Emma and Bastian's parents enter them into a marriage contract when they are young, but one day, Bastian disappears. FOR SEVEN YEARS! When he finally returns, it's only because if he and Emma don't fulfill the contract, his mom will die.

Witch lite: It's 💯 witch vibes, without the hardcore witchiness...does that even make sense? Yes, Emma and Bastian are witches, but that is secondary to the development of them as individuals and a betrothed couple.

I'm a sucker for a good witchy book, and this definitely was an enjoyable read for me. I loved the banter between all of the characters, the chemistry between Bastian and Emma, and the writing made it a page-turner.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and @harlequinbooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity.

The Witch is Back by Sophie H Morgan is a light, beach-read book. The characters' magic was used effectively to enhance the story.

Emmeline Bluewater was contracted to marry Bastian Truenote her whole life. Seven years ago, he left without a word to her. Witch society blamed Emma, and treated her with scorn or pity.

She escaped to Chicago where she and two friends started a bar called Toil and Trouble. All is going well, until Bastian walks into the bar and says he wants her back. His failure to marry Emma has caused unexpected problems in his family. The only remedy is for them to get married.

But Emma is not the girl he left behind. She has secrets she can't share, and someone put a hex on Bastian that prevents him from explaining his reasons for leaving.

How it gets sorted out made for an amusing read. There were hints that additional books could be forthcoming with secondary characters taking center stage.

I enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and the plot never dragged.

It’s a cozy romance that really makes you feel good! Is this an original plot line that changes your reality? No. Does it make you want to curl up by a fire and get warm fuzzy feelings? Absolutely! I loved the banter and the fact the love interest wanted the MC to have a spine!
I’m typically not a fan of second chance romances or friends to lovers. But this just hit in the feels. These characters had to face the fact they both needed to grow up and experience life before finding each other. I love early on they both recognize that they are not the same people and respect the other has changed too. Yes there’s a miscommunication trope but honestly it has complexity that is usually lacking.
My only issues were the pacing was sometimes off. When it was good it was like flying through pages. But there was a lot of gaps that were being filled in that could have been great plot points. And the ending felt a little two easy to fix. I appreciate the choice the characters were given and not a drawn out second act.
Overall a solid 4.5 for a cozy read! A great selection for fall and really cute love story about growing up to become the person you want to be!

I loved Emma and Bastian and how their families both brought them together and drew them apart. Emma's progression throughout the book was wonderful and I really enjoyed the story!

This book was so wonderful! I will admit it took me a little while to get into the story, but once I did I fell in love. Bastian and Emma are so perfect together and their chemistry is undeniable. I loved that the book switched back and forth through their perspectives in some of the chapters. It really gave a look into how both individuals were feeling about a situation and made their chemistry so much more believable.

Overall, The Witch is Back is a fun romance with a some fantasy. It is perfect for those who enjoy friends to lovers, second chance romance, and marriage of convenience. I absolutely loved this book and I would love more stories within this world,

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for allowing me to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest review!

If you love witchy romances check this one out! It's got some banter, spice, and lots of magic.
The characters are likeable and have depth.
Emma is shy. She has had a difficult life. She was raised by a cruel mother and has been ostracized in witch society. Her relationship with outgoing and confident Bastion who comes from a powerful family is an interesting dynamic.
It's a little bit of opposites attract, friends to lovers, forced proximity, marriage of convenience, and second chance.
This was a fun read. I enjoyed it.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I sadly ended up not finishing this book as I just could not connect with the characters, despite my love for witchy romance. I just couldn't feel the connection between the main characters; the swoon didn't happen for me. I know that many other readers have enjoyed it immensely, so I would still recommend trying it if you're into witchy contemporary stories.

This was cute with a fun cast of characters. Emma and Bastian have a second chance at love and embrace the witches they are today instead of just all those years ago. Clarissa was a piece of work but made the story more interesting. This has a good ending. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

Received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest opinion.
Pretty good I guess, but not my favorite book lately. It's like it needed a prequel to explain everything that had gone on before this book happened. I enjoyed it, the characters were pretty good, but I just feel like I would have enjoyed it more if there was more backstory. It needed a little bit more world building.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Summary: Love is a hex of a thing. Former childhood sweethearts fake a relationship in this charming, witchy romcom.

3.5/5 stars
Emma has made a life for herself after the heartbreak of Bastian leaving and breaking their arranged engagement...then he strides back in. The plot was complicated and sometimes clunky which threw off pacing. Some character development wasn't smooth, but the ending was spot on.

Emma is a shy witch who was left by her fiancé and best friend right before they were to wed. She has happily rebuilt her life away from witch society and is happily living amongst humans…until Bastian walks back into her life.

This book was so sweet and earnest. It’s a story about trust and love and how we manage those things when we’ve been hurt so many times before. The story in this book was wonderful and I loved the back and forth with Bastian and Emma. It’s sweet and cute with a little spice thrown in. A friends to enemies to lovers slow burn that will leave you wanting more!

We all know from the gig that fantasy requires a huge helping of "just go with it," but I was a little disturbed in the first few pages when the characters shrug off with a joke the suggestion that one just wipe the memory of a performer who had come to do their job, but oops, the person hiring forgot to pay them. Maybe I'm too old, but I found that not funny at all.

Shortly after that, the hero turns up after dumping the heroine years ago, no explanation, when they were engaged. Does she act like an adult and ask for an explanation before going on? Nope. Yearns and burns, and he goes home and years and burns, and my eyes were rolling so hard that they clanged against the back of my skull.

There was a lot of fun with some of the magic, and I liked some of the characters, but for me this one never quite got past that jolting beginning. And there was more. Anyone think roofies are fun? Even magical?

Yeah, readers who don't find any of that a turnoff should really enjoy an otherwise sprightly, witchy romance.

If you liked “The Ex Hex” this is for you! Second chance romance and a really cute animal familiar. Emma and Bastian overcome an emotional history to become friends then lovers in the present day. I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an adorable witchy read featuring the second chance romance trope.

This book has:
-A shy introverted heroine and an extroverted sunshine hero
-The friends to lovers trope with (seemingly) unrequited love from one of the parties
-Forced proximity and the marriage of convenience trope
-An “it’s always been you” scene
-Betrayal trope in the third act

If you’re looking for a steamy supernatural romance with intriguing family dynamics and an opposites attract couple, this is the book for you!

Thank you to Harlequin for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC.
I enjoy a good paranormal romance, and this one touched on many familiar tropes- friends to enemies back to friends, introverted heroine, arranged marriage, and secrets. I also enjoyed the secondary characters and see the potential for spin-off works focusing on them.

I enjoyed this second chance romance with a little bit of magic thrown in. I'm kind of a sucker for a paranormal rom com.

Emma is a witch who, after being abandoned by her fiancee several years ago, keeps her distance from witch society in an effort to carve out some independence. But when her ex-fiancee Bastien rolls into town with the aim of getting Emma to agree to a marriage of convenience, she has to work hard to keep up her walls!

This is a sweet and sassy romance with a fantasy twist. Really enjoyed it!

I devoured this in a day and I'm in love. Sometimes with romance novels you just have to forget about being critical and just enjoy the ride. This one is an amazing example. We start of with a character who is just living her life years after she's spent years away from the society she grew up in and out of nowhere the man she was engaged to pops up pretending that he didn't run away from her and completely destroyed her world. And we spend the book following them as they fake date and fall in love and it is so wholesome and beautiful. This one is very much for the wattpad girlies and wattpad girlies is ME!!!

Rounded up.

Dragged a little in the middle and the angst was a bit much for me, however, I found the topic of choice timely.

A warlock's and a witch's parents have had an arranged marriage for them from childhood. However, Bastian disappeared without a word to Emmaline, when she came of age. Emma has since left witch society and grown a backbone. Due to a condition in the magical contract Bastian is forced to walk into her bar and try and win her back seven years later.