Friendships, revenge and darkness? Yes please! I was drawn due to the creepy sensational witchy vibes. Thank you

This was an intriguing and creepy novel of a woman on the precipice of her “adult” life post-college. Many of her realizations about her own life stem from returning to the town she graduated high school from (but only attended senior year). When she arrives after being beckoned by a former friend, she finds that said friend is missing—and that she’d lived with the witchy “plastics” types from high school right before she vanished.

I not only enjoyed the creepy parts of this mystery, but also the scathing commentary about what it means to be both a woman and a creative in a “modern society” that wants to boil you down to just being a mom. What female empowerment and sisterhood truly means.

Under Her Spell was a quick, easy read. Interesting and a little out of my box. Definitely had more of a young adult vibe.

I would like to thank Bantam Books, K. L. Cerra, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the advanced copy.
This book was an okay read. The plot of the book had much potential. Two friends drift apart throughout the years. Then, years later one needs help, and the other races home to help. The book fell a little short for me. Lots of unresolved issues between characters. The ending may have been a little rushed. I give this book a solid 3 stars

Sam took Liv under her wing when her parents moved across country and Liv had one year of high school left before graduation. At first Liv is thrilled to have a new best friend, but soon circumstances force her to see Sam through more critical eyes.
10 years pass with no contact between Liv and Sam. But a note from Sam has Liv rushing home. By the time she arrives, Sam has vanished without a trace. What happened between these two and where is Sam now?
Told in the past and in the present, we learn what tore these two friends apart. As Liv searches for answers, she may have made a fatal mistake. She believes she can trust Sam’s roommates, Eden and Cora. But they harbor deep secrets and their mission… Well, you will have to read Under Her Spell to find out what that is.
I didn’t love the ending, but the journey kept me flipping pages needing to know what happened to Sam.

I wanted to love this book so much, and I did love parts at the beginning with the witchy cool girls and their adult clique that owns a bespoke bridal shop. There were definitely shades of a darker 'Practical Magic' at the beginning, particularly with the October setting and the fancy small town. However...it went off the rails hard, and I kinda hated some of the overall messaging by the end? To be perfectly frank, I despised that messaging and felt it was fairly reactionary and problematic. (The initial messaging seemed like it was setting up a straw man argument too, so I was worried but hopeful that my fears would be wrong, but...nope.)

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I enjoyed this book and think you will to.

This was the absolute perfect mix of atmospheric and character driven. I’m a sucker for anything set in New England but the mix of mystery and magic really made this a quick favorite

I really enjoyed the build up of the story. The way it switched from past to present.
They mysterious Sisterhood.
The longing of looking at one option in life to see another option could be viable.
The 'witchcraft" angle was interesting but still left a lot for the reader to discern if it was witchcraft at all.

What I had a hard time with was the loose ends. Sam and Liv never made up after Sam discovered Liv's secret. Yet Sam reached out to her for help. The boyfriend of Sams was introduced and dismissed.
The discovery of where Sam was, then dismissed.
Then the reader is fast forwarded to the end, with no mention of Noah, Emmett, the other Sisterhood member before Sam.

Overall this is an ok mystery/murder book that could have been great with more details.

I was completely the wrong reader for this one. I thought the cover was fabulous and liked the blurb, but the trials and tribulations of this 27-year-old who acted like she was still in high school wore on me really quickly and I found myself annoyed rather than intrigued. She was not a terribly sympathetic protagonist and everything just felt a little overblown and overly dramatic to me. This was not a good fit for me.

Under Her Spell is one of those books that’s equally creepy and a page turning mystery. We’re introduced to Liz who seemingly has her life pretty together and soon to be married. When one of her old high school friends goes missing, she heads back home to help find her. From here, we’re thrown into the mystery of what happened to her, what’s up with the creepily interesting clique from high school, why Liv and her friend weren’t on speaking terms, and what’s going on in their town. We’re treated to a creepy mystery at the surface, but there’s also an underlying theme about pressures and expectations women face in their lives. This would be a great choice for a book club pick!

Under her spell was an an eerie read, that kind of gave me 'The Craft' vibes. Part witchy, part feminist, this took on some major themes of women's choices or lack their of pertaining to careers, marriage and motherhood. I thought the message was done very well, but the ending kind of left me hanging a bit.
Overall, an enjoyable read.

Thanks for the review copy. This is eerie and alluring as a fantasy thriller. I liked the elements of friendship, darkness, fantasy, and revenge.

(I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley in return for a review) The book was promising but the twist wasn’t executed correctly and it was kind of anticlimactic. The themes were interesting but not taken to the depth they could have been. Fast read and a good mystery. Unlikeable main characters.

Things ended badly between best friends Liv and Sam over 10 years ago and they haven't spoken since. When Liv receives a note in the mail from Sam pleading for her help, Liv drops everything to return to her hometown. Upon her arrival though, Sam is the focus of a missing persons case and two of her high school's coolest girls are still in town running an exclusive bridal boutique. When Liv discovers that Sam had joined "The Sisterhood" making jewelry for their bridal business, she is stunned; in high school, Sam never wanted anything to to with Eden, Cora or Avery.
As Liv begins to investigate "The Sisterhood" she finds herself mysteriously drawn into their circle. What is this power that Eden and Cora have over her and their "brides?" Why is the investigation into Sam's disappearance not moving forward? And why is Liv experiencing these bizarrely realistic dreams each night?
What starts out as a missing person's case evolves into an evil ,psychological, and possibly witchcraft laden tale. Told in chapters of "Then" and "Now" readers follow the progression of Liv and Sam's friendship and finally learn what drove them apart.
Recommended for readers who like mystery mixed with more than a touch of the creepy!

Great atmosphere, but I have some reservations. Nothing was really resolved, so you're left as the reader thinking, "what was the point"? A solid resolution would make the story feel more well-rounded. I personally think the patriarchal and anti-motherhood themes are getting tiresome
—I can't remember the last time I read a book without at least one of them heavily ingrained, and this one had both. I was surprised, too, that Eden had more personality than the main character. Liv's thoughts were mainly consumed with assuaging her guilt over Sam and if she should get married/have kids, which leaves a very two dimensional character. Also, how was Avery able to get away all those years ago and have a life away from the sisterhood? She didn't finish the Initiation, however Eden is so controlling, why did she let her get away after knowing their secrets? And, how were Cora and Eden still intact after turning on Sam in retaliation? Technically, they betrayed their sisterhood in return, so they should have also been bleeding. The witchy vibes and setting were spot on, making this a phenomenal fall read, but the inconsistencies, flat characters, and heavy-handed themes prevented me from falling head over heels.

This was so different than I expected but I really enjoyed it! The combination of a thriller mixed with kinda a darker magical element was really intriguing. It is was darker then I expected and not as much like fantasy type magic but more spooky and weird. Liz was such an interesting main character. My only criticism was the ending felt a little rushed or something but I would still fully recommend and add to our library collection!

3.5 stars

Under Her Spell by KL Terra is a creepy thriller that follows Liv Edwards as she returns to her hometown to investigate her high school best friend Sam’s disappearance after receiving a creepy note from her. During her time back home her mom and sister set her up at a highly sought after bridal boutique for a dress fitting — she soon realizes that this shop is run by two witchy girls from high school who have been roommates with Sam. The boutique is unconventional in the way it handles customers - giving a lengthy questionnaire to the bride and groom to be to assess the longevity of their marriage. This exercise has Liv second guessing her decisions all the while trying to figure out what the heck happened to Sam.

There’s a big theme in this book about what it means to be a woman - many women end up giving up their careers to be mothers or ending up in marriages to fulfill what is expected of them. As a new mom, I certainly could relate to the overwhelmed Penny, Liv’s sister, juggling two twins and feeling as though she’s totally lost her identity to motherhood. I think this book encourages women to not put themselves in a box or feel forced into a life unless it’s truly what they want - some of the characters have trauma surrounding their childhood which causes them to feel critical of marriage and childbearing.

I found the story to be interesting, but the ending definitely leaves much to be desired. I didn’t feel like the execution of the story was as good as the premise and there are definitely some loose ends even with an “8 years later” epilogue - it felt a bit thrown together in the last 20%. It was hard to really feel a deep connection to any of the characters.

I will say that this book is simply written and easy to read without over the top world building or magic systems - I would recommend this book to readers who want a quick fantasy thriller to sink their teeth into.
If that sounds like you then certainly grab a copy on September 10, 2024!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my review. I would be interested in reading more from this author.

3.5 stars

Under Her Spell is a dark and creepy story about a girl who goes back to her hometown after receiving a cryptic note from her estranged best friend, only to find once she arrives that her friend is now missing.

This was an easy, thrilling read that handles some heavy subjects such as abusive relationships and the difficulties women face when starting a family. The dual timelines kept things mysterious and had me wanting to know more. The bridal boutique storyline was really unique and actually a little more morbid than I expected. Overall the story was decent but I will say the ending left something to be desired.

Thank you to Random House for the ARC!

To this Gen X reader, the 90s teen aspect was awesome and I enjoyed the chapters set in the past a lot. The creepy undercurrent of magic was really well done, and it built throughout the story so that the dread kept getting ramped up before a reaching a truly shocking end. But the epilogue felt a little off to me, and there were big chunks of the middle that didn’t make sense (Why didn’t she ask for proof? Why didn’t anyone else notice something off about this wedding business? Why did Nathan become a completely different person out of the blue!??) as well as some reliance on big words that weren’t quite used correctly (“ostensibly” was a big one, and it was jarring in places where other words would have made way more sense). But I still read this fast and enjoyed the creepiness and the mystery and that reveal. This one should be a winner for fans of Rachel Harrison.