Although I loved rom coms as a child, I'm not a huge fan of them anymore. It's like there's always something missing, something to keep me hooked and invested, something I'm interested in. Luckily more and more magical romcoms are being released and when I came across this book on Netgalley I knew I had to request it (that badly that I accidentally requested, and got it, twice. Whoops!) and I was very happy when my request was granted.

This book was exactly what I had expected it to be. Lucinda and Benedict have been pranking each other, with their magic, ever since they were in the same class and now they're forced to magically bind themselves to each other to lead the local coven. Luckily it seems that they do not hate each other as much as they think and slowly they grow closer and closer until it's clear that these two people are made for eachother.

That's especially because the author did an amazing job giving them personalities that could clash, but could also support and complete each other. We see the clashing mostly in the beginning, but throughout the story we see them working with each other and compensating for each other's flaws. Their combined efforts are truly better than the sum of their individual ones and it's clear that underneath the pranks and initial hatred, there was also a lot of respect and admiration.

I also liked the setting and the side characters. The author could have focussed only on the main couple, but there is also quite some time for the side characters to have their own storyline. I was also very positively surprised, maybe it's a mild spoiler, that the author doesn't go with another possible love interest causing drama in the relationship that's quite clearly destined to be endgame. I was a little afraid of that at first, but I'm very happy the author chose a different route.

I'll for sure check out the next book in this series!

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book. It was a great cozy fall witchy read. I enjoyed the plot and the characters, but did think the pranks were a little childish.

Thank you to NetGalley and CallaghanWriter for this ARC!

Potions and Proposals is a picture perfect, cozy enemies to lovers set in the ideal town where people with and without magic and from all facets of fantasy can live harmoniously, as the town itself is a sanctuary. I enjoyed this book from the first page to the very last page. You will enjoy this book if you enjoy cozy, fun, romantasiea with an enemies to lover trope.

Lucinda Hawthorne is a Foxford’s local librarian with a knack for translating old grimoire’s. Lucy’s mother is the coven’s high priestess, which leaves Lucy as the obvious successor. However, Lucy also enjoys pulling (mostly) harmless pranks on her childhood nemesis Benedict Matherson. Benedict has been known to return the “favor.” Benedict’s family runs the Matherson manner which has been converted to a hotel for all, which means he has money and local power. Both of their lives are turned upside down when Lucy’s mom announces her retirement and Benedict’s mom nominates him to replace her. The coven determines it would be best for them to be bound (the magic equivalent of marriage) and lead together. A spell gone wrong later, their elemental magic is switched and they have to work together to fix it. The town prepares for the Autumnal Festival and Benedict and Lucy work to get out of their binding ritual. With all of this working together, will they end up staying together? Will they be able to put the pranks of the past behind them?

This was the perfect cozy spooky romance just in time for fall. It gives all the witchy and whimsical vibes of spooky season while adding swoon worthy romance and hilarious banter!

Lucy and Benedict have been rivals since childhood and when a harmless prank goes a little too far the coven orders they bind themselves together for the sake of the town. Soul binding is serious business and as they try to figure out a way around it , their true feelings for each other start to surface!

Lucy and Benedict’s story is true rivals to lovers. It’s magical and heartwarming and one I won’t soon forget. I fell in love with The Village of Foxford and the people who live there. I’m SO looking forward to more magic and love from Kate Callaghan!

4 ⭐
1 🌶️
Tropes: Small town, forced engagement, cozy, rivals to lovers, slow burn


Lucinda has known since birth that she would one day assume her mother’s role of High Priestess of her coven residing in the magical town of Foxford. Except when news comes that Wilhelmina is actually stepping down on All Hallows Eve, she discovers her lifelong rival, Benedict Matherson, is being floated for coven leader as well. They give her an ultimatum: marry Benedict and co-lead the coven, or face a vote and risk being cast out of the town.

Lucinda and Benedict reluctantly agree to the engagement, but fate still has some more tricks up its sleeves for them.

It took me a minute to really get into this story, but once I did I really enjoyed it. I loved the small town, cozy autumn vibes (I’m so done with summer!!) The pacing of the growing feelings between Lucinda and Benedict was really well done, and I especially enjoyed watching his protectiveness/possessiveness build. I also liked the side characters, and I’m looking forward to reading the next books in this series. It’s hard to write about things I enjoyed without giving spoilers!

I do have a couple of critiques, though. This book is written in 3rd person with dual POV but most of the chapters are focused on Lucinda- I wish there had been more focused on Benedict. Secondly, I get why Benedict asks for permission to kiss Lucinda, but after the second or third time it got annoying and just pulled me out of the story.

Finally, and I get this is my own personal issue and I promise I didn’t lower my rating because of it….I really wish the author had included Lucinda’s nickname (Lucy) in the blurb, because she is called that throughout most of the book. I have a close family member named Lucy and I usually avoid reading open door romance when a character has the same name as family. Even though this ended up being a 4⭐ read, I probably would’ve skipped this ARC had I known.

As I said, despite the name thing this cute and cozy witchy romance is well written and funny, and one I do recommend you add to your Autumn TBR!

I loved this book - Lucinda and Benedict had great chemistry, and there was just the right amount of romance and spice in the story line.
I also loved the B storylines, and it left me hoping for more instalments in the series to see where these storylines go.

I am labeling this a hallmark halloween novel, this was so cute!!! This had so many elements that I LOVE!! We had enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, magic town, spell gone wrong, so many amazing and fun pieces to the story! From the start, I found myself smiling and laughing at the antics between Lucy and Benedict, they had me hooked from the very first page! Lucy and Benedict are childhood nemesis who for years have been in a tit for tat prank war that they can’t seem to give up on. As Lucy’s mom is preparing to retire as High Priestess of their town, and Lucy is preparing to take over, the elder families of the town begin to doubt Lucy’s capabilities to lead due to the childish antics of the pranks. After Benedict is nominated as another candidate to lead, the two are presented with the plan their mothers have come up with. Lucy and Benedict are to be magically bound together, married, and lead the town together. If they refuse, a vote will be held and the loser will be banished from the town. Of course they accept this offer, and of course chaos ensues! It becomes clear to them pretty quickly that the line between love and hate is very thin! This was such a fun read as I begin to shift myself into the spooky season, yes there was drama but nothing too angsty or high stakes. Love love love!!!

4-4.5/5 stars! I received this book from netgally in exchange for an honest review. I really liked this book! It was a cozy witch read that is perfect for fall. I really enjoyed the enemies to lover story even though some of their antics were a bit childish. The world and story aren't very complex, but it still holds up on its own and is very enchanting. My only issue is that there wasn't much depth in the story but it's hard to really call this a negative because the story it's self is just supposed to a cozy read. I'll definitely will continue reading stories from this world and will looking into more books by this author!

Very cute, cozy romance. World building was excellent but the overall pacing was odd. Felt that some scenes (the crone, the werewolf) didn’t serve the overall narrative of the story. Overall would read more from this author but would like to see her tighten her plotting a bit more

This was the cutest little enemies to lovers, small town, cozy book that made me feel like I was diving right into the fall time. Especially around Halloween. It felt like a freaky Friday situation, and I kept turning the page and finish this in one day. I highly recommend it. The characters are so cute, and I just loved the plot. Highly recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

In the mystical town of Foxford, tenacious translator Lucinda Hawthorne is on the brink of assuming the prestigious role of High Priestess. However, her lifelong nemesis, Benedict Matherson, is also nominated for the esteemed position.

I enjoyed this little cozy light read. I felt like the characters had a very clear development from being very obvious foes to a slow-burn romance. The town of Foxford gave a homey atmosphere to this story. However, I wish there was a little bit more world-building within Foxford. I feel like that was one of the elements I was longing for while reading. Overall this book was a cute little read and I think if you wanted to cozy up on a rainy day, this read would be the one for you!

This was a really cute and cozy read prefect for fall
I am thankful to have gotten the eARC for free from Netgalley and the author so I can leave my voluntary review.

I got pulled into requesting this book due to the cover and wanting to read something magical. It was a perfect offering as I gear up wanting to read content appropriate for spooky season.

I enjoyed the enemies to lovers trope with the magic touch and a world that to me had parallels to the real world sanctuary cities.

This book would make a great Hallmark-esque script but a little bit spicier and substantial. So I guess more like a series that could do the content justice.

It did take me a little longer than typical for me to read as it didn’t make me want to keep turning pages consistently but it was still very enjoyable and I think many will really enjoy it!

The book comes out on August 24th 2024 so preorder your copy now!

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

This book was such a cozy and cute read. I adored the characters and the small town setting! The fall and Halloween atmosphere was everything.

I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a slower-paced, cozy read. While the plot wasn’t very strong, it was a refreshing change from my usual books. It took a few chapters for me to get into it, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. The world-building and character interactions really drew me in and kept me invested!

The story hints at potential conflict, but nothing major happens, which makes me wonder if it's setting up for future books. Regardless, the witchy vibes were off the charts, and I loved every bit of it!

Lucy and Benedict have known each other their whole lives and have a history of pranks going wrong, it gets so bad that the town intervenes (think Stars Hollow but supernatural), and proposes a solution, Lucy and Benedict need to be bound. Despite their protests, the two characters can't help being drawn together, which means overcoming their past animosity.
This book is marketed as enemies to lovers but it feels more like they're just in denial about their feelings, there is no true enemy element, and I don't believe that they even dislike each other. This was a fun read, and I enjoyed the magical elements and the process of trying to solve their predicament. I also felt that it was slightly too long, I started to get bored towards the end and ended up skimming parts of it, ultimately, however, it was a quick, fun read and would be perfect for Autumn.

Lucinda Hawthorne and Benedict Matherson are life long rivals. But when a prank goes too far, the coven decide the only way to sort the two out is to bind them together.

When I read the initial blurb for this book I wasn't sure how realistically the ideas could be woven together, but I was pleasantly surprised.

This story is light, sweet, magical and entertaining. The characters were compelling and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

This book is a cute small town rivals to lovers book with yes you guessed it magic!
The banter in this book is hilarious and exciting.

Lucy and Benedict have been prankster enemies since forever, however when it's time to select a new high priestess the pair are given an ultimatum: marry each other on All Hallows Eve or be subjected to a vote where one will become the new high priestess and the other will become banished from their small village Foxford.

This is a perfect autumn cozy read. My favourite part was the banter between Lucy and Benedict.

I rather enjoyed this book as it was a cozy, magical creature, "forbidden" love, arranged marriage romance where the two MCs have hated each other for the majority of their lives.

The MCs have been pulling pranks on each other since they were children, and the FMC's latest prank gets her in trouble with the town's coven. The FMC is also the daughter of the High Priestess and next in line for the seat, but her rival's mother has something else to say about that when a poor review of their hotel comes in because of the prank. The FMC and MMC are then forced by the coven to choose either marriage and leading together, or a coven vote with the loser being forced from the town.

This book does move quickly with the romance as we find out that the MMC has been pining for the FMC for years, but believed he didn't deserve her because of his family's history. The MCs also have slight forced proximity with a magical mishap exchanging their elemental gifts and forcing them to work together.

Overall I enjoyed the book. It did read as though it was for a younger crowd even with the spicy aspects. I think the plot was solid, but would have liked more world building details and internal dialogue from the characters. I gave this book 3 stars for these reasons.

Thank you to netGalley and Kate Callaghan for the opportunity to read Potions and Proposals as an ARC.

"Potions and Proposals" by Kate Callaghan creates one of the most charming cozy worlds. The writing captivates with engaging storytelling, clever dialogue, and well-developed characters. While the beginning might be slow, persevering will reward you with a delightful array of magical elements. Set in a small town filled with witches, vampires, and werewolves, this book is an ideal choice for your next Halloween read

Potions and Proposals is the type of story you don't want it to end EVER!!! I rated it 4 stars because I couldn't put it down for a bit. Loved the characters and the plot of this book.

Even thought it took a few pages to get into this book I’m so glad I preserved because this books is amazing. I love the plot. The cozy vibes. Perfect for those chilly Halloween nights with a fire and a hot chocolate. The characters are well written and you can’t help but get overly attached. The magic the world is all amazing