I was drawn in by the intriguing premise and dark atmosphere, but unfortunately, the execution didn’t live up to the potential. The main character, Liv, was difficult to like, which made it hard to stay invested in the story.

The plot felt disjointed and messy, especially with subplots like the fiancé’s that seemed rushed or ignored. The story was darker than I expected, but it didn’t quite deliver the depth or payoff I was hoping for. The ending felt abrupt and left too many loose ends.

While there were some interesting moments, overall this fell flat for me.

The novel explores how societal expectations around marriage and motherhood can feel like a trap—and what happens when women push back. Liv Edwards seems to have it all—a fiancé, a Boston apartment, and a future in law. But when she receives a cryptic letter from her estranged childhood best friend Sam, she returns to her New England hometown… only to find Sam missing. Her search leads her to a mysterious bridal boutique run by two women from their high school days—Eden and Cora—who may be more than they seem. As Liv is drawn into their glittering, gothic world, she begins to uncover secrets about Sam, the boutique, and herself.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Bantam for this ARC!

A spine-tingling book that grips from the first line and refuses to let go. The plot unfolds with surgical precision, packed with unexpected turns and edge-of-your-seat suspense and story. Every character is layered and intriguing, adding emotional weight to the relentless action. It’s a brilliantly paced, utterly addictive read that leaves you breathless.

If you love a story that blends friendship, revenge, secrets, and just the right touch of dark magic, Under Her Spell is absolutely worth your TBR space. K.L. Cerra crafts a tense, moody mystery wrapped in a dual-timeline structure that kept me flipping pages late into the night.

Liv Edwards has a picture-perfect life on the outside—but when she returns to her hometown to investigate her childhood best friend’s disappearance, she uncovers a web of lies, buried emotions, and strange occurrences that hint at something not quite natural. I loved the slow unraveling of truth, with the story skillfully moving between past and present. The dual timeline was especially effective, adding layers of suspense while deepening our understanding of Liv's complicated bond with her missing friend.

There’s a lot to appreciate here: the emotional messiness of friendships, the weight of long-held secrets, and the way fantasy elements are woven into the mystery just enough to make everything feel slightly uncanny and unsettling. The tone is atmospheric, with an undercurrent of dread that never feels heavy, just addictive.

Liv returns to her hometown when her high school friend goes missing. There is quite a bit of mystery in the book and much darker magic side than I expected. There are mysteries in both a past timeline and the current and the story goes back and forth. The characters are more dark than anticipated and the story has some confusing parts as well. Over all, it was a good read.

Under Her Spell by K.L. Cerra blends elements of mystery, emotional trauma, and subtle hints of the supernatural into a story about complicated relationships and personal reckonings. The novel creates a moody, almost gothic atmosphere that’s compelling, and the writing has a lyrical quality that draws you in.

That said, the plot unfolds slowly and can feel disjointed at times, with pacing issues that make it hard to stay fully engaged. Some characters and emotional beats feel underdeveloped, leaving the reader wanting more clarity and connection. The premise is intriguing, but the execution doesn’t quite deliver the tension or payoff it promises.

This is a solid read for those who enjoy introspective, character-driven suspense with a touch of the eerie. It doesn’t fully cast a spell, but there’s enough there to keep you turning the pages.

Liv returns to her hometown upon hearing about the disappearance of her childhood best friend, Sam. She is then confronted with revisiting the past and her part in their fallout. She’s also reintroduced to old high school classmates as she tries to uncover the dark story of Sam’s disappearance.

This was a good book, but the pacing felt completely off to me. The horror elements really picked up at the end but I wanted more throughout. I also am not opposed to unlikeable characters, but I found it hard to invest in the story because of how uninterested in them I was. I did like dual timeline as a means to tell the backstory of these characters, and the truly creepy and dark aspects of the book when they came up. Overall, if you like dark, slow burns, with some magical realism vibes then it might be worth picking up.

Trigger Warnings:
- Death
- Trauma
- Murder
- Witchcraft
- Insects
- Torture
- Kidnapping

First off, I would like to thank NetGally and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Bantam for sharing an ARC of Under Her Spell, by K.L. Cerra, in exchange for an honest review.
This book was quite a dark read. The main character, Liv, returns to her hometown to investigate the disappearance of her ex high school best friend.
The story is twisted, suspenseful, tragic, and engaging the entire time. It was a pretty fast read for me and I found that it held my attention the entire time.
Overall, it was a good read. I would recommend it to those who enjoy witchy, suspense, and horror books. It is definitely not a light read, so it will not be for everyone. However, those who enjoy dark books will fall in love with this one.

I love this cover. The story, however, was way too fantastical for me. I like a lot of realism, and maybe a few supernatural elements, but this was too much.

I enjoyed the dual timelines and the witchiness vibes though at the end it just lost me and I did not seem to care about the characters. It was good but will not stay with me long. I would give this author another try. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my review

This was a great book and one I would read again. It kept me on the edge of my toes and I didnt want to put down. I had never read or heard of this author before but I want to read more from her.

I expected it to be dark, but it wasn't really to me. They really tried to drive home that marriage and kids is not it.

I think I should've paid closer attention to the "dark magic" part of the summary.

Not that I don't like dark magic, but this started out feeling more like a thriller, and a good thriller, with a delicious edge of paranormal, and then it just entirely went off the rails. Sigh.

Liv is an unlikeable narrator. We meet her as she's thinking about how easy it would be to shove her fiance in front of a subway train, which made me super interested in getting to know her. She makes jewelry, including a bird's nest ring with spiked edges to keep her from having too many dark thoughts, and as a subtle punishment for herself. Okay, okay, I'm going with this, yes, yes, yes.

Liv has a nice life. Handsome fiance, successful job sort of kind of maybe not. Then she gets a letter in the mail from her bestie Sam from high school, who she hasn't spoken to since before they graduated. Folded in the shape of a heart (a skill I used to have and which I want to look up a tutorial on how to do again), like their notes used to be.

Asking for help. Begging for help.

And then Liv finds out that Sam has gone missing, and she makes the trek back to her hometown, to find out what happened, racked with guilt from What Happened To Break Up Their Friendship.

Doesn't that sound so great? Yeah.

I had been taking tiny baby nibbles on this on break at work and during down times, and it wasn't that great at keeping my attention. I see what the author is attempting to do, especially showing off Liv's uncertainty about getting married next to her sister's absolute misery with being married to a mostly absent husband and her exhaustion and haggard appearance after having babies. And sister got fat, which. Oof. Cardinal sin.

So. much. clunk. So much behavior that a mistrustful character would never do.

I got to the big exclamation point moment while getting a tattoo, and it infuriatingly really didn't help take the pain away. Then I finished it on a car ride and I think it caused my motion sickness.

Just.

So.

Clunk.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

SPOOKY!!!!!! Perfect mystery novel to read during Halloween with the lights dimmed and a comfy blanket. Witchy vibes galore in this dark gothic novel that left me wanting more!

Another cover that grabbed my attention. I loved the dark, witchy vibes. This has a duel storyline, which I enjoyed. The writing was beautiful and the storytelling was fantastic. I did not always like the characters, but that is not a deterrent, especially when the writing holds up.
I loved how this was told. The artistic meanderings and the mystical feel are at every plot point. I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it.

K.L. Cerra has become an automatic-read author for me. Her books are just my style: dark, macabre, stories surrounding pretty girls that get caught up in the madness. This book is no different. Full of witchy secrets, it’s a fun mystery with mind-twisting bends. My favorite thing about Cerra’s books is that they’re aesthetically pleasing. Her last novel Such Pretty Flowers was full of blooming plants and a greenhouse in a beautiful home; this book has a bridal boutique cabin in the woods. They not only pack a rich story, they tantalize your senses. I felt like I could smell certain scenes and see others perfectly in my mind’s eye.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and highly recommend this book for anybody that enjoys dark themes, witchy chicks, and mysteries.

This is a rambling tale that switches back and forth in time from the present time to the FMC's highschool days.

The highschool days story line tried to be spooky, but ended up disappontingly mundane. The present day mystery about Liv's missing ex-best friend did take an unexpectedly dark turn, with a few surprises.

I grew tired of the repetitive theme that marriage and children is the worst thing that can happen to a woman, that she will lose everything of her own identity. Thankfully Liv had an epiphany (eyeroll) at the end of the book, that it needn't be one or the other (duh).

It was interesting enough to keep me reading to find out the resolution of the present-day mystery, but the characters were all so unlikeable that I ultimately wasn't emotionally invested in the outcome.

I didn't love this one as much as i wanted to. Cerra is an excellent writer, but ultimately i didn't stay engaged in the story.

Loved how this was written. There was absolutely no question about the motives behind the 'big bad' but you couldn't help but watch as the MC questioned her instincts to join the group, despite knowing it was a bad decision. Part of me wishes that there was a little more ambiguity to it, but I do love how it played out.

Eerie mystery with supernatural feel. I enjoyed the story and found the characters to be believable, but I wanted something more. I felt like there were a few questions not answered. I also thought there were points in the plot that dragged a bit and I had to force myself back into the story.
Overall, a good read.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

Also, I enjoyed the narrator of the audio.