This was an interesting story. I liked the storyline, but I struggled to connect with the characters. Liv felt like there was something missing. Eden and Cora were weird and it made me wonder why Liv was so obsessed with these mean girls who wanted nothing to do with most people. I liked Noah right up until he changed and started pushing Liv into something that was not quite normal or acceptable in this day and age and after 8 years of being with her and not having a conversation about it before.

Sort of being under a spell, I struggled to understand why Liv wanted to drop everything to hang out with Eden and Cora. I also wondered why she wanted to be friends with Sam back in high school, because the book really only mentioned the bad things about Sam and her temper was something else. The flashbacks helped round out the story, but more might have been nice, showing the reason why Liv put up with Sam in the first place.

The story kept me engaged, even though it got a little slow at times.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Liv has the outward appearance of a woman with her life on track. Engaged to her college sweetheart, Boston apartment, applying for law schools, all a girl could hope for at 26 right?

Then why does she struggle with the dark thoughts that plague her? Why does she feel like she is suffocating each time she thinks of her impending wedding/marriage/future?

When Liv's best friend Sam from high school sends a cryptic letter asking for help, Liv heads home to find her missing and for there to be little information on her possible whereabouts. The intense need to solve this mystery drives her to dig deeper, bringing out the darkness in herself and the others involved Sam's life.

This story takes some wild turns and has a few dated opinions on women's rolls in the world/family life. It makes it seem as if you can only pick one or the other when it comes to Family or Career. Adding in creepy crawlers, flashbacks, and magic, you've got one different kind of story being told.

Liv has her darkness from the past hiding even from her. When her best friend Sam disappears, she knows she has to find her and help her. When she finds that Sam has been involved with two women she knew in high school, known as the Sisterhood, she can't believe it. She suspects they might know something about Sam's disappearance. As Liv tries to follow a non-existent trail toward Sam, she gets involved with the Sisterhood girls, and that could be a fatal mistake. It's a frightening horror story with fascinating and dark characters. But it was a great read, and I couldn't put it down, even when I wanted to. Very thought provoking.

Liv Edwards returns to her hometown after she receives a mysterious letter from her former best friend, Sam.
When she arrives, she learns that Sam has disappeared. As Liv seeks to discover what happened to Sam,
the reason for their falling out is revealed. Told in dual timelines, senior year in high school and the present,
more is learned of the backgrounds of those involved. Is the group known as the Sisterhood from high school
involved?
Well paced spooky story.
#UnderHerSpell #Ballantine #RandomHouse #NetGalley

This reminded me of Bunny mixed with the new remake of The Craft. I really appreciated the division into Then and Now sections, as I felt like it really fleshed out the characters’ backgrounds, relationships, and motivations. I was a fan of the authors debut and feel like this was a really solid follow up. All in all, it was a strong mystery with fascinating paranormal elements.

I had some mixed feelings on this one. I thought it was a good story that sucked me in right away. Some commentary on society’s view of motherhood that I thought was really good. But there were a few sticking points in the mystery that really bothered me. Overall it was a good read!

An interesting question about what women want—and can have—in both their own eyes and society’s. There’s more than one way to lose yourself in others . . .

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Liv has everything going for her. When she receives a letter from a friend she is unable to get ahold of her. She is missing. This book was well written.

Liv Edwards is living life, a job at a local law firm, a luxury home and planning her marriage to long time fiancé Noah. But this all changes when Liv receives a letter from her best friend from High School asking Liv for her help as (Samantha) feels she is in danger and doesn’t feel safe. Liv immediately returns to New England seeking her friend but finds instead herself caught up in a strange Sisterhood. All signs point to Sam belonging to this same group of girls, but they deny that they know where Sam has gone. Soon Liv is drawn into joining the same Sisterhood and to once again design jewelry and give up her dreams of marriage and having children. But once Liv gives herself over to her desires, she discovers something very sinister going on and it’s much darker than she has ever imagined.

3.5 ⭐️!

Every time I read a K. L. Cerra book the first word that comes to mind if eerie! These thrillers are always so intriguing and never what I expect and I can never get enough. Under Her Spell is the second book I’ve read from Cerra and I throughout enjoyed it.

Liv Edwards is living in Boston with her fiancé and on the outside seems to have a near perfect life. She makes a decision to return to her hometown after receiving a suspicious message from an old friend, Sam, who she fell out of contact with after Liv did something unforgivable. When she arrives in town she finds herself in the middle of the investigation into Sam’s disappearance and getting caught up in the charming and intriguing Eden and Cora.

As usual, Cerra creates characters that are so mysterious and alluring and that is part of what always really holds my interest because I am constantly trying to figure them out. I loved the creepy, witchy vibes and I felt that the overall pace of the book was great for the story and always kept me guessing. I did find myself wanting more from the ending, it felt a bit rushed and vague, but overall I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Under Her Spell was a very unique novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. While trying to learn what happened to her missing friend, Sam, Liv comes under the influence of Sam’s two roommates, who were also classmates from high school. The flashbacks to high school were well intertwined into the story plot. The darker side of the bridal boutique was a surprise twist to the story, I will not go into spoilers. This novel will appeal to fans of paranormal mysteries.

This book was slightly crazy but I enjoyed it for the most part.
The ending wasn't super satisfying but I'm glad the main character survived. I couldn't believe what Liv had done to Sam her best friend. Maybe she had a darkness inside her after all.
The writing was intriguing enough to keep me reading and finish in one day.

After years of estrangement, Liv receives a message from her high school best friend Sam--Sam thinks she is in danger and needs Liv's help. Liv leaves her fiancee and travels back to her home town in Connecticut, where she re-meets some of her high school classmates, who run a bridal business. As Liv searces for clues to Sam's disappearance, she begins to learn more about what her former classmates have been up to. And what they've been up to is--well, not good.

This book kept me reading, and while I'm not adverse to a little witchcraft this book just got too creepy and ugly for me, especially the final third. There's an interesting message here, but it's buried under a bit too much horror for me.

this just wasn't for me. this would be better classified as YA Novel as opposed to Mystery or Womens Fiction.

Under Her Spell follows Liv back to her hometown to help find her old high school friend who has now gone missing after send Liv a note about needing help.
Liv is about to get married to Noah and she is feeling pressure to do so. She goes to dark places sometimes and has to use a ring she designed to scold herself. Liv is going back to her hometown to see what kind of trouble Sam, her old high school friend, is in. Sam had sent Liv a note saying she didn't know who else to turn to. On her way there a news report says Sam has gone missing. Liv is determined to do anything to find out what happened to Sam.

I could tell from the beginning that there was going to be some kind of witchcraft involved. It was like the movie The Craft but not so obvious. I liked the story but didn't feel like the ending was great. I just think that there should have been more closure. Liv was naive throughout the whole story which at times was slightly annoying. She wanted so badly to fit in with Eden in high school and it transfers over into her adult life. Noah to me was just over the top. I could understand how after losing a family member who was so young you would want to reconsider your life but what he wanted from Liv was way too much. Cora, that poor girl, she was so in love with Eden that it was hard to even see her as anything other than a lost little puppy dog. Although I felt bad for Sam her character kind of sucked. What we learn about her is that she was a bossy, rude, and manipulative brat. I also think that she had a thing for Eden and later Liv but that may be speculation. It would make sense on why she was so willing to join Eden and Cora at the bridal boutique. I know the author was trying to say that Sam's beliefs about men were her reasoning but honestly, I think Sam was in love with Eden this whole time.
I gave it 3 stars just because I didn't love a lot of things about it. The ending was a big one for me. Not that I needed a happily ever after, but some real closure would have been nice. I also would have liked to see more character development. I feel like Liv still didn't have much growth in the after math of it all. I did like that we got to jump back and forth from the present to the past. And that it was pretty fast paced. I think readers who enjoy thrillers with a little bit of witchy vibes will like this story.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC!  

Initially I was really drawn to this book. It’s not very long, it has a beautiful cover and the summary was quite engaging. Now that I’ve read it, I can confirm it was a good read, which touched different aspects of reality and fantasy.

Under her spell begins with Liv, an uncertain person about most of things in her life: her upcoming marriage, her undecided career, the people around her. It’s all paused by a cryptic letter from her high school best friend, Sam. With a few words, Sam appears to be anxious, scared, in need of help. The story follows Liv, guilty from the past and terrified from the future, trying to find out what happened to her best friend, meeting old acquaintances as well as fitting in the puzzle of “The sisterhood”. While everything seems normal in her hometown, weird things are happening: doomed brides, blue eyed bugs. And most importantly reality shifts as well as dream like cakes.

I love mystery books and if done right the story can really be elevated by paranormal elements. In theory, this book does that. While it really picked up its pace in the last pages, the first half expanded really slowly. I was fan of the “now” and “then” approach since it gave the reader an insight of the characters and their motivations. The book executes flawed characters, from the perspective of one person, which I quite liked. I would’ve loved the story to focus more on the mystery of Sam because quite often I forgot about her plot line. Despite that most of the plot was well written and well detailed.

All in all, Under her spell is a good book to read if you’re looking for another approach to unresolved mystery books. With suppressed emotions and unsettled feelings, it conveys everything through a lens. I would definitely recommend this book!

This is a YA novel trying to be grownup. It fails. Nancy Drew could have done a better job of solving this murder. Not believable and inane at times, the author tries to include every dysfunctional symptom a family can have in her attempt to write this novel. . Oops, forgot,, murder is never solved. That adds the coup de grace to this poorly written book which mixes, witches, teenage angst, villainy, feminist yearnings, and
Black magic in a soupy, sappy mess.

This was a fantastic read! It had such a neat plot with great characters! Don’t miss out on this great book!

This book was utterly unputdownable! I read this at such a furious pace that the rest of my life was neglected. The story basically demanded it! It was such an enthralling tale of friendship, creativity, relationships, and fear. Liv was the heroine we all need, flying in the face of danger to prove that amazing can happen. It was woven so well with flashbacks that set the scene and made the story. This story had me immediately putting her other book in my shopping cart because I can’t get enough of her writing! I definitely can’t wait for more from her, this was completely phenomenal.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of Under Her Spell by K.L. Cerra due to be published September 10, 2024.
Newly engaged Liv Edwards is in her small New England town after receiving a mysterious cryptic note from her best friend from high school, Sam. When she returns to Guilford she discovers Sam is living and working with Eden and Cora, two other high school girls, in their bridal boutique. Something strange is going on with Eden, Cora, and Guilford. Will Liv find out what it is?
Under Her Spell was a little out of my genre of reading – it had a lot of paranormal and “witchy” vibes to it – which is usually not my type of book. I tend to go for psychological thrillers. The Sisterhood that Eden and Cora were part of was pretty weird and a little farfetched to me. Even though it was not my normal kind of read, those who like paranormal books would love it!
#NetGalley #KLCerra #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantine #UnderHerSpell