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A review by serahlunareads
Bewitched Shadows by Autumn Blake
3.5
Honestly, it’s hard to truly explain how I felt about this one. It toed the line between something lighthearted/cozy and something dark/sensual to the point where I felt like I had whiplash trying to figure out where this book was going and what it was trying to be.
I really enjoyed the female main character and her 3 sisters. I want more of their interactions with each other, enough to have the rest of this series on my radar in the future. The humor and witty banter between them, as well as between the fmc and mmc, was satisfying and made me laugh out loud quite a few times—something that doesn’t happen that often while I’m reading. As for the rest of the characters? There was so much potential that just fell flat. I can tell that as the series goes on the characters may become more fleshed out and deep, but it didn’t happen in this first book and I really wish it did.
Speaking of wasted potential. The setting. It takes place in New Orleans and mentions that it does multiple times… But where was it? They were inside a shop, restaurant, or café in the French Quarter a few times but otherwise there was no mention of New Orleans as far as an actual setting or even atmosphere. There were some (slightly cringeworthy) Cajun accents and jazz music thrown in to occasionally remind you of where the characters were, but I really felt like the setting was wasted.
Throw in a few confusing situations that pulled me out of my immersion (his hands were tied behind his back yet he was able to easily touch his neck with his hands?), spice that just felt like it was there because it had to be, the fact that there was only mention of a mating bond between the main characters but no one else, and a major revelation at the end that could have changed the entire course of the book if he had just… realized it earlier, and honestly I’m just sad that a book that had such potential fell so flat for me. I didn’t hate it, I just know it could have been something so much better.
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.
I really enjoyed the female main character and her 3 sisters. I want more of their interactions with each other, enough to have the rest of this series on my radar in the future. The humor and witty banter between them, as well as between the fmc and mmc, was satisfying and made me laugh out loud quite a few times—something that doesn’t happen that often while I’m reading. As for the rest of the characters? There was so much potential that just fell flat. I can tell that as the series goes on the characters may become more fleshed out and deep, but it didn’t happen in this first book and I really wish it did.
Speaking of wasted potential. The setting. It takes place in New Orleans and mentions that it does multiple times… But where was it? They were inside a shop, restaurant, or café in the French Quarter a few times but otherwise there was no mention of New Orleans as far as an actual setting or even atmosphere. There were some (slightly cringeworthy) Cajun accents and jazz music thrown in to occasionally remind you of where the characters were, but I really felt like the setting was wasted.
Throw in a few confusing situations that pulled me out of my immersion (his hands were tied behind his back yet he was able to easily touch his neck with his hands?), spice that just felt like it was there because it had to be, the fact that there was only mention of a mating bond between the main characters but no one else, and a major revelation at the end that could have changed the entire course of the book if he had just… realized it earlier, and honestly I’m just sad that a book that had such potential fell so flat for me. I didn’t hate it, I just know it could have been something so much better.
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Grief and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault