5 Stars for Bewitched by Laura Thalassa!

I absolutely loved this witchy romance and it is a new favourite! I had really high hopes for this novel and the author did not disappoint. I enjoyed the supernatural academic setting and all of the side characters and the main couple? Chefs kiss. The main character was relatable and likeable and someone you just have to root for and the love interest is so morally grey, which is always a recipe for wicked disaster in the plot. Laura Thalassa reminded me with this novel why I'm always returning to her works, they're fun, unique and so addicting.

Overall this was an absolute delight that I devoured in one sitting and I cannot wait until the next instalment.

Thalassa’s latest paranormal romance novel truly is bewitching like its namesake!

“Bewitched” is told from the perspective of Selene Bowers, a witch whose dream is to be accepted into Henbane Coven. To gain admittance, she arranges to go on a quest in South America. Only, before she gets there her plane is torn from the sky by ancient magic. Sacrificing her memories to awaken her powers, Selene survives the crash and seeks out the source of the attack. In the process, she sets free Memnon the Cursed, an evil sorcerer who believes that Selene is his wife and worse, that she was the one who betrayed him.

I really enjoyed reading from Selene’s point-of-view because the gaps in her memory motivate the reader to progress through the novel and speculate whether or not she is Memnon’s wife and if so, why she cursed him. Additionally, because Selene is in the dark about her own past, each new revelation she makes about herself is just as jarring for her as the reader, creating new sources of tension that propel the narrative. Still, Selene does not let her memory loss define her or get in the way of her goals, which is an aspect of her character that I admired.

Like her other works, Thalassa takes her time crafting her world. “Bewitched” mainly takes place in Northern California. Though the region is populated by humans, lycanthropes, mages, and sorcerers, we specifically learn how about witches enrolled at Henbane Coven. Through Selene, Thalassa beautifully captures identifying markers to witch magic on the page by describing unique color hues. She also incorporates rhyme and a language of her own creation to demonstrate how words add to the potency of a spell.

The ancient language Selene draws power from throughout the novel is Sarmatian, the language of Memnon’s people and interestingly enough, a real nomadic tribe. I appreciated how Thalassa made efforts to preserve bits of Sarmatian culture through Memnon’s character.

Selene’s power being at her strongest whenever she speaks Memnon’s native tongue speaks volumes about their connection. The longer Selene spent in the Sarmatian warrior’s presence, the harder it was to resist his charm. I too was won over by his persistence until his need to settle the score put Selene’s well-being at risk at the novel’s end. I look forward to seeing how he plans to make amends in the sequel!

❞𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐,❞ 𝑴𝒆𝒎𝒏𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒔, 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉. ❞𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐.❞

Oh my god you guys THIS BOOK! I was honestly stunned speechless when I got the ARC for this book and I had to start it instantly. I knew off the bat that I was going to enjoy this because it has witches, but the way that I fell in love with this book...I have so much to say. First off, I was hooked in like 5 chapters, Selene is such an interesting character. I love to see how she continues to live her life so independently and with so much kindheartedness as a witch who's magic takes pieces of her memory. What she wishes for the most is to be accepted into Henbane Coven, but first she has to go on a magic quest and find a familiar in order to get accepted. Her quest leads her to South America where a mysterious entity almost takes her plane straight out of the sky. This magical entity leads her to a tomb where she releases a gorgeous man, Memnon, who believes her to be his wife and the person that cursed him. Nothing about this book was boring, I was honestly on the edge of my seat the whole time. Memnon was such a character for me because I couldn't decide if he was the villain or not, but I was rooting for him. One thing that I thought was really unique though was that us as the character know what is happening in the story but seeing Selene use her magic and forget things was kind of heartbreaking. I really love that it didn't impact her the way I thought it would. This book has magic, seduction, murder, mystery, revenge and I can't even talk about the ending but I was SHOCKED to my core. It was so good and now I am in eternal agony as I await the next book. This might just take the crown as my favorite Laura Thalassa book.

If Laura thalassa has one fan, I’m that fan. If she has zero fans, I’m dead.


No one writes morally grey like she does. No one gives me the biggest cliff hanger hangovers either. Excited for the next one! I NEED to know what is “unleashed”!

Thanks to NetGalley, Laura thalasssa- and the publisher for allowing me to receive an arc in exchange for my honest review- all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Enthralling, heart pounding, and wildly appealing fantasy

I loved reading this part of Selene’s story and the beginning of this new series. Laura Thalassa’s stories are always expertly written, meticulously planned and flawlessly delivered. This is not a flowery love story full of sunshine and rainbows. It is a dark fantasy. This is also a book that you cannot easily put down. The story sucked me in and held me captive until the end. The story also gave me all the feels - laughing, crying, swooning, cringing, teeth gritting, knuckle biting, and cheering. I was right there with Selene feeling all the things as the story unfolded. Selene is a witch with a problem, when she uses her magic she loses some of her memories. In order to get into Henbane Coven she has to perform a magical quest but she gets more than she bargained for when she stops a plane crash and inadvertently awakens Memnon the cursed in a South American jungle. But that’s not the worst of it, Memnon follows her back to Henbane because he believes her to be his queen who betrayed him 2,000 years ago. To add more stress, there is also a murderer killing witches at Henbane and Selene is a suspect because of her memory loss. The story includes all the goodness that you’d expect from this genre - fighting, dangerous situations, end of the world scenarios, paranormal creatures, evil entities, henchmen, loyal friends and family, tragic back stories, mystical coincidences, snark, mystery, secrets, betrayal, revelations, and laughs. I love that Selene’s character, despite her unique powers and how the rest of the world views her, is still kind, optimistic, self-deprecating, modest, reluctant, and at times resentful which makes her a very likeable and relatable hero. The story arc for this book concludes by the end but we are left with a teaser/not quite a cliff hanger for the next book which I will be eagerly awaiting.

4⭐️/5 ~🇪🇸
Primero que nada, agradecer por este ✨ARC✨porque ha sido muy especial, al ser de una de mis autoras favoritas😍
~¿Cómo puede dejarnos con ese cliffhanger?😭 Lloro porque sé que el siguiente libro me va a gustar mucho más que este, porque se viene el drama del bueno, de ese que no puedes dejar de leer🥹
~Durante todo el libro no sabía si amar al MMC u odiarlo, y así he estado hasta el final. Y no me preguntéis si lo amo o lo odio, porque NO LO SÉ. No sé por donde va a ir ese segundo libro con respecto a la relación de ambos.
~Me ha encantado la forma en la que la autora ha decidido hacer a las brujas, porque son las típicas que hacen hechizos utilizando calderos y rimas, y me encanta😂
~Si le doy un punto negativo, sería que no nos da mucha información sobre el Mundo en el que se desarrolla todo, el resto de seres sobrenaturales y demás.
~En definitiva, con ese final, deseando leer el segundo estoy🥺

•••••

4⭐️/5 ~🇬🇧
First of all, thank you for this ✨ARC✨because it has been very special, being from one of my favourite authors😍
~How can she leave us with such a cliffhanger? I cry because I know that I'm going to like the next book much more than this one, because there's a good drama coming, the kind you can't stop reading🥹
~Throughout the whole book I didn't know whether to love the MMC or hate him, and I did until the end. And don't ask me if I love him or hate him, because I DON'T KNOW. I don't know where this second book is going to go regarding their relationship.
~I loved the way the author decided to make the witches, because they are the typical ones who cast spells using cauldrons and rhymes, and I love it😂
~If I give it a negative point, it would be that she doesn't give us much information about the World in which everything takes place, the rest of the supernatural beings and so on.
~All in all, with that ending, I can't wait to read the second one🥺

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review the ARC for "Bewitched." First of all, this is the first book I have ever read from this author. I tried to start the Bargainer series, but for some reason I could not get into it. Now knowing that this book takes place in that world, I may reconsider. I was really surprised how much I would like this book. Selene is a witch who struggles from memory loss when she uses her magic. On her quest to enter the Henbane coven she stumbles upon her familiar and undead king claiming to be her soulmate. She is feisty and also utterly confused about what it going on in her present and past. Memnon, the king she awakened is dangerous but alluring, and she can't seem to figure out their connection. He is obsessed with making her his as well as punishing her for being trapped for two thousand years. There was a very minor thing that I didn't like, one of the characters, a professor had they/them pronouns, and it was utterly distracting reading as well as completely unnecessary. Usually when that occurs, I stop reading but I really liked the story. Unfortunately the story does leave off a cliffhanger which is exciting and also disappointing. I will be looking forward to the next book!

Thank you, Sourcebooks Bloom Books and NetGalley, for this arc for an honest review.

This book follows Selene Bowers, who is the Fmc. She is a 20-year-old witch who has been trying to join the Henbane Coven. Selene has a unique problem which is that anytime she uses her magic, she loses her memory which makes life difficult.
Throughout the book, Selene hears voices calling to her, which leads her to a tomb where she finds a man named Memnon who claims to be her lover/husband and now wants revenge because Selene supposedly cursed him centuries ago.

I really liked this world and the way the author wrote it. It was so descriptive, and the world-building was very interesting to me. We have witches, shifters, familiars, and elusive covens. For the most part, I also liked the main character, Selene was strong, adventurous, and likable.

The mmc Memnon, on the other hand, I had a hard time warming up to. I didn’t connect with him and had a hard time figuring out what his motivations were. The romance was okay, and I was enjoying it until the third act, when both main characters started making choices that I thought weren’t really earned. There were some spicy moments that were good and a lot of pet names which are always fun.

Overall this was a solid first book, with great world-building, a strong plot, and interesting fmc. The story and the romance have potential, especially after that ending, and I can’t wait to see where the next book goes.

This story y’all. I was not ready for what Bewitched has in store for readers so let’s get into it.

A female witch who when she uses her magic destroys parts of her memory. An ancient evil sorcerer who should’ve remained entombed for all eternity. Murders happening on the coven grounds that the heroine worked so hard to get into. What could possibly go wrong?

This is a high stakes fantasy romance with dark undertones, revenge, murder, spice, and a possessive soulmate anti hero. So if you’re not looking for that turn away now. While this isn’t a book I would consider dark some readers might.

As someone who has to connect with characters to really enjoy a story I found very little to dislike about our main leads and even less to dislike about the side characters. Selene is a great character who you can easily relate to while also wanting to strangle. Her inner dialog was the biggest drawback for me. I found a lot of her thoughts to be semi juvenile and would be pulled right out of the magic that had me enraptured. But those instances usually passed pretty quickly and I could find my way back into the story thanks to the plot and surrounding characters.

Now the real star of the show for me was Memnon. He is the definition of a morally grey anti hero and I absolutely loved that. He’s strong powerful and obsessed with Selene to the point that you’re going to be like ok dude take a breath are you sure she’s worth it? I’m a sucker for a villainous love interest but one thing a lot of authors do when writing these types of characters is soften them up. Not Memnon. He can be sweet but most of the time you’re getting unfiltered villainous action which I loved. He’s a scorned powerful sorcerer who isn’t afraid to seek his revenge. He’s also got the touch her and I’ll unalive you vibes down!

Overall I think most Thalassa fans will love this and anyone who enjoys a strong female lead and a morally grey love interest will also enjoy this. Keep a look out for the next installment because I will be.


TL/DR
Possessive/ obsessive MMC
Paranormal creatures
Enemies to lovers
Lost love
Spice
Soulmates

Read this book

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great start to a new series and I loved this book. It was a great fantasy novel and I cannot wait to see what comes next.

*Received a copy for review.*
I’m gonna be real honest, I almost quit reading this book in chapter 3. I absolutely hate the movie Momento and when it’s revealed that Selene is losing her memory and uses post it notes and journals to help her remember event and appointments, it was almost too much. Did I mention that I HATE Momento?
Anyway, the whole past lives, soul mates, unleashing something that magic is clearly trying to keep buried kept me reading. And I’m glad I did.
It is different than any other book I’ve read. I cannot decide if Memnon is sexy or the absolute worst. Maybe he’s both. The fact that Selene cannot hold onto memories makes you feel slightly off balance. There is a lot going on and the heroine cannot be trusted. The potential hero is defiantly unreliable and so you are completely at the mercy of what is unfolding.
I’m curious to see where this story goes. If you like a truly potentially evil hero(?), then this dude is for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an arc of this book. Below is my honest review.

Memnon is trapped. He can’t escape. He doesn’t remember who locked him away, he barely remembers his life before. Except…except he does remember Roxilana, his queen and his wife. He is waiting for her to find him.

Selene is a witch but the use of her magic has a unique price. The cost? Her memories. Even so, she is hoping to be accepted by the Henbane Coven with her latest application. Third times a charm? Well, sort of. Selene is given two tasks, if she completes them then she will be accepted. The problem? They won’t be easy. Selene knows it will be worth it to learn as well as to be part of a sisterhood. She yearns for that love and support.

So, to try to complete one of her tasks, Selene books a cruise to the Galápagos Islands after a night drinking too much wine. Fine, it’ll be fine. Maybe. On the plane, she hears something. Someone is calling to her and trying to bring down the plane with magic. It is Memnon and he believes Selene is his wife. Oh, you know, the same wife who trapped him centuries ago. Cool cool. What could possibly go wrong?

Laura Thalassa knocked it out of the park again. I thoroughly enjoyed Bewitched. I absolutely LOVED how Selene kept a journal with notes to counterbalance her memory loss. Nero was a treat. His snark!!! Sybil was a wonderful friend and … Memnon. I’m still not so sure where I will land with him. But, that is half the fun. I absolutely adored Kane. Also, I was delighted with the “Easter egg” crossover. (If you don’t get it, it will not affect your enjoyment of the book)

If you have liked any of this authors previous work, definitely give it a shot. If you haven’t, you will love this if you enjoy books with witches, sorcerers, werewolves, soul mates, and snarky cats.

While I didn't know much about it, Bewitched was one of my most anticipated books of 2023. Honestly, receiving an arc of this book was the highlight of my week!

It is no news that Laura Thalassa is a great storyteller. Bewitched is only another proof of this. I loved it and thought it was simply FANTASTIC with a really good plot. It had great characters, I especially couldn't resist Memnon (even though he's no hero, soooo morally gray) and I adored Nero (I had never wanted to hug a panther that bad before ^^).

Bewitched was addicting, I couldn't stop reading. It definitely was a case of "one more chapter". I barely slept only because of this book and I regret nothing.

This amazing story is coming real soon (April 18th 2023) and therefore I can only give you one advice: Read it!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the ARC.

I love everything Laura Thalassa writes, and BEWITCHED was no exception ✨

The story has an amazing premise: a female witch who loses her short-term memory every time she uses her magic, wants to join a coven subsequently takes a trip, and uncovers a crypt with an ancient evil sorcerer who thinks that she is his wife who thinks betrayed him and now wants revenge...

As for the characters, Selene was amazing and albeit sometimes frustrating. Her familiar Nero, is the cutest freaking panther! But the real spotlight was on Memnon, who more of an anti-villain and gosh, that’s my weakness! He was so interesting and I loved every moment he was on the page. Seriously, I can't. Not to mention the world building and magic woven seamless within the story and even had dark academia vibes!

Not to mention this book has:
Obsessed/possessive hero heart❤️‍🔥
Witches/sorcerers/werewolves 🔮
enemies to lovers ✨
Steamy hot scenes and more!💋

POINT IS—READ THIS BOOK.

Come to me, Empress...

HOLY MOLEY this book was hotter than the sun! I devoured this book within a few short hours. Honestly, I think I beat the record with this book because I could not put it down. If I had to get up for something, my Kindle went right with me. Seriously, this book is such a delicious read.

The world-building was just amazing. I loved how it blended beautifully with our world and with Selene's world. It was seamless. It was perfect. It was everything I thought Selene's world would be.

The characters were beautiful. Selene was not made out to be perfect. She was flawed. She had magic but the magic had a weakness. I also love the fact that she would not bend to Memnon. She fought against him. She refused everything he offered her and she was not some damsel in distress. She was desperately trying to make a name for herself in the witching world but the murders of witches have quite put a dent into it.

Memnon, on the other hand, had just awakened and I could understand his rage. He had been put to sleep by the woman he loved and he had really no reason behind it. Yet, when Selene awakened him all he thought of her was his queen. I could understand that confusion. You wake up and you think you are still in the past, but you are not, and the rage within you awakens. Memnon has a hard time really believing that Selene is not his queen. Not when there is so much of her likeness within Selene. He is dangerous. He is gorgeous. And he is absolutely possessive.

All the red flags in which tell us to avoid him and yet we cannot. Such a sinful man that I would love to be in Selene's shoes.

And let us not forget Nero. I love him. I have cats and they have all sorts of attitudes and this is just how I expect Nero to be.

The one thing I would love (and I am hoping to see in the next book) is the past between Memnon and his Empress Roxilana. I mean we get some clues but that is about all. I am curious here, Ms. Thalassa. You cannot dangle a carrot in front of me and expect me not to want to know everything here. xD

But seriously, I loved this book. It makes me want to pick up her other books and re-read them. I have them and have read them a long time ago, but I never managed to review them as I should have. I am definitely adding her books to my TBR for 2023.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Ms. Thalassa, and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for allowing me to read the ARC.

no. thoughts. just. screaming.

this book was beyond good. it had just about everything i could possibly want in a fantasy romance. a villainous and potentially insane mmc, a likeable fmc who makes logical decisions, a magical school, and a face paced plot. i can imagine very few ways that this could have any been better.

this plot was after my heart. each time our fmc uses her magic it eats away at her memories so she has major gaps in the recollection of her life. the reader follows along as she discovers her mate, who she has no recollection of, locked away in a tomb in the middle of nowhere. she later discovers that she was the one who locked him in there, although she can't remember why she locked him up in the first place... but pandoras box has been opened because she's already freed him.

this went so so hard. the plot was everything and the ending was perfection. im already pining for book 2. cannot recommend this enough!!!!

This book was a great start to a fantasy story,
It had all the elements I loved in a book.
There's witches, Wolves, magic and best of all ENEMIES TO LOVERS!!
The icing on the top of the cake is the mates part of the book for me. Looking forward to book 2.

Thank you netgallery for this free book in exchange for an honest review!

I was engulfed in a world of magic and soul mates. The story is written in a way that it compels you to keep reading. A magical masterpiece that I couldn't put down with a witch whose magic feeds off of her memories and a powerful handsome being in a coffin.

I am a big thalassa fan and have been looking forward to this book since she first started hinting about it on Instagram. I was thrilled to get the arc, so I was super surprised when the first few chapters were so slow. Then it started to pick up and I got excited, but then it tapered back off until the last 20% of the book. Honestly, if it wasn't by an author that I trusted, I would have dnfed. That being said, the last 20% was fantastic and made me curious for the next book. We will see!

Witty, smart FMC ✅
Strong, female friendship ✅
Dark academia vibes ✅
Truly morally grey MMC ✅

Selene is a refreshing main character. She’s smart and strong, yet shows us her vulnerability at all the right times. The mystery kept me intrigued throughout, the setting left me wanting to be part of the universe. I can’t wait until the next installment. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.