Liv Edwards has a fiancé, an apartment in Boston, and plans to launch a career in law. Her façade falters when her childhood best friend Sam asks for help years after Liv destroyed their friendship. Liv wants to repair the damage and returns to her small New England hometown, but Sam is gone under mysterious circumstances. Sam changed since high school, living and working with former odd girls Eden and Cora. Liv reconnects with them hoping for answers and learns more about their fairytale bridal boutique. A dark reality could be lurking not just in the boutique, but within Liv herself.

We have a dual timeline, between the present and searching for Sam, and the past where Liv and Sam connected after Liv moved to Guilford from Denver. Liv sometimes had intrusive and dangerous thoughts and chalked it up to anxiety along with all her nervous habits. She can't help but ask around trying to figure out what happened to Sam, and at the same time is roped into doing wedding planning at Eden and Cora's boutique. Everyone around her has a bleak outlook on life as a wife and mother, which Liv finds disconcerting. Between the two timelines, we see the way Liv gets so involved in her friendships, and the fascination with Eden and Cora, the witchy sisterhood, and the vows they made to each other. We find out exactly what had happened to Sam years ago and now, and what the Sisterhood actually is. The thriller aspect of the story is bound up in the magic and the threat of marriage, with an epilogue that contains a creepy enough edge to make you think that the story isn't quite over after all. This kept me up late just to finish it, and will definitely entertain those who enjoy a sinister side to magic.

This was the rare one that worked better for me in the front half than the back. I was initially really drawn into the mysterious, slightly magical story at the beginning, but things fell apart a little bit in the back half in terms keeping my attention and feeling like it was a different style of book.

A friend returns to her childhood home to investigate the disappearance of her “friend”. Sam was not a likable character in my opinion because she was portrayed as a manipulative person who was very selfish. I did however, appreciate the conflict in the story, both personal and interpersonally. Liv battling with her perspective of womanhood and what it could mean if she were to marry and have children, and learning about your friends and comparing your personal thoughts with how they really are. I also appreciated the witchy vibes in the story as well.

There were definitely things that I did like about this book, and things that I didn't like. The ending was a bit lacking and disappointing and I disliked the characters. Overall, the characters were just terrible and unlikeable. I did enjoy the dual timelines and thought that it added another layer to the mysteries while exploring the characters past relationship with her friend who had gone missing. The overall pacing was fine, if anything it was a bit slow throughout the main portion of the book, which led to me getting bored a couple of times, but then the pacing picked up towards the end.

Thank you to K.L. Cerra, Random House Publishing - Ballantine, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

Well that was darker than I expected but in the best way!! I’m not normally a thriller girly but I devoured this. The story is told in dual time lines 8 years apart as we follow our MC as she looks into the mysterious disappearance of her high school best friend and how the two of them became estranged. The pacing in my opinion was perfect and that ending was so freakin good. I don’t really want to compare it to anything but I kept getting ‘Bunny’ vibes which I loved. I know I’ll be picking up a physical copy September 10th! Thank you NetGally for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a 3 star book up until whatever ridiculousness that was at the end. It made me wish I didn't read this at all. It made the whole book feel pointless and there already wasn't much of a plot. It switched back and forth from when the characters were in high-school to when they are adults. And I think I liked the high-school parts more.

What intrigued me about this book was that Liv was looking into the disappearance of her childhood friend Sam. And I’m a sucker for a civilian playing detective. Add to that the witchy magic vibes that the book was said to have and I just had to get a copy of it.
Overall, this book was just OK for me. I would say it was 2 1/2 stars. It started out with such promise but as the book drew on I lost interest, not enough to never pick it back up , but not enough to make me devour it. I was very disappointed in the ending of the book

I love a good mystery and this one has the great added twist of a witchy vibe. Making this read perfect for the fall season. I the only reason this is a 3 star and not a 4 star, is that I’m not a fan of constant flashbacks throughout the entirety of a book. If you don’t mind flashbacks, then this is the perfect fall book for you!!

***I don’t like to be negative about books I’ve read, so I won’t be posting a review on instagram or TikTok

Under Her Spell is a paranormal streaked mystery. The book sucked me and held me captive for the first 2/3 and then kind of sizzled out with the last 1/3. Liv gets a letter from her friend, Sam who she hasn’t spoken to since high school and now Sam is missing. Liv goes back to her hometown to search for her friend. The story is told in alternating past and present timelines where Liv uncovers black magic and a horrifying turn of events. I think I expected too much for the ending I just found the spookiness/scary elements underwhelming and was disappointed with the ending. This one was just okay for me. My voluntary, unbiased, and non-mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

I was super intrigued by the premise of this one, specifically the magical elements, but ultimately this one fell a little short for me. There was a lot going on that I struggled to keep up with at times and found the characters to lack development through the story. Just a little slow in points, but I did like the plot twist.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, Bantam Books for the opportunity to read an ARC of Under Her Spell by K. L. Cerra; my review reflects my honest opinion. I struggled with this book as I am not a fan of the fantasy genre. The more I read, the more I struggled. While not my cup of tea, I do believe the book was well written, and would be very satisfying to fans of fantasy and suspense. 3 stars.

First and foremost, thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately, I must say that this one missed the mark for me. I felt that the story was all over the place and provided too many details that ended up being unnecessary and irrelevant. I love a background in books, but the high school history told in this book is really just extra pages. There was simply no need for all of it.

It took me over a month to finish this book and I am usually a book a day kind of person. I just couldn’t get into the story because it seemed so fantastical and strange.

Despite my thoughts on this book in particular, I do feel that the author has an excellent creative mind and I am interested in reading more by her!

This book has a little bit of everything - mystery, fantasy, friendship. The book was well written and I enjoyed the story.

3.5/5

cw: blood, death, insects, grotesque scenes, corpses, torture, manipulation

What a story. Wow. Liv’s journey to discover the truth about Sam is engaging, grotesque, eerie, and mysterious. It has a slow, but massively intriguing build up. I just kept asking myself what is happening? I found myself drawn to just keep reading to unravel this mystery. Once the story does start to unravel it was non-stop crazy till the end. I could not believe what I was reading.

I really liked the Epilogue for this one. It showed how much Liv is still dealing with the ramifications of that time of her life.

This dark mystery is told in dual timelines from the point of view of the main character Liv. The plot intricately weaves the past and the present to show why certain things are happening. The author does a great job of describing the settings and how it plays a part in the story. The characters are interesting and entertaining. The dialogue is witty and easy to understand. An overall good read.

Under Her Spell
by K. L. Cerra
Pub Date: Sep 10 2024

Under Her Spell is a well paced addicting mystery about a woman who returns to her home town to investigate her childhood friend's disappearance and soon finds herself in a web of half truths, cover-ups and dark magic.

I liked the writing style, the characters were very likable. It was a dark story with very spooky vibes! If you're a fan of gothic suspense, witches and dark magic, I highly recommend this book!

Many thanks to #UnderHerSpell #NetGalley and #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantine #Bantam for providing me with an E-ARC of this great Book!

I really enjoyed this book! I must admit, I did not read the entire preview of what the book was about. I requested it thinking it was a mystery. (And it was, but with a twist!) I was a little surprised when the witchcraft aspect came into it, but I think it was really brilliantly done. There was one point where my mouth was actually gaping open at the turn of events that unfolded. It was so good! I loved the characters and the writing style. The only thing I did not really like was the last page, mainly the very last line of the book. I turned the page on my Kindle and was like oh? That's it? However, I am glad there may be a sequel one day (I hope!). It definitely left the door open for another, if that is what the author wishes.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

I uploaded my review to Goodreads. I will upload it to Amazon on publication day.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and K. L. Cerra for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Under Her Spell coming out September 10, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I received it directly from NetGalley. I was intrigued by the plot. I really love dark secrets and mysteries. I loved the first half of the book with Liv’s mysterious past in high school and what happened to Sam. I wasn’t feeling the second half of the book or the ending as much. There were some witchy vibes, but it wasn’t enough for me. I liked it, but I wasn’t obsessed. I would check out other books by this author!

I only made it to the 50% mark and then gave up on this, so I am only rating off what I read. Albeit, I didn’t get to any of the twists, I’m not sure they would have paid off. Reading this was like being in a fever dream, which many might enjoy. There was too much going on. I liked the witches aspect, but every character was unlikeable and it felt like there was more focus on Liv’s relationship than trying to figure out what happened to Sam. If you enjoy The Craft or The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, maybe give this one a try, but it’s a miss for me.

I love a book with witchy vibes!
When Liv receives a letter from her estranged childhood friend asking for help she feels she MUST go. But the more she learns, the stranger it is. Why was Sam living with THOSE girls. ( You know the ones!) And where was she now? Then— Liv begins to be part of their lives too. But to what end? And where is Sam?
Mysterious and a little eerie! But a good read!

Thank you to Netgalley for an early read!