Quick Synopsis – Sloane MacGregor swore she’d never return to Briarhaven, but with her twenty-fifth birthday looming—the day witches come into their magic—her grandmother summons her and her sisters back for one tiny task: break the centuries-old curse haunting their bloodline.

Knox Douglas, Briarhaven’s grumpy mayor, has worked tirelessly to make his town a haven for magical folk. The last thing he needs is a cursed MacGregor wreaking havoc. It doesn’t matter he once crushed on her. For the sake of Briarhaven, Sloane has to go.

But magic has other plans—and in Briarhaven, love really is a witch.

Song This Reminds Me Of – This Kiss by Faith Hill

Publication Date – Aug. 26, 2025

Content Notes – This is an adult romance with open door sex scenes. There is also so light consensual bondage. There is a small amount of blood and violence. There is abandonment by a parent and some flashbacks of an unstable household.

Spicy Rating – 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5

Overall Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5

Review – This was a fun grumpy/sunshine romance. Though I’d argue Sloane is the grump and Knox is the sunshine. Sure, Knox is trying to evict Sloane and her family from Briarhaven as their curse wreaks havoc on the town, but Knox definitely admits his feelings first. Loves a Witch was a fun quick read with easy to understand magic and a good plot. It also easily sets up the next few books in the series and there could even be offshoots using other characters.

The book starts off with a prologue that shows how the MacGregor’s were cursed in the 18th century. This was actually a weak point in the story for me. I thought it could have been a few more pages to describe the relationship between the MacGregor clan and the other witch who curses them. It just felt way too petty, especially because there was such severe blowback on the witch who cast the curse. That one prologue chapter is the only chapter set in the past, the rest is in present day and told in split POV between Sloane and Knox.

I thought the dichotomy between Sloane and Knox was interesting. They had enough differences without being polar opposites. I would have liked to see a little more conversation between them that wasn’t about the curse or the town, but their banter was fun. I loved the magical creatures in this book. I would easily buy a pug dragon plushie. I just kept imagining a little chunk of a dog with beautiful fairy wings. I’m excited to see how O’Malley will flesh out the magic system in future books. This novel laid really good base work, and I’m excited to see the other two sister’s stories.

Thanks to Gallery Publishing for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.