I am going to borrow the word Laura Thalassa used in author's note to describe this book. Pure indulgence. The author let her imagination and creativity flow free and I could only hold onto the story with my dear life. This plot is complex to say the least. The author was balancing the supernatural world suspense and drama with a millenia old soulmate love. I was treated with all the extremes. The magic and fantasy and darkness. The chemistry. The soul crushing love. I was taken to a real rollercoaster and now that I have gotten down, I am thinking did that really happen?

This is book two of a series and ends in a cliffhanger. The all powerful sorcerer and conquerer Memnon thought that Selene (who used to be his soulmate Queen Roxilana) has betrayed him and so he wanted revenge. That means hurting her. But Selene's memory has been unblocked by him and she knows she never ever did it. Memnon knows too. Now it's his turn to earn forgiveness and love of his mate. Selene needs to know who is behind the murder of her fellow witches and hurting of the supernaturals. And she knows she need help of her enemy. Can she stop falling in love with Memnon?

This book is Memnon's redemption arc or at least I believe so. Because I don't think we have seen the last of the cunning dark side of Memnon. Of course, he is ruthless for his enemies and he would do and did anything to save Selene. But the ending shocked me as much as Selene. She matured a lot here. We have to remember she was just a witch student at the beginning of the series and now she has suddenly been thrown into a mess with a huge knowledge of past and of her past power. She cannot forgive Memnon so easily. He hurt her so much. I know the forged bond will be controversial but I feel this is the only reasonable defense she had against the all powerful Memnon. He would have barged through all her efforts if she didn't have the bond. Trust was broken and the bond was a tether. There is a lot of action and drama going on around. Forced bond( not to be confused with forged bond). Auction of unwilling supernaturals. Lycanthropes getting involved. And Selene being target of the vicious evil group of supernaturals. Memnon did the grovel so beautifully but he is still the antihero and he literally cracked through Selene's armour. It was like a game of chess. Every fulfilled promise, every dedicated act, every act of protection, every bit of support, every bit of necessary cruelty..brought him back in Selene's heart. This book is hotter than first book, for obvious reasons. I love how Selene has discovered her long buried ancient powers but she still holds a refreshing naivety and innocence. She is a perfect mix of dangerous and sweet now. This one is full of plot mines so play attention!

I reviewed an early copy voluntarily

Bespelled picked up right where Bewitched left off. Selene's feelings toward Memnon experience a roller coaster as she reconciles her past life, her memories, and his work.

This second book has a lot of twists and turns as Selene and Memnon try to solve the murders and attacks. The tension with the lycanthropes, especially with Kane, and determining who to trust continues in this book.

There are times in this book where it feels like Selene is caught in a whirlpool. She makes the same mistakes and is slow to learn. And I have to remember that she's a college-aged young adult who will inevitably make dumb decisions. We did get more backstory on Roxilana and see the universe expand. Like Bewitched, this one ends on a cliffhanger, and while I enjoyed reading Bespelled, I don't know how many more books I'd want to read with few conclusions at the end.

This book!! Let’s just say, i stayed up until 3am reading this and didn’t even realize it was that late. I was hooked so fast and just couldn’t put it down. Give me all of the morally grey Memnon and the touch her & die vibes please! 😮‍💨😮‍💨

It was a real roller coaster ride reading this book! I enjoyed every bit, even the cliffhanger 👀. Even though it left me thinking “say WHAT?!?!” Like I need the next book…..now!

It is filled with suspense, betrayal, battles, death, some Oh SH!T moments, spicy moments that’ll have you fanning yourself, and laugh out loud moments. It’s such a great read!! I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Memnon Memnon MEMNON!! This man can make you say WTF while being the sweetest 🤣. I loved that he did some groveling for his actions in the first book. Salene made that man work to win her back and that was just fantastic. The flashbacks were a great way to help the reader understand the actions and why Salene and Memnon behaved how they have up until now.

One of my favorite things Laura did is give a recap of book 1 at the beginning of this book. It definitely helped to refresh my memory and set the stage for the second book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher for reviewing purposes.

Well, I have to say this was not what I wanted from this book. I really enjoyed the first book, Bewitched. I reading it in one sitting and it was one of the most entertaining books I read last year, so I was so excited to get Bespelled early through NetGalley. Unfortunately, this book does not have near the charm that the first installment did. The first book held my attention because I enjoyed Selene, there were good mysteries and plot progress, and I was intrigued by the love story. This book gave me none of that. The mystery of the dead witches continues, but, as I saw another reviewer say, you could skip the middle half of this book- literally jump from 30% to 70% through and you would miss nothing. It’s all Selene wondering if she should just give in and be in love with Memnon, plus some unnecessary love triangle with a werewolf bs. I got to 50% and just stopped reading this book for about a month because I just didn’t care. The last 25-30% got things moving again, but it didn’t really feel like the stakes were real because of how much filler the first part of the book had been. Not to mention her best friend almost disappearing as a character when she was so big in the first book, and the college setting barely mattering except as a plot device to get her in a shared living space, when she was so excited about witch college in the first book. Overall, I found this to be a pretty unsatisfying sequel. 2.5 stars rounded up.

Bespelled picks up the story where Bewitched had ended with Selene now fully aware of her deep connection with Memnon and all that happened millennia before. But with the return of her memories, for Memnon comes the realisation that his quest for vengeance has been misplaced and the knowledge that he must atone to his queen for his sins and just saying no one grovels quite like a sorcerer!

This book set a fantastic pace picking up the story with witches still going missing or turning up horrifically mutilated with Selene and Memnon teeming up to solve the mystery. The development of Selene’s character over the series so far has been great to read as, now free from the curse that was stealing her memories, she’s really coming into her magic and realising her own abilities. With a plot full of twists and turns, love and betrayal with danger lurking for Selene from unknown enemies, I was gripped from the start and playing out in the background was the epic love story that was Selene and Memnon’s even as she swung between hate and love but there’s no escaping fate. I love a morally grey hero and Memnon definitely delivers that and more as he plots and schemes, always with his own agenda even as he fights to win back the love of his queen. Ending on another cliff hanger I can’t wait for the next book in this amazing series.

Bespelled by Laura Thalassa is the second book in the Bewitched Series and I’m completely obsessed with Selene and Memnon‘s story.
 
After absolutely loving Bewitched, I was so excited to see how this story continues and this sequel totally delivered, and I’m equally obsessed with this book.
 
Selene is one of my fav heroines and she is so strong and tough, and I love her so much. She developed beautifully in this book also because she learns a lot about her past and lost memories. And her familiar Nemo is just the best and there was one scene with him in this book that gave me quite the shock. Memnon is his usual mysterious self and I liked how he gave more reign to Selene. It’s still unclear if he can be fully trusted and that is so intriguing. There were some beautiful moments between the two that were spicy and romantic. They are truly soul mates and I loved seeing how they work together more. One of my favorite parts was how the past and present timelines are interwoven and it makes you understand the dynamic of the story and of the soul mates more.
 
Overall, Bespelled just has it all from an intriguing and immersive plot to fabulous characters and it’s one of my new favorite romantasy reads. And it only deepened my love for this world and series. 5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

This was a fun book continuing where book one ended. It’s a long book and at times fell flat for me but overall was enjoyable.

Thank you Bloom books for eARC!

This book picks up right where the last book left off and suddenly Selene has her memories. And with them comes the truth of what happened millennia ago and how Memnon came to betrayed. And the truth is much darker than either of them imagined.

With the truth comes a new understanding between the two. Memnon is still determined to complete the marriage pact but this time he is out to make amends for the horrible things he did in the name of revenge. And having control over the most powerful being there is? That’s a heady thing.

But witches are still going missing and Selene is determined to find out why. With the help of the werewolf pack and now Memnon, Selene might just get herself in deeper than she ever imagined with forces determined to see her fail.

I’m not gonna lie, at first I thought I was going to DNF this book. So I put it down, read something else and then came back to it. I must have just been in a weird mood because once I restarted it, I couldn’t put it down! Watching Selene come into her power was incredible! This is different than anything I’ve read before and left me wanting more. The story is pretty twisty and the cliff hanger 😣 I can’t wait for book 3!

Forced into an unbreakable marriage bond and recovering her memories Selene now knows the full truth of her past with Memnon. That they are soulmates from birth.
After learning the truth of Selene’s betrayal Memnon now tries to prove his
intentions and make amends by forming a magical bond that gives Selene control over his will.
This book gives a deeper look into Selene’s and Memnon’s relationship and former life together.
The mystery of who is behind the kidnappings/deaths at Henbane begins to unravel and reveal the shocking truth of what has been going on.
A definite page turner, full of betrayal, twists and turns until the very last page!
Definitely not a fan of cliff hanger endings however even I must admit this one nailed it!
Hang on for a wild ride and you’ll thank me later!

I absolutely loved Bewitched,the first book in the series, but Bespelled fell a little flat for me. There were definitely moments that I absolutely loved but I felt like the first half of the book dragged on for a long time and only minor things were happening here and there. It also felt like there was a lot of reveals for power players in fairly quick succession towards the end of the book, which kind left me feeling a little disoriented.

I did really love the Selene has some great development. Free from the curse that caused her to lose memories she really gets the opportunity to form an identity between her current and past life as well as getting to know Memnon all over again.

While I did have some issues with this book, I will continue to read the series as I have grown to love Selene as a character and issues aside, I enjoy a witchy series.

Thank you to Bloom Books and Netgalley for gifting me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

I remember enjoying Bewitched a lot and had some high expectations for this book but I'm struggling to verbalize my feelings.

I knew Selene was planning on making Memnon pay for his cruelty but I feel like she herself changed as much as he did when the truth came out.

Their history made it seem like she would do absolutely anything for Memnon, but with what he did to her while her memories were "gone", she just kinda tosses that out like it never existed.

I get it, she's essentially a whole new person and he's hurt her but one thing never changed. He loves her.

A lot of this book seemed like filler and I felt like there was moew going on than what was shown and I was right.

The ending of the book is also a little confusing. Like one thing happened that should be taking their attention but something Memnon did trumped it?

This book gets 3.5 stars for the parts I did enjoy and I will keep my hopes low for the next book.

🖤🥀 Bespelled ARC Review 🥀🖤

Thank you so much to Laura Thalassa and Bloom Books for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Bespelled is a fantasy romance and book two in the Bewitched series. As always this will be spoiler free, so if this seems vague that’s why. After the events at the end of Bewitched, Selene is adjusting to the consequences of her decisions. Memnon is now an integral part of her life whether she wants him to be or not. So what will she do when her current life collides with the past?

I’m absolutely loving this series! This world is so unique and I loved seeing more of it in this book. Selene has grown so much as a character and I really enjoyed her in this book. Memnon continues to be the most fantastic possessive, morally gray, delicious man and I love him so much. He is unabashedly himself and unapologetic in his ruthlessness.

This book was a fantastic five star read for me! I love this world and the characters! This book had some darker elements, so please check triggers if you’re sensitive. This book also had some delightful spicy scenes throughout, so three flames for spice

If you’re a fan of strong characters, unique world building and ancient enemies vibes, then absolutely pick this one up! As this is a continuation of the first book, I absolutely recommend reading them in order.

I was able to read bespelled right after bewitched and it was everything I needed. I am obsessed with the idea of soul mates who were lovers turned enemies turned lovers again.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Laura is the queen of romantasy.
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks, Bloom books. If you thought bewitched was good, then this is even better. The TENSION! The story, Laura’s writing has evolved beyond words. All I can say is that this is a worthy sequel and it’s darn good!!!! Memnon is the daddy you didn’t know existed.

Bespelled was very entertaining to read! And it became an obsession from 70% onwards.
Laura`s writing style is the kind I enjoy, not only on this book, but also on all others I’ve read from her.
We had really interesting plot points added in this book, which I think will improve the next books, if they are explored further. I was pleasantly surprised with the semi-redemption arc for Memnon, but some actions from Selene were very silly, considering all that is happening around her.
But, alas, it didn’t affect my overall experience with the book.

Witch, fated mates, cursed oh my what else could you ask for? Oh a little spice makes it all nice. She was a witch who loses her memory doing magic, he has been cursed to slumber till she wakes and off it goes. So good.

This was a fantastic sequel and I can’t wait for the rest of the books in this series.

Memnon did gravel hard to win back Selene and it worked. He is still a hot af walking red flag however when it comes to Selene he is 100% ride and die.
He is slowly replacing Des as my new book BF.

We got more insight into Selene and Sybil’s relationship and they are true besties. Ride and die without all the walking red flags of Memnon. I enjoyed their relationship so much.

The plot flowed so well, the characters all had amazing development, and some story plots that were introduced last book were finalized and more teased for future books. Everything in this book was so well done, thought out, and brought me pure joy, sadness, tears, and laughter as the character went through those emotions/situations themselves.

As always Lauren Thalassa does it again

I loved the first book but this one just was just ok.
I was so hoping I would love the book since I was so excited for it to come out but it just didn’t live up to the first one. I will still read more book by Laura though.