Selene is a witch who will do anything to enter Henbane Coven, even if it means losing your memories. With trying to get in she goes on a drinking benge, winds up in South Africa because of a crash. She is drawn to a magic presence and is thrown into situation where she meets Memnon, who thinks Selene is his wife. He becomes stalkersish and this eventually turns into an enemies to lovers book.

This wasn't the great book by Laura, the Bargainer series is a lot better. I think what threw me off the most about this book is how Memnon is able to do all this stuff, but he's been contained for thousands of years. I don't even wanna know what 2000 yr I the future would be and I would be so lost.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Holy Moly! This book took a second to get into but once it picked up I was hooked.

The story focuses on Selene, a witch who unfortunately as she uses her powers loses various memories as the price for her magic. The story kicks off with her trying to join a coven and she is forced to take trip which leads her to accidentally letting Memnon out on the world. From there chaos ensues, with Selene getting into the coven but suddenly witches start being murdered.

This book does end on a cliffhanger and I can’t wait for the next novel and novella in the series to come out.

An interesting read, but it struggles to connect both worlds. The love interest/villain doesn't seem to fit in the modern world and while this is somewhat the point, it seems like the author is deliberately leaving things out to write a male POV later on.

Witchy romance with the ultimate bad boy love interest. Selene is a young witch, longing to become part of a coven. Magic comes at a cost for all witches, but Selene has the unique problem that her magic eats her memories. Therefore, the coven questions her ability to succeed in witchcraft. She's given one shot: if she can complete a magical journey and find her familiar, she will earn her spot in the Henbane coven. On her way to South America to hopefully complete these requirements, she begins hearing a man's voice calling to her, and she's immediately drawn to him. She follows traces of his magic through the jungle, finds her familiar along the way, and ends up at a magically warded ruin. There she discovers a sarcophagus and just can't help but break it open, releasing a powerful sorcerer, Memnon. He's been asleep for centuries, and somehow thinks Selene is his queen, and the one who cursed him. Uh oh! She has earned her place in the coven, but Memnon claims that he will get his revenge. What has she set free? Who knows what form his revenge will take, and if Selene can fight it off, or if she even wants to.

Hoo boy, this was a fun one. Memnon is insanely sexy and just as evil. Selene is so drawn to him, and you can understand why, despite the absolutely terrible things he puts her through. Selene is a powerful witch, determined to use her magic no matter what it costs her. But even she's weak in the knees when it comes to love. A very hot slow burn romance ensues. I also love her relationship with her familiar Nero, and her friendship with Sybil. I'm so interested in the magic of this world, as well as Selene and Memnon's past. This ends on quite the cliffhanger, and I for one am raring for more. I will be picking up Laura Thalassa's other books for sure.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
FMC: Selene- a witch who has made it her life goal to be accepted into Henbane Coven. Every time she uses her magic, she loses random memories, so she needs to add an extra oomph to get the Coven to want her. To make her resume more exciting, she decides to take a last-minute trip to South America where she finds an unlikely friend, has an epic magical adventure, and follows an ethereal voice who happens to lead her to a tomb with the hottest guy she’s ever seen. The biggest problem? He wakes up and is convinced she’s his wife and is pissed at her for curing him.
MMC: Memnon- after being encased in a tomb for who-knows-how-long he is finally awoken only to find his wife to be the one who freed him and now he is set on revenge. Memnon tries to convince Selene of who she is and how they are connected but she is positive they’ve never met and have no history together. He’ll make her remember him, fall back in love, and get his revenge for cursing him.
POV: 1st person, single POV
HEA: no, cliffhanger
spice: several open-door spicy scenes and so much steam
TWs: place crash (nonfatal), memory loss, murder, using dark magic, sacrifice, kidnapping, attempted murder, mental/emotional abuse, technically non-consent vibes but I’m squinting here
standalone: book 1 in the Bewitched series
final thoughts: Oh. My. Gods. This book was so great and had me hooked from start to finish. Perfect murder mystery with an unreliable narrator and the cliffhanger left me NEEDING MORE. Book 2 is very anticipated for me. Usually, I don’t love a cliffhanger, but I do think this ended exactly how it should and leaves the next book wide open to answer so many remaining questions. This was a wonderful book with great world building, interesting characters, a strong FMC, and an absolutely swoonworthy alphahole MMC.
Not me (and the FMC) losing all sense of feminism when Memnon walks in a room…..

read this book if you love

😬 angst
🌀 plot twists
💓 kinda slowburn
💏 fated mates
💞 lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 great side characters
🥰 nicknames
🫡 big MMC
🌍 world building
🤫 hidden truth/keeping secrets
🤔 very morally grey MMC
🔮 supernatural creatures- werewolves and witches
🪄 magic
💖 paranormal romance
⁉️ murder mystery
❤️‍🩹 reincarnation
🔪 touch her and die
😳 who did this to you

I didn't love this one because I think there's a fine line between enemies to lovers and just being a jerk--and I think Memnon flies right over that line and isn't super redeemable or someone I rooted for all that much.

Also how does the 2000 year old warlord have access to a bank account and know how to transfer money electronically??

I loved Laura's Bargainer series so I was really excited to dive into another Fantasy from her. I really loved the entire relationship between Selene and Memnon! The tension and banter were great, and I liked the whole fantasy aspect as well. I could see more books set in this world, so I'm hoping Laura writes more!

I am simply too much of a feminist to continue reading this. Thank you to the publisher for the chance to read this long awaited novel by Laura Thalassa, but I unfortunately do not wish to continue.

I love Laura Thalassa and The bargainer series is one of the absolute favorites but this new book Bewitched honestly didn’t do it much for me compared to her other ones :(
I’m going to be honest, I’m not a big fan of the amnesia trope but I love Thalassa so I thought I would give it a try. The MFC would loose her memories everytime she uses magic and this is where the MMC comes even, he’s her husband and did her wrong. I feel like the reason though this didn’t work out for me is bc of the MMC character/love interest. He’s wasn’t very likeable and the romance honestly felt forced. He’s an absolute ass ( and not in a good way ) and doesn’t really feel the need to woe her bc they are fated mates. The whole relationship just threw me off and ending up breaking the books for me.

What I did like though the magic element of the book. I’ve always loved witches/magical creatures type of books and they way she met her familiar was so cute. It was interesting to hear abt the magical system and her powers but unfortunately that’s just not enough for me to be intrigued in a book.

This arc was given to me in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.

I loved everything about BEWITCHED, from the premise to the characters. How could anyone not root for the heroic witch with memory problems, a wild cat familiar, and an extremely 🔥 and vengeful ex-husband?

Brilliant characters aside, that pulse-pounding plot! Laura managed to combine Tomb Raider, CSI, and Ninth House, and make the resulting storyline ultra-steamy.

4⭐️

<b> All magic comes at a cost. For sorcerers, it’s their conscience. For shape-shifters, it’s their physical form. For me, it’s my memory.</b>

Selene loses parts of her memory whenever she uses her magic, but it doesn’t stop her from using it. In order to be admitted into the Henbane Coven, Selene must find a familiar and go on a magical quest to commune with her own magic. Selene drunkenly books a flight to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, but she never actually makes it there as chaos ensues and the plane crashes in the rainforest.

Selene is drawn by a strange power away from the site of the crash, and finds an entombed supernatural being and releases him, which may or may not be her best idea. Selene had to deal with a stalker-ish ancient sorcerer in addition to the chaos of her life, and the mysterious murders happening around the coven’s campus.

Thank you, Laura Thalassa, for pulling me out of my reading slump every single time. This book was exactly what I needed after a couple of duds. It’s fast paced and funny, and it has witches, magic, and a mysterious and sexy cursed supernatural being. I like the magic system in this a lot, and I like how different it is while still being super fun and witchy. Also, Selene’s familiar is so badass!! I almost wish we could have gotten a little more of Selene’s quest and I wish she would have actually made it to the Galapagos (but only because I love it there and am totally biased), but seeing her use insanely powerful magic without her even knowing how powerful it was was pretty cool.

I also just love Selene’s character overall. She’s selfless and strong and funny. Memnon, on the other hand, I don’t particularly care for. There were some moments where I was a little confused by the dynamic between Selene and Memnon because he’s so hot and cold, but the moments when he was caring for Selene were nice and infinitely better than the times where he’s spiteful. But overall I really enjoyed this and I’m excited for the next book.

<b>”You and I, Empress, we are eternal.”</b>

Great! Loved Selene and Memnon. Laura knows how to write a great story. I loved the dialogue between Memnon and Selene. The story is intense and interesting. I want more.

I absolutely loved this book. This was a fun paranormal enemies to lovers romance (mild spice) with great characters and an interesting and fun to follow plot. The twists were fun and the cliffhanger ending was delightfully painful. Can't wait for the next book in the series and to see where this series goes.

"I love you, little witch. More than all the world. That is my deepest truth, and it's one I should have told you again and again as I once did."

The premise of this book hooks you right off the bat. When Selene Bowers is desperate to join the Henbane Coven, she is forced to go on a magical quest- their actual requirement. She really doesn't expect for the quest she had planned to lead to her awakening Memnon, an ancient cursed being who insists that Selene is his wife.

After ditching him, Selene gets back and is welcomed into the coven. The only problem is, witches all around her are being found dead, and fingers are pointing at her. It doesn't help that she quite literally loses her memory every time she performs magic... and Memnon somehow followed her. Despite him definitely being insane and overall terrifying, he's the only one that can help her.

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I am a sucker for Laura Thalassa book. Her world building is so rich and captivating, it's easy to get lost in the stories she writes.

This book held so much promise for plot, and I really enjoy the way the storyline was delivered, but the characters themselves left much to be desired. I am usually all for the bad/ villainous/ morally grey MMCs, but Memnon didn't really hit the mark for me. We definitely got some good spice, I mean Laura Thalassa never fails to deliver excellent spice, but the romance itself was ... lacking. I think he was almost too much of an ass at times, and I didn't get enough balance for him. I am really hoping that the second book, where we learn more about the past, will reveal a lot more about him. Selene was fine too, but she is very much freshly an adult, twenty years old, finding her footing and stumbling around. I trust that the way the book ended, there is so much room for character development in the sequel so I am very excited for what comes next in that regard.

The saving grace of this book was easily the plot. Losing her memory as she performs magic and supposedly being this ancient creature's wife?! There's so much to unpack, and I think Thalassa paces each reveal really well. Some of the plot when it came to the murders moved really fast, but I think this book sets up the series really well. As much as I hate such an intense cliffhanger, this was done well. I need to know what happens now.

I am a Laura Thalssa girly, and while this didn't check all the boxes, I still am so excited to see how the series unravels.

-3.75 stars

Thank you Netgalley, Laura Thalassa, and Bloom Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love the other series’ by this author so I knew I had to read this too. I really enjoyed the premise and liked the characters too. Another good fantasy book by this author and I’m excited to to see where the story goes.

Classic Laura thalassa bringing the fantasy and spice together. The bargainer series was such a favorite group of books for me and this one hit right up that alley. The magic, the mystery, the characters and banter was all so good and I’m so happy I got to read this book. Thank you Laura and NetGalley for the arc!!

Steamy goodness that I ate right on up. I can’t wait to read more from Laura. This was exactly what I needed and I loved every second of it. Characters, storyline, the flow of the book.. perfect.

I have read the author’s four books (the four horsemen) and this book fulfilled the expectations that were increased already. The story is fresh and unexpected, no quick gains, adequate character building and adequate backstory. I am sorry by the end that it is finished..

…I literally don’t have the words to do this justice. This book blew my mind. I absolutely LOVED it

The story follows Selene, a young witch, as she is trying to get into the Henbane Coven. The only problem is that her magic eats away at her memories. To prove herself, she sets out on a quest where she finds a lot more than she bargained for- specifically an ancient man she awakens that claims she is his soulmate who trapped him underground for thousands of years. Memnon follows her home, back to the Henbane Coven, to convince her that she is his, all while witches are starting to be mysteriously murdered all over campus.

Bewitched is a blend all of my favorite parts of fantasy books (plus some nostalgia). I am a sucker for soulmates, especially those lost to time and past lives (shoutout to the Fallen series for starting that). That plus a unique twist to witchy magic added to the overall magic of this world.

And don’t even get me started on the characters ✋🏼 our MMC, Memnon, is the perfect balance of dark morally grey, possessively obsessed, and head over heels in love. Literally touch her, you die vibes and I’m here for it. Selene’s character is amazing too; I thought her magic was so neat. She was so well written too; I imagine it was difficult to write such a well rounded character while the character herself doesn’t even fully know herself due to the constant memory loss each time she uses magic. She was also so brave and kind, and fierce when she needed to be without charting into any morally grey territory.

Something that also made the book stand out for me was the ancient aspects of it. Memnon is from the ancient world and dead languages plays a big part in spell casting. I studied ancient worlds and languages, so to see that used and explored throughout the book was so cool and made it that much more compelling for me!

The only down side to this book is that it’s the first in a series- and it was only just released 😔 so now I have to wait another year for more Memnon and Selene and to get answers to the mystery of why Selene locked him away for thousands of years. I already have some theories brewing if anyone wants to scheme together 😌

Another brilliant fantasy romance by Laura Thalassa! Fun, sexy and addictive - highly recommended!!

Laura simply gets “the female gaze” and writes such captivating stories full of attraction and seduction. I loved the premise of lost memories and alternate story lines, the coven was an imaginative setting and the world building was nicely detailed. The main character Selene was well explored and her relationship with Memnon was genuinely intriguing. Looking forward to the next book!