This book was a fast, light read, even though it's set during the summer, it felt like a fall book to read. It was a cute enemies to lovers, though they were enemies due to a misunderstanding. However I didn't like the weird meeting they had when she was underage. There was no reason for her to be underage during that, it would have worked just as well if she had already been in her twenties. Otherwise, good book.

A lovely and fun read. I enjoyed the play between the characters, the plant-based story-line and the magic of the whole thing. It was the perfect weekend read!

I will be coming back to this book when I am in the right head space: for now I was not able to finish it unfortunately.

Best for YA audiences, unfortunately not for me. It reads as a little juvenile, I would have enjoyed it more if the characters were more mature

This book's absolutely amazing!!!


"Thank you so much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

The first book in this series focuses on a witch who has glitchy powers. She has had trouble contributing to their secret magical community in the UK and ended up moving into the 'normal' world to try and eke out a life.
She is summoned back home to participate in a magical trial, the winner of which would have the ownership/guardianship of a magical garden, which is the source for many of the potions and such that are created in town.
The above is just the background - the plot is essentially about a witch who had never fit in and craves some sort of permanent home without realising it. She had a run-in with the male protagonist years earlier and he is back in the picture. He is rich and powerful and seems interested in her. The combination does not convince her easily.
The competition is interesting and involves a lot of help. I liked the overall community atmosphere described. Even with competition, there is a general amount of logic that prevails.
The book is easy to read, with a great supporting cast, and I almost read it in a single sitting.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Amazing witchy book, fun story and development, definitely one to look out for , definitely enjoyed the characters and the story. And will recommend for spooky season as well

I am still waiting for one of these witchy books with the cutesy art covers to rock my world. Unfortunately, this wasn't it.

📔 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼: The Modern Girl's Guide to Magic by Linsey Hall, the first in the new Charming Cove series.

📚𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲: Witch romance, small town, enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract.

📖 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: Aria has trouble controlling her magic. But when her grandmother begs her to come home and win a competition - a competition that will give her control of Europe's biggest magical garden and thus secure her family's potion shop - she has no choice but to try. But she's competing against people from her past, including the country's most powerful mage and her arch nemesis, Callan.

🌟 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: Listen... this was a good book. It just wasn't a great romance. And I have found that to be the case with so many of these witch books coming out onto the market. They're good, not great. They're fun, but the romance is superficial at best.

Aria was a fun read. And I loved her connection to plants and her story arc, including how she finally got control of her magic. There was a fun cast of side characters - her grandmother, best friend and her best friend's daughter who were all hilarious in their own way.

But her romance with Callan lacked a spark. It had potential, and it definitely had moments. But I was left with a little bit of confusion about how they actually fell in love, and what their future together looked like.

So I could take or leave this one. BUT. If you have any witchy books that have some spice and you loved, sound off in the comments as I am always on the look out.

🔮 𝗙𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝗲: Pretty easy. If you've seen Practical Magic or even Hocus Pocus you'll be fine.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲 l 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 2/5 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘.

This was such a great book! Easy read, heartwarming, and a nice little boost of serotonin. I hope I get to read more of Aria’s story soon!

Love it love it love it! The story is really good can’t wait to read more!

She had her rules she broke them all! Love the magic love the couple!

Having been a fan of a lot of Linsey Hall’s previous work, I jumped at the chance of reading this e-ARC. I’m preparing myself for my cosy autumn witchy reads, and this book really didn’t disappoint. It’s a very fluffy adult book that reads a lot like YA, has lots of plants in it, and a cute familiar called Boris the Badger.

This was a fun and light-hearted read, if not lacking a little depth. World building was beautiful, and I can’t wait to revisit Charming Cove in August for Hall’s next book. I really would have liked to delve deeper into the characters of Callan and Aria. Overall, it would have been better if the part about Aria being seventeen and Callan being twenty-one when they met was kept out. It does just read a bit strange and wasn’t necessary, and ageing her up to eighteen would have avoided that awkwardness.

Aria escaped her home town of Charming Cove because her magic is a mess and she needed to get out of town where everyone knew her as a failure. However, she finds herself roped into returning to enter a magical tournament to gain ownership to the towns special garden which will help save her family’s shop. Doing so places her in close proximity to the mage Callan Hawthorne, a man she loathes, who has always had an eye for her.

This is a cozy, light hearted, quick, fun read. The family and friends are cute side characters, there is a badger familiar who likes snacks, and as a plant lover I loved the idea of a magical garden and plant specific magic.

However, I wish the pacing had been better, the characters had more depth, and the romance move developed. It doesn’t read like an adult book despite the ages of the characters. When they finally say “I love you,” I was left feeling like there was no chemistry and mostly lust, and don’t get me started on the one spicy scene. Mostly, I disliked that Callan was 21 and Aria was 17 when they met, because he definitely had a thing for her when she was underage.

Vibes:
Enemies(ish) to lovers
One bed
Magic
Plant lover
Billionaire
Magical competition

CW: bullying, death of parent, grief

Thank you, Netgalley, Linsey Hall, and Bonnie Doon Press for the eARC

That moment when you realize cozy books definitely aren't your thing... eek! This was cute, but defintely too cozy for my liking. I did actually choose this book for one of my bookclubs, and several people really loved it. I don't think this was a bad book, it was just not the book for me.

Thank you, NetGalley, the publisher, and the author, for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.
Overall, I really like Aria's family dynamic. As a reader, I could really feel the warm and fuzzy vibes. I especially love Boris and his interactions with the characters. (The pancake scene at the end was so cute.)

While I enjoyed the romance between Aria and Callan, I believe there could be a little bit more interaction and development between these two. It was a slow start, but it eventually picked up for me. The age gap in the beginning did make me feel weird. I felt like it could have been avoided.

Callan really said that if he wanted to, he would. Kind of hope Callan could've had a small interaction with grandpa though. I do wonder what his spirit would've said. 

3.5–4/5 stars 🌟

I truly enjoyed this book, a FIVE STAR read for sure! This book held my attention, and all the magical aspects just kept me reading along. I think my favorite character just had to be Boris!

This is the type of book you thoroughly enjoy when you want to read something light, funny, and good for escaping reality.
It's a paranormal rom com that I thoroughly enjoyed and had a lot of fun.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I freaking loved this book! I didn't want to put it down because the chemistry between Aria and Callan was so so good. And I loved the funny character of Aria's familiar Boris the Badger. I loved his cheeky behavior and how he seemed to charm every single person in the story.

I liked the story a lot and thought it was really original. It was a nice enemies-to-lovers story, with a good backstory of how they came to be enemies. But as hard as Aria tried to resist, Callan is just too perfect to resist. He seems like your usual billionaire hottie, but he's just way more than that and is really fighting for Aria's heart from the start (so perhaps, he didn't really see it as an enemies-to-lovers book, haha). I thougth the book was CUTE AS HELL (as Callan would probably describe it, read the book to know what I'm talking about).

Furthermore I loved how Aria was being backed by her grandmother and best friend Tabitha with her little girl. Every person in the story simply rooted for Aria even though she still had a loooong way to go with her magic being wonky. But with the advice and help of her family and friends Aria is in good waters to bring this competition to a wonderful conclusion. If she really does bring it to her perfect outcome? You'll have to go and read it for yourself! I highly recommend this book and can't wait for a second book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. This one took me a bit to get into. I'm used to magical books more along the lines of Alice Hoffman or Sarah Addison Allen. I was expecting a beautiful, lyrical prose style book. This was more like a cozy magical book. Once I realized that and accepted the cheesiness, I actually enjoyed this story.

The main character Aria is a disaster of a witch whose powers never work correctly. She is close with her grandmother and best friend who are also witches in this cute little magical town that are all hidden from humans. Aria is entered in a contest to win the chance to take over a magical garden that will save her grandmother's shop She just so happens to be up against her childhood bullies and her love interest/nemesis, the most powerful mage in England. This was a cute little story and I would actually read book #2 if one comes out.

It's an interesting read. Learned about few magical creatures and the tension of how the FMC wins the competition is just right. Lot of predictable twists results however, the MCs are loveable in some way so was able to tolerate the cringy stuff.

Love Boris the Badger, sassy familiar 😅

I would like to thank netgalley and Bonnie Doon Press for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyable.