Quick Synopsis – Cassie returns to her hometown to clean out her grandmother’s home. The last thing she wants is her former best friend Seth showing up on her doorstep and revealing that Cassie’s grandmother was a witch and Cassie is to. Oh, and Seth is a werewolf who needs Cassie’s help. What could go wrong?

Song This Reminds Me Of – Out of the Woods – Taylor Swift

Publication Date – Oct.01, 2024

Content Notes – There is some body-shaming and fatphobia throughout the book. Death of a loved one (off-page), bullying, body horror, bodily fluids, and violence.

Steamy Rating – 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Overall Rating –⭐⭐ out of 5

Review – This is a witchy small-town romance with friends to lovers and mating bonds. It really had the set up to be a cute story, but I really couldn’t get into it. The characters were meant to be almost 30 but communicated like teenagers. Also, the author continually started sentences with and/or which was frustrating. It made whole sections seem like they were starting and stopping. Just stuttering along, it was awful.

The plot would have been great for just the enemies-friends-lovers plot, but adding in the confrontation of Cassie and Seth’s high school bullies just felt bloated. I think the story would have been way more interesting if it was about Cassie and Seth forgiving each other and discovering the magical world together. Instead, it just felt like a bad improv where the author kept yes anding the plot.

I did enjoy Cassie’s foray into becoming a witch and discovering herself. I thought her enthusiasm and wonder were well done and fleshed her character. I also liked the dirty talk in the book. It was definitely spicy. But a lot of the actual communication between Cassie and Seth seemed like they were still in high school. The story would have worked a lot better if the characters were in their early 20s instead of late 20s.

Look, I didn’t like this book. I thought it was messy and overall, it just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy. All opinions are mine.