This book is not my usual sort of book. I’ve read very few stories about witches but nonetheless very much enjoyed this title. The author creates memorable characters, a well-crafted world, and an interesting and exciting plot. It is the kind of story that one reads waiting for a happy ending and resolution. Read this one to see how it all turns out.

Recommended to readers who enjoy romance, magic, a bit of fantasy and a fun story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-St. Martins Griffin for this title. All opinions are my own.

Note that I began my review on the site with the summary that is here on NG. I credited it.

A Circle of Uncommon Witches by Paige Crutcher is a story of adventure, romance, and destiny, all by asking one question: is true love worth the cost? After being kept from his true love, Ambrose MacDonald curses the MacKinnon witches, preventing them from finding true love. In turn, they imprisoned him; he'll outlive everyone, trapped in a tempest. Doreen MacKinnon is destined to die thanks to a curse placed on her family by Ambrose after he he lost the woman he loved. If she doesn't fine true love, her fate is sealed.

But there's something different about Doreen and her cousin. They are the 13th generation of Scottish Witches which means they are more powerful than those who came before. Every single person she shows an interest in, falls under her thrall. So when she discovers where Ambrose has been trapped, she releases Ambrose who has been trapped in a tempest and tortured for the past three hundred years. He agrees to help break the curse although he is more interested in vengeance against her family than helping.

As the two work together, sparks start to fly but Doreen must keep her eye on the bottom line: ending the curse and saving her family. Even if it means heartbreak. Together, they enter a series of trials, which take them to a castle in Scotland, off a cliff, and into a world beyond their wildest dreams. But soon Doreen must choose how far she is willing to go to break the curse, and what she's willing to sacrifice. Both Doreen and Margot are curious witches. Margot can create her own spells, while Doreen remembers every spell she's seen, or encountered.

Doreen narrates the novel primarily, although there are chapters where Ambrose speaks as well as Ada (who is an underworld Witch), which allows readers to explore the story from all viewpoints. There are journal entries, also, that are read aloud in parts, which helps to fill in the background of some of the more historical figures that play an important role. The story is a good mix of romance and fantasy but light on the witchcraft and obvious spellwork by our main cast of characters with Doreen, Ambrose, and Margot, despite witches being in the title. Also, I am still waiting for answers on the ending and since I hate open ended endings, thus my rating.

A Circle of Uncommon Witches has a compelling premise—generational curses, forbidden love, and a reluctant alliance between enemies. The setup promised a mix of adventure, romance, and magical intrigue, but the execution didn’t always fully deliver.

The magic system sometimes felt inconsistent, with moments where the rules seemed unclear or underdeveloped. There were also character shifts that felt abrupt. Some significant emotional or personality changes happened so suddenly that I found myself flipping back to see if I had missed something (I hadn’t, reading on an eBook). This sometimes gave the impression that parts of the story were rushed or incomplete, making it harder to fully invest in the characters and their journey.

That said, the overall story was enjoyable, and I generally like most books I finish. There were moments of strong atmosphere and some compelling emotional beats, but the book leaned heavily on familiar fantasy tropes, especially the “chosen one” concept, without always adding enough depth to make them feel fresh.

Ultimately, A Circle of Uncommon Witches had the potential to be something more than it was. It’s an entertaining read, especially for fans of witchy fantasy romances, but it left me wanting a little more depth and development in both the world-building and character arcs.

A Circle of Uncommon Witches kept me hooked with its twists and turns, revealing little but crucial details at just the right moments.

Doreen MacKinnon is the latest in a long line of witches cursed to never find true love - a fate she’s determined to break. Three hundred years ago, the powerful witch Ambrose MacDonald cursed her family in revenge after being forbidden from his own love. But his vengeance came at a price, leaving him imprisoned in a raging tempest. Unlike her ancestors, Doreen refuses to accept her destiny, and when she discovers Ambrose’s prison, she sets him free to help undo the spell. Though he agrees, Ambrose has his own agenda: revenge. As they face magical trials, dangerous landscapes, and unexpected feelings, Doreen must decide how far she’ll go to break the curse and whether true love is worth the risk.

While the story is framed around Doreen's quest to break her family's curse, the focus leans more on family lore and magical trials than on romance. Ambrose is a fascinating character, and I enjoyed the dynamic between him and Doreen, though I wouldn’t say their relationship was the central driving force.

I was definitely not a fan of the aunts throughout this book, but the rich world-building and the unraveling of the MacKinnon family’s history made for an engaging read. If you love stories loaded with magic, destiny, and a bit of vengeance, this one is worth picking up!

The women in the witchy MacKinnon family are cursed. Anyone they develop a crush on is magically compelled to be with them. OK, so maybe that sounds like a gift…except that they’ll never know if their partner actually loves them for them. And if they don’t settle down with one of these bewitched beloveds by their thirtieth birthday, they die. 29-year-old Doreen MacKinnon is determined to break the curse, and she begins by freeing Ambrose, the witch who cursed the family hundreds of years ago, from his enchanted prison. But ending the curse is going to be harder than anyone bargained for…especially because Doreen starts to find herself falling for Ambrose.

I’m not usually a romantasy reader, but I was intrigued by the premise of this one, and I’m glad I picked it up! It was a fun, fast-paced story with a cinematic feel and loads of great banter. I loved that female friendships and family relationships played a big role, and I really enjoyed the ending. This isn’t an all-time fave for me, but I had a fun day reading it.

I love a good witchy book. Doreen wants nothing more than to break the curse the women in her family suffer from. We follow her as she tries to break that curse and learns what it truly means to love and whether making sacrifices is worth it. Both Ambrose and Doreen discovered things about themselves as they took on this great adventure and quickly found out that even the best plans don't always go as planned, and maybe it isn't so bad.

Thanks to the St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-arc!!

A relatively interesting historical story mired in a slow modern day fairy tale. I couldn’t get into the romance which was disappointing as it had all the pieces that should have reeled me in. The ancient love triangle was the best part but there was too much going on to really get into it. Generally underwhelming.

Thank you to NetGalley for my digital copy. These opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book the lore, characters, and plot were all amazing. Thank you for the arc of this book as someone who loves everything witchcraft related this was a nice fun read.

This was a new author for me, however, I chose to read it because the description sounded like something I would enjoy. A family of witches, secrets, dark pasts and curses. Doreen doesn't want to settle and won't believe she only has 2 choices. Neither of which she wants. After watching her best friend and cousin Margot give in to their family beliefs of the curse and no option, settling for fabricated love, she is even more determined to change her future. With pieces of information about their family curse and a man named Ambrose her goal, she sets out to undo their families trouble. Through trials, family betrayal, tricks and unwavering goodness Doreen must make choices. Which will lead her to her desired outcome? Will she find true love? Ambrose and Doreen were great main characters and watching them evolve and untangle family history and lies was really engaging.

A Circle of Uncommon Witches by Paige Crutcher.

I had a tough time getting through this book. It wasn't a bad book I just feel it was a little slow. Sometimes I didn't understand what was going on and I feel like some details may have been missed.

Once I had gotten through the book and was able to really sit and reflect I thought it was a good story. I loved Ambrose and Doreen!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this ARC!

This one I walked into not really knowing what to expect. The beginning for me was a little muddled- not much backstory to go off of, yet there were so many pages leading up to the climax of this novel. I didn’t love the way it was structured overall, but I liked the plot line. Doreen as the thirteenth witch of her coven should have been more of a strong female lead, but I felt often she was overshadowed by her love of Ambrose and who he is as an enemy of the coven.

Once we got into journal entries of Ada and why she is the way she is, I thought for sure we’d get a little backstory on Doreen’s family life, however no such luck there. A few missing elements left this book just *okay* but I’d be curious to see if another book came out and made this a series if it got any easier to follow.

A Circle of Uncommon Witches by Paige Crutcher was absolutely enchanting!
Okay, so this is my favorite. And not just my favorite Crutcher book.
No, this is the best type of fantasy! I don’t think I can quite put into words.
Paige Crutchers writing is captivating. She knows how to pull the reader into a magnificent and intriguing place.
The story was absolutely engaging and the work that went into the settings was noticeable and superb.
The attention to details in Crutchers writing really set the scene and tone.
Paige Crutcher does it again!

Imagine living knowing you will never find true love, and if you don't enthrall someone to marry you by the time you turn 3o, you will die. This is the reality for Doreen McKinnon and all the McKinnon witches. Doreen refuses to succumb to fate; she is determined to break the family curse and know what it is like to find true love. The first step was finding Ambrose McDonald, the man who cursed her family all those hundreds of years ago. Complete the witches' trials, and break the curse or die trying.
A Circle of Uncommon Witches is a beautiful story about enemies-to-lovers. Doreen is the lovely FMC; she is brave, determined, and wants love. Ambrose is stubborn and believes he was justified in his actions, yet can't help but notice the beautiful witch beside him. He's the perfect brooding MMC. This story has it all: wit, humor, banter between lovers, redemption, and the power of family and love. I highly recommend this book to fantasy and romance readers alike as it is the perfect mix of magic and love, and honestly, what is more magical than love?

The synopsis for this story is delightful and hooked me right away. What do you do when you have to team up with your enemy to break the curse that could kill you? Doreen MacKinnon has to do just that and must work with Ambrose MacDonald to solve her loneliness and feed his vengeance.

In spite of some slow spots in the last half, I did enjoy this paranormal tale. There is quite a bit going on, and I think that was what slowed this story down for me. Overall, it was an easy to read paranormal witch story, with romantic elements. This author does a good job with this topic.

An intriguing concept, but I feel the magic system could have been more clearly laid out. I wanted so badly to enjoy the romance aspect as well but for whatever reason did not find myself feeling invested in the characters.

This book is packed with magic, family curses, and an enemies-to-lovers dynamic that keeps things interesting. Doreen MacKinnon is one of the most powerful witches in generations, but that power comes with a price. She's doomed to die of a broken heart unless she can break an old family curse. The catch? She has to team up with Ambrose MacDonald, the very witch who cursed her bloodline in the first place. So yeah, things get messy.

Paige Crutcher does a fantastic job of building a rich, immersive world that pulls you right in. The trials Doreen faces were some of my favorite parts—tense, creative, and full of surprises. The overall atmosphere is dark and magical in all the best ways, making it easy to get lost in the story.

A Circle of Uncommon Witches by Paige Crutcher checked a lot of boxes for me, but ultimately it fell a little flat in its execution. Still, this one is one to check out for fans of books like Practical Magic and Outlander.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Curses✓
Witches✓
Adventure✓
Romance✓
Oh my✓

I absolutely love a good witchy book, and A Circle of Uncommon Witches, by Paige Crutcher did not disappoint. I was so immersed in the story that I didn't realise what time it was, until I noticed the sun dawning through my window. This is such a well written story with rich characters.

This is a first read for me by this author. I absolutely loved this book. It pulled me in and I could have stayed up two extra hours to finish it. But I was too sleepy.

This is one of those books that is pure pleasure to read. A modern day witch story. A love story. A story about finding a way to remove a curse. I really loved how the story played out too. It was just adorable and perfect.

When Doreen decides to find a way to break an age old curse put on her family she knows she has her work cut out for her. She had been trying for ages to figure it out but with a note from her cousin she finally knows where to start.

A curse was put on the MacKinnon family that if they didn't fall in love and have that love returned by age thirty they would die. Doreen didn't want to settle for casting a spell to make someone fall in love with her. She wanted the real thing. The whole thing. While her cousin Margot didn't want to take a chance on death. She married a young man.

This book is about a curse. A family of witches through the ages. A male who supposedly started it all because of love. There are a few characters and some things going on but it's really easy to follow. Doreen and Ambrose, the one who was suppose to have started the curse, team up to stop the curse things are revealed. Things that neither knew about and a lot that Doreen was never told.

This is a love story also. A love that happens between two witches. Well one is a warlock I suppose, though that is never said. He's called a witch. A lot of twists and turns. A few trials going on. Not witch trials like you may think. Trials to break a curse...

I truly did enjoy this book very much. It held my interest from start to beautiful ending. All that goes along with a good love story too. From fighting those feelings to finally accepting it. From family interference to finally being left alone. This is a book about family. Love. Lost love. New love. And in a way torture...

Thank you #NetGalley, #StMartinsPress, for this ARC.

Five big stars.

The beginning of this book had me wondering if I was going to continue on. My first impression was that things were happening too easily. I was pleasantly surprised as I read on. It was a very adventurous, magical love story. After a quarter of the way through I didn't want to stop reading. I took away 1 star for the beginning but the rest was wonderfully whimsical.