I really wanted to lthis book, it has all the elements I typically enjoy: witches, books, found family, and a cozy autumn setting. The writing itself was lovely and vivid; the world and magic system were well imagined, and I could easily picture the scenes, especially the charming Lunar Books. On paper, Belle should be a relatable and empowering main character. But in practice, I found her frustrating. Her constant indecision and lack of backbone made it hard for me to fully root for her.

While I enjoyed the magical elements and the overall message of self-discovery, the pacing dragged, especially in the middle, and I had a hard time getting emotionally invested in the characters or the stakes. Some of the character choices felt inconsistent, which added to that disconnect. I did love the found family aspect, but the slow-burn romance didn’t quite land for me. I never fully felt the chemistry, which made that thread of the story feel a bit flat.

The cover is stunning, and I was so ready for this to be a standout witchy read for spooky season, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my hopes. The story had potential, but the execution just didn’t quite come together. A stronger edit and more focus on character development and pacing might have made a big difference.

My copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Berkley/Ace for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A truly magical story! Belladonna’s journey to finding her true magic was a wild one. With a hottie watchman and a mysterious old man, things really get interesting.
The story starts a bit slow, but once Belle realizes she might lose her powers the story heats up. Also, her cat jinx is adorable. The magic was great, I enjoyed the different spells, brews and incantations. The ending was good, and I would be interested in a second book of written.

Thank you to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing Group | Ace for the opportunity to read this ebook.

Rewitched charms with its warmth, charming cast, and magical undertones. While the pacing and romance may feel too cozy for some, it delivers a genuinely comforting narrative about rediscovery, community, and reaching one’s full magical, and personal potential.

I don't read a ton of fantasy novels, but when I do, I prefer for them to be set in the "real world," and I like for witches to be involved. Rewitched sounded like it was right up my alle,y and now that I've read it, I can say it is definitely the kind of fantasy novel I like to read.

I would say this is a coming-of-age story, but the main character is 30 years old. So maybe it is more of a "finding your true self" novel. Bella is a very relatable character, even if she is a witch. She wants to please people but doesn't always have confidence in herself.

The supporting cast of characters is great, too. It is a group of friends that you would want to hang out with.

I don't want to say too much about the evil that is in the book, as it would be too easy to spoil the trials Bella must face. But I will say that the Big Baddie in this story shows you what would result if Delores Umbridge and Voldemort had a child together.

There are a couple of other things that felt to me as having Harry Potter influence. As a fan of the series (I did the midnight releases of several of the books and movies) it was fun to see these little touches. But if you have never read the series or are not a fan, it won't impact your enjoyment of this story.

If you are looking for a fun, light read that isn't a rom-com or cozy mystery, then you should definitely pick up this cozy fantasy.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Saturday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2025/07/rewitched-by-lucy-jane-wood-review.html

I wanted to love this book because I'm obsessed with the author's Instagram and the cover. but I found myself unengaged with characters and the story. the fmc is so annoying and not fun to root for. this one fell flat for me.

I realized after requesting this title that I likely wasn’t going to get around to reading it. The premise sounded really interesting when I read the summary, but over time, I just lost motivation to pick it up. I regret requesting it knowing I wouldn't be able to give it a fair review.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity and for providing access to the ARC. I truly appreciate it, even though this one ended up not being the right fit for me.

Belladonna Blackthorn works at Lunar Books and trying to prevent her toxic boss bankrupting it. The owner has been trying to sell it to her but she doesn't feel confident that she can run it or confident in her magic. Belle has a secret. She is a witch. She finds it hard to balance balance her normal life from her witchy one that not even her lifelong friend and roommate knows about. On her 30th birthday she is being summoned by her coven with a trial of tests to to claim her worthiness as a witch. She only has 30 days to harness her magic or lose it forever so she summons the help of her family of witches, a quirky mentor, and a handsome watchman named Rune sent to protect her, but there is something working against her. Mysteries and uncovered and old buried secrets are revealed and even some romance in between.

What a cute and cozy read and a touching story of family, self discovery and magic spells. I loved how Belle gained her confidence in herself and her magic. It was very reminiscent of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and even a cat named Jinx! I couldn't put this book down! This debut novel by author Lucy Jane Wood was a great read. I can't wait for the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for a complimentary e-arc copy of this book.

VIibe:

Slow Burn
Magical Trials
Fate of the FMC’s Magic is on the Line
Mystery
Sinister Forces at Work
Personal Growth & Self-Discovery
A Sprinkle of Romance
Third Person POV

Rewitched is certainly the bookish equivalent of wrapping yourself in a cozy blanket during the autumn, lighting a cinnamon candle, and exhaling all the stress of modern life. It’s warm, charming, and just a little bit magical, the kind of low-stakes fantasy that doesn’t need high drama to tug on your heartstrings. Lucy Jane Wood’s debut is a gentle, affirming story about coming into your own, with a witchy twist that gives it just the right amount of sparkle.

We follow Bella Blackthorn, a thirty-year-old witch who’s been quietly coasting through life, keeping her powers on the backburner while stuck in a rut of self-doubt and burnout. When she’s unexpectedly called to stand trial in front of the Witch Council on her birthday (as one does), she fails miserably and is given 30 days to prove she deserves to keep her powers. It’s a setup that’s whimsical on the surface, but underneath is a pretty heartfelt exploration of self-worth, aging, and the pressure to have everything “figured out” by your thirties which I can highly relate to right now in my life.

One of the biggest strengths of Rewitched is how grounded Bella feels. She’s funny, messy, insecure, and entirely relatable. If you’ve ever felt behind in life, questioned your potential, or looked around and wondered how everyone else seems to have their stuff together, you’ll probably see yourself in her like I did. Her journey is less about big magical triumphs and more about quiet growth, learning to trust herself, and leaning into the life she actually wants.

The book really leans into the cozy fantasy genre: think slower pacing, internal stakes, and heavy on character development. It’s not action-packed, and the first third especially takes its time setting the stage like I'm talking slooowly, way slower paced than I would have liked, but once you settle into the rhythm, it’s soothing in the best way. For the most part, the dialogue felt natural and funny, but there were a few moments that leaned a little too quirky or awkward. It wasn’t a huge issue, but occasionally it took me out of the story when a line felt forced. The six branches of magic Bella has to work through were a fun structure, though at times they did feel a bit repetitive, I would’ve loved to see the magic shake things up more dramatically in her day-to-day life, especially with her job.

The supporting cast is a highlight. Bella’s ragtag group of friends (and magical allies) is full of heart, and her mentor, Arty, easily stole the show. He’s mysterious, a little tragic, and endlessly entertaining. I knew there was more to him from the start, and when we finally learn about his backstory, it gave the story a deeper emotional thread I didn’t realize I was craving. The romance subplot, while not front and centre, is sweet and slow burn, though I did wish we got a little more depth to Rune, the love interest. He has all the ingredients to be swoony, but I wanted to see more layers to his character, especially given his age and hinted-at past.

The ending, while satisfying overall, wrapped up a bit too neatly for me like when it ended, I was sort of like what just happened and was surprised it ended. Still, the vibes were so strong throughout that I didn’t mind too much. I closed the book feeling content, like I’d just spent time with good friends in a world I’d be happy to visit again.

If you’re looking for an epic high fantasy full of twists and battles, Rewitched probably won’t scratch that itch, at all. But if you want a book that feels like a warm drink on a cool autumn afternoon, full of relatable characters, gentle magic, and self-growth, this is the one. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for whatever Lucy Jane Wood writes next. Anyway, I'm rambling here because I've been on a self discovery journey myself and can talk forever on these topics.

*Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Group (Ace) for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I like the plot - second chance to learn how to weild your magic. However, I do not like Belle. She spends most of her tlime crying and wringing her hands declaring she can't do something. Despite being immobilized by self doubt and the potential of doing the wrong thing, Belle consistently turns down offers of support.

Oh, what a delight this read was. This is a more high stakes cozy fantasy, but it fits the genre all the same. This is perfect for fans of Practical Magic. The ending made me think of the big battle in Halloweentown. They were quite similar but still unique in it's own right, and it was very nostalgia geared, so I loved that. The overall twist of the book, I had partly suspected, but I most certainly did not guess the entire picture. What a shocker!

This book follows Bella. Bella lives in the UK and works at a bookstore. We learn a few things off the bat, like the owner wants to sell Bella her shop so she can retire, and that the shop owner's son is an absolute jerk. (Thankfully, he is NOT the love interest, just another hurdle for her to overcome. Bella is visited by a strange, albeit attractive man looking for her and questioning why she has not responded to a letter. A letter that she never received. On her 30th birthday, she is expected to attend her trial and determine her worthiness as a witch. Things don't go in her favor, but she is given until October to pass a handful of trials with the mentorship of an unbiased person.

What You Can Expect:
📖Found Family
📖Mystery
📖Magical Trials
📖Witches
📖A Little Romance
📖Takes Place in the UK
📖Potion Mishaps
📖Things Can Get...Deadly

In a Nutshell: A cosy fantasy with an immature lead character who never acts her age. Decent plot intent but too padded out. More of monotony than magic. This was a slogfest for me.

Plot Preview:
Belle, a witch who hides her magical powers from the humans around her, used to enjoy working at Lunar Books, but her new boss seems intent on butchering any customer-friendly ideas in the name of corporate efficiency. To add to her troubles, just before her thirtieth birthday, there is a summons from her coven: there will be a trial to test her worthiness, and if she fails to pass the test, her magic will be stripped away. Belle has no choice but to prove that she deserves her magic, even if it means interacting with a mentor of questionable integrity and an intrusive “watchman” sworn to protect her.
The story comes to us in Belle’s third-person perspective.

Let’s begin with a hypothetical situation. Suppose you learn that you have a secret magical talent, and someone more experienced hands you a book to help you hone your skill. You ignore the book and use your magic as you wish for personal benefit. After more than a decade, the person comes and says that your prowess is going to be tested within a few days, else the consequences will be severe.
Question 1: What would you do?
A. Pick up the book and study as much as you can within the limited time to be well-prepared for the test?
B. Hurriedly peruse through the book for a couple of hours and try your best to wing your way through the test?
C. Ignore the book and go to the superiors *demanding* clemency, claiming that you had no idea that you would be tested?
Question 2: What would the senior who gave you the book do if they learnt that you weren’t aware of the test?
A. Offer an extension on the deadline but with a firm warning about not taking it lightly again?
B. Strip away your talent with no sympathy because you should have been prepared better?
C. Acknowledge that it was their fault for not telling you about the test (despite the fact that the book mentions it) and give you a special mentor to ace it on a future date?

If your answer is (C) for both questions, this book is for you.
My answer was not C.
While many readers don’t prefer unlikeable lead characters, I actually enjoy the complexity such characters bring to the narrative and the growth that we see in their personality as the pages go ahead. (Would ‘The Christmas Carol’ have been as impressive if Ebenezer Scrooge was a good fellow from the start?) However, there’s unlikeable, and there’s stupid! Belle firmly falls in the second category.
Belle is a paradox: entitled and wishy-washy at once. She has the tendency of being aggressive with some people without justification, and she also allows others to walk over her. She’s opinionated, but is also wary of other’s opinions. Can’t forget the biggest contradiction, which tears a big fat hole in the base premise: Belle is a book lover but she doesn’t even read the book gifted to her about her magical talents. (Why on earth would a bibliophile not read a book about magic!?!??)
It is next to impossible to accept that Belle is thirty! 🙄 At no point in the narrative does she behave in a mature, adult manner. Her only reaction towards issues is to throw a tantrum and either cry or yell about the unfairness of the situation. (Yeah, right! Welcome to adulthood, Belle!) I can’t even say that she behaved like a teen because my teen has more common sense and self-respect in her fingernail than Belle had in her entire body. No matter how the protagonist is, you should be able to root for them. But if I were in the panel that was testing Belle, I would have taken the opposing side because I found all the arguments against Belle legitimate.
One character says to Belle at one point in the narrative: "You sure have a lot to say for someone who doesn't really know that they're talking about." That sums up the main problem. And as a major chunk of the book aims to make us support Belle’s quest of saving her magic, I simply couldn’t enjoy the story.
Its not like Belle was the only problem area of this book.
😒 Mostly repetitive and boring in execution.
😒 Terribly slow pacing.
😒 Barely any scene development, with most of the progression happening only through conversations.
😒 A pile of descriptions (beautifully written in many cases) and hardly any story. If I had to crunch the plot to its bare essentials, the book would last just fifty pages or so.
😒 The lacklustre worldbuilding that doesn’t even explain how the interconnection between witches and “non-wicches” came to be. (On an aside, can someone please explain to me why witch and “wicche” couldn’t be spelt the same way though they mean the same thing and are probably pronounced the same way? What new fantastical nonsense is this?!)
😒 The budding relationship – I just didn’t see the connect! Why was the poor fellow so interested in a girl who didn’t ever speak a kind word to him? (To be fair, the romance is just a minor subplot and doesn’t steal away focus from the core story, which I appreciate.)
😒 It doesn’t take a genius to see how the story will end. So guessable!
😒 Oh, and a womb, aka the uterus, isn’t round like a bowl. 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️ It is shaped like an inverted pear. Issued in public interest!
On the positive side,
🥰 The cover: perfect for the genre
🥰 I do like the idea of seeing a protagonist who hasn’t figured out everything even at thirty. Even though I found her mostly annoying, this factor was refreshing.
🥰 Nice to see an older mentor instead of seeing a typical young guy who ends up being the romantic interest.
🥰 Ariadne, Belle’s human roommate. A bit overenthusiastic but still a delightful character.
🥰 A couple of the reveals in the climax.


As is clear, the skew of my feedback is heavily tilted towards the negative, and the five positives are for relatively minor reasons. Nothing about the book feels like it was written for adults. In fact, it seems childish even if read as a NA novel. The core content is so diluted that it could have worked far better as a 100-page novella.
This is the debut book by an established influencer. I wish I had known this before. Nothing against her, but influencer books tend to have bloated ratings because of their fan base. As someone from an older generation, I do not get this new trend of online influencers and don’t follow anyone in this category. I avoid books about and by influencers, so this entered my TBR only by fluke.
Sorry, but I cannot recommend this. YMMV. So please read other reviews and take a better-informed call.
1.5 stars.
My thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and Ace for making the DRC of “Rewitched” a ‘Read Now’ title on NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Sorry this didn’t work out better.

**Chapters 29-32 were great. The rest of my review is as follows**

ELEVATOR PITCH FOR THIS BOOK:

What if Bella Swan was a witch in a post-Hogwarts world, complete with magical sparkles. She's dealing with Witchy bureaucracy and navigating Potter-esque obstacles as she tries to prevent {the Vampire Council from "What We Do In the Shadows"} the coven executive board from stripping her of her powers on her 30th birthday.

Rune {Edward Cullen} is a 200 year old guy with a super-modern vocabulary who follows Belle {Bella} around "to protect (her)". He spends lots of time ignoring her boundaries while lurking in the shadows, clenching his jaw, making clever remarks, and/or staring broodingly into the distance. And of course she HATES him because she WANTS him. Just kidding! She HATES him. But she WANTS him. He punches her boss for making her cry so it's definitely true love and not toxic masculinity, no ma'am. They're mean to each other because they're secretly IN LOVE. I finally started skipping over anything related to these two and their "romance".

Belle is a complainer. All of her complaints could be solved through very minor steps that she stubbornly refuses to take, which makes the complaining extra frustrating. She hates her boss but consistently refuses the offer to become the boss herself. She "loses her best friend" because she refuses to have a simple conversation about what is going on in her life.

THEN, at the 82% mark, this book gets unexpectedly awesome and stays that way until the 92% mark. It was enough of a turn to push my rating up by an entire star. But the action is cliffhangered at its climax, THEN suddenly it's the final chapter where the characters are all explaining the aftermath to each other instead of us getting to see it all play out. In spite of the fact that I finished reading this book 15 minutes ago, I don't actually remember how it ends, which I guess beats the definition of "not with a bang but a whimper".

I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for access to a digital ARC. My honest review is my own opinion.

This was a very cute witchy romance. Definitely one to enjoy in the fall! I thought I knew where things were heading but there were some unexpected twists that kept it from being too predictable. I'm glad to see there's a companion book coming. Thank you Netgalley for this copy to read!

Belladonna Blackthorn hasn’t lost her magical spark, precisely . . . but she hasn’t seen it in a while either.

With her witchcraft under wraps and a toxic boss making her days miserable, Belle is struggling to keep her beloved Lunar Books afloat and just make it through the day. The last thing she has time for is perfecting her magic.

So when her thirtieth birthday brings a summons from her coven and a trial that tests her worthiness as a witch, Belle fears the worst. With only the month of October left to prove herself or risk losing her magic forever, Belle will need all the help she can get—from the women in her life, from an unlikely mentor figure and even from an infuriating coven watchman who’s sworn to protect her...

I really enjoyed this. The beginning tricked me into believing this would be a cozy fantasy and it also started a little slow, so I was wondering if I’d maintain interest, but once we met the coven and Bella began her trials, I was hooked. I was not anticipating the ending and my jaw was on the floor in several spots. I was proud of the way Bella grew through the whole book. That’s my girl.

I really enjoyed this book! It was such a cute world, great characters, and an interesting story. Great read!

Let's be real: When it gets to fall, we all start looking for all the witchy reads we can find, and we don't necessarily discriminate much beyond that. Witchy book + bookstore vibes? I think that's a lot to sell a lot of us. And this book delivers on both of those things, so if that's what you're looking for, you really don't need to read this review further. You already know this book is for you!

The author mentioned in the audiobook post-interview that the book originally had much stronger 90s vibes that were toned down during editing, and personally, I feel that their removal was a major loss. I think that a stronger sense of intentionality about the atmosphere in this book would have really set it apart; as it stands, it felt like it was going for "Practical Magic" and landed instead in "Halloweentown." Realistically, the atmosphere is why most of us are going to pick up books like this, so just a note for publishers: Give us our 90s next time, pleaseeeee.

But as for the plot? It existed. It was nice, low stakes, fun. Belle's mentor was a complete delight and carried the book, and he deserved every page of attention he got and more. Be aware that this book has a romance element, but it is absolutely not a romance—the romantic plot feels like an afterthought more than anything, so if you're reading to swoon, you'll likely be disappointed! Read for magical hijinks instead.

(Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ebook copy of this book! All opinions are, of course, my own.)

I shouldn't judge a book by its cover...but the cover is what sold me on this. Look at it. It's gorgeous. I just wish I could've felt the same way about the inside of the book. I'm not sure if it was a case of misleading marketing, if it's a debut author thing, or if it's a me thing, but I feel like Rewitched, much like its main character Belle, suffered from an identity crisis.

Billed as a cozy fantasy with themes of self discovery and a slow-burn, low-heat romance, I got hints of all of these things but felt they never came together in a way that made me feel anything but meh. The biggest problem for me is that the subplots were not handled very evenly: most of the book concerns Belle re-discovering her magic after a particularly dreadful "EquiWitch" trial, but there is a romantic subplot between her and a fellow witch that kinda conveniently disappears when Wood doesn't need this man around, and then a subplot of Belle's job being the literal worst, which again, vanishes when not needed. The subplots felt a bit too neatly categorized for me, like they were shoved in little boxes in a plot diagram. ("OK, now it's time for the romance--enter stage left: our lead, and oop, he's served his purpose. You, good sir, vanish from the narrative entirely for 100 pages.") The pacing, too, suffered as a result. Not a lot happens up until the halfway mark, which is kinda par for the course for cozy fantasy. It was a little boring, but mostly fine. But then, at the last minute, there is this big conspiracy and magical battle which feels shoehorned in because we decided to go for the big splashy plot at the 75% mark. So it felt like the book didn't know what to be plot-wise, and that made it an uneven reading experience.

As for what I did love about this book: Wood's writing style is delightfully British, and I adored following Belle's third person POV. There was enough wit and charm in the writing itself that I was compelled to keep reading, even when the plot didn't hook me. I also loved Belle herself. She was so relatable, and the relationships in her life felt very realistically drawn. Ariadne, Belle's bestie, is a standout, as is her mentor, the disgraced witch Artorious (Arty). It also felt so refreshing to have an FMC with literally zero baggage; she just didn't use her magic because life burnt her out and she didn't feel very magical anymore, which I felt so hard. That made Belle's motivations really clear and made her easy to root for. I wanted her to do well in the trials...I just didn't quite get the trials themselves.

Even given all of this, I do like Lucy Jane Wood's style a lot, and I'd give another of her books a try. I just see this as suffering from the classic debut book problems: pacing, worldbuilding, juggling multiple subplots. If Wood's next book is set in this same world (as I believe it will be? I know I technically got this ARC a year after its release), I definitely would give it a shot, because I do think Selcouth/the non-wicche world was a fun place to spend a few hours.

3.5/5 - solid beach read/cozy read that lagged in times and suffered from a genre confusion.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkely Publishing Group/Ace, and Lucy Jane Wood for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Author for this ARC of this book.

It has taken me a long time to write this review. I have been struggling to put my thoughts into words. Belle is a witch who owns a bookshop. This is why I wanted to read it. On her 30th birthday, she is called to the coven for them to decide if she deserves her powers. She is judged on how she has used her powers. She only had really one person on her side with all the other old biddy's hoping she would fail. I just found it catty. This could be a me thing.

The writing was beautiful, but I found myself putting it down and not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I did find it boring at times and lack of intrest or even a care for what happens to her. I am sure this is a me thing but I was still saddened that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.

I really enjoyed the overall premise of this story. The characters were an integral part of the charm. I really liked Artorious and the role he played. There were some areas throughout that felt like they drug a little. Which made it hard to stay engaged.
Thank to you NetGalley and the publisher for this e-book in exchange for my honest opinion.