2.5/5

Was immensely excited for another Moonville novel, but unfortunately, I don’t think this was at all comparable to Old Flames and New Fortunes. While OFNF had its faults, I still loved the chemistry between the main characters, dialogue, plot, and setting. This book, however, kind of missed the mark on that. I think Morgan wasn’t compelling enough for me as a love interest - especially the way he was portrayed in the first book. I found myself not really rooting for them as a couple. I also struggled to follow the magical/fantasy or just any world-building parts. I would have liked more focus on the romance between them rather than so much focus on the adventures.

Zelda is a really interesting character though and I’m glad we got to explore her story. Sarah Hogle writes extremely descriptive, imaginative, and thought-provoking prose. I do love her writing, but sadly, I think this particular work was not for me. Although I still look forward to the third one (as far out as that release will be).

Thank you to Sarah Hogle, Penguin Group Putnam, and NetGalley for the ARC.

A whimsical cozy style fantasy! What a fun read with a magical twist. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to preview this book!

This was my first book by this author and I LOVE her writing!! I’m very excited to explore more of her books. This did take me a bit to grasp the style of writing though but once I did I realized how creative and funny it was.
The MMC really flirted with the line of being charming and funny vs obnoxious but I did find him charming and funny instead. This book was just delightful and extremely different than anything I’ve read. I will for sure go back and read the other book in this series.

I love everything Sarah writes! Ive been a big fan ever since i read You Deserve Each Other and I am loving this new paranormal/magical realism route that she is taking. A fantastic follow up to the first book!

Sarah Hogle creates whimsy magical romance with the folklore of forever!

a steamy enemies to lovers with a paranormal twist that I ate up as we go back to Moonville, Ohio. One thing I loved about this story was all its eccentric charm filled with ghost hunting, tension, magical creatures and fun adventures. It felt like a 90s sitcom that we all love and enjoy. Zelda and Morgan have such a fun and hate filled dynamic where they are just doomed to fall for each other. I thought the chemistry between them worked well and I also loved how they slowly fall and the vivid imagery that Sarah hogle paints in this folklore of a romance with magic and whimsy. An absolute must read! It's cozy and spooky romantic fun!

This was a whimsical story of self discovery and romance but… the romance part of it just didn’t land with me. I don’t think I’m the target audience for this one. I thoroughly enjoyed the magical creatures and elements but while Zelda struggles to accept her magical background, I just found Morgan insufferable and not complimentary to her growth at all. The first half of this was too slow and I found myself counting pages, then once it picked up I was really hoping for Morgan to grow on me/ have a redemption arc for how he treated Zelda in the beginning but it just never happened. I didn’t realize this was the second book in a series when I requested it from NetGalley, but I don’t feel like there was any missing information I should have needed. It was pretty easy to understand the background scene setting and history. However, now that I know I’ve basically jumped ahead, I will be reading that first book and then maybe revisiting this again for an updated perspective.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I LOVED the first book. Alex and Romina were so cute and the way they bantered was so funny.

Morgan just didn’t do it for me. I love Zelda and how magical she was, but I can’t get over the feeling that they aren’t a good fit. He just wanted to be with her for her magic and he was very immature at times.

When they were in the forest I felt like I was reading a fever dream. I was very confused, but maybe that was the point. I will return to read book 3 because I love how clues Luna is in thinking love is going to find her easily. I’m curious to see who she falls for.

Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I absolutely LOVED this book.
I cannot wait till it comes out to buy a finish copy.

Zelda Tempest is such a unique character that embraces her quirkiness. She is the Morticia Addams - childhood wannabe vampire, that grew up to be a well known author. Curious about many that leads her on multiple dives into books. One thing she is skeptical about is magic. She writes about magic but doesn't believe in it. Until Morgan wins a date with her and indulges in all her interest from dates at a haunted house to trekking in the forest.

There were so many scenes that were HILARIOUS.

Their code names had me cracking. "Papaya!" or "Call me Hot Drama"
Excellent excellent bantering!

I love that Sarah reference some of my favorite books like The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause.

And at the end I love the epiphany about books. How many people can read it and have different experiences reading it.
That is really the JOY of reading and has become one of my personal favorite novels.

I also found the scene when all of the characters run into each other = being chased by different animals. I kept on rereading that scene! PURE GOLD

I thought this book sounded really good and just like something I would love, but it fell a bit flat for me.

My biggest issue is the MMC, but I did not like the MMC Morgan at all. I know this is a romance book, but I was hoping he and Zelda would not get together. He was a jerk and only seemed to want to be with Zelda to get powers.

Despite this, there are things I enjoyed in the book, like the magical elements and the plot!

I really wanted to love this.

I enjoy a cliche cozy rom com as much as the next girl, and a paranormal one? Oh hell yes.

But this was just…meh.

Morgan is an absolute prick who DOES NOT get better. Like, ew. Borderline harassment with his introduction. 🤮

And with a name like Zelda, I expect you be to be badass and take no shit and just….more. This Zelda was almost unlikeably creepy at times. Or at the very least, just too awkward to be cute.

The idea was there. I swear it was. But this just one of fell flat. Things were just not hitting like they should, and it wasn’t until the 60-70% mark that I became truly interested, but again, that only lasted a short while.

In my opinion, if Zelda was given more of a background check and more relatable, I think this would have been more exciting. (There was no fixing Morgan, though. He sucks.)

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the arc copy in exchange for my honest review!

RATING: 2/5 STARS

This breaks my heart to say but I did not enjoy this book. The romantic tension was just not there like book 1 of this series.

Unfortunately, not my favorite book. I was confused half of the time, the romance fell flat, and the characters had no real growth to me. The mmc frustrated me 70% of the time and i’m not sure what I couldn’t stand more, his fashion sense or his personality. I was happy for him at the end.

This book was very funny though. And I love the world Sarah created. Still looking forward to the next one!
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is Zelda and Morgan's story, the second of a series that started with "Old Flames and New Fortunes" (Moonville series). Both characters were introduced in the first book, and this book relies heavily on prior knowledge from that book so I'd recommend you read it before you dive into this one. Zelda is the only sister in a family of witches who is a staunch skeptic when it comes to magic. Recently moved back home and struggling with writer's block after penning a very successful series, she's also in denial about her own witchy powers. Morgan is a high school acquaintance and current friend of Zelda's sisters and a bit melodramatic, but he's also a fervent believer in magic. When the introverted Zelda starts seeing strange animals around town that no one else does, a delighted Morgan helps her to investigate.

This one felt like less of a romance and more like Zelda's journey back to magic and her childhood self (as well as a heartfelt love letter to books and writing). For a large part of the book the Zelda-Morgan vibe was mostly friendly exasperation with some lust mixed in. The fantasy element was heavy here, which worked well for the story. There's not a lot of steam for the majority of the book, the tone is more yearning and realizations and self-growth. But when the steam is there, it's open-door. There's also some nice humor and ridiculousness woven throughout.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this imaginative story. I found it to be more engaging than the first book, which I think is partly because I found Zelda to be so much more entertaining than Romina. She's charmingly deadpan: think Lydia Deetz but with red hair and sisters. Morgan had a long way to go before I liked him but he got there eventually. Although he's handsome and charismatic, he's oddly immature and annoying at times. As a GenX-er, though, I appreciated millennial Morgan's devotion to wearing stereotypically '80s vintage clothing.

I felt that the author found her stride with this second book. It has a different (and preferable) energy compared to the first one, closer to what I was expecting based on books of hers that I've enjoyed. I really hope Luna's story, which I assume is next, is as entertaining as this one. Publishes April 8, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for my objective review.

This book! THIS BOOK! I loved it so much! There’s something enchanting about finding a story that weaves magic and romance so seamlessly that it feels like casting a spell on the reader. I knew how much I was loving the book when these very impossible things were occurring in the book, but I was so immersed that I didn't stop and think, "Pffftt, that could never happen." The book I just read didn’t just tell a tale; it transported me to a world where love and enchantment co-existed beautifully. It wasn’t just the story of magic—it was magic itself. The magical elements weren’t mere backdrops but felt as integral as the love story, shaping the characters and their journey in a way that was nothing short of extraordinary.

I’m utterly enamored. I love when a book evokes this much wonder in me, and I am so excited for it go on sale so that I can get it on my shelf, its cover ready to remind me of the magical world it holds within. Owning it will feel like capturing a piece of the enchantment to revisit whenever I need a spark of wonder and love. Thank you so much for allowing me early access! I have loved all of Sarah Hogle's books so far. (She was a great pick!)

DNF at 66%

Also for the record when I started reading this I had no idea it was book 2 in the series. Maybe if I read book 1 first I would’ve enjoyed this one more. But we will never know and I have too many books on my TBR to pull an UNO Reverse.

My first initial thoughts reading the synopsis was that it sounded like a really cute paranormal romcom. Sadly, this was a huge miss for me.

But let’s start with the positives. I did really enjoy our FMC Zelda. I found her to be very relatable and I liked watching her grow and develop through the parts I did read. I also really enjoyed her magical sisters, Luna and Romina. I loved the bond the sisters share and honestly wish we saw more of the three siblings than our love interest.

Speaking of our love interest. I despised him. Morgan our MMC is probably one of the most arrogant and creepy love interests I’ve read in a while. Which says a lot because I read dark romance. And I’d rather have one of my Rina Kent dark romance boys over him. This man literally says multiple times he only wants to be friendly with Zelda and even buys a date with her just so she can give him magic by falling in love with him. Like excuse me. To top it off he hijacks her date and he can’t fathom why she’s pissed off at him. Like come on my guy read the room.

The romance was awful and I had zero desire to ship them together. There was no chemistry and often left me cringing every-time they interacted. I feel like if we just completely cut Morgan out of the book I would’ve enjoyed it.

Overall, I honestly can’t recommend this book. However, I’d still recommend Sarah’s other books and will continue to check out her future works. Lastly big Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for a copy of this ARC to read and review.

A light and easy enemies to lover romantasy novel about Zelda, a paranormal skeptic and mystery writer (w/paranormal themes in her books 🤔) and ghost hunting, boy next door Morgan.

I enjoyed the dual POV format of this novel and the fun ghost hunting adventures Zelda and Morgan went on during this novel. However, I felt there were plot holes in this novel that just made it hard to follow. Zelda's sisters and entire family are witches but she doesn't believe in magic/paranormal aspects, which I found far fetched. I felt like the author skipped over the history between Zelda and Morgan to develop the "enemies" aspect of this trope which made it feel more like boy next door romance.

I enjoyed this but I didn't love it, maybe it was just the mindset I was in. If you have enjoyed this author before I think you will enjoy this novel.

Thank you Net Galley and publishers for letting me read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

I was so excited to enter the town of Moonville again, but was unfortunately a little disappointed with this one. The first book of the series was a 5/5 for me, would read again, but this one just took forever to get into. The first 20% of the book was very cringey and kinda boring. It didn't pick up until maybe 60% of the way through. I found Morgan to be very immature and kind of a jerk. He only wanted to go out with Zelda to make her fall in love with him so he could get magical powers. And Zelda was closed off and annoying too. She denied being a witch almost the whole book, saying magic was all a lie. They both eventually got better, but still not my favorite couple of the series so far. I hope Luna's story will be like the first and not this one. It was entertaining but a bit all over the place.

I’ll be totally honest- i DNF’d at around 46%. I just couldn’t take the MMC. Giving it three stars because maybe it’s me not them?

*2.5 Stars*

This book was probably my biggest disappointment of the year. I loved Old Flames and New Fortunes and was so excited to read the next book in the Moonville series. Zelda is a great character, and I loved the magical elements to this book but the love interest, Morgan, completely ruined this book for me. Mogan is probably one of the worst male main characters I have read in a long time. Morgan seemed to be using Zelda for her powers through most of the book and there didn't seem to be a romantic element in this "romance" book until the very end. I am conflicted about continuing the series. I love Luna as a character and would love to read her story but am concerned that I will be reading about another unlikable love interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to review The Folklore of Forever. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I can see why a lot of people find this story so charming. There was whimsy, romance, and mystery. A perfect set up for a perfect book.