2022, Week the Second: Ooooh-Hoooo Witchy Romance

Greetings Bookworms,

I decided I was going to read a witchy romance novel in December. As one does. And then I was like, “that was fun, let’s have another.” And THEN I was like, “I need to find a third one so I can have a whole themed post because that is a thing normal people do.” So today I’m going to tell you about two books I read a while back, and a third book I just finished because I had to wait for the library hold to come in. Oh, and just a friendly reminder that your library is an EXCELLENT resource for digital and audio book offerings. I think people tend to forget about that and just think of libraries as housing physical books, which is inconvenient for those of us who don’t like to leave our houses and/or struggle with return dates. Libraries with digital offerings are *chef kiss* perfection to my mind.

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling- When Vivienne Jones gets her heart broken at 19, she self medicates with a bubble bath and vodka. The fact that she also added a lil witchcraft into the mix is something she DEFINITELY KNOWS BETTER than to do, but, well, 19. Heartbroken. Anyway. Fast forward nine years and Rhys Penhallow has to show his face back in Graves Glen to recharge the ley lines (as one does) only to discover that Vivi’s little heartbreak fueled and vodka infused hex actually had some effect. Shenanigans ensue and second chances abound. I listened to the audiobook version of this story and my only complaint is that the narrator did not give Rhys a Welsh accent. Some people hate it when narrators do accents, but I am SUPER INTO hearing the characters’ accents via audio. Like, half the reason I always listen to Mhairi McFarlane’s books is because I’m obsessed with all the regional British accents. I wanted to hear the Welsh, y’all, If you’re like me and really dig the accents, read this one with your eyeballs. Other than that, though, this is a lovely, fun, witchy read. You don’t even have to save it for Halloween.

Witch Please by Ann Aguirre- This book had some of the most fun witch lore I’ve ever read. Our main character runs a fix-it shop with her cousin (I can’t help but think of Sesame Street and all those broken toasters) because their magic is tech magic. Cool, right? Like, “I’m a witch, but instead of boiling up potions and growing an intense herb garden, I’m going to repair the circuits in this juicer magically, because that is where my talents lie.” Of course, they have to be super stealthy and keep the mere mortals in the dark about magic, since historically, non-magical types get freaked out and set people on fire. Danica’s life is nice and stable, just the way she likes it… If she could ever get her grandmother to quit trying to hook her up with creepy witch boys via dating app. She’s got a plan to grow old with her BFF/cousin and raise kids together and just skip all the romantic mess of the world. After all, any witch in their family who falls for a mere mortal will lose her powers, and that would suck. But then, Danica meets Titus. And their chemistry is electric. Literally. Like, fuses start blowing. Danica goes to Titus’s bakery to fix his oven and finds herself, well, bewitched by him. Titus has had absolutely miserable luck in love, so when he meets Danica, he is cautiously optimistic, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. But their attraction simply cannot be denied. It’s very cute, if a little angsty. Also, this book is set in a teeny Illinois town and they totally shouted out some familiar Christmas light hotspots that had me feeling very seen. Books set in Illinois are almost always set in Chicago, so it feels nice to see those of us out in the hinterlands get a little love once in a while.

Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper- Did I specifically seek out this book because I wanted to read a witchy book tri-fecta? Yes, yes I did. It was a solid choice, and one I’d do again. Because I found… ANOTHER WITCH BOOK SET IN ILLINOIS BUT NOT CHICAGO?! Emmy Harlow is a witch without powers. That’s mostly because a mean witch boy broke her heart and she left her magical town knowing her magic would fade. She’s called back to referee a magical tournament because “family obligations” and “Harlows always have to arbitrate because they aren’t magically strong enough to compete with the other founding families” and “actually, we just miss you a lot and are using this as an excuse to bring you home” (the last bit is Emmy’s parents, who clearly DO miss Emmy terribly.) Soon enough she’s approached by her BFF Linden Thorn and the mysterious Talia Avramov in a plot to get a little revenge on Gareth F*ckboy Blackmoor. This book had a lot of elements in common with The Ex Hex, but at the same time was very original. The whole magical town/founding families thing was the same, and the revenge situation was similar, but the magic tournament added a fun twist. ALSO, our love story is between two witchy women, and who doesn’t appreciate a sapphic romance? I had a lot of fun with this Witchtastic trio, and will absolutely read any potential series these books may spawn.

My mental bandwidth has reached its limit today, dear ones. We’ll chat next week. Sending you the healthiest vibes I can muster.

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