This was a sweet, cozy paranormal romance that I truly enjoyed. The characters are adorable and I enjoyed every minute of their story.

I think this was a very cozy read, however I can’t help but feel disconnected to the characters and the story a bit. Perhaps this might’ve been something to do with my reading experience. I would like to try and read this again. But these are my initial impressions with the first read.

For people who like supernatural romance Sarah Hogle is a a winner. She does it again in this sweet tale and it will be a big hit, especially for Halloween displays and romantasy bookclubs.

I loved this book so much! I haven’t shut up about it since finishing g it. I’ve preordered a physical copy. I read the first in the series earlier this year and enjoyed it but this one is even better!

Cozy and witchy romance perfect for the fall - a great Halloween read for when you’re trying to get festive and spooky!

This book was a pretty cute book (especially for Halloween!) I solidly believe this book is a 3 star ⭐️⭐️⭐️!

One thing that did irk me about the marketing of this book is how it is described as an “enemies to lovers romantasy” book. This book (while it does have fantasy elements — ie. witches and magic/sorcery) it gives more of a paranormal vibe, in my own opinion. The setting is incredibly modern and other than the very few characters that are described as possessing magic, there really isn’t much else that points to it being fantasy (even urban fantasy). Also, the main couple is definitely not a true “enemies to lovers” dynamic. It instead gives, “I find you mildly annoying in an attractive kind of way” vibe. This is definitely not a bad thing, just inaccurate word choice on the publisher’s end but definitely not the author’s fault! It is still a dynamic I enjoyed overall!

Overall I really did enjoy Morgan and Zelda’s story and I love how it can be read alone or further enjoyed if you read the first book in the series. I definitely recommend reading “Old Flames and New Fortunes” to get the full experience of seeing characters from the first book make appearances in this one, but it is also not needed as the main storyline follows the new couple, Morgan and Zelda!

There were a fewwww confusing moments (primarily the in the woods scenes) that I wasn’t a super big fan of the way it was written but i definitely did enjoy the book overall as a quick, fun little read!
I will definitely be reading and looking forward to the next book in the series!!

Steamy enemies-to-lovers romance, The Folklore of Forever wasn't my favorite Sarah Hogle, but it was still enjoyable. The writer was a little lackluster compared to the first, but I still had a good time.

This book is a good example of why Goodreads should allow you to rate a book zero stars. From the very first sentence in the book it's clear that this is the worst example of lazy writing - "Legend has it that the first sentence of a new book is always the hardest." Kill me now. From there we're introduced to the main character, Zelda, who is a writer struggling with writers block who isn't actually trying to get past it in any realistic way. This meta aspect of a lazy writer writing a lazy writer is further shown as we learn Zelda wrote a seven book series about a vampire in a town called Villamoon, but somehow never realized she based it on her hometown of Moonville. How could she possibly have realized that?!

She is the definition of a one note character whose only defining characteristic is that she grew up in a magical town as a weirdo too weird for even her weird town, but now defiantly doesn't believe in magic. But at least Zelda has this level of character development because not a single other character is even given that much. The main love interest, Morgan, is a good looking creep who is only interested in Zelda because he's heard a legend that if a witch falls in love with you then you'll get magic powers too and he's desperate for some magic of his own. He literally says as much after he buys a date from her at a town auction - "You wear a witch's hat in your author photo. It's on the back cover of all your books. Deceitful behavior for a not-witch." Welcome to chapter 4.

At 30% it became boring to even highlight the worst lines as there were just too many. Save your sanity and just skip it.

This read was just okay for me. I went in catiously optimistic, becauuse I didn't super love the first book, but was excited about the premise of this one. Unfortunately it just fell a little flat for me.

I’ve loved everything I’ve read by Sarah Hogle but this one was fun. It was quirky and strange at so many points but I also loved the love story between these two. Take me on more strange adventures, Sarah Hogle. I beg you.

Good for spooky season! Seemed like there were a lot of things kind of happening at once and not really directed the best. But it was cute!

✅ Zelda Tempest, author with writer’s block & Morgan Angelopoulos, journalist/podcaster and Zelda’s neighbor who dresses exclusively in 80s vintage
✅ Even though Zelda doesn’t believe in ghosts, Morgan convinces her to join him and a group of ghost hunters
✅ Morgan is not the typical romance hero, there are definitely a few red flags. He’s a man-child. I didn’t love this book and it’s because of Morgan
✅ Book 2 in this series and continues the dream-like quality of book 1

I am always eager to read anything written by Sarah Hogle and though this isn’t my favorite, it’s still solid! Granted the romance fell a little flat for me, but I still enjoyed it overall. Warning, this starts off slow, but push through!! It’s worth it.

ARC Review
2.5 Stars
Oh man... what to even say about this one. I'll start off by saying Sarah Hogle has been my favorite author ever since I read You Deserve Each Other (and have since read all of her others). She's a five star author for me, and I adored book one in this series (Old Flames & New Fortunes). It was the perfect mix of sweet, romantic, funny, and just a touch of magic. Like a cottagecore small town dream. And that's what I expected going into this one as well, but it just wasn't that for me. It felt so chaotic, like I was in a bad trip for the entire book, because it was all just so confusing and random. The ghost hunting aspect in the beginning was fun, and the final 15% of the book was the Sarah Hogle I know and love with depth and swoonworthy romance, but the rest of the book was just not the vibe I wanted at all. The male mc reminded me of a middle school boy up until the very very end, so that was a turn off. And again, the plot was just so wacky I never really cared what was going on, nor could I even follow some of the random things happening. In fact, I soft dnf'd halfway through because it was putting me in a slump. And that is just so sad to me because she is truly an auto-buy author who holds the spot for some of my all time favorite books ever. All I can do is hope this book goes through some strong edits to clean it up, and that the next book in the series feels more like book one did.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗸𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 follows Zelda and Morgan on a paranormal investigation to find out the secrets lying amidst them.

- ~ -

Unfortunately this one fell flat for me. No it crashed lol.

The first book was a thousand times better. The magical aspect here was rather dense and there was almost no romance and of what was there isn't much to talk about. Morgan as a protagonist was very confusing and a little too immature for his age.

The plotline was a little choppy and the sequence of the timelines did not make sense. Overall, not my favourite book.

- ~ -

3.42 / 5 ★

Thanks to Putnam Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved going back to Moonbilled and seeing a differwnt Tempest sister get their story. Zelda and Morgan have a rocky start and as their characters grow feelings might too. The story doesn't quite have tropes to it and it was a gun read.

A perfect cozy, witchy read!

I really enjoyed Old Flames and New Fortunes, so it was a delight to return to Moonville. However, I think you could absolutely enjoy this book without having read OF, NF first! The cozy town magical vibes are the same, but I loved that Zelda's story had a darker magical vibe to it!

Z is a witch who doesn't believe in magic, but writes about it, and she's tangled up with a non-magical man who's obsessed with magical things. And hijinks ensue. This is a fun read, although it is a little chaotic at times. There's a part in the middle where I surely felt that I must have had some funny mushrooms without realizing it - you'll know when you read it.

But overall if you want magical vibes with a side of spice and fun - you'll want to read this and the whole Moonville series!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I don’t like to say it but I did not enjoy this book at all. When I read the description of this book on NetGalley I was so excited. A paranormal skeptic that entire family believes in magic stuck in Ohio? I was in, but I was wrong. Both Zelda and Morgan are so unlikable, with the latter being a creep that you don’t know the majority of the book if he even likes her. There were so many random side characters and little plots thrown in that I thought it was too much and unnecessary. Also, Zelda always talking down to her niece was INFURIATING. This book also took me forever to read. If it wasn’t an ARC I would have DNFed.

Thanks to Netgalley & PENGUIN GROUP- Putnam for the E-ARC! Really enjoyed this! Liked all the cozy vibes & the characters. So glad I gave this author another chance!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book. This is book two and in the Moonville series but not necessary to have read book one. The male lead did NOT do it for me. The romance felt blah and not worth my time. I did enjoy the magic part but overall not a big fan of this book. 2/5 stars