This is the third book in the series. I have really enjoyed this series and this book kept my interest peaked. This book had Cosmo exerting his independence more that the previous books. The characters continued to appeal to me, and the pace made it hard to stop reading, even when work was calling. I can’t wait for the next installment.

Cosmo and his husband, SFPD Police Commissioner John Galbraith, have finally settled into their happy newlywed life. They've maintained an uneasy truce: Cosmo will try not to perform any magic and will stay out of police business. But it's not long before Cosmo finds himself struggling to keep his word, especially when a blackmailer has set their sites on Jinx, John's sister. Cosmo is sure magic is involved but John isn't, and Cosmo can't help but feel the need to do the one thing John asked him not to and run his own magical investigation.

Bell, Book and Scandal is a fast-paced and fun new addition to the Bedknobs and Broomsticks series. I enjoyed watching Cosmo gain greater control of his abilities while fighting for his friends and family. He's come a long way since Mainly By Moonlight, and while he's quick to point out that he's not a detective and solving crime is not his talent, he's definitely more competent. With John at his side, he's also very aware of the lines he shouldn't cross, even if he accidentally finds himself in the center of conspiracy and crime.

I also loved the way John and Cosmo's relationship has developed. They are complete opposites and they put in the effort to make their marriage work, both through compromise and by making time for each other. Their teamwork, inside jokes, and flirting are super sweet, and their chemistry in the bedroom is as passionate as it is tender. 

There's a host of side characters, both from Cosmo's magical circles and John's police life, and each one brings something special to the story, even if they're only on the page a few times. The magical systems and world are super interesting, though you may need Google translate for the French spells! I'm looking forward to the next installment in the series!

Great book. Finished the trilogy beautifully. Really happy the author is going to write more stories. Great characters and a nice happy finish.

Bell, Book, and Scandal by Josh Lanyon is the third installment of the M/M fantasy series Bedknobs and Broomsticks. The character setup leans into the old Bewitched TV show, with a quirky, magic-wielding main character and their serious human spouse who isn't always comfortable with the trouble magic brings into their lives. But John is a strong-willed, politically-focused police commissioner and Cosmo has more going on than just the existence of magic, so even love doesn't mean their lives will be easy.
Magical politics, blackmail, and murder keep dragging both Cosmo and John in different directions. John is struggling with Cosmo's secrets and needs discretion with his high-profile position, but Cosmo has made commitments to more than just John and is constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I'm looking forward to future books, as John learns more about Cosmo's life and responsibilities outside of their relationship, and Cosmo deals with the political machinations that he can't escape. John is cynical and distrusting, while Cosmo's efforts to keep John separate from the magical world mean John doesn't understand many issues that Cosmo is trying to juggle. The relationship is still not a happily ever after, but that helps make the characters more interesting going forward.

A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Yes, this is a series that is different. It deviates from JLs usual in that the two MCs are not living in blissful harmony. Which of course, her other characters didn't really do either, but they seemed more equal in the relationship, not so with Cos and John. John is very strong minded, firm, unbending, set in his ways, hard, always wants to get what he wants and usually does, almost prejudiced against Cos and what he wants.

It's not easy liking John, as a fellow reader said. He's kind of a jerk and Cos accepts it because he loves John. This time John knows full well who and what Cos is and yet still pushes him to be something he is not, a non magical person. Cos can't help having magic, and he wants to help John with a case, but nope.

Things go crazy when Cos does anyway, and I won't spill the beans about all that happens. The good news is there are more stories coming in the series!!!!!!

I get to see Cos, hopefully, put John in his place. 😁 I do recommend this and you have to read these in order. Just because John isn't a super nice guy and I don't always like him doesn't mean this isn't a good story. I've enjoyed the series more with each book. I can't wait to get the audios!!!

4 stars and I look forward to future re-reads.

Bell, Book & Scandal
By Josh Lanyon

I wound up liking this way more than I expected to. I thought it was well paced and once I got through the beginning the book went by very quickly. I got immersed in the story. I really like Cosmo and his magical friends.

The storyline itself was a bit off. It starts with blackmail and I felt like there wasn’t a good end to that. It felt sort of all over the place. I think the reason I felt this way was because the books are all connected and I forgot some of what transpired in the previous stories. I remembered enough but I was still missing some cohesion. That was probably on me. I’m not as invested in this series as I am with other Lanyon stories.


I have to admit that this isn’t my favorite series by Lanyon. While I do enjoy it I just feel like there is not much of a connection between Cosmo and John. I haven’t warmed up to John and we’re now 3 books into the series. He’s very judgmental of Cosmo’s magic and I just feel like he’s very insulting. How can he constantly expect Cosmo to not use magic? I really am unhappy whenever I read a scene between Cosmo & John and Cosmo always feels insecure. They don’t really know each other because they got married so quickly. Their relationship irks me.

I liked this book overall due to the fact that I felt the bulk of the excitement was because John wasn’t there. When he’s on page it’s tense, and not in a good way. I don’t know if there’s a way to make me like this character. I hope Josh Lanyon has something up her sleeve for him. I feel like there’s more to come and I hope it’s good.

Overall the book rates as 3.75 stars but I’ll round it up to 4 because of Cosmo. He deserves better than John though.

5 Spell Binding Stars ☆☆☆☆☆

I was so excited to get the much anticipated book 3 of the Bedknobs and Broomsticks series. It absolutely did not disappoint. Cosmo and his hubby, Police Commissioner John are still blissfully happy, despite the few hiccups in their new marriage. By hiccups, I mean finding out that Cosmo is a witch, murder, magic and all around mayhem. You know, the usual newlywed stuff. This series is absolutely amazing. Brilliantly written, witty and full of intrigue.

If you haven't read the two previous novels, I strongly suggest you do. Cosmos life is very complicated and it will really help you to enjoy this latest installment. Blackmail mixed with magic can be a very wicked and evil thing indeed and it looks like John and Cos are getting sucked up into the heart of it.

This series has been so much fun. It's like a sexy French version of Bewitched. This book gets a little darker. Uncontrolled spells, blackmail attempts, and death is swirling around poor Cosmo. All he wants is a quiet life with his mortal husband that he adores.

Don't let Cos fool you. He is smart and doesn't back down for what he believes is the greater good. He knows how fragile the coexistence is between the mortal and magical worlds and he wants it preserved. Another fantastic story from Josh and much to my delight the series is going to continue. Happy reading!

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy for my reading pleasure.

I love this series and always had a lot of fun reading the stories of Cosmo and John.
There's plenty of humour, a well developed world building and quirky and fleshed out characters.
The plot is fast paced, tightly knitted and I kept turning pages as fast as I could because I wanted to know what Cosmo was going to do and what was going to happen.
It's fun series and I think you need the previous books if you want to understand the characters and what is going on. There's some backstory but it can be hard to read this book as a stand alone.
I would be happy to read other stories featuring Cosmo and John, this one is strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book wasn't for me.
I hadn't read the other two books, however, I don't think it would have mattered.
I didn't like John. At all.
People who have been reading this series I'm sure will love this.

3 stars

Extortion is becoming a problem in town, & following the clues only leads to traces of darker machinations. Cosmo is torn between his obligation to protect his magical family & his promise to his husband not to interfere with police business. I enjoyed the world building & witty narration, but I felt the romantic relationship suffered from controlling behavior.

[What I liked:]

•I’m not usually a fan of 1st person narration, but I will say Cosmo has a distinct voice, & has some nice tongue-in-cheek/dry humor going for him.

•There is an exciting & amusing escape scene, that ends with a rather brilliant twist.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•I do like stories where the romance is about a long term relationship, not just the “falling in love” part, but something about John & Cosmo rubbed me the wrong way. John doesn’t treat Cosmo as his equal, & I think he manipulates Cosmo by trying to control him. (He expects Cosmo to be understanding when John’s job takes precedence to their relationship, but gets very upset if Cosmo treats his own work as important: double standards.) It seems like they are working on some of those issues by the end though.

CW: death, murder

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]