Member Reviews
Deja Brew is a sweet, cute and cozy rom-com with witches and magicians set in a small fictional town. I enjoyed the magic system and the overall arcing plot but could not bring myself to really care about the characters emotionally? I thought there were some really cringy lines and some of the dialogue felt so awkward.
Overall, it was cute and I would recommend for anyone who wants a cozy super-low stakes read.
I have not read the previous books in this series, and honestly I would not have read this one first if I would have known before I started. I listened to the audiobook and I think this was the perfect audiobook listen. I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed it as much as I did had I read the actual book. This was just one of those books that is easy to listen to while cleaning or doing other chores around the house. I liked both of the narrators and enjoyed that the POV switched through the story. I'm not a huge fall/halloween type of reader, but this had witchy/magic vibes that I liked. If you are looking for an easy to listen to romance with magic for Halloween, then this one might be for you.
I really enjoyed the female narrator's voice and performance, but I noticed there were some odd, lengthy pauses that disrupted the flow. The male narrator wasn't my favorite either—his pacing felt much slower in comparison. I think I'll switch to reading this one instead of continuing with the audio.
As a note/pet peeve about NetGalley audio, I wanted to speed it up just slightly, like to 1.05 or 1.15x, to help with the awkward pauses and flow. Unfortunately, NetGalley jumps straight to 1.25x, which ended up being too fast for the female narrator.
I would like to thank the publisher for giving me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.
This was adorable. Sirena has one terrible month, ending in a disappointing Halloween and makes a wish to have a redo. And when that wish comes true, and she realizes she has a second chance, she takes advantage of it to change her horrible month into something better.
Gus has just come out of a relationship brokenhearted, determined to just exist and heal. Until he meets Sirena.
What ensues is a romcom full of hilarious moments, steamy scenes, excellent banter, and a whole lot of magic. I adored seeing Sirena and Gus's relationship bloom as they come together, helping each other heal. Absolutely wonderful, and the audiobook narrators do a fantastic job bringing this to life.
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
A very cute fall read. This is my first book by this author, so I didn’t rebook one or two and I still felt connected to the characters and I didn’t really feel like I was missing anything by not reading the others.
I really love that the MMCs background was magic because I don’t feel like a see men with magic in cozy fall books.
The fact that she’s a kitchen witch just warms my heart.
Deja Brew by Celestine Martin
Elemental Love series #3. Witchy diverse paranormal romance. Alternating POV. Can be read as a stand-alone.
Sirena Caraway is feeling lost. Her life isn’t working out and things keep getting messed up. She makes a wish for a second chance and wakes up the next morning starting the month over again.
Gus Dearworth is a former reality star. He does not want to return to the spotlight. When his secret crush, Sirena Caraway, needs a little help, he’s more than willing to help.
🎧 I alternated between an ebook and an audiobook, sometimes reading the two together. The narration is performed by Marissa Hampton and Christopher Hampton, both of whom do a wonderful job with clearly expressed emotions and different voices in their chapters for the main characters. Even though the two never actually talk to each other in chapter or scene, their voices meld smoothly to their personas and for continuity of the book in full.
There are multiple timelines because of the wish and was slightly easier to track in the ebook format.
Steamy slow burn romance and steaming fall tasting menus make this story an enjoyable conclusion to the series. I liked that Sirena had confidence in her self image even while her magical side was being rebuilt, and I admired Gus for his off-stage career decisions even under pressure from family. Two strong individuals that needed a touch of support. A helping hand is not a bad thing and can be life changing.
I received a copy of this from NetGalley and Hachette Audio.
This is a whimsical paranormal romance set in modern day New Jersey. The book is similar to a cutesy contemporary but the magical beings and spells woven in make it even more fun!
The humor and catastrophes remind me of a 90s sitcom which gives the book a cozy and comforting feeling. The Groundhog Day setup only adds to these vibes.
If you're looking for a lighthearted Halloween audiobook, with diverse characters, to listen to while you're baking some pumpkin loaf this is a solid choice.
I really liked the story of this won but found myself confused at times because it kept mentioning all these other types of creatures, but there wasn't any world building and I had no visual for what a place where all these types of creatures live, but also that it wasn't a fantasy world and I just couldn't get into that aspect of it. I feel like just keeping it witchy would have been a better choice.
As far as performance, the female narrator was excellent and a perfect fit. I did not care for the male narrator at all. I almost DNF'd the book because his voice did match the personality of the Gus at all and I had a hard time taking anything he said seriously.
This was a perfectly fine, cozy fall book. I wish I was listening when I had no other books in my TBR, meaning I wish I could have just leisurely enjoyed and not feel like I have to rush to finish. Definitely got me in the fall/spooky spirit.
I liked the storytelling, but felt the plot was a little flat. It's definitely an easy read/listen. The characters were all so easy to love. There were a couple of spicy scenes I did not expect, but were a fun addition! I think I would like to read the other sisters' books.
If you are debating reading v listening, I vote listen. The narrators did a fantastic job portraying the characters and story! loved them.
Thank you to Celestine, Forever, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book and for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook!
I love this little escape to Freya Grove!
Sirena is "stuck" after staying in Freya Grove following her grandmothers passing almost 2 years ago. She is a kitchen witch that wants to cook and find her place in life! After a horrible October she decides to make a wish for a redo of the month.
Gus has returned to Freya Grove to mend his broken heart and a break from the good time magician persona who was on for everyone but himself. Till he interacts with Sirena at the end of October at his birthday party and thinks he might have finally found his way.
This magical courtship and friendship turns steamy as Sirena and Gus both navigate an October redo that may set the magical stage for an amazing future together. Both characters are heart warming and people pleasers so putting themselves first was a struggle!
The fun, magic and romance was my perfect cup of tea!
Read if you like
🧡 Magic
🤎 Friends to Lovers
🤍 Second Chance
💛 Found Family
🧡 Fall Feels
Thank you to Netgalley, Forever, Hachette Audio, and Celestine Martin for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
If you love to read as many fall, witchy, magic, cozy books as you can in the spooky cozy season- you should be adding this to your TBR. It simply hits all of the basic requirements of a fall seasonal read. While this IS a series, I read this as a standalone and completely enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed the dual narration albeit I do want to call out the male narration in the last chapter. It's as if he lost his energy. We had pivotal dialog in the culmination of this beautiful love story and he was just reading from the page. Earlier in the book, it did not feel that way.
I think that the thing that I was most disappointed by in this was the male narrator. While he had grown out of his magical persona, I could not imagine him being "Good Time Gus". Other than that the story wasn't as great as the last ones. I did not dislike it, but I think that it dragged on a bit longer than it should have. Once we knew that the wish spell was broken, I think that would have been a great place to end.
Deja Brew is a cute, feel-good adult romance that is perfect for the fall season! I really enjoyed the alternating points of view in the story and how the author used it to build the action, suspense, and romance between the characters. The time loop gave some suspense to the story -- would the main character be able to get out of it or would she be stuck in the month of October forever? I appreciated the nuance in Gus' story and that over time he learned more about himself and his past relationship and realized that he could move forward. The author worked hard in his point of view to not make anyone good or bad but whole people with flaws and imperfections. I really loved Serena's family and the main ideas about family in the book -- the complicated parts, the family expectations, the tension between who you are and who you think your family wants to be. There are definitely adult, spicy scenes in the book so I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who's not an adult.
The cutest most cozy and witchy fall read everrrrrr
I have no notes of critique. This was bewitchingly perfect! Equal parts sweet, funny, with just enough steam.
Dual narration was superb!
I received this audiobook from Net Galley and was excited for the fall theme book. Premise of the story was cute with magical components but was hard to keep up with. Narration was slow which made it drag but when sped up I would lose focus. If you like time travel and spend this would fit for a fun fall read.
I liked Deja Brew! The second book in this paranormal romance trilogy is my favorite of the set, but I liked all of them. Definitely would recommend for a good cozy, spicy magical romance read!
I liked the narrators, they did a good job and id recommend the audiobook!
This is my third read from Celestine Martin (it looks like only her third release, or at least only her third under this name), and in this series, which I have enjoyed very much. This book is definitely my favorite of the series so far!
I really enjoyed the slight groundhog day repetition aspect, when kitchen witch Sirena makes a wish on Halloween that things would improve and wakes up on October first, just to have to repeat the whole month….
In getting a do-over, she can do it differently and change the things she felt needed to be better or fixed. Magician and former reality show star August (Gus) goes to the fall fair on Oct first with his sister and starts having the worst feelings of deja vu… and keeps feeling “off” the entire month. He’s been hanging out with Sirena and together they’re helping each other with something. She needs to fix her broken cooking magic, and he needs help with some mysterious cook book in the archive collection he manages.
It’s a really fun, and light paranormal magical witch read - perfect for the lead up to Halloween! If you’ve read the others in this series, you’ll definitely want to pick it up. If you haven’t read any of them yet, you can absolutely read this as a standalone! I definitely recommend it as a quick and easy, light Halloween pick.
The audiobook was narrated by Marissa Hampton and Christopher Hampton - so I’m wondering with the same name if they are a couple? They did a great job and their voices paired super well together! I really enjoyed the audio version of this one and highly recommend getting the audio over the ebook. It was definitely a better experience listening to it.
I received an advance read and listen copy from NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and Hachette Audio, and this is my honest feedback.
What a fun way to really get into the witchy spirit! 🧙🏻♀️ I haven’t read any witchy books like this in awhile and this one was fun! I really enjoyed Sirena and Gus and their story! I liked that they were all witches but they each had their own “brand” of magic. This was the perfect balance between connection and spice and cozy vibes! But also I want all the fall food now😅
While this is technically book 3 in the series, it can absolutely be read as a standalone. And that’s coming from the person who ✨has✨ to read to books in order when possible. I really didn’t feel like I was missing anything by not having read the first two. I’ll definitely be going back to the first two in this series!
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the audiobook. Marissa Hampton and Christopher Hampton did a great job narrating!
4 ⭐️! this was the perfect autumnal book! harvest festivals, soups, carousels, mazes… you name it, this book was everything! and a time loop?!? obsessed! 😍 and sirena and gus were too cute! i loved how they worked together and grew together to help each other out. and don’t get me started on the spice 😏 let’s just say the slow burn was burning 🥵🔥
i thought that the narrators (Marissa Hampton & Christopher Hampton) were great and i enjoyed the pacing as well! I will say that his part seemed to be just a tiny bit slower than hers, but it was able to find a good speed to listen; so overall I really enjoyed it!
thank you so much to forever, netgalley and hachette audio for this alc! 🩷
Honestly, I'm having trouble rating this. There wasn't really anything about the characters that I connected with. I felt the plot was pretty flat and now that I'm writing this two days later, I can't remember any of the side characters. I don't even think it was all together that cozy. There's nothing that I really disliked about the book. I just couldn't connect to it.
Overall, probably fine for a weekend read if you're looking for something with fall vibes. I just didn't find it memorable.
Thank you so much to the author, netgalley, and forever publishing for the opportunity to review this audio ARC. I am leaving my review honestly and voluntarily.