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theatrealpaca's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Cancer, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Biphobia, Alcohol, and Classism
saeruh's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
3.75
Read this witchy romance for Halloween season. It’s a bit more of chick lit/women’s fiction with spicy scenes. It was fun and I loved the insta love since it made the relationship seem so adorable. I loved Titus but he wasn't really realistic at all (virgin hero who is MAD good at sex? Baker who fiercely loves his sister and who gives his teen stepsister a new chance at life from a toxic household? Doesn’t have a mean bone in his body? and his name is TITUS of all things…). All of the male names were so ugly like Titus, Gavin, Trevor, GREG… I cannot why would she choose these. I wasn’t a big fan of the fmc because she really had NO backbone until almost the very end. Like every time there was a romantic thing done by Titus for her, Danika would be like “I cannot be dating him 😰😰😰” then why are you? breaking his heart for your own selfishness. I mean it made for an enjoyable read but everyone was so DRAMATIC. Some good writing/takes on what living in toxic households/having toxic family members who you once idolized. I did not like Clementine at all, she was so bitchy for no reason and now she’s dating the dude who’s trying to hunt down her coven family? Seems weird to me. I fucking loved Goliath the cat, he was a gem. For being a ‘witchy’ book, it barely had any witchcraft actually in it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Abandonment, Biphobia, Grief, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
amberinpieces's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, Classism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Grief and Vomit
meghanm404's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death of parent and Emotional abuse
annahamburger's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Fun light hearted witchy romance. Great for spooky season!
I've now read this book a couple of times. Not sure what exactly keeps pulling me back. I think some perfect combination of the characters, the charming setting, and the star crossed lovers/forbidden love of it all.
I've now read this book a couple of times. Not sure what exactly keeps pulling me back. I think some perfect combination of the characters, the charming setting, and the star crossed lovers/forbidden love of it all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Violence
Minor: Biphobia, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
allisonwonderlandreads's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
In this witchy contemporary romance, two soulmates meet over broken appliances. Danica is a witch with technological powers, and Titus is a bi baker and actual human cinnamon roll. Their banter is silly and cute and all-around adorable. In the beginning butterflies-and-hardcore-crushing phase, I enjoyed their sweet anticipation of seeing one another for each encounter. The conflict is largely external because if Danica falls for Titus, she will face a family curse that takes her magic away.
An aspect of the story with a lot of promise is the family dynamics of both characters, messy with both deep love and bruising hurts. I was intrigued early on that family issues weren't relegated to backstory or provided purely as a connection point between the two lovebirds. I loved the amount of airtime given to those stories and the way they built into the plot. Titus is struggling with how easily his father moved on to form a new family after his mother died. Danica's grandmother is emotionally manipulative and trying to force her granddaughters into magical matches.
My problems with the book stemmed from the way everything is wrapped up. The love story is a whirlwind, and I was disappointed that while open communication is a big feature of the romance (my fave), there are some giant witchy-sized secrets between them until the bitter end. I found it especially problematic given the ways that magic had secretly (and negatively) impacted the trajectory of Titus' life and will continue to do so. Furthermore, the horrors wrought by Danica's grandmother are not completely addressed. Whereas Titus' family makes progress without reaching unrealistic perfection, Danica's story just feels unfinished. I suspect that this is partly because her family's drama will continue in a sequel, but I was disappointed that we didn't see Danica get closure with the several family members who tried to pull her strings. I was especially concerned that Danica's cousin/best friend's manipulations are never addressed as problematic and childish. At least the grandmother is cast squarely as a villain even if her fate is still undecided.
I think this book has good bones in a lot of ways, but I didn't find the conclusion was worthy of those first adorable moments that drew me in. I think that readers who want a paranormal romance that feels based in the real world and that keeps things relatively light will enjoy this take on the genre. Just expect some of the conflict to be left unresolved.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!
An aspect of the story with a lot of promise is the family dynamics of both characters, messy with both deep love and bruising hurts. I was intrigued early on that family issues weren't relegated to backstory or provided purely as a connection point between the two lovebirds. I loved the amount of airtime given to those stories and the way they built into the plot. Titus is struggling with how easily his father moved on to form a new family after his mother died. Danica's grandmother is emotionally manipulative and trying to force her granddaughters into magical matches.
My problems with the book stemmed from the way everything is wrapped up. The love story is a whirlwind, and I was disappointed that while open communication is a big feature of the romance (my fave), there are some giant witchy-sized secrets between them until the bitter end. I found it especially problematic given the ways that magic had secretly (and negatively) impacted the trajectory of Titus' life and will continue to do so. Furthermore, the horrors wrought by Danica's grandmother are not completely addressed. Whereas Titus' family makes progress without reaching unrealistic perfection, Danica's story just feels unfinished. I suspect that this is partly because her family's drama will continue in a sequel, but I was disappointed that we didn't see Danica get closure with the several family members who tried to pull her strings. I was especially concerned that Danica's cousin/best friend's manipulations are never addressed as problematic and childish. At least the grandmother is cast squarely as a villain even if her fate is still undecided.
I think this book has good bones in a lot of ways, but I didn't find the conclusion was worthy of those first adorable moments that drew me in. I think that readers who want a paranormal romance that feels based in the real world and that keeps things relatively light will enjoy this take on the genre. Just expect some of the conflict to be left unresolved.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, and Terminal illness
Minor: Biphobia and Infidelity
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