This Spells Disaster is a charming, if predictable, fake dating/ miscommunication rom-com. The writing let it down a bit, giving what it needed to but not much more, leaving this book firmly in the category of fun to read but not particularly memorable. Additionally, for a book that is so heavy handed on the topic of informed, enthusiastic consent (as it should), some of the main character’s choices felt very antithetical to that theme. Obviously characters are not required to make good “moral” choices all the time for a story to have that moral, but using the main character believing she has violated her love interest’s consent as the miscommunication-as-comedy on which the narrative hinged was not it, in my opinion. Honestly, I wanted a lot more from this book but I had fun anyway. I do think I’ll recommend it anyway, because it was overall a fun time. While I did find this very easy to guess - just a note - there is no actual sexual assault in this book, and the love interest is not actually dosed with love potion.

Morgan is a self-proclaimed “messy witch”. She swears she was hexed at birth. When she offers to fake date her crush, she wonders what she is doing. Rory is the spellcasting champion and a brilliant elemental witch. When the two get together, they can’t decipher if their feelings are real, or just part of the plan. Things are going to plan for them both until Morgan realizes she may have messed up and given Rory a love potion instead of a relaxation potion. Can Morgan figure out the mess she caused before things go too sideways? Or is the love of her life gone forever?

This book is a light and fun read, but it was slightly lacking in some ways for me. The miscommunication trope on this one was strong, but the fake dating trope was on point. So much of this book could have been solved by actually talking to each other. I find miscommunication is a hard trope for me because I strongly value communication and it grates on me when people just don’t talk. However, this book did a really good job with consent. I immensely appreciated the author’s note at the beginning about this topic. It helped explain the reasoning within the pages. The love story was enjoyable, and it was heartwarming how it all worked out.

This was worth the read and I am glad I read it. It is a nice light read just be prepared for the miscommunication.

If you’re looking for a magical sapphic romance then I hope you check this one out September 12th.

Thank you to the publisher Berkley Publishing, @berkleypub, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was (dare I say it?) MAGICAL. From the first sentence, I was completely charmed. The world that Tori Anne Martin has created here is so enchanting. Okay, I'll stop with the puns, but honestly it's the only way to describe this book, with every word infused with some kind of magic. This is a special type of reading experience, because we get, for the moments we're in these pages, to live with all the witches (especially Morgan). I need another, please, RIGHT NOW.

Witch Morgan Greenwood has a major crush on bartender and national spellcasting champion Rory Sandler, but despite her normally loud and outgoing personality, she tends to freeze up whenever Rory's around. That is, until one night when Morgan's had one too many margaritas. Rory tells Morgan and her friends that her parents have been pressuring her to compete in spellcasting again (something she'd stopped doing two years previously) in the upcoming NEWT (New England Witch Trust) Festival -- AND that they've lined up a fellow sorcerer to persuade her and maybe match with her. A tipsy Morgan suggest that Rory find a fake date and offers herself as tribute, which Rory gently laughs off. But when Rory tracks her down the next day and says Morgan's idea is worth a try, Morgan is both hesitant and excited -- but mostly excited.

This witchy fake-dating romance is mostly a light, fun read, though it deals with more serious topics such as anxiety and self-doubt and consent (a magical love potion might be involved). Morgan is kind of a hot mess of a character, but when it comes to defending her loved ones, she stands up strong. (Would that she did that for herself more!) It's easy to see why she has such a crush on Rory, but I appreciated how they took time to get to know one another before really giving in to their attraction. Conflict abounds (including, yes, the dread miscommunication), but by the end the antagonists are given a more human edge and the communication is cleared up very directly, so all works out. An enjoyable read.

Thank you, Berkley Romance and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

This book was so incredibly cute and heartwarming! The romance was perfect, the witchiness was on point, and the plot and characters were done really well. I also really appreciated the little caveat at the start of the book that addresses trigger warnings/consent issues because that really was just super thoughtful.