forever recommend her work.

I've been a big fan of Kayla Cottingham's work since her debut MY DEAREST DARKEST came out a few years ago. I loved that one and her second novel, THIS DELICIOUS DEATH, and have gotten many kiddos to borrow them from the library. PRACTICAL RULES FOR CURSED WITCHES is fairly different from those two in terms of horror style--DEAREST DARKEST and DELICIOUS DEATH go for the gore and scares, while CURSED WITCHES is more of a cozy fantasy with splashes of horror and blood mixed in. All three of her novels feature found families, self-acceptance, and those ooey-gooey feelings of first love. Cottingham is the perfect author for today's Gen-Z youth and I am so happy teens and adults appreciate her work!

CURSED WITCHES is a lot of fun, particularly after the first few chapters when Delilah and Kieran meet and take off on their adventure to break Kieran's family curse. I loved the main and supporting characters, especially Santiago, Ariel, and Adelaide, and hope to see more of Klaus and Charlotte in the sequel. I adored the main trio of Delilah, Briar, and Kieran and chuckled throughout at their banter and smiled at their camaraderie. Like I said, Gen Z storytelling doesn't get much better than Kayla Cottingham. Get PRACTICAL RULES FOR CURSED WITCHES and her other two novels for the teens in your lives.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Delacorte Press for the ARC of this terrific novel in exchange for my honest and hopefully better-late-than-never review.

PRACTICAL RULES FOR CURSED WITCHES was cute, cozy, fun, and lighthearted. I had such a good time reading this story.

I was excited by the concept of this book, but I ended up being disappointed by the execution of it.

The main character was frustratingly dense. She forgot key things that would be top of her mind if she cared about breaking the curses as much as she claimed. She couldn't understand any "clues" even when they basically were spelled out for her.

The other problem I had with this book was connected to this. The main character didn't do much to advance the plot herself. Almost every problem or decision was solved by someone else on her behalf.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cozy, sapphic, witches.. Need I really say more? Add this one to your tbr now!!

arc via netgalley

This story was cute, cozy, endearing, and fun. I found myself entertained with the lighthearted tail of broken curses, found love. The relationship in the story was not forced or overdone. The entire story was refreshing.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This had a lot going on. Curses, quests, finding your place in the world, romance, and tons of action. It was a unique read! I loved the magical realm the characters lived in. I would happily read more from that land.

Briar was not my favorite character but grew on me at the end. I loved that the story focused on found family. And I absolutely love Delilah!

This was such a fun witchy must adventure. The concept and use of curses in this story were super interesting and I found all the characters and their relationships engaging. There were a few times that seemed a little to convenient, but it was all worth it in the end.

4.5/5 stars, rounded up.
I loved the cozy vibes of this fantasy! The main character, Delilah, expresses her magic through baking, which is a super cute idea. There are high stakes to her mission, because not only will her family's curse not be resolved if she fails, she will also lose her magic. Her mission-- to fix the magic draining spell on the son of a wealthy family. Along the way they run into his twin sister, Briar, who is cursed to absorb his magic. I loved the bonding that Delilah and Briar go through during the book. Briar has almost no one in her life and revealing her secret is really scary, but Delilah grows to really care about her.

The pacing can be a little slow, especially in the middle, but it was a very relaxing read for me and picked up more towards the end.

This book was fun and made me smile throughout! I liked that this book was about hope and persevering. I loved the characters and kept rooting for them all to be happy. If you want a love story that reminds you that an love can take you at the most unexpected times then this is the story for you!

I wanted to love this book so. much, but ultimately it just fell flat for me. The characters were not presently whole, they might have check off the personality list that the author had in mind but they never quite came alive for me. It saddened me that I never felt the urge to root for them and their causes. Others seemed to love this book, though, and I would still recommend it to readers who are yearning for more of that Ghibli spark. As for me, I'll have to keep looking.

It's more fantastical than realistic, has found family, and coming of age themes. Talk about a plot twisat! I was on the edge of my seat when I realized what had happened.

I know I was looking for a cozy fantasy and I found it with this book.

Delilah just turned 17, and when the witches counsel comes, she sets an idea of what she wants to do for her Calling, and that is to break the curse upon the women in her family. Little did she know, Kieran was going to interrupt her calling so he can have her break the curse on him and his twin sister. Kieran suffers attacks to where he loses his powers and his twin sister takes that power. They start on a journey and find Briar.


We find so much to love about this book. Adventure, finding love, found family, and how we're not defined by one bad thing about us. This book gave me the hug that I needed.

Perfect Sapphic romance set in a fantasy world that ties together the real world and modernization. There is a unique magical system in play that is delightful and intriguing. All the characters have interesting backgrounds and development as they try to work together to rid themselves of their miserable curses.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

I really loved this book. I absolutely loved the cute and coziness of this book. Delilah is a witch but she is also cursed. She has to break another families curse. The twins, Briar and Kieran Pelumbra has a family curse that 1 twin magic weakens and 1 gets stronger and takes the other twin magic. I just absolutely loved the ending of this book. There is sapphic romance in this book and I absolutely loved it.

I absolutely loved the narrator Jess Nahikian. They were amazing and their voice was absolutely amazing and they brought these characters to life.

I really enjoyed this read. It was a sweet palate cleanser of a YA romance. It has an interesting magic system which I really liked. The found family aspect and the relationships between all the characters were great. I thought the book struggled a bit to balance the main protagonists while also the romance aspect.

4.25 stars

I've previously read YA horror from Kayla Cottingham, so I was delighted to see that she wrote a cozy, queer, witchy fantasy story. This was a perfect read when I was in my fall delulu era - grasping at any crisp breeze and convincing myself the season was changing. The story was cute, the magic was interesting, and I loved the main set of characters. I only wish that some of the other members of our lil found family were fleshed out a bit more, but otherwise a perfect read for fall!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

3/5 Thank you netgalley and delacorte press for the oppurtunity to review! I think this book was very sweet. I really wanted to love it because it has all the things I love: witches, interesting magic system, found family, sapphic romance. However, the writing was really a miss for me. I don't think its bad, its just TOO light and fluffy for my taste. The characters didn't feel fully developed so I wasn't that into it maybe? I'm honestly not sure what exactly it was that missed the mark for me, but it just felt like something was missing. Regardless, I think I would still recommend this to people who want a truly light and fluffy cozy fantasy read.