Okay listen, Laura Thalassa can do no wrong and Bewitched is no exception. I was engulfed in a witchy world from started to finish. Even though it had been a while since I'd read any fantasy I couldn't put this down. Of course I don't want to give anything away, but hot damn the plot of this one kept me engaged, the characters were all interesting, and the romance factor was definitely there. And can we talk about Memnon? Idk how I feel about him yet cuz he's kind of a jerk, but the touch her and you die vibes are strong with that one.

Overall this was an excellent, excellent read and I cannot wait until it is released in April. PICK IT UP!!

Desperate to get accepted into her local Coven Selene agrees to undertake a quest which takes her to South America but her plane crashes when an entity tries to take control of it. Selene gets separated from the other survivors and finds herself drawn towards a voice that belongs to a beautiful but dangerous male trapped in a sarcophagus. Selene frees Memnon only to discover that not only does he believe she’s his wife but also the person who cursed him ! As Selene tries desperately to regain control over her life there’s an evil stalking the Coven but Selene is slowly and surely losing her memories leaving her conflicted about Memnon . He calls her his Queen but is he actually her greatest enemy ?
This was an interesting beginning to the series and I particularly liked the idea of Selenes magic stealing her memories. I just feel a wee bit perplexed by the fact that Selene is an adult of twenty and yet for a lot of this story acted more like a young teenager. There’s no doubt she feels Passion when it comes to Memnon and that definitely deserves a capital P ! Yet I just couldn’t help but feel a little let down as I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the authors previous books. There is great potential for the next book as the ending was truly a cruel one that will leave many readers gnashing their teeth. I very much look forward to the answers that I think we will all very much need and hope we dint have to wait too long.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

* spoilers *



Okay. I will say, I did really enjoy the story and the writing was excellent. I have one quip that bothered me early on though, and that is that the pacing of the first 10 chapters is wayyyy too fast. Selene survived a whole plane crash, went through a jungle, found a familiar, set Memnon free, and returned home all within like 70 pages! It was too much in such a brief number of pages. I think if the rest of the story matched the pace I wouldn’t have noticed, but there is a viable difference from this point onward.

Another issue that bothered me was Memnon’s treatment of Selene. Laura had me going for a second there when he was being kind and gentle with her, but that burning of her notebooks (I thought) was super fucked. I have a pet peeve about enemies to lovers when one of the characters pulls some dastardly shit on the other, and even though Selene got her memories back shortly after, burning those notebooks would have been a tipping point for me. Knowing that these two are soulmates and will end up together after what he did to her does not sit right with me.

Regardless of my own b.s., I loved the Bargainer series as well, and am looking forward to book 2 :)

Laura Thalassa is an author one can always depend one for creative, intense and always readable stories! And this one is no exception. Unlike so many of her books, however, this one holds a few reading challenges. The largest being the lack of current backstory that would help a reader understand the world and the characters so much better. Although much of the plot centers around not knowing Selene's overall background and connections, it is in the basic, present-day things that one needs for a foundation in order to begin a book and/or series. Why is Selene so determined to attend only Henbane Coven? Where are her parents and why does she never have any contact with them? What was her previous school like and why she attended? How did the deep relationship with her best friend develop? The questions are many but with no real answers that would add depth and meaning. Subsequently the reader flounders trying to ground themselves in Selene's world enough to buy into her premise.

That light dusting over continues throughout most of the book. We know what is happening but not the motivations behind so many small things that would deepen our understanding and made the large plot-points much more believable.

Still, those large plot-points are awesome and keep one engaged and enthusiastically turning the pages! Because of this, the book would still have rated a good 4 stars if not for the HUGE full-stop ending. Not just a cliffhanger, but a complete stop right in the middle of the climax! No threads at all settled, everything mid-fight, the end. Now, I understand cliff-hangers can be good for future sales, but don't agree with those that are so huge that one MUST purchase the next book because this one just quit in the middle without even knowing if anyone lives.

SO... good and bad. Even with the downsides, I would recommend the book for the sole reason that the story, itself, holds so much awesome potential ..... Some might just want to wait until after the next one publishes.

I am a big fan of Laura Thalassa. She always manages to bring something new to the table. The description of this book gave me strong The Mummy (1997) vibes so I was PSYCHED to read it! And boy did it deliver. "Second chance" romance and soul mates aren't my favorite tropes, but this is unique enough I didn't mind. Selene the forgetful heroine and Memnon the anti-villain hero are perfect. The magic and worldbuilding make sense, the spice is spicy, and overall it's a super enjoyable read.
Fans of Kresley Cole will love this book, I think.

It had been quite a while since I had read any of Laura’s books and I was so excited to get this ARC! While this story started slow for me, I couldn’t be more excited to see where this series can go.

In some ways, it reminded me vaguely of Moon Knight! But less about Gods and more about spice 😏

The start of this series made me fall even more in love with Thalassa's style of writing. I enjoyed her other series and wanted to see what else she could being to the table, and man, I was absolutely blown away. Thalassa brins out magic in a different way that I have not read before. It is much more relatable, the descriptions make it so easy to just become a part of her world and it is unlike anything I've read lately. I am looking so very forward to the next in the series!

I received an eARC in exchange of my honest review.

I love Laura Thalassa and her writing!
I had no expectations going into this book and boy was I surprised.

We have a witch, magical classes and covens. The best familiar, Nero aka my favorite character.

Memory loss, a curse and a soul mate. Need I go on?

I can't wait for book 2 because honestly I don't know what is going on in Selene's head 😂

A book with the Mummy movie vibes ???
Where Evie would be a witch and Imhotep would be a sexy wizard Sarmatian king ??
How could I resist it ??

What I particularly liked :

- the universe! I loved going back to the universe of The Bargainer series of course, but I also really liked discovering the world of witches with all their powers, their particularities ... But my big crush is the historical details ! I loved all the details inspired by Sarmatian history !

- the plots with the murders of course, what happened in the school basement but above all Memnon's past with the heroine ... Addictive !

- the main characters that I loved ! Special mention for the heroine who gradually loses her memory as soon as she uses her magic (I loved the concept !) but who persists and keeps going on despite the difficulties ! So brave ! And of course the mysterious Memnon who fascinated me, whom I adored ... Then hated >< (OMG the scene with the burnt notebooks !)

- the romance !!! Dark, sexy and addictive, I loved seeing the heroine gradually succumb ... And who doesn't like sexy, powerful and manipulative heroes =D ???

- this end BUT THIS END !!! I won't say more but the wait for the next book is going to be horribly long ><

In short, the first book of a new series that won me over ! For fans of Laura Thalassa, her Bargainer series or more broadly fantasy romances with deliciously bad characters, I recommend it =D

Bewitched is a thrilling and intriguing witch fantasy that is sure to grip readers and keep them on their toes…

All Selene ever wanted was to be a part of the Henbane Coven, but her unfortunate memory loss keeps holding her back. The only way she’ll ever be accepted into her dream coven is by meeting their new requirements for her. The tasks seem easy enough, but when nefarious forces come into play, Selene awakens her magic at a cost she never expected….

Bewitched is a unique and enthralling story. The story is well-written and the writing sucks you in from the very first page. From the moment I met Selene, I felt like Alice falling into Wonderland. Each interaction left me curiouser and curiouser. The author built an intriguing world and complex web of mystery that left me with a ton of questions and anticipation for the answers. Now, this wouldn’t be a Laura Thalassa novel with a questionable hero and a romance that would stand the test of time.

Bewitched kicks this series off to a great start. I’m intrigued and I can’t wait for more. I loved the world-building. I loved the characters. I loved the enemies-to-lovers/ betrayed soulmates vibe. This book checked off all of my boxes when it comes to a paranormal/fantasy romance and yes, it does end on a cliffhanger. Hopefully, the wait for the next installment won’t be too long. I for one can not wait to see what happens in this story next!

The start of another great series by Laura! I love a witchy book and this definitely delivered. It follows Selene, who has been trying to get into Henbane Coven for ages, but they have reservations about her condition in which she can’t use magic without losing her memories. They finally agree on two conditions - she must go on a magical quest, and she must find a familiar. When she arrives in South America for her quest, things start to get wild.

Selene is a great MC, she’s determined and caring and funny, and the love interest, Memnon, is the definition of morally grey and a little unhinged. Big “touch her and die” vibes. Their interactions are filled with tension, fighting, spiciness, and tenderness, usually all at once.

I loved all of the descriptions of magic, the action scenes, and the twists and turns. The ending was so good, that last sentence! I’ll definitely be getting a copy of this book and looking forward to the next one.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve never read a book by this author until now, and I quite enjoyed my introduction to her. I try not to read books where the main character has memory problems, but I just had to try this one as it intrigued me. Selene’s magic exacts a terrible toll on her by stealing her memories, and I felt for her about that. There was so much going on in this book, and I didn’t know how I felt about Memnon, but by the end, I definitely knew how I felt about him! LOL! After that ending, I am looking forward to what is going to happen next…oh, and a panther as a familiar? Yes, please! Recommend. I was provided a compliment copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

*Received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review*. I’m a big fan of Laura Thalassa’s books and was super intrigued by the synopsis of this book. However when I started reading the book I started to get a little nervous when I struggled with the first 1/4 of the book. I felt like Selene was a walking cliche. Oh, she needs a familiar and super amazing magical quest, here, lets literally crash land her in a jungle for her magical quest where she can right off the bat bag herself a vicious predator for her familiar. Still I read on. The interactions between Memnon and Selena kind of made me reminiscent of the Dracula 2000 movie that came out like a decade ago. About halfway through the book though it finally gripped me, is Memnon Evil? Is he just morally grey? What’s up with the lycanthropes? How about the blind witch? So many questions, gotta keep reading for answers, and oh there are some, but not enough and now I want more. However, Reader be aware. If you don’t like cliff hangers, this ends in a one. I was not prepared and I NEED to know, ugh.

I’ve been reading laura’s books for years now and i really enjoy her brand of fantasy, her writing is pretty good and her fantasy worlds are easy to understand if you are a newbie in the genre.
The premise of this book gave very much the mummy vibes which i absolutely LOVE.
I liked Selene, for the most part she was funny, quirky and your typical teenage heroine, doing dumb stuff i would probably do too if i were in her place. Nero, her familiar was the most adorable jerk, but the real MVP was Memnon, my possesive and psychotic new boyfriend 🥰.
I enjoy laura thalassa’s villains, when i’m in the mood for a crazy cupcake MMC i just read laura’s books 🥰 her heroes are scary in the most delicious softest way 🤌🤌🤌
So if you like hot werewolfs, murder mysteries, villain gets the girl, touch her and ☠️, a little bit of cat and mouse trope and overall just a fun fast paced fantasy romance i really recommend laura’s books.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the Arc.

I loved this book! Great witchy fun without being too bogged down by explaining the magic. Thalassa writes a good morally grey hero as well. Though there were times when I would get so frustrated with Memnon and his constantly changing moods; I question why Selene even liked him or put up with his attitude and bossiness. She could hold her own against him and didn't let him push her around... too much.

There were plenty of action sequences that I didn't feel the story drag at any point despite the length of the book. I'm excited to see what comes next in the series! I really hope there is a story featuring Kane the werewolf. He was delightful.

I love this book! When two souls are separated by magic and mystery is it destiny or manipulation that brings them together?

When Selene goes on a magic quest she hears a voice and is drawn to a ancient tomb. By opening the tomb she relieves something she should have left alone. Her husband from another life. The only problem is that he remembers everything while she remembers nothing.

This is a uniquely magic romance with witch, curses, and soulmates that will keep you on the edge of your seat and up all night reading!

Thank you NetGally for the advance copy.

Since the beginning of 2023, I've struggled to find a book that captivates me. However, I've finally discovered a gem in "Bewitched" by Laura Thalassa. This book's gripping enemies-to-lovers plot has me completely hooked, and I can't wait to see how the series unfolds. Selene is a fantastic heroine, and Memnon is the perfect villain - sarcastic and charming, you can't help but love him despite his flaws. The characters are unique and refreshing, and the added mystery only adds to the intrigue.

Although the slight hint of a love triangle gives me some pause, I'm still excited to see how it all plays out.

Wow this book did not disappoint! I loved all the vibes form this book. I'm a big fan of Academic themes in books and again this did not disappoint. ,

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

This is the second book I've read by this author and it was so good! She did a great job with world building, action, the SPICE! This was such a fun fantastical read and it was so easy to lose myself.

Extraordinary. Enthralling. Alluring.
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I can't even put my feelings in order after finishing reading..
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Great world building
Intriguing/ great premise
Action packed
Witty/Spicy
Academia vibes/ magic quest
Soul mates/ mystery
And plot twists... 😱🔥
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What else do you need?? .
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Special thanks to #Netgalley for giving me this ARC in exchange of my honest opninion.