If you like reading books that have seasonal themes- this is a great book to read for Halloween. It’s lighthearted and fun, and just a touch of romance. Aria is a witch trying to figure out her magic. She is just trying to come into her own. She meets her person along the way. The setting was playful and magical and I enjoyed reading about it.

A fun read with Newt Scamander meets Willy Wonka vibes! The story was a bit predictable but it was fun and when something worked it really worked. My favorite parts dealt with the imagery of the environments, I mean who doesn't want to be in a place like Charming Cove?! And of course I Loved Boris (I'll take a fun badger familiar anytime!). He was Def the real MVP and deserves all the bacon sandwiches. Overall 3/5 stars.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for this ebook in exchange for an honest review

The Modern Girl's Guide to Magic is the first instalment in the Charming Cove series written by Linsey Hall in which we follow Aria as she tries to win the competition to win the biggest magical fortune and save her family's magical potion shop.

A magical competition set in a small town where there will possibly be romance? Sign me up for this. I found this book really cosy and perfect. The name of the city in which the action takes place, Charming Cove, led me to think that there was going to be some mystery involved because it sounded like a city straight out of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Inc. (I was definitely getting it mixed up with Crystal Cove though). And you know what? I wasn't far off, because it is a city where magical things happen and there is a kind of mystery in this novel. The plot, although kind of predictable according to me, was simple and easy to follow, but the subplots are what kept me interested in this book. The worldbuilding is not overly complicated, and I loved the fact that most of the action happens in a botanical environment as plant magic is one of my favourite kinds of magic!
And let's talk about the characters! I enjoyed reading Aria's (the FMC) and Callan's (the MMC) points of view, but Boris, the badger, was an absolute show-stealer and really funny. There is a little bit of romance, but it does not overpower the rest of the story.

If you are looking for a cute and cosy Halloween read with witches and a magical competition, search no more! Your next read is here! The second instalment in this series, How to Fake-Date a Vampire, was released on August 31st, 2023, so make sure to grab your copy if you liked this first book!

"𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔?"
"𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝒶 𝓈𝓊𝓃𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑒 𝒶𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒶 𝒹𝑒𝒸𝒶𝒹𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈."

I don't know that the title ended up making a ton of sense to me when paired with the plot, but I'm perfectly willing to overlook that when the story is as cute and wholesome as this book was! I love fall for reading witchy things, and this was a perfect start! It's sweet, it's funny, it's got romance and awesome family... I thoroughly enjoyed it!

What a sweet hug in a book. I loved all the focus on gardens and plant witches in this book. The descriptions were so good that I felt like I was in the garden myself. The characters were so fun and I liked the fact that there was a competition. The touch of romance was nice too. This was a perfect fall/magic book with all sorts of “charm”. Can’t wait to read the next one in the series.

4.5/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnie Doon Press for the eARC of this book.

This book was a cosy and light hearted. It read like a ya book but it’s what I needed to get me out of my reading slump. It was so fun and the plants 🌱 I loved reading about the plants

Sweet cozy witchy story featuring a witch who doesn't quite know what her power is. There's a lovely love story, a rich misunderstood love interest, and great family and friends.

3.5 stars

Described as a "fun, light romantic comedy", The Modern Girl's Guide to Magic delivers exactly that. I was very intrigued by the setup; a magic competition between the most powerful witches sounds incredible. But it should’ve been sold as a scavenger hunt slash friendly game with relaxed rules to allow time for making friendships and tackling outside problems. The writing was fun and light, and everything is very serious, but not so serious that there isn’t time for coffee and pastries.

It does seem a little strange that the central love story is a slow burn disguised as enemies to lovers based on one conversation many years ago when the age gap was more than a little troubling. It’s an awkward setup that takes some time to explain and ease into. Once that’s done, though, the obstacles seem to be overcome quite quickly, like most of the challenges in the narrative are. With all the supposed power and seriousness of this competition, I was expecting a little more going on below the surface, but I still enjoyed this read.

If you’re looking for light and enjoyable with a side of sweet romance, The Modern Girl's Guide to Magic has got you covered.

I just adore this book! It's giving all the cosy/plant witchy vibes and is an amazing start to my autumn tbr.

Arias self discovery is beautiful. You can't help but cheer her on as her confidence grows.
Birris was an amazing character and I loved his and arias banter.

This is classes as a romcom but its very heavily plot focused which I loved.

Seeing Callan grow and realise his mistakes and the way he went to fix them was perfect.

I highly recommend this book to everyone's autumn tbr.

“𝙲𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚗?” 𝙷𝚎𝚛 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚙𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎. “𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐?” “𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚜𝚞𝚗𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜.”

If you’re in need of a witchy fluffy story then this is the book for you! What a cute little read, I loved the world of Charming Cove! Aria and Callan are made for each other - despite their rocky beginning. Reading them develop from ‘enemies’ to lovers was heartwarming - however when we first meet them I do wish that it wasn’t written that she was 17 as it did make the feelings Callan had seem strange (as he was 21) and I think the age gap element would still be valid if she was 18, and an adult. But I think that’s personal preference, and their relationship doesn’t develop until she’s in her mid twenties anyway! 🤍🔮

All in all, I can’t wait to read the next Charming Cove instalment: How to Fake Date a Vampire 🩸

This was incredibly good! I could see it being picked up by some book clubs for sure. Highly recommend from me!

Good idea in principle but the fact that when they meet she is underage kinda gives me the ick. I wish they had just met when she was 18. It was a fluffy and easy read i just wish they hadn't met when she was underage

Ok so I requested this knowing it would be a light, easy, slightly ridiculous read and it was all those things and none of those are bad things. I was not expecting deep thinking here but I had a few major problems with this book. Firstly the main character is a selfish asshat. She’s the worst. She’s terrible at magic so she flees her hometown for London and a normal life, abandoning her septuagenarian grandmother to run the family business alone and her also best friend who at some point inherits a small child when her sister is killed. Yet still our heroine is welcomed back with open arms and forgiveness all around because they all believe in her for some unfathomable reason. She also treats our hero terribly. They meet first when she is seventeen and he is in his twenties, he knows she’s too young but is captivated none the less even when she storms in to his office unannounced verbally and magically assaults him with no clear reason given him and known only to herself but he was perfectly within his rights to do as a free citizen of the world. In the present time during the competition to win the gardens her behaviour toward him continues to be less than civil and he’s a terrible doormat for just taking it. They are the worst. And that’s before I get stared on the ‘badger’. Has this author ever seen a badger? A badger would not for easily into an underwear drawer. And yes I know it talks so accurate badger description is the least of my problems but come on! So yeah questionable content but easy to read.

What a fun romantic read full of Magic, plants and imagination. The charming coastal village was an ideal location for this novel where a modern witch finds her power and her love interest. The chemistry between Aria and Callan was clear and there was a strong cast of other characters to love.
A great book for those who love witches and plants

This was such a cute, wholesome fall read! I did start the next one in the Charming Cove series right after. The writing is really good and even though the characters weren't great at times, the overall vibe of the book is super fun and easy to read. :)

I was anticipating Erin Sterling/The Ex Hex vibes from the description, but it didn't quite live up to it. The main characters kind of annoyed me though, so I ended up not finishing it. This just wasn't quite what I was looking for.

It started off slow but picked up pace halfway through, the characters were easy to love! It had been a while since i’ve read a witchy romance with a cozy, knee high fuzzy socks curled up on a relaxing armchair kinda feeling type of a book.

Thank you netgalley & the publisher for this amazing read! 🫶🏻

Thank you to NetGalley.

This was a quick and fun read. The witchy magic made this cosy and the enemies to lovers trope made this a great romance story.
I'd definitely put this on a must read list this spooky season

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. this was fantastic, just what i have come to expect from this author and look forward to carrying in my book store.

A quick, cosy read. Maybe one for ‘spooky season’. A witchy, fun read with a bit of enemies to lovers and some interesting characters.