The man waiting on the other side of the desk caught her off guard. She noticed his height first, tall to the point of feeling slightly looming. And he was– she couldn’t help but also acknowledge–intimidatingly handsome. The kind of handsome that would have her reporting back to Ariadne when she got home and had her instantly wondering why she hadn’t done something better with her hair that morning.
Rewitched is bursting with those cozy fall vibes.
Belladonna Blackthorn hasn’t lost her magical spark, precisely . . . but she hasn’t seen it in a while either.
With her witchcraft under wraps and a toxic boss making her days miserable, Belle is struggling to keep her beloved Lunar Books afloat and just make it through the day. The last thing she has time for is perfecting her magic.
So when her thirtieth birthday brings a summons from her coven and a trial that tests her worthiness as a witch, Belle fears the worst. With only the month of October left to prove herself or risk losing her magic forever, Belle will need all the help she can get—from the women in her life, from an unlikely mentor figure and even from an infuriating coven watchman who’s sworn to protect her…
I adore a great fall witchy romance. I really enjoyed the cozy fall vibes this book was giving off. It made me want to curl underneath a blanket and spend the afternoon reading. Lucy’s witchy world was interesting, and I loved exploring this magical world with Bella. Lucy did a great job at putting her own unique spin on contemporary witchy romances.
The story starts slow, which I didn’t mind. As a bookworm who loves fantasy novels, I completely understand that there is a certain amount of passing of essential information to readers to build the world and explain how the whole magical system works in a book. Did I wish that maybe more conversations or movement had occurred during the first bit of the book? Yes, but I understand it’s hard to balance moving the story forward and giving your readers the information they need to understand what is happening. The second half of this book moves much faster, and the last bit will put you on the edge of your seat. Lucy also sets readers up for future books, which I will definitely read.
One of the things that I had a hard time connecting with was Bella. There was part of me who loved her character. She is relatable and feels real. You cannot help but like her, and I found myself rooting for her in the book’s second half. But I didn’t instantly like her character; I struggled with her unwillingness to take over as the owner of Lunar Books. Her reasoning for not wanting to be the owner didn’t make sense in my mind, and the fact that she was willing to let her boss’s son ruin this bookshop that clearly means so much to Bella drove me up the wall. Part of me understands that part of her character growth is finding confidence in herself and her abilities, but it was so obvious that she was more than capable of running the store that her not believing that she could just didn’t make sense.
This witchy story is definitely light on the romance side. I like Rune right from the moment he graced us with his presence. I really wish there were more Rune in this story and more moments between Rune and Bella. Now, if this book is meant to be a part of a series, then that could explain why the romantic relationship between Rune and Bella hadn’t progressed as much as I wished it would have. Lol, maybe I just need to be a bit more patient. As they say, good things come to those who wait.
Rewitched is a great fall witchy read, and I am excited to see what direction Lucy will take this series in next.
Thank you, Berkley Publishing, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
