Maybe I'm having a rough reading week? Maybe I expected a bit more? This was by no means a bad book at all. I was just kind of bored despite a lot happening? Selene. Please, girl. Do me a favor for the next book and act like you have some sense. Please. She made so many mistakes and idiotic decisions that I just wanted to shake her. Memnon was very contrite after finding out the truth about Selene and her "betrayal." I loved his grovel, and I was moved after reading what happened to him and his Queen in their first life together. Him and Nero are my favorite characters in this series. I'll read the next book for sure, though, because despite my issues with this book, I love Laura's writing. Fingers crossed in the next book, Selene matures and starts making better decisions.

4.5 Est Xsaya Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level 🌶️🌶️.5/5

I think I love this one a lot more than Bewitched because a lot of the unanswered aspects that were left dangling at the end of Bewitched are explored more in this book. Now you would think a sequel should do this? However I felt there were too many unanswered questions at the end of Bewitched, so I appreciated that these were resolved.

Please note this is Book 2 in a series that cannot be read as a standalone. As a result, there might be spoilers for Book 1 - so if you do not want to see those, I might advise not reading the rest of the review - I strongly suggest you read the review from Book 1 first and come back here after you have read the first instalment of Selene and Memnon's story. Book 1's Review can be found here

And this starts almost directly after the events of Book One. Seline now has all her memories of Roxilana in her mind and can remember everything about her current life and her previous life with Memnon. We have a multitude of reveals and aspects uncovered (as mentioned), two exciting ones being the weird conundrum of how Selene is two people and who put Memnon to sleep. I really enjoyed being shown elements of their past together and how their love for each other truly is as he says...eternal.

Their present relationship also deepens, as the two are still thrown into the mystery of the murders and secret cult that tried to kill her. This is action packed and believe me when I say you are going to be sitting on the edge of your seat, biting your nails at the tension and twists and turns. We are also given more of the world-building in this and slightly more insight into Witchy Lore.

Seline while still being slightly TSTL as she still winds up in ridiculous situations, does turn into a badass once she remembers who Roxilana is. She can balance her past feelings for Memnon while still coming into her new self as Selene who does not forget. She is feisty and pushes boundaries and continues to challenge things that are not right. I love how she came out as a character and grew in her strength, her power and her confidence giving her the ability to achieve whatever she sets her mind to.

Memnon continues to be walking sex on Legs. He oozes sex appeal and power. He is just as dangerous and sexually appealing as he was in book one, and if not exponentially more as we are shown various instances of the extremes of his power. I also love that he will literally burn the world down for Selene and will do anything and everything within his control and power to ensure she is safe, protected and has whatever she needs.

The spice in this is also upgraded in heat as these two steam up the pages with their unmeasurable attraction and pull towards each other.

Trope Summary:
▶ Enemies to Lovers
▶ Ancient Curses, Secrets and Reveals
▶ Paranormal Races (Witches, Werewolves Etc)
▶ Touch her and Die
▶ Sassy Animal familiars
▶ Soul Mates
▶ Love Triangle
▶ Mine
▶ Burn the World for You

Ultimately I highly recommend this book and series... I mean who wouldn't love soul mates, sassy familiars, curses and eternal love!

Thank you NetGalley, Laura Thalassa and Bloom Books for the gifted ARC Copy
All thoughts and opinions are my own

You know what they say about assuming, Memnon learned this lesson in real time!!
Memnon really thought he had it all figured out, he may be an ancient being but still only a man. BUT when he figured out how absolutely wrong he was, whew, did he grovel as only a man can. The groveling was so enjoyable and the fact that Selene didn't just immediately forgive him also worked for me.

Selene really comes into her own, I think not constantly losing memories allowed her to remember who she is and what she wants. She was witty and the banter with Memnon was so so good. I will say once she got her memories back, it seemed like she was able to reconcile both lives so easily which confused me.

The cliff was not my favorite, it seemed tired to make us question that part of the relationship again. We already have done that once, went through the grovel and trust Memnon again. So, it felt like drama for no reason. That is a small part of the book though and hopefully not a huge plot point in book 3.

Overall, this book felt complete - there was plot, character development, relationship development, spice, action, and the pacing of it all was on point.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

My oh my this book was everything!!!!! I am seriously obsessed with this series and I can’t wait for the next installment. The romance tension and build up was just uuugghhhh pulling all my heartstrings and I was loving every minute of it! Such an amazing Romantasy!

Ok, so I was about 10% into this book when I realised that I had done that thing where I don’t pay attention to anything and just dive headfirst without looking. I hadn’t realised that this book was a #2 in a series that definitely wasn’t a stand alone and I’d spent the whole time (unjustifiably) cussing out Laura for writing a book that made no sense. Obviously this was my error and not hers, but once I realised it was my error I just rolled with it and started enjoying it a lot more 😂

Once I had corrected my head, I actually really enjoyed it and now I kinda want to go back and read #1 so I can learn what happened. Selene and Memnon were fun together and I liked their vibes as he tried to prove himself after pretty much trying to ruin her life.

I look forward to seeing where this story goes!

Thanks to #NetGallery and publisher for a copy of this book.

Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Format: Digital
POV: Single
Tropes: forced marriage, fated mates/soul mates, thank goodness they have speedy healing powers, I’ll find you in any life, touch him/her and 💀
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ /5
Age suggestion: 18+

This book was certainly a sequel. Overall to me, it wasn't a bad book. It felt more of a filler episode with certain moments to watch, and then you skip to the next episode right away.

I enjoyed seeing the flashback through Roxilana's eyes, after that however it took around halfway for the plot to thicken, even then it was still pretty thin. I felt it was more focused on developing the relationship between Selene and Memnon in order, for the ending to be more meaningful to the reader. I wanted to see more plot than spice. Something would be mentioned, but (in my opinion) I found it to be skipped over, most likely left for the third book.
A character whom we met in this book had made their second re-apparence which I was looking forward to the entire time, but it was left as a cliffhanger. I do look forward to reading more of that character and if my new predictions of Memnon's intentions too be proven true or not.

Overall, it is not a bad book, just a classic filler to prepare for the next one.
(I also still want Kane and Selene together).

After an intense time reading book one, Bespelled surely did not change that opinion. Selene and Memnon are on an almost relationship/enemies basis with the pair still determined to find the witch killer and everyone involved in the secret magic circles that nearly killed Selene and Cara, the lycanthrope child. With things being tense on all fronts, Selene decides Memnon is a better ally than enemy. The two have a very intense push and pull in every interaction they have.
Again I think this very entertaining, like a TV show you have to watch until the end just so you know what happens. There was a lot more romance in this book, and at times it didn’t feel entirely necessary.
It was fun seeing more from past Memnon and learning all the necessary history that boosts the book forward. The mystery plot definitely gave way to an even bigger plot arc which wasn’t concluded in the second book. I’m excited to read the next book and seeing how Thalassa concludes this intense trilogy.

Overall great book! I was annoyed with Selene’s decisions, but to be honest, at 20 years old who isn’t making dumb decisions? I still don’t like the romance part too much because it feels like Memnon only likes her because of their past? Not for Selene herself.

That ending tho, I KNEW this was going to happen. KNEW IT.

I also need more Kane.

I love all of Laura's books and this one was no exception. The characters are morally grey, sometimes completely bad and just incredibly fun to read. I knocked off one star only because I started dragging about 50&ish percent of the way through and was ready for something to happen but that only last about 50 or so pages and then it was back and I couldn't put it down.i do hope there is a third book after that ending cause I need more of these characters

Bespelled starts off right after the events of Bewitched, in which twenty-something witch Selene Bowers wakes up the powerful Memnon from a two-thousand years old curse only to discover that she is his soul mate and wife and he is out for revenge. Now, after recovering all her memories, Selene remembers her past life as Roxi and the events that led to the curse. Discovering that Selene is not the cause of his fall and eager to prove himself to her, Memnon offers her a magic bond that gives her control over him and that will be broken only when she falls in love with him. But can she really trust him? Also, someone is still kidnapping and killing witches on campus and Selena is determined to find out the truth and stop the murders once and for all.

I must admit that I enjoyed this book more than the first. I liked how Selene develops and is more dependent and stronger and how, even though she finds herself in danger many times, she is determined to protect the witches from being murdered. Her relationship with Memnon is still full of banter and fun and steamy, but now she is the one with the upper hand and the power, although he doesn’t mind obeying her orders.

Bespelled is action-packed and full of twists. There is a swoony romance, there is horrifying murder, a morally gray handsome hero that doesn’t mind groveling for the woman he loves, a kickass heroine and, once again, an unexpected ending that makes me really look forward to the next book.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I liked Bespelled so much more than Bewitched. I really did not like any of the characters at all in Bewitched but I felt we had more character development in this one. Sybil felt a little more like an actual friend, though still a bit absent. Nothing will make up for how Memnon acted in Bewitched but I do like him a lot more now that he’s trying to make things up to Selene. Kane has fallen out of favor as a love interest given that he has a hard time accepting no (though Memnon also has this issue but at least he is Selene’s soul mate). The conflict and mystery of the plot was good and kept me intrigued. I will definitely continue the series to see where things go from here!

Bespelled by Laura Thalassa 🖤
Bewitched, Book 2
Series

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Fantasy Romance
ARC Review
506 pages
🗓️ May 28th (Kindle edition available early)

🖤 enemies to lovers
⚔️ fated mates
🖤 touch her and ☠️
⚔️ morally gray MMC
🖤 same world as the bargainer
⚔️ cliffhanger

📌 “Good night, wife,” he murmurs.
“Former wife,” I whisper, correcting him.
“Future wife,” he corrects me.

Has anybody seen my heart? Because it sure isn’t inside of my chest. Na ah. It’s probably broken and lost somewhere. But a broken heart is, hopefully, better than nothing at all. Because a broken little thing might still be mended. And after that cliffhanger that’s the only thing I can possibly wish for… I sure as all hell can’t wish for it to remain intact. Nor for me to stay happy 😭

Laura Thalassa does it yet again. She wrote another book that has carved out my soul and I’m just here lying down in bed with zero hopes of going to sleep.

Reading might not be relaxing at all but I pity those who will never feel all these emotions with just 500 pages. Those who will never know the joy of having the enemies become lovers. And the twisted pain of betrayal as your heart aches for the main character 😭

"𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵." 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴. "𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘌𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭."

This couple... Memnon and Selene are PERFECTION!

"Bewitched" ended on a major cliffhanger and I was absolutely devastated after finishing it! Blessed be Laura Thalassa for not destroying me at the end of "Bespelled". It's tamer for sure but I still want to have the next book available ASAP!
The plot that kept me captivated... To make it short, there are still so many questions that haven't been answered; although the mystery about Roxana's betrayal has finally been revealed (Did not see that coming!)
I enjoyed Selene even more in this book! She's getting more independent and growing stronger, emotionally as well as physically. The teasing and banter between her and Memnon is the best and made me laugh too many times!
Memnon, my man... He's THE dream! Powerful mage, former king, cares about Selene's familiar, totally morally grey, is absolutely smitten with his Empress/Queen/fiancée/wife (take your pick) and doesn’t hesitate to unalive his wife's enemies. Memnon is on my top list of my all-time favorite book boyfriends and after "Bespelled", I know he'll be one of my favorites FOREVER!
To sum it up, "Bespelled" is the perfect sequel and dare I say, even better than the first book! I need the next book noooow!!!

5++/5 stars

This is an honest and not influenced ARC review.

Thank you netgalley and bloom books for the gifted arc in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️

*note: these are just my opinions. Just because something isn’t my cup of tea, doesn’t mean it won’t be yours! I don’t like writing negative reviews, but these are my honest opinions.*

I was very excited for this series and unfortunately, I’m left disappointed. After reading bewitched, I was really skeptical to continue the series. It wasn’t my favorite book but after seeing the raving reviews for bespelled I decided to give it a go.

As I mentioned in my review for bewitched, the idea of this series is so creative. The execution just isn’t meeting expectations. I think the only thing that saved this book for me was Memnon’s groveling, but more on that later.

The plot was just nonexistent until about 70%. I genuinely don’t understand what the point of this book was. I don’t mind slow pacing if it builds up to something but it was so anticlimactic? Again, we are expected to understand this world with very little building and no character development. I still don’t understand if she/her panther were reincarnated or how that worked.

Selene was SO annoying in this one. Like they are literally star crossed lovers and she literally died to save him, but now she doesn’t love him anymore and treats him like the enemy over a genuine misunderstanding?? Andddd he didn’t even do the thing she thought he did. It was basically a dumb revenge prank. Not to mention how naive she is? I felt like I was losing brain cells over all of her dumb actions. Don’t even get me started on the forged bond. It was so abusive and was bordering assault. Idk how this girl thinks two wrongs make a right.

Memnon’s groveling was top tier though. The things he said/did made me weeeeak! Howeverrrr, he has no personality 🥲 his dialogue consisted of groveling and defending Selene.

And can we talk about how selene was surprised over the reveal at the ending? Like girl how many times have you talked about him conquering kingdoms 😭😭 and who caressss. He took down the bad guy so get that bread ✋

Idk this wasn’t for me!

Laura Thalassa can do no wrong. This book was everything you want in a sequel! Memnon was groveling, Selene was coming in to her power, and the spice was spicin! Laura has this way of weaving a perfectly magical world that is so easy to fall into. She consistently gives us badass fmc's and men that are strong but will kill you if you touch his lady!

ARC Review of Bespelled by Laura Thalassa
* * * * *
More magic. More danger. More sizzling chemistry. More drama. More of what we need! Selene's troubles are not over and her love life just keeps getting more interesting!

After so much fighting and deflecting on accepting the craziness from the hot old sorcerer who insists they are connected through a past life, Selene has been hit with the truth.
The psycho hottie was right!
Now, she's stuck with her memories as Selene Bowers, as well as the one from her past life...and that past life is just filled with blood and war and a lot of naughty fun time with Memnon.
He's making sure she never leaves him again.
She can't get rid of him as hard as she tries.
We step into the past an uncover more that will twist this bond into what they are craving and fighting.
Now they are together in the chaos taking on the magical world, and when you think it is all over with a sweet happy ending...think again.

Loved the introduction to this book, recapping what happened with book one with just enough sass and a hint of exhausting from Selene who is so over the drama but just loves to talk about the juiciness of Memnon.
Yeah, that dude!
The ancient sorcerer who both wants her like a popsicle on a summer's day and wants to spank and strangle her at the same time as he demanded her to remember her former life. Love the names Selene is throwing his way. Got a few giggles out of the magic too.
Note to others, don't get Selene angry...because she plays with fire.
The conflict of Selene's two lives, current and past, is interesting. We get the separation on Selene in the present as well as her past life with Memnon, but there are moments when Selene's soul becomes one where she is speaking to him as if she was her first self. Feels and words are coming through as one person. This in itself sparking more into their bond.
Loved the read!

Wow, wow, wow!

Okay - first off. Memnon is top-tier book boyfriend for me. I literally could talk about him to anyone for a long period and if you tried to challenge me about him and how much we should embrace him, I would go Selene on you.

Now, can we just appreciate authors like Laura for giving us a refresher when it comes to their last book in the series? I have only seen Karina Halle do this that I can remember, but this is SOOOO helpful. I read a lot and I find especially with fantasy or paranormal stories - I struggle to get back into the story if I don't have a recap of some sort. Not because I didn't love the story, but because fantasy worlds are complex and there are so many wonderful stories and authors and sometimes it's hard to keep up with the different magics and plots. Especially if you read multiple witch/shifter stories at a time. So, showing Laura some love just for that.

Now the story, I still like the magic system. I found it easy to follow and while still unique to the story - I felt that it was still traditional enough for me to understand it. I loved the different ceremonies, rituals, magics, supernatural beings - all of it was important and all of it was easy to keep up with.

I could imagine visually the big scenes because of how well Laura described them. I never was like, wait I thought they were over here and she was... It all made sense. The flow of the main magical plot and the story of Memnon and Selene blended well together and I never felt like we focused more on one than the other. We learned more about the past and I never felt like we spent too much time there and we got little glimpses throughout their dialogue to keep that fresh in our heads.

The bonds whether Selene liked them or not made the story for me. I enjoyed their chemistry and how they worked together (or not) despite the history they shared. Both Selene and Memnon stayed true to their characters and I didn't feel like they trailed off to hit some narrative. And I stand by that to the very end of the book.

Oh.. and the spice, was spicy. Placed in the right places and at the right times.

I thought one thing was going to happen, and it happened. But overall, I was spent guessing the entire time and there were a lot of squeaks and "NO!" and "ARE YOU SERIOUS?" and "THATS AWESOME" coming out of my mouth while reading this. I also laughed ... because Selene's reactions to things are pretty funny sometimes. And than other times, you're cheering on her badass witchy ways!

Read it, read it, read it!

The story is graphic at times, both sexual and violent. So - check those trigger warnings!

I did receive an arc through NetGalley for my honest review. However, I went and bought the book because I loved it<3

I think I’m in the minority and this series just isn’t for me. It took me almost 3 weeks to get through and I probably should have DNFed it because I just didn’t care about what I was reading.

I really hated the first book, Memnon was the literal worst and there was just so much left unknown and up in the air. But I was hoping this one would provide some answers and maybe make Memnon slightly better. Like I truly have never disliked a morally grey character this much before. He completely creeps me out and I once again cannot stand the constant use of “my mate.” I get it dude.

We did get SOME back story which made things a little easier to understand, but other than that this was another clunker for me. Memnon still sucks and I didn’t like who Selene was becoming. It’s hard for me to keep reading a story when I dislike both of the characters.

I would say 50% of this book absolutely nothing happens. The beginning showed promise, the end was decent, but right there in the middle was just… nada. I saw someone say the same thing and initially agree- I felt like I could have jumped from about 30% in to the last 20% and I would have missed nothing. I’m just bummed because this has so many of my favorite things- enemies to lovers, morally grey, fated mates, witchy vibes and none of that did it for me this time. Of course it ended on a cliffhanger, but I don’t think I’m interested in how this series ends.

Selene and Memnon's story was so good. Memnon is out for revenge and the has his sights on Selene. With all the drama and chaos around them what will become of these two? So addicting.

Bespelled by Laura Thalassa is a perfect book for enemy to lover romance fan.

Although this is the 2nd book and I haven't read the 1st book, the storyline are easy to understand. The relationship between Selene and Memmon changes from enemy to lover after they did the forged bond which brings them closer. The story are full of action, suspense and angst with a lot of scenes shows them encounter the evil witch and sorcerers. However, the relationship between them really moved me because it is a two thousand years relationship. It is an unbreakable bond.

✅ Powerful sorcerer
✅ Incarnation of a witch
✅ Forged bond
✅ Enemy to lover
✅ action packed
✅ Suspense
✅ Angst
✅ Tear jerker
✅ Cliffhanger
✅ High sexual tension
✅ Plenty of Spicy scenes: intense and explicit

I'll definitely need to read the 3rd book.