Ughhh this book was so cute! I stayed up until 5:00 in the morning finishing it.

Charlie is a force to be reckoned with. She’s strong, independent, filled with self-doubt, and stubborn beyond belief. She’ll go to great lengths to prove herself to her parents and the small town of Owl’s Hollow. What she won’t stand for is anyone getting in the way of her family’s generations-old witch’s cottage thriving long into the future.

Fitz is a tall, handsome, brooding, outsider. His escape to Owl’s Hollow is a chance to start fresh with his own company. But when his company threatens the livelihood of Charlie and the rest of the town witches, his feelings on the matter aren’t as black and white as Charlie would like them to be.

This book is cute, cozy, has a great magic system, adorable romance, and great banter. I cried at some parts and was overwhelmed with joy at others. I can’t wait for everyone looking for a cozy read to pick this up in the fall. And I might just have to explore more by this other.

The Cottage Around The Corner by D.L. Soria is a super cozy, enemies-to-lovers about a witch, a mage, and a cursed town. Charlie and Fitz, although magical and business rivals, must set their differences aside in order to save Owl's Hollow from a string of curses. Turns out they have more in common than they thought, and it's that connection (and Charlie's brilliance) that makes the duo powerful enough to stop the destruction.

I love how cozy this book feels. The humor and witty comments are everything! I also appreciated that the characters are in their thirties and still figuring out life, a bit of realism to bring it home. Additionally, I love the personalities of Charlie's moms. Mama and Mim are hilarious and great supporting characters.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine, for early access to read The Cottage Around The Corner in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed it!

This was a fun, cozy mystery with light romance. I had a good time reading it and loved all of the characters. I do wish the romance would've started a little sooner than it did. Overall, it was a delightful read. Highly recommend!

Cozy play on "Shop Around the Corner" or the remake "You've Got Mail" but with witches and mages in competition in a cute small town, shall they work together? Is fraternization acceptable? Well, you will find out!

When Fitz, a mage, moves to Owl’s Hollow and opens a magecraft firm, Charlie Sparrow’s world starts spinning off its axis. Her family magic shop’s livelihood is threatened by the new competition, but she can’t stop thinking about the dimple in his cheek when he smiles. Thrown together to solve three town wide curses, Charlie and Fitz’s relationship grows romantic.

This cozy, witchy, enemies to lovers book is like the first sip of your favorite warm beverage. Delicious, comforting, and leaving you wanting more.

Things I enjoyed:

- Charlie’s moms, Alicia and Ruby, were adorable and provided some much needed humor among the drama.
- The chemistry between Charlie and Fitz is very well done. Spicy, sweet, and believable.
- Humorous jokes/good banter and the world gave cozy Stars Hollow vibes.

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be buying a copy to reread and display on my bookshelf (the cover is gorgeous).

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you want a cozy, witchy, mid-angst level romance, then this book should be on your "Kick Off to Spooky Season" reading list.

Featuring lots of queer representation, a diversity of characters and protagonists who are fully formed adults (mostly) [book:The Cottage Around the Corner|201750863] is such an enjoyable read. Charlie is an oddball hot-mess without straying too far into "quirky girl" territory. Fritz was a bit more archetypical as a uptight grump with a tragic past...but we love that trope for a reason. I'll allow it.

The conflict is reasonable within the world built by Soria. The mystery is easily solvable, but the reader never feels like the characters are struggling just for plot expansion. The romance is sweet and spicy, but realistic. No out of pocket Insta-love/lust and the HEA happens they way adults actually resolve conflicts- not by everyone suddenly acting out of character. (Can you teel what my reading pet peeves are? This book handled all the trope-pitfalls so well.)

My only note is that sometimes the witchcraft aspect seemed to just resolve major crises a little too easily. I understand that the growing and changing magic is a metaphor for the romantic pairing's growth (both personal and as a couple), but some resolutions felt a bit rushed. That said, why have magic if you can't handwave away a few problems?

All together, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it for fans of quaint, witchy romances.

I loved this book from start to finish. As soon as I finished it on my Kindle, I went to pre-order the paperback. I need this book on the shelf, and I can't wait to read it again.

The characters have good personalities, and while it reads to me like a cozy read, it had a great fantasy rom/com vibe.

This was my first book by D.L. Soria and their other books are now on my TBR.

This is a unique cozy fantasy including elements of mystery and romance. The cottage gave me homey vibes, making me wish I could visit. The element of mystery drives the plot while keeping the story lighthearted. I appreciated the diversity among the characters and types of magic.

First shout out to the artist for the great work! The cover immediately catches the eye and will decorate any bookshelf! And that was the reason I requested an e-ARC.

From the very beginning of the book, we find ourselves in a cozy Chanterelle Cottage and a small town Owl’s Hollow, which are very close to the big cities, but feel like in a special universe. I absolutely loved the atmosphere and both main and side characters.

Charlie is already an adult (which is rare in contemp romcoms), but she strives to show herself and prove that she is worth something, it's great to watch her groth as she feels very realistic with her complexes and problems. I adored how she was willing to save the business and help the whole town. Fitz is a cinnamon roll and I loved watching his relationship with the sister. But I would like to know more about him as a person and his story. Their relationship is very sweet and touching, although I felt tension since the first meeting. I loved to watsh their development from rivals to allies to lovers.

I'd also like to mention Mom and Mim as a characters and parents. They are very attentive and caring, and their jokes and humor made me laugh so many times!

- What I especially like about this book:
- the atmosphere of a cozy small town
- jokes and banter
- strong characters

I really want to give 5 stars, but it seemed that the book was a little too long.
But to anyone who is looking for an easy and funny witchy rom-com, I can safely recommend The Cottage Around the Corner

Thanks to Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group and Ballantine for this ARC.

You’ve Got Mail meets The Ex Hex in this cozy fantasy about a cursed town and the rivalry between a witch and a mage.

I loved everything about this book! The strife, the romantic banter, and the amazing townspeople of Owls Hollow. Charlie was extremely relatable - constantly doubting her skills and wanting to prove herself as a capable witch and businesswoman. The Cottage Around the Corner checked all my must haves for a fun and engaging read!

Thank you to Netgalley, Del Rey, and Random House for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Are you looking for a cozy, witchy romance? Look no further! In this classic business rival beginnings story there is a slightly erratic witch and a super cinnamon roll MMC rival in the magic business. There are strong family ties, a FMC that doesn't know exactly what she is doing, and a cozy small town feel. While reading this adorable tale I could picture a Hallmark movie and for me served as a perfect pallet cleanser. There is also a great representation of characters and relationships that was so well done I loved them as much as the main characters.

I have a confession to make: I do judge books by their covers :O

This book gave me all the cozy vibes I was looking for.

It did drag a little bit here and there but the witchy ride it took me on is definitely worth a try!

I adore witchy romances! Charlie was such a fun character and while Fitz was a bit underdeveloped I enjoyed their chemistry together! Thank you NetGalley!

I’ve dabbled in a few witchy romcoms but none have completely knocked it out of the park for me recently. I’m happy to say that this one did! I was intrigued by the title because of my love for the black and white Christmas movie Shop Around the Corner and of course You’ve Got Mail. From page 1 this book had my heart with the mentioning of an animated my broom gone wrong and one of my favorite childhood film’s Sword in the Stone. (Also the two Taylor Swift references in the book made me even more inclined to love it) What made me go completely head over heels were the character. I adored Mom and Mim. They are the parents that one could only dream of. Loving, supportive, and hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times reading this book and even sharing excerpts with my husband. Charlie grows so much as a character from the start of the book. I loved her relationship with the MMC. They fit so well together naturally. I loved the parallels between their relationship and Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s relationship in You’ve Got Mail. The side characters were great, each having their own charms and quirks. This is exactly what I was looking for in a witchy romcom. Any other ones I read after this one will have a tough time competing with it.

This book destroyed me in the best way possible! The characters were amazing, the plot was great, and the romance with a touch of humor was perfect!

I found Charlie to be such a relatable character and while she could be annoying and doubt herself at times, don’t we all? I think her and Fitz were the perfect balance and really brought out the best in eachother. I was so happy with the ending and constantly felt myself grinning throughout.

First what drew me in on this book was the cover and the description. I needed something witty with banter. This is exactly what you get, it does not fall flat. The lines in this made me giggle from the MFC not being afraid to speak the truth and what is on her mind, to the MMC poking her with little sly comments.

I loved the elements of closed door, Rivals to lovers, Small town, Magical elements but not too much to have to dive into a whole lore, adventure and research names to figure everything out, it is very clearly written and no need to dive further in. The writing is clean, inviting, cozy, and swoon worthy for a nice read indoors. I appreciate the ages of the characters to be older, while still have a bit of immaturity from the MMC, but you get to watch them grow. I definitely felt a bit of You've got mail lingering!

An alternative title to this book could be The witch's guide to cottage core. This is a cozy book with witchy vibes. it has the fun elements of a magical book along with the tension of the enemies to lovers storyline. It is whimsical and heartwarming. I recommend reading by a fire with a pumpkin spice latte.

vibes: rivals to lovers, cozy mystery with magic, Practical Magic sensibilities

Heat Index: 3/10

When a magecraft firm opens up in Owl's Hollow, Charlie can't help but feel threatened. Fitz is handsome and charming, but his business is competing against Charlie's own magic shop, and there's really only room for one of them in town. But when strange magical events begin affecting the residnts, Fitz and Charlie must put their differences aside (and maybe kiss) and team up to protect their town.

So! I picked this up due to that beautiful cover, as well as the promise of witchcraft and a bit of competition. I'll admit that the coziness was somewhat out of my comfort zone, but hey! It's witchcraft, so coziness could work in a Halloweentown way.

And I think this is another case of "this will work for a lot of people, it worked less so for me". Because if you do enjoy something like a Halloweentown experience--the sweet, and yes, cozy plus campy storytelling--you'll like this. It also reminds me of Practical Magic, which I do love... albeit much lighter, which is probably why Practical Magic worked more for me. It's cute in that sense!

However, this really did fail to get me as a romance, and as we know, when I believe I'm going into a romance, I want it to be a romance. These two took a while to have meaningful interactions. I needed that to happen earlier. The book seemed more into the world and the mystery than the love story. Which, fine! Cool! I just don't know that I'd sell this as a romance first.

The Sex:

There is a bit of sex on the page, but it's fairly tame and brief.

So, yeah--not for me, but well-written and definitely for people who want a cozy, quick, easy witch-on-witch story with light love story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Random House, Ballantine, NetGalley, and D.L. Soria for allowing me access to the eARC.

The Cottage Around the Corner is such a cute, fun, witchy romance, with all the cozy, warm feelings you get from a dirty chai, and that extra bit of depth and richness from the shot of espresso.

Jumping right in to the story, with Charlie, and her moms, the fun, whimsical, and incredibly loving relationship they have is heartwarming.
Her moms are easily one of my favorite parts of the story and I so hope the author decides to do a prequel with even more magic showing the amazing love story these two have.

Charlie as the FMC being an adult woman and entering a relationship with another, age appropriate adult is such a refreshing break from the more common trope in romance. I loved seeing her grow, and overcome her self doubt as she was juggling helping with the business, a budding relationship that was also still a little bit of a rivalry, and the magical chaos.

I'd love to see more of Fitz as a person, and his sister, and more of an epilog of what life looks like for everyone would've really brought this book from a satisfying 4/5 to a 5/5

Overall, I do plan on purchasing a physical copy when it hits the shelves and look forward to reading more from this author

This was a super cozy and fun read. Admittedly, I requested this because I saw the cover and just adored it. Upon reading the synopsis I decided to take a leap of faith and read The Cottage Around the Corner by DL Soria. This story is a You've Got Mail inspired contemporary RomCom with fantasy elements and rivals to lovers. If you're looking for magical mayhem and mystery, this story may be for you!

First and foremost, I want to say just how much I appreciated how inclusive this read is as it has tons of queer/BIPOC representation. Secondly, I also want to say I'm typically not a "romcom" reader as I find a lot of the humor is (for lack of a better term) cringey millennial humor, but the humor in this book is silly and tongue in cheek. I also loved the Parks and Rec quote.

I appreciate characters IN THEIR THIRTIES. I enjoy the representation. I also appreciate being represented by secular characters.

Now to the romance. I think that Charlie (FMC) and "Fitz" (MMC) are a cute couple. Their relationship progression didn't feel rushed (TO ME. THIS IS MY OPINION). And the spice in this is mild, but definitely had me tuned in. It doesn't become a main focal point of the story nor does it detract from what the author is writing about. I just wish toward the end of the book we had some more cuteness between these two. Like an epilogue or something. ANYTHING.

Overall, I rated this book 3.75/5 stars. It started off a little bit slow for me, but I loved the teamwork between the two main characters trying to get to the root of the town's very inconvenient magic troubles. Spice I would say maybe 1.5/5.

This is a perfect, easy, low stakes late summer/early fall read to get you in the PSL spirit. Highly recommend!