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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
This was a cute read. The dialogue is not amazing and there are definitely some corny bits but it was a fun, sexy read & totally appropriate for Halloween season.
A book about a magicless witch, a wolf shifter and supernatural political shenanigans? What could possibly go wrong!
Violet, the eldest of a set of triplets, is a magicless witch. The Maxwell Dud. She’s 32 and has never been able to so much as make a spark. Her middle sister, Rose, is tapped to be the next Prima and is being Witch Bonded to an Alpha from Europe. At the party Violet runs into Lincoln Thorne, her former childhood enemy to lover who is currently back to being persona non grata. But when they touch? sparks fly. He needs to find a mate within a month or lose his place on the council and she needs to find a mate before the council forces her into a Witch Bond as well. The solution? Fake dating.
I loved Violet. She’s a smart, self assured woman who is clumsy but can take care of herself. She’s lived her whole life being looked down on by supernatural society, including her own mother, but still has a capacity for kindness and for love. She volunteers at a children’s centre and is not afraid to jump into situations there to protect the children. Lincoln is also a pretty loveable dude. He’s got grand plans to dissolve the shifter Elder Council if possible to bring power back to the respective packs, instead of having a council dictate things. He’s passionate about the environment and about doing what’s right. The history between them is explained relatively quickly to the audience, so while it might not come to light to the characters at first, we know what’s happening.
I enjoyed seeing the various types of supernatural beings in this novel. Witches, shifters, vampires, demons, angels and succubi are all represented in this world and are living in relative harmony. There is an established ruling body for the supernaturals as a whole and it’s all fleshed out relatively well. There’s also a lot of political infighting, which is one of the main points of continuing the book. Lincoln, as a member of the Supernatural Council, is trying to use his influence to help convince other Alphas to vote to dissolve the shifter Elder Council and Rose’s with bond to be partner is dead set against that. Lots of political arm flexing.
The writing style was so easy to fall into. The perspective shifts between Violet and Lincoln and was very easy to follow. I started reading this on a whim yesterday and literally couldn’t put it down. I read a whole book in a day. I almost never do that! Obviously this book is amazing!
Spice wise this book is very close to a fade to black. There is some, but it’s not graphic at all and takes less than a page when it comes up. That said, when we get to that point in the story/relationship it’s definitely great to read!
This book would be a great intro to romcoms for people who read romantasy and are looking for their first romcom. It’s also great for people who love romcoms with supernatural elements. Really, I think it’d be good for everyone but I’m just biased. I thought this book was a lot of fun!
Violet, the eldest of a set of triplets, is a magicless witch. The Maxwell Dud. She’s 32 and has never been able to so much as make a spark. Her middle sister, Rose, is tapped to be the next Prima and is being Witch Bonded to an Alpha from Europe. At the party Violet runs into Lincoln Thorne, her former childhood enemy to lover who is currently back to being persona non grata. But when they touch? sparks fly. He needs to find a mate within a month or lose his place on the council and she needs to find a mate before the council forces her into a Witch Bond as well. The solution? Fake dating.
I loved Violet. She’s a smart, self assured woman who is clumsy but can take care of herself. She’s lived her whole life being looked down on by supernatural society, including her own mother, but still has a capacity for kindness and for love. She volunteers at a children’s centre and is not afraid to jump into situations there to protect the children. Lincoln is also a pretty loveable dude. He’s got grand plans to dissolve the shifter Elder Council if possible to bring power back to the respective packs, instead of having a council dictate things. He’s passionate about the environment and about doing what’s right. The history between them is explained relatively quickly to the audience, so while it might not come to light to the characters at first, we know what’s happening.
I enjoyed seeing the various types of supernatural beings in this novel. Witches, shifters, vampires, demons, angels and succubi are all represented in this world and are living in relative harmony. There is an established ruling body for the supernaturals as a whole and it’s all fleshed out relatively well. There’s also a lot of political infighting, which is one of the main points of continuing the book. Lincoln, as a member of the Supernatural Council, is trying to use his influence to help convince other Alphas to vote to dissolve the shifter Elder Council and Rose’s with bond to be partner is dead set against that. Lots of political arm flexing.
The writing style was so easy to fall into. The perspective shifts between Violet and Lincoln and was very easy to follow. I started reading this on a whim yesterday and literally couldn’t put it down. I read a whole book in a day. I almost never do that! Obviously this book is amazing!
Spice wise this book is very close to a fade to black. There is some, but it’s not graphic at all and takes less than a page when it comes up. That said, when we get to that point in the story/relationship it’s definitely great to read!
This book would be a great intro to romcoms for people who read romantasy and are looking for their first romcom. It’s also great for people who love romcoms with supernatural elements. Really, I think it’d be good for everyone but I’m just biased. I thought this book was a lot of fun!
My annual tradition of reading a book in a day on my birthday did not disappoint! I love a good witchy rom com and the world building in this one was so natural, I really did not have much of an issue following along with everything supernatural.
DNF at 33%
I wanted to fall in love with this book, it has so much going for it. The paranormal witchy & shifter vibes, the fun cover, a second chance romance (one of my favorite tropes), and the summary had me. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into it. It seemed overly sexualized and maybe that's simply the bits that caught my attention as I didn't immediately feel invested in Violet's troubles.
Based on other reviews and ratings, it seems like it could be my current reading mood or seasonality. I've not read a book in this genre in a handful of months so I was eager to dive in. Sometimes, I know my expectations and other books that I've recently consumed can shed a different perspective than in other circumstances. I'm interested to see if my thoughts will adjust if I come back to it later in the year.
Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy and Macmillan Audio for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.
I wanted to fall in love with this book, it has so much going for it. The paranormal witchy & shifter vibes, the fun cover, a second chance romance (one of my favorite tropes), and the summary had me. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into it. It seemed overly sexualized and maybe that's simply the bits that caught my attention as I didn't immediately feel invested in Violet's troubles.
Based on other reviews and ratings, it seems like it could be my current reading mood or seasonality. I've not read a book in this genre in a handful of months so I was eager to dive in. Sometimes, I know my expectations and other books that I've recently consumed can shed a different perspective than in other circumstances. I'm interested to see if my thoughts will adjust if I come back to it later in the year.
Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy and Macmillan Audio for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.
I adored this! It didn’t take itself too seriously and I loved that.
3.5 ⭐️ A new-adult paranormal urban romance
Took a hot second to get into, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it
Summary:
Violet is a magic-less witch and due to an outdated law is forced to fake-date the wolf shifter ex that broke her heart while she finds a loophole. Lincoln, is being pressured to find a mate and agrees to this scheme to buy some time of his own. However, when old feelings make a reappearance, along with Violet’s magic, they realize there is nothing fake about the spark between them.
My Thoughts:
If you love books with characters that are in their early 30s, fake dating, second chances, dual pov, and explicit sexual content, you should definitely check out this book.
I actually loved the premise of the story, because hello, fake dating trope is superior! The writing was easy to follow. And while the ending was somewhat predictable, it was enjoyable every step of the way.
I also really liked Violet's character. She’s confident, strong, and stands up for herself and others. Even though she doesn’t have magic (or didn’t up until now) she never let that define her. Violent does not see her own or others' value in power or magical abilities but who the person is.
Took a hot second to get into, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it
Summary:
Violet is a magic-less witch and due to an outdated law is forced to fake-date the wolf shifter ex that broke her heart while she finds a loophole. Lincoln, is being pressured to find a mate and agrees to this scheme to buy some time of his own. However, when old feelings make a reappearance, along with Violet’s magic, they realize there is nothing fake about the spark between them.
My Thoughts:
If you love books with characters that are in their early 30s, fake dating, second chances, dual pov, and explicit sexual content, you should definitely check out this book.
I actually loved the premise of the story, because hello, fake dating trope is superior! The writing was easy to follow. And while the ending was somewhat predictable, it was enjoyable every step of the way.
I also really liked Violet's character. She’s confident, strong, and stands up for herself and others. Even though she doesn’t have magic (or didn’t up until now) she never let that define her. Violent does not see her own or others' value in power or magical abilities but who the person is.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
There was some decent world building in this book which I appreciated, another entry for the witch/shifter universe but ultimately I found that she got lost inside ideas but they never fully were fleshed out. For instance, Linc's father was apparently a monster and he was spending his whole life being anything but the same way, but we rarely if ever get examples of how this man was horrible, just the one situation with him placing Linc under the hex (terrible yes but again not quite fully formed). Same thing with Vi's mom, Christina. A headcase and typical self-absorbed parent (they have to call her by her given name? Really?) but with their grandmother being so amazing there's no real explanation why or how the three of them ended up being so well balanced with a mom that egotistical.
Then there's just smaller details that were introduced but not followed through on which were frustrating. The first chapter makes it seem like Olive & Violet don't like Rose but then when they're back in New York they're all besties? Violet is supposed to be super short but the logistics of her height with Lincoln's is never mentioned. Also they all flew to Australia and back on 21-hour flights in the span of a few days but jet lag is never mentioned (maybe they have a potion for that). There were just often enough times where I'd stop reading and go wait... how? To take me out of the story.
Overall, a fun read and I'll grab the next one in the series to find out how Rose is taking her demotion but I don't think I'll ever reread this.
Then there's just smaller details that were introduced but not followed through on which were frustrating. The first chapter makes it seem like Olive & Violet don't like Rose but then when they're back in New York they're all besties? Violet is supposed to be super short but the logistics of her height with Lincoln's is never mentioned. Also they all flew to Australia and back on 21-hour flights in the span of a few days but jet lag is never mentioned (maybe they have a potion for that). There were just often enough times where I'd stop reading and go wait... how? To take me out of the story.
Overall, a fun read and I'll grab the next one in the series to find out how Rose is taking her demotion but I don't think I'll ever reread this.
I really enjoyed the characters and the first half of the witchy supernatural romance. But I thought the story dragged a little in the 2nd part and I had a hard time enjoying the sexy scenes.
But I'm continuing with the series and adding book #2 to my 2023 TBR.
But I'm continuing with the series and adding book #2 to my 2023 TBR.