I think I'm reading too much of the same, the plot was very predictable and in the end it just got boring for me.
It wasn't for me but it might be for someone else!

This was a fun YA romance! While I usually don't care for the insta-love trope, it worked for this book! Full of magical elements and witchy vibes!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This book was just so good and I just lost myself in the story. I will most definitely be reading more books by this wonderful author.

I enjoyed reading Love spells and other disasters. It's one of those stories you might want to read between books, light, interesting, perfect to get your head somewhere else for a little while.

There were moments I thought the narration needed something more, sometimes something less in terms of details, but overall the story is very enjoyable. The characters are well developed, and even if the story is not something totally new, it was still interesting from beginning to end.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Rowan Marshall has no time for magic or ghosts. Afterall, her mam is known as a ghost hunter, who can't ignore the 'pleas' of departed souls, and always involves Rowan in her work. When Rowan is paired with her 'enemy' Abby for a school project, and Abby decides they are going to write 'love spells' and sell them to other students, she's sceptical to say the least. Especially when it seems that the spells are working, and may also be the reason why hottie Luca Russo is now talking to her. But as the spells start to turn darker, and more possessive and controlling than loving, can Rowan fix all of the disasters she's caused?

Right, this book was a mess, and not a good one. I went into it with high hopes, but it was far too ridiculous and cliched. Honestly, I would've DNFed it if I wasn't so adamant to clear my NG backlog. The characters didn't stand out, and I've forgotten what most of them were like within a week of reading it. Really, maybe younger teens would like it, if they're not expecting much from it, but it wasn't for me.

This one took so long for me to read. Anyway, I love the romance. It is a cute and fun read! I know I should able to enjoy more however there are some part I felt disconnected and kinda annoyed a bit.

Overall, still like the story.

Thank you so much to @EntangledTeen & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 01 February 2021)

SYNOPSIS | Rowan is forced to work with her enemy (Abby) on a joint school project where they decide to sell "crush spells". These spells actually end up working & shenanigans ensue.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the concept of discovering you have magical abilities

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the insta-love (my LEAST favourite trope)
- because of this I wasn't invested in the romance (or actually any of the relationships)
- the magic wasn't explained enough for my liking
- the dialogue felt clunky, unnatural & just unrealistic

This is such a cute YA romance read. This is the perfect book to binge read during the winter months. It’s such a sweet and romantic book. It starts a little slow, but once it get’s going, you won’t want to put it down. I recommend checking it out!

Thanks NetGalley for the preview!!

Gosh I really liked the description of this book but so struggled with the content. Rowan created a huge mess but when the author took it into abusive territory I really did not like that. I also thought Rowan's relationship was fake from the beginning which made it hard to be invested in their story. This one really just missed the mark for me.

This was an adorable story that I devoured!! The setting of our world with added magic was perfect!! I loved the witchy vibes throughout this story (it made my witchy heart happy). This story about learning what's right and first loves filled my heart with so much joy! I would love to see another story set in this world.

The characters in the story are incredibly unique, they really connect to you and make you fall into their world. I love books like these where not only do i fall in love with the plot but also with the characters and I genuinely care about what happens to them!
This was a fantastic read, I will love these characters for a long time and will absolutely have to check out Angie Barrett’s work in the future!

A compelling read. Beautifully written, well-thought-out characters, and a developed setting. I truly enjoyed the magic sprinkled in!

i really enjoyed this sweet romance! it was so much fun to read and i really liked all the characters along the way. thank you so much, netgalley!!

I really loved the idea of this book and the blurb made me want to read it at once!
Sadly it didn't really live up to my expectations.
I liked the main character and the pacing of the book but it was too predictable.
The ending was sweet though.
Not a bad book, just not as good as I'd hoped.

I did enjoy this book but found the plot quite predicable. The book was cute and funny, I loved all of the bumps in the road, it wasn't just smooth sailing. I found the book really easy to read and very entertaining. It was fun to see how friendships developed and how the spells came into it. The concept of this book is really fun and I cant wait to read more from this author.

not my cup of tea, this was sold to me as a bit more of a lighthearted read instead of a paranormal one and I just don't envision myself ever recommending this to someone

A super cute and fun young adult contemporary book with a bit of magic mixed in. whats not to love?
Rowan Marshall has never believed in magic even though her mother is pretty much surrounded by it. When Rowan is matched with her worst enemy in class for a project so they both decide to sell "crush" spells but the spells start to work and everyone wants one. Rowan begins to realize dabbling in magic isnt all its cracked up to be.
Good story for winter and a quick read

I love clichés. For real.
Just by reading the book's synopsis we can already imagine exactly what is going to happen in the story, but it was still a fun read!

A teenager (Rowan Marshall) is writing love spells to her school mates at the request of a popular friend. However, something that she could have never imagined happens: the spells actually work. People very close to her fall in love overnight, and things get complicated very fast. Not everyone is happy. Even Ro is affected by her own magic. So, how will she solve this problem? How can she undo the spells and break their hearts?

You probably already read many stories like this one. The girl who sees herself as an outsider suddenly becomes popular, and the most perfect guy at school falls in love with her and makes her feel special for the first time ever, after years and years feeling invisible to everyone. I've been trying to avoid this kind of narrative, because I'm honestly tired of it. As a reader, and mostly as a feminist. I'm really tired of YA books always making the girl feel like she doesn't deserve the love she's getting. It annoyed me how she was always like, "What does he see in me? He's perfect and I'm... Weird". Kinda frustrating. But in this case, at least I can understand why she felt that way. Obviously, it has to do with the spells, but the message at the end is actually very positive.

Reading this book felt like watching a 90's movie, which is something I really enjoy. The characters are funny, her relationship with her mother is very interesting... And even when I was a bit annoyed, I just couldn't stop reading it. I needed to know what would happen next.

* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Love Spells and Other Disasters was a cute debut read. Magical realism and good intentions gone very, very wrong combine in a story that starts out lighthearted but veers into darkness fairly quickly as things get out of hand. It's one of those books where you can see things going to you-know-where in a handbasket and you just want to reach in and shake the main character until she starts to make better choices, but of course you can't and of course she's going to keep going on that path until it's almost too late.

And yikes, it was a pretty darn close thing.

Rowan ultimately does *finally* make the right decision and then decides to redeem herself in a series of good deeds--which was a great idea, but we only get the barest glimpse of her as she goes about it, making it not quite feel like enough. (Also--yes, Rowan wrote the actual spells, but where is her partner-in-crime's redemption arc? She's just as guilty as Rowan, especially since she doesn't show a single twinge of a conscience until it's all over...)

[And--as an IRL single parent of two kids who lost their other parent at a very young age, I was skeptical of Ro's mom not telling her key details about her dad's life as she was growing up, instead waiting until after Ro has essentially blown things up all around her with her unbeknownst-to-her abilities that it turns out she inherited from her dad. I mean, Mom is a parapsychologist who has always made such a big deal of how he was still with them in the house and all--why on earth wouldn't she share specifics about who he was in life, especially when she saw some of those same traits in her daughter? Since we lost him I've tried to make their father seem as real to my kids as possible by constantly sharing little details about him--and I know I'm not unique in this, so...? (hide spoiler)]

Still, Rowan is a likeable character and I had a hard time putting this one down once things really got started--everything snowballed so quickly, and I had to see how she'd manage to make it better! I'll be watching to see what Ms Barrett comes up with next.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.