"Leaves fluttered around Sirena like dizzy fireflies from the nearly bare trees. The mixture of cinnamon sugar blended in with fresh cut grass and buttered popcorn."

Thank you Netgalley and Forever for this eARC.

This book was the perfect witchy, magical fall read. The book follows an ex-celebrity chef, Sirena, who has magical cooking powers. After an awful October, she makes a wish on Halloween for a redo at the month. The next day she wakes up, and it's October 1st. She runs into Gus, whose a powerful magician that's taking a break from the spotlight. Sirena ends up propositioning Gus to help her have fun and fix her powers. This second-chance romance is full of magic, wishes, tea, and love.

"It wasn't love at first sight, but rather a faint recognition that she felt down to her soul. There you are. Where have you been all this time?"

Overall, I enjoyed this book. However, it wasn't the most interesting, because it definitely hit a point towards the middle where the plot slowed down. I enjoyed the romance, but I don't think it held my attention enough to care too much about the characters.

Here to hype up the perfect cozy fall romance with literal black girl magic!

I demand to be transported to Freya Grove with its never ending fall festivities and otherworldly beings! It felt like Star’s Hollow but with trolls, witches and magicians — and tbh, that’s the best way to envision a quaint lil town in NJ. Sirena gets a second chance to relive the month of October (Groundhog’s Day: autumn edition) to fix some things and get her own shot at love. There’s a time slip element, it’s oozing with all the fall things, and it’s a second chance romance between a witch and magician with sweet and spicy moments. I loved how much history is rooted in recipes and Sirena is determined to keep her family legacy going by keeping those alive. I also loved that Gus’ family is like the magician version of the Kardashians and has their own reality show and everything. DEJA BREW is part of Martin’s Elemental Love series but can definitely be read as a standalone!

DEJA BREW is available everywhere and if you’re looking for a cozy and fun romance to ring in October, this is the one!

2.5 ⭐

What to expect:
• New Jersey magical small town
• Whimsical magic
• Lush food descriptions
• Curvy FMC
• Fall vibes

Unfortunately this book just didn’t work for me. I was so excited to pick it up — the cover is gorgeous and the premise is so fun — it turned out to not to be the book for me, but I still wanted to finish it.

The story felt quite slow and like it lacked intrigue, I didn’t know where the climax we were building towards was. There was the ‘how to have fun lessons,’ the working together at the historical society and the weddings. But it felt like rather than focusing on one of the intriguing plot points we skipped over them all and didn’t latch onto any.

In the premise, it’s mentioned that the FMC (Sirena) is an ex-celebrity chef and the MMC (Gus) is a former reality TV star. I didn’t get the impression that she was meant to be a <i>celebrity chef</i> at all from the book! And, for me, the most interesting part of their dynamic was that Sirena had watched Gus on TV and had a bit of a crush on him, but that wasn’t focused on! It felt like the characters really had no history or anything drawing them together.

The magic system was very whimsical, and I’d recommend this for someone looking for a that type of witchiness. But personally, I wish the magic was more grounded because it felt like new things just kept popping up without context.

The ending was also not my cup of tea. Both characters felt so undecided right up until the final page — they couldn’t even commit or admit their feelings! It was so frustrating. Because of this, it felt like most of the ‘chemistry’ we’re told about was due to the characters being <spoiler> soulmates </spoiler> rather than actually feeling the chemistry between them.
And there was no epilogue! In the authors bio (after the book had finished) it said that she writes both HEA and HFN, and this definitely felt like more of a HFN.

Then, this is a personal pet peeve but, the couple <spoiler> leaves the small town together at the end of the book </spoiler> which is so frustrating after we’ve spent 300+ pages meant to be falling in love with the town.

There were some parts of the book I did enjoy — like the food descriptions, scenes at the historical society and the fall events — and there are some good reviews, so if the tropes and whimsical small town witchiness sound good to you there’s no harm in trying it out. Overall, this was just not my type of book.

<i>Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for this ARC</i>

I was so excited to be approved to read this galley. Thank you to the publisher! I so enjoyed this novel and will be purchasing a physical copy for my library.

Quick and cozy seasonal read. Cute but I didn’t really connect to any of the characters and it didn’t do as much with the magic system as the other books in the series. Enjoyable but forgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this as an e-ARC. The cover and the title caught my eye.

The cover truly is so fun and beautiful! The book itself, I found myself a little lost. I couldn’t connect to it or the characters, and found myself losing attention for a bit then getting confused when I refocused. I know it’s a very cute, great read for some people but it was missing something for me.

Thank you to Forever Publishing and Netgalley for the eARC and ALC.

Deja Brew had potential but didn’t really deliver.

Sirena was difficult to relate to. She basically has a Groundhog Day-esque month as a do-over and is reliving the month of October. She wants to get her magic-y witchy cooking mojo back and somehow that includes Gus, an ex-reality star magician trying to live a quiet life. She was just so wishy washy with Gus. Kiss him then tell him she doesn’t want to date. Have a wild weekend then ignore him for days.

Who dates someone but doesn’t at least text or call them everyday??

It’s essentially just a cute witchy read for fall, but I struggled in connecting with the characters and was missing the chemistry.

The biggest highlight was the narration. I loved the female narrator’s tone and cadence and she was the reason I kept listening through to the end.

WHAT AN AMAZING BOOK TO FINISH OUT THE ELEMENTAL LOVE SERIES!!! Celestine has created one of the warmest, inviting, and coziest worlds in Freya Grove! Like let me pack up and move there immediately! The Caraway witches should have the same notoriety as all of favorite witch families...Owens and Bennett! Sirena is a kitchen witch who has lost her spark and she gets a second chance at life and love with a swoony magician named Gus. Gus is everything we want in a magical leading man. Their love literally creates sparks!!! This book was well worth the year wait and is a must read for sure!

This was cute. I did find myself confused at times about the magical world. I really couldn’t picture it or the characters very much. I didn’t really connect with either of the MCs either.

Sirena and Gus were very adorable, and I normally love a magical realism romance, but I think this one didn’t draw me in as quickly. It took about 50% of the book for me to get really interested. Overall, it was still very cute, cozy and perfect for fall!

Have you ever read a book with a story you enjoyed reading.....but you struggled to imagine the characters? That was me and it held me back from completely enjoying this cozy fall witchy book. I loved the setting, a magical town with a variety of characters and fall things to love. I loved the family drama and camaraderie. I loved that she was a kitchen witch and I wish she could cook for me! I liked Gus and how he didn't want to be his old self, he just wanted someone to love him as his. But I couldn't picture Sirens or Gus in detail, just vaguely. And it bothered me.

A wonderfully magical fall read. Sirena and her family had me crying multiple times, I could really feel the love between them. And Gus, hes such a sweet man, how anyone could not fall in love with him is an utter mystery. This book was absolutely delightful. Perfect witchy, october feels and hits all the right notes for Spooky Season.

Kitchen witch Sirena has had a few bumps during spooky season. Her magic is on the fritz and she didn’t get hired for her dream job. When Sirena wishes for a do-over she does not expect to be reliving all of October. Sirena makes an agreement with ex-celebrity magician Gus to help her get some pep back in her magic and her life. As the two lean on and support each other their attraction grows. Eventually Gus and Sirena have to decide what to do about the wish as time runs out and what both their futures look like.

With entertaining magic, a steamy romance and enjoyable characters this is a great read for witchy season!

Deja Brew is a cozy, enchanting read that combines second chances with a dash of magic. Sirena Caraway's journey through a repeated October is both humorous and heartfelt as she navigates her quirky powers, a potential career revival, and an unexpected connection with the charming Gus Dearworth. Their chemistry bubbles over as they bond over magic-infused recipes and explore the warmth of Freya Grove’s autumnal charms.

I was so excited for this book and ended up not finishing it. I stopped at the 30% mark. There were many things I loved but they didn’t outweigh the things I struggled with.

Things I loved:
-I’m a sucker for a Groundhog Day story
-Serena’s sister is everything I want to be
-the town they live in gave Halloweentown vibes
-I’m obsessed with kitchen witches now
-Gus calls Serena Chef, and a couple times says “yes chef” which is so swoon worthy
-books “talk” to him
-I got chills when the clock stopped before going back in time.

Things that I wish could have been different:
-I wish this would have been sigle pov with Serena. I found that I wasn’t interested in Gus as a character. I found it difficult to feel invested in him.
-I felt like there were really any stakes
-I feel like there was too much of a deep dive in the personal lives. So many scenes with conversations with family members that just bogged the story down. Especially with Gus. I just found those parts so boring.

I don’t like sharing DNF on my socials because I don’t think it’s polite for authors. So I only posted reviews on Amazon and StoryGraph. At the time of sharing feedback the Amazon review isn’t live. I’ll update it once it is.

I honestly struggle with describing this as a romance. Like the romance felt mainly B plot. This was more Sirena's journey to getting her groove back with cooking and it felt like Gus was just there. I do really like Celestine's writing style and the world she's built through this series, it's so much fun.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive an arc in return for an honest review.

Groundhog Day meets Twitches. I’ve never read a romance book like this. It was like I was in a cozy little world of my own. This is the perfect little witchy fall read. Deja Brew is a perfect little cozy romantic comedy sprinkled with a little fantasy. This book was full of magical feelings and romantic vibes.

I loved it! Favorite of the series! The family, the food, the innuendo, the tension, the spice! Perfect cozy romance for Fall. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for this ARC.

DNF @ 12%. I read the first book in this series and wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing style or love story, but I really enjoyed the mystical setting of Freya Grove and wanted to give this author another chance. The concept for “Deja Brew” seemed so cute and perfect for fall! Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me quite early on. After reading multiple chapters, I didn’t feel connected to either of the main characters, and the story just didn’t grab me the way I needed it to. The writing is almost too bogged down in details for me? I felt like I was being thrown into the middle of a story with a bunch of random facts about the characters but not much actual effort put into pulling me into the story. Not quite the cozy reading vibe I was looking for, though I’m sure this will work for folks who have enjoyed the past books in this series.

🍂 Thank you NetGalley and Forever for an ARC in exchange for an honest review 🍂

While Deja Brew had all the cozy, small town, magical realism vibes that are perfect for autumn, it left a lot to be desired for me. The pacing was inconsistent–it started off chaotically, then slowed to a crawl, with bursts of acceleration here and there–it led the reading experience to feel like a total drag. I have not read the other books in the series, but I could tell that a few of the previous characters had subplots that were tied up in this book which led the ending to be overly extended. It really could’ve been like 5 chapters shorter.

The magic system was interesting and I thought the world building was decent–Celeste Martin did a good job of detailing how magic worked and the community fest robust. I liked the idea that each witch had a speciality, and I thought it was cool how Sirena could lead diners to feel certain emotions with her food.

I also appreciated the themes the book tackled, like overcoming obstacles in one’s career, regaining confidence, and growing out of others’ expectations, however, I felt so disconnected to the characters that the journeys they both took lacked emotional impact for me. But I could still see what was trying to be done.

Overall, it was a low stakes, cozy novel, but felt very average to me.

While this book started off strong, it slogged significantly in the middle and became very difficult to read. The character development was quite cyclical and it generally just became uninteresting. This could use some serious editing.