This is a book you read when you just want to relax, turn off half of your brain and maybe dream a little about that hot high school crush of yours. Maybe with a dash of magic, strong friendship, true love, and making everything right with good deeds.

In short, Rowan (a gray mouse) and Abby (your classic cheerleader) got paired on a business project to raise money for charity. Abby, wanting to impress her teacher, decides that they should sell love spells. Just for fun. Until these love spells start working. And then malfunctioning.
Rowan has to decide whether to break the spells, ruin it for a lot of people and be hated, but make everything right, or leave the spells as is.

For me, this book was too slow and too cute, especially the ending. I'm not a big fan of thing magically (ha!) working just the way you want them to work. A little bit of work still doesn't save the deal here.

I wanted to rant about the insta-love moment in this book, but it was eventually explained so I can't complain, but all the sweetness practically gave me a toothache, and I'm not the biggest fan of it. But it was okay, I didn't hate it either.

To be honest, I didn't like the characters all that much.
Rowan is a simple girl, once you wouldn't notice normally. She works hard to have good grades and please her mother, even tho she doesn't believe in her work (okay, cool, she wants to support her). But she decides to ditch her future just to stay with her mother and the boy she likes in a town that offers no future. She is also no one without her best friend and her boyfriend lately. And she is very prone to falling under peer pressure.

Rowan's mom is a lady so caught up in her work that she forgets to feed her child. A 17-year-old boy is the one feeding both Rowan and her mom. She doesn't console her daughter when she feels bad, she doesn't do a lot of things that a mom should do, but when she needs Rowan to do her work, that's somehow okay. And when she doesn't like stuff, she is all of a sudden a concerned caring mom. No lady, it doesn't work that way.

Luca the Jock is not like his other jock friends. He is loving, caring, patient, he doesn't want to push Rowan into something she doesn't want, he protects her from his friends (what's there not to like, you think. well, isn't there always someone like that... a little bit too "already seen" for my taste). But most of all, he picked Rowan out of all the girls he can have because she is not like his ex cheerleader girlfriend who dumped him.

Abby and Ethan are your classic popular mean girl who bullies everyone into doing what she wants to do and a trans-as-hell best friend.

I also felt that this really didn't need to be this long! Some parts were practically just copy-pasted, and in some parts nothing happened for pages and pages!

To summarize, this was a cute book, the plot was fun but predictable, but it was too sweet, too slow, and I didn't like the characters at all.

This was the perfect read for winter, it was cute, fluffy, and romantic. If you look past the unlikeliness of it, it was a super enjoyable read!

Blurb
As a project for their business class, Abby and Rowan decide to write “crush spells” for their classmates. Only problem is, Rowan soon discovers that her spells actually work, and soon enough, everyone wants one. Used to being a wallflower, being desired by popular boy Luca and cast into the spotlight soon comes with serious repercussions.

I think my favorite thing about this was the way that it was written! I loved how when things all started going badly, everything wasn’t just fixed with the flick of a finger. Rowan actually had to work to fix things, and I really liked her character development. The ending was satisfactory, I loved how cute it was.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I’m not a fan of insta-love. Sadly, Rowan and Luca came off as slightly insta-lovey. It didn’t irritate me too much because it was explained, and they were cute together, but I really wish a bit more time had been spent developing their connection.

If you’re in the mood for a simple yet entertaining book, this is perfect for you! The characters were adorable, and the conflict was cute. I really enjoyed this!

Thanks to Netgalley and Angie Barret for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

This book takes the cake for cheesy romance. I definitely feel as if it was predictable and that’s the last thing I want in romance. However I pushed through and the ending really was amazing

Love Spells and Other Disasters is a cute young adult book. When Ro and Abby decide to write crush spells for their class project. The two are shocked when the spells seem to have worked. So, with their friends falling in love what possibly could go wrong???

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book given to me by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


Love Spells and Other Disasters is the kind of book you read when you're cocooned in your blanket, and want to shut down every analytical cell in your body to just enjoy the fairytalish romance and maybe daydream about THE ONE.


Ro is your typical plain jane, but with a twist. She's awkward, unconfident and a humble A student who keeps to herself and only stick to her best friend "Ethan". In fact, she perceives herself as a weirdo due to her mother's fame and occupation, and embraces her low high school social status. Between her uneventful life, school, and her mother's ghost rehabilitating practices, things run smoothly for Ro, or at least they did until she is paired with her rival Abbey for a class project. Things take a different turn when Abby's silly idea of writing spells reveals Ro's ability to manifest them. With this realisation Abby chooses to exploit her and prompts her to write crush spells for people in exchange for money. Not only this, but Ro's dream of finding a lover has come true when she attracts the attention of Luca; one of her school's "hottest" jocks. Navigating love, magic and friendship Ro finds herself facing peer pressure, a desperate need to fit in, insecurities, and the consequences of messing up with people's lives because magic has price.

The premise of the novel is appealing (it gave me a bit of Practical Magic vibes), and I really enjoyed how fluffy the romance is even though the characterisation is problematic and their relationship felt fishy. I assumed that Luca is playing her, and that he'd made a bet to sleep with her. Also, I felt sorry for Ro because everytime he said that she is not like the other girls I wanted to hug her because she definitely deserves better than someone like that. Luca wouldn't have given her a second glance if his football career hasn't tanked, and he only chose her cos she's different from his ex and the crowd he is surrounded by.

I didn't like the misogynistic undertone of such a statement, and it's 2020 so I thought that we're passed that. Besides, I hoped that she'd achieve some character development at the end because through the novel she was a doormat who let everyone push her around. She was codependent on her mother and friend, and she planned on sacrificing her future to cater to her mother's needs, but that was not the case. She's still the same innocent purposeless girl who's choosing to stay in her hometown and to settle for less. Truthfully, I would have rated the book higher if the characters were multidimensional and the plot was more suspenseful.

Overall, Love Spells and Other Disasters had so much potential. It's an enjoyable work with a sprinkle of puppy love and magic.

This was a super cool book with an amazing idea. This was a lot of fun to read. It is a great novel for teens.

This is your typical sweet, fast read. If you're looking to escape reality, this is the book for you. If you're a seasonal reader, this book is perfect for Valentines Day.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book given to me by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

"There is a love I desperately long for, so vibrant that it makes my heart soar. With a love at first sight, we'll know it's just right."

Love Spells and Other Disasters is Angie Barrett's first published book and the writing was great! The book is told from Rowan Marshall's point of view. Rowan is a junior and it becomes apparent very soon that the story is going with one of those "I'm not like the other girls" stereotypes. She also has a very stereotypical gay best friend who she's known her whole life. Not my favorite tropes, but I was willing to look past this due to the synopsis!

The story starts to get interesting when Rowan is paired up with her nemesis, Abby, for a school project. For this project, they have to come up with a business plan and all the proceeds go to charity. Abby comes up with the idea of writing "crush spells" and selling them to people at the school. They soon realize that the spells Rowan writes for others begins to work, and they ONLY work when Rowan is the author. Rowan is a little weary, but feels she owes Abby for an incident from their past. Things are starting to look up for Rowan, especially when the hot football star, Luca, takes an interest in her. Their romance is most definitely the opposite of a slow burn. Meanwhile, Abby and Rowan's business is booming! Everyone is dying for a "crush spell", but of course things begin to go awry.

The plot was very unique and it definitely grabbed my attention. I love fantasy and romance, so this seemed like a great combination of the two. I even read this book in a day, which I hadn't done in a while! The reason this book didn't completely deliver for me was that it began to get predictable and a little over the top towards the middle. Things just got way too out of proportion. I kept thinking "This has to be a dream," or "This is all a joke, right?" The ending was SUPER cute though and Luca was definitely a dream come true. If you're looking for a quick read with a cheesy romance, this book is for you!

Overall, this was a good first book and I am willing to read more by Angie Barrett. The writing style was great, kept me intrigued, and gave the right amount of detail. As this was an ARC, there were still a few typos, but I am sure those will be fixed by the time this is published.