This book totally sucked me in—curses, magic, a broody witch guy, and a badass heroine? Yes please. Doreen and Ambrose have potent chemistry, and I love their whole “enemies-ish to maybe something more” vibe. This a great read If you’re into witchy drama.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A Circle of Uncommon Witches is by no means a bad book, however it just didn't grab me. The writing style was competent, but not super intriguing. The premise itself is intriguing, but I've already read other books with the same specific concept (such as The Honey Witch and Sweet and Bitter Magic). Overall, I don't have much bad to say about this book, but I don't have much good to say about it either. Maybe it will be for you if you haven't read anything like it!

It took me a few chapters—and maybe a side-eye or two—to warm up to the story and the FMC, but once I did? Hooked. Absolutely spellbound. What starts as a slow simmer soon boils over into a cauldron of curses, cryptic trials, and a desperate search for a cure that spirals into a full-blown adventure. Along the way, family secrets unravel like old spells, and suddenly you’re not just reading—you’re racing through pages like a witch late to a solstice. Uncommon? Absolutely. Unputdownable? Even more so.

With each book I become more of a fan of Paige Crutcher! I love a good witchy read and A Circle Of Uncommon Witches has everything I look for in these stories, even with the time travel aspects which I"m not always a fan of!

I have read so many books about witches you would think I'd want to read something else but you'd be wrong! I will read all of these books and enjoy them.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

i really enjoyed the spooky, witchy curse vibes of this book, however, the pacing felt slightly off.
in this we get flashbacks of our main fmc where she learns her family was cursed that nobody would ever truly love them, so they either had to marry without true love by the time they turned 30, or the curse would kill them.
our fmc didn’t want to marry without true love so she was determined to break the curse.
upon trying to break the curse, she finds the person who placed the curse on her family, and brings him along on a mission to lift the curse, however, he already knew how to lift it and wasn’t going to help her.
it wasn’t necessarily enemies to lovers, more like reluctant companions to lovers as they didn’t truly hate each other, they just hated certain things that occurred.
come to find out, he could lift the curse by falling in love with someone else from her families lineage which would then kill him, however, when he fell in love with our fmc, he didn’t die? not sure how they managed that.
there were quite a few things that didn’t add up if you truly thought about it, but if you turn your brain off, you will just enjoy the vibes of the adventures, trials, witchiness, familial love, and magic.
3.75 stars

I love a good romantic witch story and was very excited to receive an ARC for this. First off, this book was great at the start. You will hit the floor running with this one. however, I feel like it was packed too much, too fast that some events of which I would love more emphasis on were rushed. And that is what my issue was. I really like it at the start but ended up not too much in the end. The characters were presented to me fast and I did not even get too know them very well. So, I was not surprised when the love story of Ambrose and Doreen was just thrown out there for everyone to interpret on their own. There could have been good relationship conflicts to dig through but everything was rushed to finished. I wanted more!

This book was not really for me. I had a hard time getting into the characters and the backstory. Maybe it was right book, wrong time?

Thank you to the publisher and Netgallery. All opinions are my own.

I liked the premise, I enjoyed the characters, but I did find that the story could have gone through another round of edits, especially for the last 100 pages. There was scenes related to the spirits/ghosts that honestly were super confusing and I had to reread it over again.

I liked the first half, but felt like we got lost. The characters were better in the first half for sure, but then the author took a turn that didn't quite make sense. Overall, it won't be memorable, but it was still enjoyable enough to finish it.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

3 star review - it was a decent read. Read well and it kept me engaged. Thank you for the author and tea, for the chance of an arc.

Unfortunately I dnf’ed this book. I couldn’t relate to the characters and the book fell flat for me.

A romance/fantasy featuring witches, traveling back and forth in time. I grabbed this on audio and did enjoy it, but had a bit of trouble following the various plot lines. Not sure if this was because it was on audio? Great witchy/paranormal details would make this a fun fall read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A Circle of Uncommon Witches by Paige Crutcher starts off with an incredibly rich and immersive atmosphere—I was immediately drawn in by the magical setting, the centuries-old curse, and Doreen’s quiet strength and loneliness (she just wants to experience love). The early chapters had such promise, and the chemistry between Doreen and Ambrose (classic enemies to lovers), while slow-building, felt intriguing at first.

However, that slow burn eventually lost its footing. By the time they admitted their love, it felt abrupt and unearned, like the emotional groundwork hadn’t fully settled. And when the story shifted to the Underworld and Margot entered the scene, the plot took a turn that left me feeling disconnected. The pacing became chaotic, and the layers of magic, curses within curses, Ada’s journals, and the Underworld Queen made the story feel more like a fever dream than a cohesive climax. The banter, which was once charming, started to feel disjointed.

It’s frustrating because the book had such a strong start, but the second half unraveled in a way that made it hard to stay engaged. Still, the concept is creative, and I appreciated the ambition—even if the execution didn’t quite come together in the end.

Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. I didn't love the characters and couldn't connect with them in any major way.

While A Circle of Uncommon Witches was incredibly promising, it unfortunately read like an early draft. I found myself rereading paragraphs to understand due to convoluted sentences. This was a great concept and beautiful setting. I hope to see more from the author in the future, but this one needed a bit more editing.

This is a 3.5 star read for me. I enjoyed this book but was a bit confused with the pacing right off the bat. I will admit that I’m generally a series reader so maybe this is normal for standalone books, but I thought that I’d accidentally picked up the second book in the series and went and checked the author’s Amazon page and Instagram page to be sure that wasn’t the case. After I verified that this was indeed the first/only book I was able to focus more and get into the story. In terms on the storyline/plot itself, it was quite enjoyable and had a familiar quality to it. It has all the hallmarks of a great enemies-to-lovers story with the addition of witches, a family curse, betrayal that ends up being closer to home than expected, a fabulous setting, a red hot romance, and a satisfying ending. I truly believe readers both casual and those like me that are obsessed with series will enjoy this book. I personally wish this would have been stretched into at least two more books so we could have gotten more backstory and just more in general, but I feel that way about every standalone book. I believe this was my first Paige Crutcher book but it certainly won’t be my last.

Paige Crutcher weaves a world filled with strong women, layered histories, and enchantment that flickers between light and dark. There’s something charming about the book’s sense of community and resilience, especially among the witches who form the heart of the story. I appreciated the themes of healing, legacy, and chosen family—plus the touch of Southern gothic that lingers around the edges.

That said, I found myself wanting more. The pacing felt uneven, with the beginning pulling me in quickly, only to fizzle a bit as the story progressed. Some characters felt underdeveloped, like they were brimming with potential that never quite got explored. And while the magical elements were intriguing, they sometimes came across more whimsical than impactful.

It’s definitely a comfort read, especially for fans of magical realism and sisterhood narratives. I liked it—but didn’t love it

loved this romance and finding love and remembering love before the one. love the friends and the chemistry between the couple was on fire and loved the banter.

This story was a bit outside my comfort zone but I thoroughly enjoyed it! The themes of grief, and love, and family were so prevalent and I loved the different angles it took. One of my favorite aspects is that everyone who we may have initially been introduced to as a villain always had more to their story. The complexity in every character kept me so engaged and made for such an interesting read!

Doreen was such a beautiful protagonist and I loved her relationship with both Margot and Ambrose, their time together always jumped off the page and had me dialed in. This story is hauntingly sad and hopeful at the same time and I felt it wrapped up nicely. I loved the balance of mystery, fantasy, witchiness, and love all balanced throughout this story!