The premise to The Witch is Back promised everything I love: witches, second chance, childhood friends to lovers to strangers to lovers. Unfortunately, it did not meet my expectations and I had to DNF at 20%.

Emma was heartbroken when Bastian, her childhood best friend and fiancé, left without explanation years ago, but suddenly he is back. Bastian does not offer explanations for his absence, but he does ask Emma to marry him, to move in with him, to give him a job at her bar, and to trust him even though he does not trust her. Literally within the first few chapters. Emma for some reason agrees to all of this, still without any true explanation for his actions.

There was no true discussion about why he left and how it affected Emma. He was simply back - and not because he loved her or missed her -and they were about to embark on a marriage of convenience and that was it. This may have been something addressed later on in the book but by this point I was not interested. Emma gave too much too soon and without the tiniest bit of groveling from Bastian.

Emma also desperately needed to stand up to her witch of a mother.

Format - E ARC (Netgalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫

Spice- 🌶

Series- N/A

Troupes- Second Chance, childhood friends to enemies to lovers, forced proximity,

Representation- N/A

CW- Hateful mother, verbal abuse

This is my book by Sophie H. Morgan and I liked it! Ok I know liked it a loaded term so let me elaborate. I liked this book as a whole, but I did have to push though the beginning in order to get to the parts that made it good for me.

Neither of our MC’s are very likable in the beginning, Emma is shy to the point of frustration, and Bastian is unrepentant for his past mistakes. Also Emma’s mother though she is one of the meanest mothers I’ve read in a while and we are never supposed to like her. But that’s besides the point. These two are oil and water and while they have an extensive history together, it doesn’t seem strong enough in first handful of chapters to be enough to bring them together.
As the Story goes now you continue to wonder why they are making the choices they are and its not till after 75% mark that things become crystal clear about their past and all incidents that have build up into this one giant problem. So those were my struggles and for a fantasy romance these can be typical so don’t let them dissuade you.

The things I liked about this book, Emma’s friends/brother they are her family and the support they offer her is wonderful. Bastian’s parents, they have their flaws but love him without reservation. The Animal familiars are adorable and I want one. The burn is slow but steamy and when we do finally get to the Spicy bits those are also steamy and swoony.

It took sometime but I did finally fall for both Emma and Bastian, they are very flawed and made some really terrible decisions but ultimately I wanted them to figure it all out and make it work.

Thank you Sophie H Morgan, Harlequin and Netgalley for this advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

a cute and charming romcom that was delightful.

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The characters and magic and witchy world felt like they had a lot of promise, but it never felt like anything came together well. The last 25% of the book seemed unnecessarily chaotic - things could have been wrapped up nicely after Emma realized she cast the silencing hex on Bastian, but instead it turned into drama that just added length to a story that should be ending. All of the miscommunication was already a little annoying, but understandable for most of the story, however Emma didn’t even realize it was Bastian who she hexed (and he somehow didn’t recognize her voice as who he overheard?) so it made no sense for that to set off a whole new series of miscommunications and mistakes. It could have been a moment where they both realize they screwed up and they go into the Exhibition with nothing holding them back and then come together to get married and “take down” Emma’s mother, but instead it became a jumbled mess of suddenly there’s another hidden part of the contract and suddenly Emma’s mother knew all along about Sloane, and all sorts of convenient new information just popping up to move the story in a new direction.
I think I really would have liked this book if it had been tied up neatly after the Exhibition, but the way it went off the rails really ruined it for me.

Found this book at random on netgalley and i was drawn to it by the blurb so i requested this book. So happy that i was approved to read it and honestly im happy i was. This was an inserting book to read. 5 star book and i do highly recommend it. have already told a few people that they need to read this book big time.
might reread this book later on this year or next year but it did keep me pulled into it. and couldnt put it down at all. since a good book to read.

If you are looking for a fun fast read with romance and magic than this is the book for you. I found that initially I didn't love the main character Emmaline but she grew on me as the book progressed.

I think I struggled with this one because of the history between Bastian and Emma, but also the reason why they had to reunite again. It felt like it started off on the wrong foot and then it felt difficult to root for Bastian and Emma because of that. But the pacing of this felt right to me and I think fans of cute, witchy romances will eat this up, especially with Halloween in the not-too-distant future!

I had never read a witchy romance in my life. Imagine my surprise when I thoroughly enjoyed this one. This is just an absolute romp. Sophie Morgan doesn't take herself too seriously, but she still offers an enjoyable, well-written story about a witch and a warlock inhabiting a world not-so-different (or possibly the same) as our own. I do hope this is the first in the series, because she sets up a second romance that I will happily read.

Cute take on witchy love! I enjoyed the shenanigans throughout and fell in love with Emma and Bastian. Childhood friends to fake dating was well excited and believable. The magical twists made it all the more swoony.

Let me start by saying that I share a birthday with this book and this book starts on the main character, Emmaline’s birthday. Of course, we find out why that’s important later but let’s get into the plot.

Emma is supposed to get married to Bastian who is her best friend yet before it can happen, he leaves. Bastian returns seven years later to get Emma to agree to marry him in exchange for helping him save his mother. It’s honestly such a unique plot and it ends up making for a delightful romance.

The two are very hesitant around each other at first, especially Emma. Even so, the romance between these two develops and it’s adorable. While they do have some sexy moments, the book is more about them reconnecting and forging a new bond after the intense hurt the two of them went through.

In addition, we follow Emma as she’s the co-owner of a human bar with her best friends, Tia and Leah. Bastian even decides to be a bartender for Toil & Trouble yet things get complicated as Bastian and Emma both have secrets they don’t want to reveal to each other.

While it seems like a conversation could solve all of their problems, things end up being much more complicated. I enjoyed the “twist” of what happened with Bastian and how it related to their agreement. I feel like that was so clever and I knew saw it coming so I have to give Sophie H. Morgan props for that.

The Witch is Back was an incredibly fun witchy romance yet I do feel like the romance took a bit longer to develop than I’d like. While I enjoyed their relationship, I wish we would have had a bit more relationship development before they started being intimate.

Regardless, The Witch is Back is such a fun summer read yet will be great for those transitioning into fall reads.

Such a great book! I couldn't stop reading- I especially loved the family dynamics and great friendships in this book. And of course the magic- I loved that it wasn't too hokey-pokey or over-powering in the storyline. A lot of growth in the characters which was also really nice.
Overall it was an easy read- beach read with hints of Halloween. Kind of stereotypical in it's genre, but I ate it up!

I’ve been struggling with how best to review this. I didn’t enjoy this read all too much, but it’s difficult for me to tell whether the book itself is bad, or whether it just happens to hit many of the tropes and pet peeves that tend to put me off.

Emmaline Bluewater and Bastian Truenote (WOW @ those names, btw) were childhood best friends in a world of witches and magic hidden among humans. Emma has always been madly in love with Bastian, and so is overjoyed when their families sign a contract that arranges them to marry.

Then shortly before they’re meant to marry, Bastian runs away, breaking Emma’s heart. She moves to the city and opens a bar with her friends to take her mind off of it, and to take care of her secret half-sister. Then, seven years later, Bastian comes back into her life and asks her to marry him again—because a curse threatening his mother’s life demands it.

This setup is quite contrived. I had trouble suspending my disbelief. They have to get married or else his mom dies? Yeah, ok. That’s convenient for the plot, but doesn’t seem like something that would ever happen even in a magical world. It’s an outlandish way to force your two love interests together.

Then, as I mentioned, there were many tropes I just don’t like in romance:
- Doormat heroine: Bastian comes back after breaking Emma’s heart and ruining her in the eyes of witch society, but she’s back in love with him practically immediately, blushing and stuttering and all. It was hard to watch. Grow a spine, girl!
- Miscommunications: both characters keep secrets from each other, for no better reason than to create drama and draw out the time before they finally get together. Emma keeps her half-sister a secret for almost the entire book, for reasons I never understood. She also keeps vital information that could seriously put
- Virgin MC: hate this. She’s in her late twenties, pretty, runs a bar. Unless she’s ace, it’s hard for me to imagine that she wouldn’t have had sex, ever.
- Evil mother: This kind of black-and-white portrayal of women’s relationship with mothers just strikes me as lazy writing. It’s easy to include a mother character who’s endlessly evil and greedy. It’s much harder, and much more worthwhile, to actually dive into how complicated loving someone who can’t love you in a healthy way can be.

So all of these tropes together conspired to make this a very unpleasant read for me. I did not like either of the main characters and wasn’t particularly invested in their romance. The only reason I finished it (with lots of skimming) was that I wanted to be able to write up a full, honest review.

That said, the writing was fine, as was the pacing. I certainly could see why someone who doesn’t have a problem with the tropes above might enjoy this romance. It’s just not for me.

Cute little romance novel.

Would be good to promote around Halloween and the surrounding months Due to the witch aspect alongside “the ex hex”

I didn’t find this one to be amazing or new in any way, the plot was simple and cute, without a lot of conflict or any big physical thing to overcome. I did like the family comes first aspect so that was cute

Emma is a self-professed wallflower. She's a witch with little power, and after being left at the altar by her childhood friend-turned-arranged betrothed, she moves to a new city and opens a bar. When Bastian returns and announces that he wants her back, secrets from the past start to cause a lot of trouble.

This was a fun romance, and while I enjoyed the writing, I found myself feeling disconnected from both of our main characters. Both Emma and Bastian need to learn and grow in very different ways, and usually I love that, but I found that both of them felt very surface-level to me. I wasn't really invested in the growth of their relationship.

At times I found both of them a little unlikeable, but that wasn't often. Emma took a long time to stand up to her horrible mother, and Bastian came across as selfish while expecting Emma to apologize to him. They both had major trust issues; this book was very emotional and angsty at times. There was a good amount of magic sprinkled throughout the story, but I could do with more.

Overall I would recommend this to someone who enjoys contemporary witchy romances.

What a fun story. Two people who were betrothed yet one ran away before the contract could be fulfilled are forced back together when it is found out that the contract has a clause that could hurt a family member if the wedding doesn’t occur. Yet it has been years since Bastian has run away and Emmaline has found a life that she not only loves, but that she must protect in order to protect someone really dear to her. This book has a sweet romantic plotline with a couple twists and turns along the way. I enjoyed watching the relationship rebloom and seeing that both Emmaline and Bastian relearn who the other person is. Overall, a great book that readers are going to slip into easily. The perfect summer read.
Thank you so much to Harlequin-Romance and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5

Ignited by my love for the Harry Potter series, witchy reads have always made me happy! The Witch is Back is a fun, second chance romance between two childhood friends who were promised to one another as kids. However, on Emma’s 21st birthday, her betrothed leaves town without even a note, effectively breaking off their engagement. Years later, Bastian blows back into her life with a plea to reconsider their engagement.

This story is filled with twists and turns that kept me guessing. I enjoyed the characters, as well as the magic system, though it did take me a minute to fully grasp. I couldn’t help falling in love with charming Bastian, even as Emma fought herself in an effort to keep from doing the same.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I hope to ready more by Sophie Morgan in the future!

The Witch is Back will be published on August 15, 2023.

Thank you to Sophie Morgan, Harlequin Books, Mills & Boon, and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Definitely a suspend belief, romantic fantasy, not to be taken too seriously. The storyline is a typical romance, where one more or less knows how it's going to end, it just how they get from point A to point B. Friends to engaged, to almost enemies, to engaged and having to learn how to at least tolerate each other. Of course there's secrets and friends who who are more than willing to share their opinions (either negatively and sarcastic or positively and full of hope). I had fun read reading this book, definitely not taking it too seriously.
I received an ARC copy from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This author has created characters who are truly lovable... or not, purposely so. I couldn't put this down from the start, immediately relating to Emma (any introvert will) when Bastian, her ex-fiance, sweeps back into her life as if nothing ever happened. As if he never left.

I'm not sure how Bastian won me over, but Sophie Morgan pulled it off, creating a couple I utterly rooted for by the end. I even love Bastian, when at the beginning I wanted to throw a shoe at him.

Emma has separated herself from her witchy society, moving to Chicago for a very good reason after her fiancé basically ghosts her. Now he's back, and asking for her hand... again. What ensues is an engagement of convenience, forced proximity, protective MMC, dual POV, FMC finding her voice book that I want to shout about from the rooftops.

With magic, found family, rescue pets, and a slow-burn that culminates in perfect spice, I highly recommend this! I couldn't put the book down, and formally demand Leah, Emma's human friend's story.

This is the perfect witchy rom-com. I cannot wait for more in this world!

Any romance book involving witches always gets me! I will definitely be reading other books by Morgan. I would recommend this book for anyone needing to get out of a reading slump.

A really fun Romance, especially for lovers of Lana Harper and other witchy series. Emma Bluewater has put her oppressive mother and doomed romance behind her, and moved to Chicago where she starts a bar with her friends, on witch, and one human. Of course, the man who jilted her when they were supposed to be the witch match made in heaven, returns from out of the blue seven years later. Bastion’s reason for leaving was a good one, but it takes him a bit too long to just talk to Emma about it. And she’s not blameless either. You get a bit impatient with the way these two fail at communicating with one another, but it’s worth it because they are a good couple. Lots of heat and sweet moments. What I really appreciated is the way Bastian seems to really get to know Emma, and falls in love with the new her while also respecting that she will always be a bit shy. If you like witches and magic and Romance, I highly recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.