This was a nice book to read from all the other heavy hitters I had to read from NetGalley. And the entire book was fun, light hearted and mildly spicy. It was a good buffer book and I don’t say that as a bad thing. I say that as an entirely good thing. Sometimes you need something fun and more simple to break up high fantasy and world building.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Thank you @netgalley for this ARC copy of Magic in the Air!
I absolutely adored this book, based upon MY “Stars Rating System” this was a solid 4.5⭐️. (Rounded up for NetGalley and GoodReads)
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Magic in the air reminded me of The Good Witch meets Once Upon a Time (in the sense of the town itself) but with spice! With a dash of The Ex Hex series too?
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I will say I was NOT expecting the spice, I thought it was just gonna be a cutesy book in the realm of Practical Magic.
But when the spice hit (at 50%) it was the icing on the cake, because of the insane amount of chemistry between the two MCs.
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Why the half star, if I liked it so much?
Well our FMC (Olivia) is adamant through the first 47% of the book that the MC (Draven) is just in the town to cause trouble, no one knows how he found the town, but they all know he is lying, because you can’t just stumble into Addersfield.
But when she takes a leap and asks him out on a date (to gather intel of course) and he says yes and plans the whole thing, the instant they are alone he spills 1/2 his secret and she spill all of hers.
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This book was cute and fun! Really short, everything seemed to wrap up nicely, and I can see a book 2 coming with Parker and Lucas, and I would be all for that, with a look in on Olivia and Draven too!
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This book did leave me wanting more time with the characters and the town so hopefully there will be a book 2! 🫶

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I was gifted the audiobook and I left my full review over there. Sadly this book was just a no. I wanted to like it but it was just a miss.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5
🌶️🌶️ 2/5

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

I am a huge fan of all the tropes present in this book, but the execution just felt very middle of the road. It was fine, but lacked conviction or anything really interesting about the writing. The most important defining moments felt glossed over and often I felt myself reverting back to skimming.

That being said, it was good. Just good though. I was so drawn in by the cover and I love a paranormal romance in the midst of spooky season. Like I mentioned, all the variables are there they just felt dull to me. I hope it’s different for other readers though, I really wanted to love this one but just couldn’t connect to any of the characters.

This is a super cute small-town, witchy romance that features a character with amazing disability representation. The setting and world building were good but not super original. I felt like the magical elements were a bit lacklustre, since they felt mainly baking related. At least they were true to the FMC who is a baker, but they didn’t really line up with any other characters which made that aspect less believable for me. Again, I felt like I ended up skimming parts to “get to the good part” so I might have just missed something and the good parts were just meh for me.

This is still worth recommending if it sounds like your cup of tea, it just sadly wasn’t for me.

*3.5 Stars*

I felt that Magic in the Air was supposed to be a mix of Practical Magic in the town of Gilmore Girl's Stars Hollow. Olivia has curated a life in the small town of Addersfield, Rhode Island with her son Daniel. She owns the town's bakery with her best friend, Jill and has been able to flourish as a witch not letting her Cebral Palsy bring her down. When Draven comes into town, Olivia has an instant connection to him, but she knows he is hiding something. Can Olivia determine Draven's secrets while possibly finding love?

I loved the first part of this book. A town of witches is the perfect scene for a fall romance. Olivia's character is strong and independent. Olivia has found a family that understands her, and I enjoyed her banter with her best friends Jill and Parker. The chemistry between Draven and Olivia in the beginning was spot on. Although Olivia had her suspicions about Draven, it was fun to read how her magic acted when Draven was around and how Olivia's character started to open up to the possibility of love after all that she had been through.  

The biggest issue I had with this book was the amount of spice did not match the story. Don't get me wrong, I love a spicy book, but these characters seemed to go from 0 to 100 in no time at all. Spice became the majority of the story when I felt that the author could have toned it down and focused on the development and growth of the two main characters.

This book does open up the possibility of a second book and even with my issues with this book, I would be interested in reading the sequel if it ever came out.

Magic in the Air comes out September 17th.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Rising Action Publishing for the opportunity to review Magic in the Air. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the experience of reading this book, but I will say - I couldn't stand the MMC. Minor spoilers ahead (but nothing you cannot figure out from the first 10% of the book).

I had a really hard time getting excited about a romance where one character is there to purposefully seek revenge on the most important thing to the other love interest. Any interaction between the main characters was a little spoiled for me because of this.

However, I think it was really cool to see a Mexican woman with a visible disability as the main character in a witchy rom com - I don't think I see a ton of that. I also loved her relationship with her son and the other witches in town. I loved the way that magic worked and the ritual performed. If I were to look at the book overall, it's probably a 4 star for me, but without the romance plot line, I think it would have been a 5.

Thank you to Rising Action and NetGalley for the ARC of Magic in the Air!

This book was cute but personally was not for me. There is quite a bit of representation in this book compared to others as the FMC Olivia has Cerebral Palsy and there’s a Latin rep as well. Additionally Olivia is a single mom. The VIBES of this book were excellent. However, to keep it short and sweet I didn not like these three major things: Insta-love, misunderstanding trope, third person POV. If these things don’t bother you then this may be the book for you! But overall this book felt hard to follow and just too fast. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Addersfield is a sanctuary for witches. 1697 three founders created a protection spell for the town so only who is aware of magic or who knows about the town is able to find it.
Olivia and her son live since some years happily in this town as no she is getting used and taught how to use magic and finally found in the town members new friends and family. There she gets accepted for who she is and also her cerebral palsy is not causing any issues for her as she is able to walk everywhere she needs to be.
One day Draven shows up in town and Olivia knows something big is in the air and is not trusting him. She wants to make sure the town and everybody she loves is save. After the death of his mom Draven found her journals where she is talking about that she was a witch but lost her magic, hence left her home town. Not being a witch any longer was the reason why his father left the family. So for him magic is the root cause for so much pain in his family hence magic is bad. Magic was taken from his mom, nobody in her town was supporting her and in the end she hat to take care of her two sons alone. As a journalist he wants to expose the town and magic to the world to destroy them and to get his revenge. So he expected many things but not that his new neighbour Olivia is also raising feelings in him he did not expect.

I really like the idea here that we have a cosy small town in which not only witches live but also normal people who are aware of magic. Also how this town is like a big family, everybody is there for the other, how they stick together is really nice. That a spell is preventing the town to be found and exposed to unknown is a good idea.
In general I like the character of Olivia but the mention that she has cerebral palsy is coming up for me a bit too often. I mean she found a really good way to live with it and in the story you are not reading that there are too many things she can´t do. Also right from the start she is not trusting Draven, what I really liked, but then very fast she gets romantically with him.
Draven I really had my issues with him right from the start. He is so convinced that magic is bad as his mom lost it and he is making the town responsible for it, also that nobody helped her to get it back, nobody supported his mom when she left. I mean he hat only journals with some info but not the whole picture and from a journalist I expected there a bit more. After being in town and meeting Olivia and her sun he is not willing to expose the town in an article any longer but still has so much anger against magic that the dramatical part in this story couldn´t convince me. I would have preferred another twist here without this not really too dramatic part.
Also the erotic encounter between these two is something I did not expect so explicit. To be honest with less I think I would have liked the story more as for me concentrating on the small spells everybody is using or also to have spells in the backed goods could have been more worked out.
So really a nice idea, a cosy town with really nice characters but for me the magic portion could have been a bit more.

This book in the beginning was exactly what I needed. It felt like a cute, cosy witchy romance. I was so excited for it. However when I hit the middle it fell a little flat for me. I felt like the relationship between the FMC and the MMC just came out of nowhere and it really ruined it for me. Although I am glad I finished it. Thanks for sending it to me

Magic in the Air is a short book that feels long. I really really struggled to finish this. Like started and stopped it a few times. I love the representation in the book as well as the setting (what I would do to own my own bakery) but it just wasn’t for me. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own.

this story was unlike anything ive ever read!! my first from this author and will not be my last. wonderful story that tugged at your heart strings. likeable characters and great pacing! would recommend this one!!

This book had promise and I loved the idea of a witch with CP who is a single mum finding love. It just needs more work and more editing. I’m not sure if it’s the copy I received but scenes crucial to the plot did not make sense. There was a whole description about the two main characters meeting but it took place BEFORE they had actually met.

I really wanted to love this one.

Rounding up to 3 stars.

Let's start with the good... The biggest thing I loved was the diversity and representation! Loved the Cerebal Palsy and Latinx represtation thorughout the book.

It is strange to think that a less than 200 page book is a struggle, but it was. It felt like a much longer book had gotten chopped up and shoved into 193 pages. The main characters had barely any interactions and then were suddenly madly in love. The conflict should have been a single, calm, rational conversation and instead was a teenager-style screaming match that caused a much larger issue. Since they barely interacted before jumping into bed the graphic sex scenes (which I usually love) just felt... awkward. Like there was no hesitation for this woman who with a 10 year old son to jump, condomless, into sleeping with this man she doesn't even really trust? This one just didn't click for me.

First of all, thank You netgalley for the ARC granted. I can join the netgalley reader crowd that said that this book has an entirely cozy-ish vibes! IT TRULY has. I loved how the narrative progressed. The drama was dealt with delicacy and sweetness making the story so much more romantic. I liked a lot.

This felt like another take on Practical Magic! Olivia lives in Addersfield, Rhode Island where she operates a magical bakery, but what is even more magical is that Addersfield is a long withstanding sanctuary for witches. As a single mom, she seems content with her life of raising her son in a community where she is with other witches, but shes lonely. So of course we meet Draven. Draven is this crazy charistmatic newbie to town that is sparking interest in Olivias heart that leads them to witty and charming moments and romance. But heres the kicker and what tipped me off a mile away....the miscommunication/untrusting trope.

Idk man, this trope just cannot ever do justice for me when it is centered around full fledged members of society, a.k.a. ADULTS. Like I can expect this behavior from teenagers in a drama filled YA book but not adults. And what really was the nail to the coffin of this book was the pacing...one moment were going slower than slugs trying to escape after being doused in salt and aching conversations of having the love interests learn to trust each other. And then they finally do come to a point where they do trust each other and the spice parts happens and were 102 MPH in a 25. It felt unneccessary for the AMOUNT OF SPICE that just happened. Like we get it, the moment was there...but we're getting excessive after two seconds ago we didnt trust each other.

The only reason this gets 3 stars instead of 2 is because of the Cerebeal Palsy rep because the rep matters and WE HAVE JUST BARELY SEEN MAIN CHARACTERS WITH DISABILITIES.

tldr:
likes:
-loved the sense of community among the witches and their cozy town
-disability rep matters so much
-I did feel the magical setting and elements without it taking up every interesting aspect

dislikes:
-pacing and inconsistency of pacing
-dare i say....sometimes too much spice is a thing
-characters left me unable to connect or really feel their emotions.

3.5 stars

This is a very cute small-town witchy romance with Latina and disability representation. I found this book to be very cozy, but still had a decent amount of spice. Olivia and Draven were both likeable characters and I found they were also "sunshine." No grumps here! I loved seeing what an amazing mom Olivia was to her nine-year-old son, Daniel. I enjoyed that the ending wasn't rushed, and we got to see them get their HEA without an Epilogue. THAT is really hard to find. Most romance books put the HEA in the Epilogue instead of just writing it into another chapter. I found it very refreshing that wasn't the case here. There were some continuity issues, such as referring to Draven's career that really took off after [event], but we were told that event only happened six-months prior. And for the type of career he was in, I thought it would take more time than six months for him to become one of the best in his field. Just my opinion.

Now, there were a couple of issues that prevented this from being a four (or five) star for me. First would be the amount of telling we got (instead of showing) up until the 57% mark. The only showing we really got was when Draven go to the small town and then when he would go and get his coffee everyday. I got super excited when the "gardening scene" happened because we were getting more showing than telling there... but during it the author suddenly changed to telling. So, that was disappointing, however, I absolutely see this author growing with her writing. The more authors write the better they get.

The second big issue I had with this book was that (IMO) Draven acted completely out of character during the third act conflict. Maybe I'm an outlier or completely off base, but from what I picked up from Draven he wouldn't have acted like that. And if it is within his character to behave that way then his thinking would have indicated that earlier on in the book.

When I was reading this book I couldn't help but wish it was written in first person. This book was written in third-person limited. I think I would have connected with the characters on an even deeper level if it was in first person.

I truly hope that this book kicks off a series that centers on this small town. I want to know more about this unique town and I want to read about Lucas and Parker's story! I would recommend this book and would enjoy reading more by this author. Oh, and be prepared. If you did not have a craving for horchata before reding this book, I can guarantee you certainly will after!

I DNF'd this one at 10%

Sounded good until I got to the male's pov, I just didn't like him and the antagonistic attitude about how he would uncover the town. I could see the possible conflict coming already. And I just didn't feel like reading more after that.

Olivia Ayala runs a small-town bakery in Addersfield, a sanctuary for witches. As an independent single mom who has cerebral palsy and as a powerful witch, she has built a life of calm and sweetness for herself and her son. Yet, a quiet loneliness lingers beneath her contentment.

Enter Draven James, charming, annoyingly handsome, and mysteriously able to find their hidden town. His arrival disrupts Olivia's peace, igniting a spark she didn't know was missing. Draven's easy smile and enigmatic secrets cast a new spell over her life, tempting Olivia with the promise of a love as wild and unpredictable as magic itself.

But things are not as they seem. As Olivia falls deeper under Draven's enchanting influence, questions arise. Draven hides secrets behind his charismatic exterior. His mysterious past could endanger their safe haven and the future Olivia dreams of.

I read this book in the middle of summer, and it even helped me survive the intense heat. The book is adorable, perfect for rainy autumn evenings. Olivia comes across as a strong and powerful witch from the beginning, seemingly unable to dive into romantic waters. But, of course, as soon as Draven arrived, the magic was felt in the air, and it definitely changed her.

Although the book features a misunderstanding trope for most of the story, with many secrets hidden from each other, they still can't live without one another. Their love is depicted in a very sweet way, showing their beginning and getting to know each other's past and magic. There were parts of the book where I didn't like Draven, he perhaps overcomplicated things and some of the situations they found themselves in. I also really liked the character Daniel (Olivia's son), a sarcastic, lovable boy.

I liked that the book is written in the third person and is well-developed enough to understand what's happening and what Olivia and Draven think and want.

The book has a perfect Gilmore Girls vibe from the very beginning, set in a small town where everyone cares for each other, with the addition of magic, simply adorable. I recommend everyone to read the book, you will love it, it's simple, easy, fast paced and quick to read. Oh, I really want donuts and hot chocolate now, which goes perfectly with this book. Also, I want a book about Parker and Lucas. Enjoy!

I always love a good witchy romance! This book had some cute moments and some very hot spice. At times, things seemed to move really fast and almost felt soap opera -esque and larger than life in a way. Also, is it really the best time to ask about a chronic medical condition right after having mind blowing sex?!?!?
But if you like that fast paced, sometimes overly dramatic kind of story, you will really enjoy this book!

I almost didn’t finish this but I went ahead and did it.

The short of it is Olivia is a witch and a single mom and she lives in this magic town that’s hidden from people who don’t know about it. Draven is a journalist and his mom passed away and he found her journals about being from this magic town and goes there to write an article exposing magic because he’s a journalist.

They meet. She’s suspicious because he’s doing something suspicious. They are neighbors. They date.

Okay, my issues are mostly with the characters. She has cerebral palsy, is Mexican, was in foster care, and is a single mom. And she bakes. That’s her whole personality. Literally every chapter mentions her cerebral palsy and they drink horchata constantly. Draven is hell bent on revenge against magic because his mom lost hers. He’s lying to everyone and is apparently the greatest journalist ever. That’s their character traits. I can’t.

Also the grammar is weird. Sometimes there are contradictions but then they don’t use them and it makes the word flow awkward.