Deja Brew is a solid read to get you in the fall spirit because it's set in October in a town with witches and other magical beings. This is a slower-paced cozy read about Gus and Sirena having a do-over October and falling in love along the way. I love how cozy this book feels, but I never really felt the romance between Gus and Sirena, and they both had some baggage that didn't always make sense to me in how they reacted to things.

Lovely narrator and lovely romance story. I enjoyed the fmc and mmc. A witch and a magician falling in love and brewing up their own kind of magic.

In this spellbinding rom-com about a wish gone wrong, two opposites might just get a second chance at love, perfect for fans of New York Times bestsellers Payback's a Witch and The Ex Hex.
Ex-celebrity chef Sirena Caraway has had the wackiest October ever. Her cooking powers are on the fritz, she failed to land a career-saving job, and she embarrassed herself at the town’s Halloween party. Just before midnight, she makes a desperate wish for a second chance to fix her life. The next morning Sirena wakes up and realizes that she’s repeating the entire pumpkin spice-flavored month. Even sweeter, she runs into Gus Dearworth, whose magic leaves her spellbound.

A former reality star, Gus moved to Freya Grove to rebuild his reputation and heal his broken heart, but his restless magic is tempting him to return to the spotlight. And his secret crush on Sirena is making him want to try something dangerous like fall in love again. When Sirena realizes he can help her fix her powers, Gus makes her a deal. If she’ll help decipher a mysterious cookbook in his collection, he'll help get her magical groove back.

Every encounter offers a new adventure—from tasting menus, harvest mazes, and a growing attraction that’s taking on an irresistible enchantment of its own. But as the month winds down and the wish grows stronger, Sirena and Gus have a decision to make. Will their second chance be their happy-ever-after ending or a bittersweet memory?

My Take:
Reading a Martin book for the first time has been a delightful experience, and it certainly won't be the last. Although I understand there are two other interconnected books, they stand alone as complete stories—I never felt like I was missing out on essential details to enjoy this one fully. It's a perfect blend of cozy and steamy, making it an ideal recommendation for the Hallmark audience that revels in the autumn season.

Thanks to Forever Publishing for the free E-ARC! Here are my thoughts!!

This book was immediately such a great time! It was definitely giving off fall, witchy, cozy vibe, and I really need to read the other books in this series after reading this one.

I love our characters a lot. They had chemistry from the moment I saw them interact on page, even before they knew each other that well. I loved how quickly they became and felt familiar with each other. It wasn’t necessarily a slow burn, but it still felt really natural for them. It was a very real life way to write it. Two people who orbited around each other for a while, but never really quite connected, coming together at the right time. Finding out that there was a magical tether pulling them together added to that feeling.

The family relationships and bonds in this book are very sweet. It feels genuinely written and extremely realistic in nature.

However, I don’t know that this book works as part of an interconnected stand alone series. Stand alone books, even ones that are interconnected to other books, are meant to have the ability to be read by itself without really needing to read the other books to understand what’s happening. There are some world building aspects and parts of the magical parts that don’t really make sense if this is the only book from the series that you’re reading. I haven’t read the previous two books yet, so I was kind of just thrown into this new world without knowing anything. It was kind of confusing, and there were parts where I really was wondering more about how this universe works. I was especially confused about the whole Kindred aspect. I understand the basic premise of them being soulmates, but for their sounds to have spent previous lifetimes together seemed wild to me. I liked that they were tied together, and I found it very cute. However, we don’t really get more information than that, and it’s not until over halfway through the book that the concept of Kindred is even mentioned, so I felt it very out of left field.

Overall, I did enjoy it, and I think I’ll probably read the other two books in this series at some point!

Read This Book If…you’re the mood for a low-stakes witchy romance!

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Deja Brew by Celestine Martin

Genre: paranormal witchy romance
Series: Elemental Love # 3
Spice Level: 3/5🌶, 1-2 open door scenes
Setting: fictional Jersey Shore town
POV: dual, 3rd person, past tense
Tropes: time loop/travel, celebrity, reformed rogue, fated mates, friends with benefits

My Thoughts:
As someone who loves all things witchy romance, I was super excited for this read! However, there was not enough conflict for me and I felt bored at times.

For such a magical town, I wish we got to see more beyond our two main characters. I wasn’t able to read the first two books in the series, so maybe the world was explored more in those.

This is a very cozy, slow paced, low-stakes read, which is great for some, but just not for me.

Memorable Quote: “He didn’t want to forget; he wanted to remember everything.”

Thank you to the publisher for my advance copy!

Video: https://youtu.be/gGsJi_WVaKY

A cute and cozy conclusion to this witchy romance series! This time with a time slip element...

Deja Brew is a small town, witchy romance following Sirena who left her celebrity chef job to come home and take care of family. Now everything feels like it's falling apart, but a wish gives her back the month of October to live differently. And this time, love just might be on the menu.

Gus is a former reality tv star and magician who now lives a quiet existence working for the local historical society. He thinks his love life is over since his ex-wife left him, but Sirena stays on his mint. And what better time to fall in love than in the autumn?

There are delicious food descriptions, fall festivals, steamy moments, and a really sweet and cozy romance. Perfect for the coming season! The audio narration is good, similar to the previous books in the series. I received an audio review copy via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This Reviewer Received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

I was in a reading slump for most of September and this was such a fun and refreshing experience to get me out of it. The characters are rich and facinanting; ones you cannot help but love. This is a fantastic Fall read and great for people who enjoy Hallmark movies and Halloween. Think of the generation who grew up on Disney Channel Original Movies and now find themselves reading more mature complex stories with that vibe. I loved Sirena and Gus because they were great individuals, but also had amazing chemistry together. The magic was sweet, fun, and created a beautiful world. You will definitely finish this book with a lesson learned about believing in yourself and living the life you want and not accepting the life you’ve been expecting to have. Very cute fall rom com.

Deja Brew is a magical homecoming for fans of Celestine Martin’s Elemental Love series. Being back in Freya Grove feels like a warm hug! I just adore this quirky little New Jersey town full of spells, creatures, and autumnal delight. Deja Brew is the series’ third installment, but each one can be read as a standalone. I love this format because it allows readers to revisit favorite characters as they glide on and off the page in charming cameos. If you do pick up Deja Brew first, there will be slight spoilers for Witchful Thinking and Kiss & Spell but I don’t think it would impact those reading experiences much.

In Deja Brew, Sirena Caraway takes center stage. We have learned so much about Sirena and her culinary career in the series’ previous novels, and I have been looking forward to learning more about her kitchen witch magic. At the start of the book, Sirena’s powers are on the fritz and nothing seems to be going her way, so she makes a wish on Halloween that brings her back to October 1 to repeat the month over again. Sirena is determined not to squander this second chance and enlists the help of a handsome magician to hopefully turn her luck around. Sirena’s POV was very introspective and her self-reflection and confidence journey resonated with me heavily.

Sirena’s love interest Gus Dearworth, a magician and former television personality/reformed party boy, was the perfect leading man. He was down bad for Sirena and being inside his POV had me giggling with delight. Gus has his own trauma’s and past heartbreaks to heal from and
being in his head allowed for readers to fully grasp the hesitancy he had to jump into a relationship. Sirena and Gus’ relationship is a slow burn but once that burner turns on high, the proverbial stove ignites! The intimate scenes in Deja Brew were incredibly romantic, something I’ve come to expect from Celestine Martin, and I fell more and more in love with this couple on every page.

Many thanks to Forever and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

A perfectly witchy and fall read from Celestine Martin! This book, like the others in the Elemental Series is so cozy and enjoyable. I really love time travel in my magical romances so I knew this would be right up my alley!

+Friends to Lovers
+Slow burn
+Witchy Romance

I have a confession: I took out my pumpkins and skull decor as soon as fake fall arrived in August. That’s right. I pulled out my pumpkin-flavored coffees and sweater weather candles and settled in, but what was missing? A fall book.

The third book in the Elemental Love series, Deja Brew was exactly what I needed - ultimate fall vibes.

Kitchen witch Sirena Caraway’s powers are on the fritz. She experiences a series of unfortunate situations during October in the town of Freya Grove, including embarrassing herself at a Halloween party in front of Gus Dearworth. Gus, a former reality star and magician from a famous family in Freya Grove to rebuild his reputation and heal his broken heart. Luckily, Sirena gets a chance to fix everything but realizes she’s repeating the month of October. Think Groundhog Day but witchy. Sirena and Gus end up striking a deal to help each other.

Celestine Martin weaves a cozy and charming supernatural romance that will have you smiling from the first page to the last. Also, I need the passion sauce recipe (wait until you read this scene). I absolutely enjoyed reading Sirena and Gus’ adventures and their growing attraction was the perfect slow burn. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an eARC. Deja Brew is available on October 1st, 2024!

Well this was adorable and I loved every minute of it. Freya Grove was giving me major Halloweentown vibes & I wish it was real so I could take a little daytrip to NJ to experience the magic IRL✨ This book had so many fun magical subplots and is just such a perfect cute, cozy autumn read.

I loved all the characters, especially all the Caraway ladies & the way they support one another— girl power 💖. I have not read the first two books in this series (although now I’m going to) and it did not impact the enjoyability or make things hard to follow. I was slightly confused during the first chapter because characters were being introduced in a way that suggested I should already know them. But by the end of the chapter, you get an explanation for who each person is and I didn’t have any issue following along after that. So this can definitely can be read as a standalone if you’d like!

Thank you NetGalley & Forever Publishing for this ARC!

Such a fun read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book is a cozy witchy time! This is perfect if you're in the mood for autumn reads and witches but don't want a fantasy book.

I think Celestine Martin did a great job capturing the cozy feeling of Fall. I really liked all the Fall activities like pumpkin picking and mazes. She made the everyday things feel special and new. I think I also just really like the town of Freya Grove. It gave me Halloweentown vibes but for adults. I also liked that it was set in New Jersey, my home state, which was really cool.

I also liked the groundhog day time travel plot. I thought it was fun and had low stakes. Be warned that this book will make you hungry while reading. All the food in this book sounded delicious!

I liked both characters too. I liked that they focused on building their friendship and having fun. I found it so cute when Sirena asked Gus to play with her. Gus is a wonderful male lead. He's sweet, kind and considerate of Sirena's feelings. When he wrote down she was irreplaceable while playing the silent game?! My heart melted like hot butter. Sirena is trying her best but seems to be failing no matter what she does which I feel a lot of readers will relate to.

I enjoyed the romance between Sirena and Gus. It's a sweet friends to lovers romance that truly takes the time to see these two bond. So this is a slow burn but we get rewarded in the end with some steamy times in mazes (among other places). I thought the sex scenes were well written and fit the characters.

A delightfully cozy witchy romcom that will warm readers hearts & make them hungry!

There is something that feels so comforting and delicious about the writing style of Celestine Martin. Her stories are full of character and warmth and they feel so authentic. The romance is giving everything I want in a romance-- it makes me smile and sigh with happiness over the cuteness of the situations and characters-- and it does all of this without being too forced or cheesy. I am a big fan. Sign me up for all of Martin's books.

Thank you to Forever pub and netgalley for the eGalley!

I really thought I would enjoy this book, but unfortunately the writing style was not for me. I also couldn't get past how the mmc would refer to his past self as "good time gus" and his family dynamics were extremely dramatic. I will also note that it was off that the mmc just seemed attracted to the fmc out of NOWHERE...one minute his was talking about his divorce/heartbreak and then the next he's flirting with Serena and assessing her outfit/body which gave me the ick.

i think others will enjoy, i just don't think i was the target audience for this one.

Deja Brew by Celestine Martin

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 3/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️

A huge thank you to Forever, Grand Central Publishing, Netgalley, and Celestine Martin for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What a cute and cozy autumnal read! It was awesome to go back to Freya Grove and see what everyone is up to, though this book works excellently as a standalone as well.

For this third book of the series, we are focusing on Sirena’s journey. She is a kitchen witch who suddenly feels self-conscious about her abilities in the kitchen. By using a wish tea, she gets to redo the month of October. As she goes about repeating October, she learns, grows, embraces a new sense of purpose, and feels confident again in who she is. Along the way, she meets Gus, a magician who hails from a very famous family of magicians, but has decided to step out of the spotlight.

I really loved how both Sirena and Gus are portrayed authentically and the reader is taken along on the journey of their becoming their best selves and finding love.

Overall, this is a super fun fall romance read that you should add to your TBR list if you’re looking for some exciting fall adventures, an amazing romance, and spice!

Tropes:
- Friends to lovers
- Fall romance
- Time loop
- Second chance romance

This was such a cozy read, I think the aesthetics and world building Celestine created was such a perfect read for the autumn season! It was such a pleasure to meet the people of Freya Grove, as well as Gus and Sirena! Super cozy and loved the aspect of cooking which made this feel so cozy!

4.5 ⭐️

Deja Brew is the third book in the Elemental Love Series, following Sirena Caraway, a kitchen witch who gets quite literally the most magical second-chance romance. After a disastrous October culminates in her embarrassing herself at the birthday party of the charming magician Gus, she stumbles upon her Nana’s wish tea. One impulsive wish later, the month starts anew, giving Sirena the chance to not only ace her job interview but also rediscover herself. This restart sets the stage for her to rekindle something special with Gus, now a historian of Freya Grove.

What I loved most about this story was the depth of character development. Celestine could have easily wrapped things up 60 pages earlier, but she chose to fully flesh out Gus and Sirena as individuals. The focus on their personal and professional growth made the romance feel richer and more earned. And while I wasn't expecting any spice, it definitely added some heat to the story in a way that felt natural and, well, HOT!

Even though I haven’t read the first two books, this one stands on its own beautifully, and I’m already planning to borrow them from my sister’s library for some cozy fall reading.

CAWPILE Rating:
Characters: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Writing: 8
Plot: 9
Intrigue: 9
Logic: 8
Enjoyment: 9

Overall, this is a delightful blend of romance, magic, and self-discovery that I highly recommend!

I was hoping this would be a cute and cozy fall read, but I didn't really feel any connection to the characters at all.

It felt like the writing was so intentionally descriptive to set the scene in most places that it was awkward and forced rather than a natural flow. The dialogue didn't help to support any emotion and feeling building either, it all seemed to happen very fast.

I did like the time loop/second chance opportunity, but the build up and tension was missing. I felt the same way trying to read One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston.

Deja Brew is a charming witchy story meets Groundhog Day for the perfect read for fall.

We follow Sirena, a kitchen witch who has lost her touch, and Gus, a magician whose family are reality tv stars. They both are thrown together when Sirena makes a wish that turns into her repeating the month of October.

This was a good slow burn with great cozy fall energy. I liked the leads chemistry with each other and they seemed very supportive of each other. The world was a cross between real world and fantasy and was a bit confusing at times. By the end I had no clue how the magic system worked. There also were quite a few plot holes in the story, but as long as you don't concentrate on that the story is cute.