Potions & Proposals is a cozy romance set in a world filled with magic. Benedict & Lucinda are lifelong rivals with a prank filled past. When the coven decides it has gone too far, they insist that one of them must leave the village or both be married & lead together.

Will the marriage go ahead? Will they kill each other with their opposing elemental powers? Will they actually fall in love? I mean it’s a romance so you can probably guess whether they fall in love… but the journey is both sweet and intriguing.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this series, maybe it involves a certain werewolf or possibly a grim reaper? I can’t wait to find out & while away another few cosy hours in the village of Foxford.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice:🌶️
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers
Arranged Marriage
Small Town Romance

Potions & Proposals had the perfect wholesome not quite enemies to lovers witchy cosy vibes! I can never resist a small town witchy romance and this didn’t disappoint! I loved the characters of Lucy and Benedict and seeing their relationship evolve and I thought that the author Kate did a great job of referencing their past experiences so you felt like you understood their relationship on a deeper level.

This was a slow burn but I thought that the story itself was fast paced enough that I didn’t mind! I did think we were going to get some big reveal or twist at the end but again I didn’t mind that we didn’t! Thank god no third act breakup for the sake of it!!!!

Thank you net galley for the arc of Potions and Proposals!

I throughly enjoyed this read, I felt like the relationship dynamic was well executed! Having characters who "hate" each other to accepting that the other has cared about them this whole time can be difficult but Kate pulled it off well. I also loved that there was no third act break up since it is annoying when an author adds a breakup or miscommunication for the sake of conflict. Low spice but the characters still made this a great read for the upcoming spooky season!

4⭐️

Thank you to the publisher, the author and Netgalley for the ARC of Potions & Proposals in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute, cozy fantasy romance book. Benedict and Lucinda’s relationship was sweet and fun to read. I loved the side characters we were introduced to and the Village of Foxford where they live.

This is a perfect book for autumn and Halloween as well!

Potions and Proposals was a sweet book! I adore Foxford and the world-building was fantastic. I love that quirky town and its residents. I thought the storyline was great and I love Benedict and Lucinda together. I did feel like there were some plot holes, however. Benedict and Lucy go from hate to love rather quickly, without much buildup. I also thought there were some wonky timelines (Hughes shows up a couple of days after a spell, but Grams says it’s the next day at one point). This book also could’ve been helped by writing in the first person. There were a few points where I wasn’t sure who was saying what; there were multiple sentences of “she said” but no telling which person.

Overall, a very sweet book. The spice really wasn’t there at all. There’s one open-door, almost fade-to-black bedroom scene, and lots of kissing, but that’s it.

I received a copy of Potions and Propsals from NetGalley. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

A fun fast read about a magical filled town. Benedict and Lucinda have been enemies since early childhood but are now forced into an arranged marriage. The story is filled with memories of the things they did to each other over the years. Of course love overcomes the feelings of dislike and all is good. Thanks #Netgalley and #BooksGoSocial for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

Potions and Proposals is a light hearted and fun romantic story set in a small magical town. It is a good read inbetween some heavier reads.

We meet Benedict, the owner of the town's inn, when a prank pulled on him reflects badly on the inn. The prank puller is the future high priestess Lucinda. When the coven calls both of them in they get a scolding. Their pranking is getting out of hand. Not only do they question Lucinda's abbility to become high priestess, they think they should be magically bound to one another. Become magically bound or one of them has to leave town. Lucinda's grandma and mother engineer a spell to help get Lucinda out of the bounding. Of course that backfires.

The start of the story was a little wonky to me. The jump from the pranks to an arrianged marriage was a big leap. Huge leap. It doesn't quite make sense. Luckily that is kind of answered at the end of the book.

Both Lucinda and Benedict were a lot of fun to follow. I don't feel like their relationship was truly an enemies to lovers. Mostly Lucinda was easily annoyed with Benedict. But I felt you could see from the start that Benedict had a soft spot for Lucinda. So I don't think this was a truly enemies to lovers. Their pranks seemed to be something they both enjoyed. Though Lucinda seemed to be the one who took it further and went outisde of personal pranks as she pranked the inn and not Benedict personally the last time. Which is why I didn't really feel bad for her when they questions whether or not she should become the next high priestess of the coven. She clearly wasn't making good decisions.

Their romance did fizzle on the page. It was there each time they were together. I especially liked Benedict though. His family and he have had a troubled past. Both he and his mother are trying everything to prove to the town that they won't set a toe out of line. Even though the choices his father and brother made were from good intentions and grief.

I mostly liked seeing the small magical town coming together to organize the festival and the bounding of Benedict and Lucinda. The library and spell books are also a big part of the story. I see potential to explore the town and the forest near them. I also see two potential couples that might become a focus in next books. Even though that hasn't been announced I feel like that was being set-up already a bit in this book.

Favorite Quotes
"Love is one of the most powerful forces - you can't truck or entice it."

"Curiosity. You've always had your nose in a book. Walking to school, coffee shops, in the park by the town fountain - the world could crumble around you when you're reading, and you wouldn't even notice" he admitted.

Review
This is the story of Benedict and Lucinda, rival enemies since childhood and about to be forced together in an arranged marriage. It is like magical Gilmore Girls mixed with a little Halloweentown in the small town of Foxford where everyone knows each other and grew up together. The banter between the two main characters is on fire 🔥, like when he calls her pumpkin, and she calls him Benny. This story does have a little bit of spice and is told from a dual point of view between Lucinda and Benedict. I like how you get to see each point of view and them both together at the same time. Now this is an adult book that contains some mild language and open-door spice so it is not meant for younger readers. This book gives you everything you could want in an enemies to lover story with all the feels of Autumn and Halloween.

You will love this book if you love:
🎃 Enemies to lovers
🎃 Slow burn romance 🍑
🎃 Magical small town
🎃 Arranged marriage
🎃 Open door spice 🌶️

#netgalley #netgalleyreview #katecallaghan #potionsandproposals

Thank you Net Galley and Kate Callaghan for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was such a cozy read! I loved the rivals to lovers plot line and how everyone in town seemed to meddle to make things happen for the FMC and MMC!

Tropes & Themes:
Open Door Spice
Spooky Season Vibes
Arranged Marriage
Enemies To Lovers
Coven Ruled Small Town
NO Third Act Break Up (THANK YOU!!)

First impressions 💭
This was my first “low stakes” cozy fantasy and so it did take a minute to settle into a different style than what I am used to! But I really enjoyed that it was easy to read and all round wholesome!

What I Loved ❤️
- finding out over the course of the book, all of the little things that both Lucy and Benedict did for eachother over the years that actually proved their feelings were always beneath the surface
- that element of “fate” and that their love was meant to be. Also that their families both seemed to know that deep down there was something there, especially Grams.
- The elemental magic! I almost wish that it dived a little deeper into the family magic and shown more of what they could do with it!
- the friendship between Lucy and Rosie 🥰

What I didnt love 👎🏻
- I didn’t love the pop culture references, but that is just a personal preference not a fault in any way! I just prefer my fantasy to be seperate from the “real world” as I enjoy the escape it brings!
- I did feel like the “dislike eachother” and denial phase could have been drawn out a little bit longer so that once they started really questioning their true feelings it would have more impact!
- Benedict’s feelings felt a little bit inconsistent and contradictory at times. Eg. in some moments it seemed like he knew he always had feelings for Lucy, but in other moments it seemed as if he was only just realising his feelings.

Favourite Quote 📝
“You bewitched me, body and soul, long before any spell or potion”

Final verdict ⭐️
I really enjoyed reading Lucy and Benedict’s love story! The cozy vibes were perfect and even though I think it could have been slower, I loved how their relationship developed. There were a few “loose ends” that weren’t explained and I’m not sure if that was intended for book two. But I’m definitely looking forward to it!

I LOVED this! The idea of swapping powers, lovers to enemies, forced proximity, it was all beautifully done! I enjoyed all of the detail in world building and even in the side characters. I feel like they were written well enough that I would find myself curious about the side characters and what's next for them. The chemistry between the MCs was wonderful and I was so happy when they FINALLY admitted their feelings to one another. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

I enjoyed this book. I always love a book with magic and HEA. Plus, no 3rd act break up!

It was nice seeing the relationship between Lucy and Benedict. Loved that they played all those pranks and how it was used to force the binding on them.

I also loved how the mom and grams wanted to help, but ended up making things worse.

This book took walking a mile in each other's shoes to a new level.

I'm looking forward to reading more about the characters in Foxford!

This ARC was given to me for my honest review.

This is a wonderful book that touches the surface of potions and enemies to lovers' romance.. I adored this witchy romance, the chemistry between Lucy & Benedict is obvious from the start

Potions & Proposals is a Paranormal Romance and Romantic Comedy book from Kate Callaghan. It’s my first book from this author and it definitely won’t be the last, I really enjoyed it and Lucy and Benedict were amazing!

Lucy and Benedict are witches who have been pranking each other their whole lives but with their latest prank gone wrong, they are forced to either enter into an arranged marriage or risk a banishment. Despite their mutual dislike they agree to being married, but after a spell to change their circumstances makes everything even worse, Lucy and Benedict need to work together and both realize that maybe they were wrong about each other and spending the rest of their lives together might not be as bad as they thought.

Potions & Proposals is a really great and fun read, the idea of a magical small town where supernaturals like witches, vampires, werewolves, grim reapers are living together was really interesting and I loved getting to know all the different characters and hope that many of them will get their own stories. Lucy and Benedict were incredible as main characters, I loved their enemies to reluctant allies to lovers romance and their pranks were hilarious. Despite their dislike and knowing each other for most of their lives, it was amazing to see them slowly realize they are perfect for each other (with some help from their meddling families) and I loved it when they finally gave in to their growing feelings, they were truly incredible together.

Potions & Proposals is a really great paranormal rom-com with amazing characters and beautiful romance that I really enjoyed and already can’t wait for the next book.

Potions and Proposals is a romantic comedy that I really liked.

In this book, the main couple, Lucinda and Benedict, have had a bad relationship since they were young and due to a spell that has gone wrong, they must work together more than ever to fix it before anyone in their coven finds out what has happened. This leads them to spend a lot of time together and to feel something they thought they had forgotten.

The story, told from two points of view, mixes magic, romance and comic situations very well. Set in the town of Foxford, one of the few towns where witches, magless and different creatures (vampires, werewolves...) are allowed to live together freely, as long as they do not use their powers for evil. In Foxford, Lucinda is the daughter of the High Priestess and works in the public library, as well as being a liaison between her town coven and The Order (who used to hunt down and execute witches and now maintain a truce), and Benedict, who comes from a family with a dark past, but who has helped attract tourism thanks to the hotel he runs with his mother.

Lucinda controls the element of water and Benedict that of fire, they are "destined" to be polar opposites, they have not gotten along since they were children, carrying out their pranks for years, until the day comes when the coven has to choose a new successor, and although a woman from Lucinda's family always inherits the position, this year Benedict is proposed as the second option. Since there is no consensus between the families that are part of the coven, they decide to compromise (magically unite) Lucinda and Benedict so that both of them lead the coven. And what could go wrong? Well, a spell, which alters the elements of the main couple. Lucinda and Benedict must work together to reverse the spell and regain their powers.

Potions and Proposals is a book that I loved and enjoyed. I enjoyed Lucinda, Benedict and the rest of the characters, and how the relationship of the main couple evolves throughout the chapters and they go from hating each other because of misunderstandings, to helping each other in everything necessary. I highly recommend it.

*This is my honest and voluntary review. Thanks so much to the author and Netgalley for this ARC.*

The line between love and loathing is rather thin in this paranormal romance!💘

Benedict and Lucinda have been mischievously one upping each other since childhood. Now both are in the running for an esteemed position in the coven and subsequently are presented with a magically bound ultimatum.💍

A little misfire with the cauldron cooking and now the two must rely on one another to make it through.

A true slow burn, enemies to lovers romance in a magical small town on and around All Hallows Eve. This will make a cute and quick spooky season read! Get your feels in with romance, humor and fantasy… a perfect blending!🔮

You’ll enjoy this witchy vibe if you like:
Enemies to Lovers (early rivals)
Magical Community
Elemental magic
Sweet but not too spicy
HEA and what comes next???

Thank you to the author, Kate Callaghan, NetGalley and BooksGoSocial, for the opportunity to read this book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#PotionsandProposals #NetGalley

Enjoyable light fantasy romance. It was a fun read, with a sweet, cosy vibe, but I found the pacing a little inconsistent.

Thank you for the opportunity of reading it!

I absolutely loved this book! The banter between Lucinda and Benedict had me laughing out loud. I was giggling over all the pranks they pulled on each other since they were young. This will definitely be a book I buy! I can’t wait for more books to come out!

Lucinda and Benedict have known each other their whole lives but never gotten along. The coven is fed up with their escalating pranks, so gives them an ultimatum: become magically bound to each other and run the coven together or have a vote and the loser is banished from town.

I initially thought it was so immature that Lucinda and Benedict were grown ass adults pranking each other out of hate. But they totally charmed me. All of the townspeople of Foxford charmed me really. And I'm excited for more books set in Foxford.

Lucinda and Benedict seem like enemies or rivals, but really they've just had a series of misunderstandings. Their story was sweet and full of healing. And bonus, no third act break-up!

If you like witchy romances, arranged marriage, or small town romance, I think you'll definitely enjoy Potions and Proposals.

A funny book, fantasy and romance, easy to read.Two people fall in love. And it is fun to read what Happens between them.I really liked it and will read other books by this author.