I love the premise of this book! Witches, a curse, and romance, oh my! I just didn't feel the connection to the characters I was hoping to. I felt the story jump around a bit, and felt a little lost a times. I would be interested in reading the author's other books though. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

I want to preface this review by saying I loved this book and 100% recommend it. Please read to the end before you judge harshly. I’ve been a huge fan of Paige Crutcher since I read The Orphan Witch in 2021. She became an auto-read author for me. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of The Lost Witch and LOVED that one also. Then I received an advanced copy of What Became of Magic. I was really sad to report that that one didn’t catch me like her first two novels. I was worried some of the magic was gone, but hadn’t yet given up hope. Then I received an advanced copy of A Circle of Uncommon Witches. I was worried about what I might find and very happy to report that I was not disappointed!! There were a lot of characters to juggle, and I was a bit confused at the beginning, but once I got the characters all straight, it was easier to fall into the story. I loved being able to follow Margot and Ambrose’s adventure. I don’t want to give too much away, but I love the way the trails were presented for completion. It gave a genuine sort of feel to the story. There were a few things I’m still a bit confused on, but that could have just been me reading while slightly distracted. Overall I loved this story and to me it proves that Ms Crutcher has still got it! Can’t wait to see what’s next!

What a fantastic witchy romance! (One of my very favorite types of books!)
A Circle of Uncommon Witches captures your attention right from the start. I was immediately sucked in, and I was able to relate and came to care for each of the characters in their own way!
I love the curse aspect of this book, and each twist genuinely took me by surprise!

I felt like I could really relate to Doreen, who just wanted love at all costs.

"Broken hearts break hearts"
"I thought we were about to become besties" LOL

Bottom line, you need to read this book if you're into witches. It is captivating, has swoon-worthy romance, will have you laughing along, and you will be invested in the characters until that very LAST LINE (iykyk).

⭐️⭐️💫

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱:
The basic idea of the book: I love a good witchy romance, that, paired with a family curse and some tension between our FMC and the man who cursed her entire family? I was sold before I even picked the book up.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
The execution.
I powered through the initial chaos, expecting the info dumping to end at some point so the plot and characters could develop… but it never did. The entire book was so convoluted, it was impossible to follow. The magic system, the journals, the family trees— there were too many things going on. I had to reread paragraphs, and even then I was still lost.

I truly hate posting negative reviews because I know how hard authors work on the novels we consume, but I feel the need to post this review because I read a similar one and thought “𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺,” and I did not. So, if you’re someone who wants a well-organized read with zero plot holes, this is not the book for you.

If you’re willing to overlook that, then cheers to you - I hope you love it. Because there were parts of this story I enjoyed, I just can’t get past the writing style.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁:
✨ Practical Magic if the aunts were evil
🪄 A unique magic system
✨ Enemies to lovers
🪄 Cousins turned BFFs

This book has a great premise, an amazing title, and a spectacular cover--but the book itself fell short for me. I loved the idea of a cozy, witch-central love story--I mean, who wouldn't love that? But I struggled to connect to the characters or feel as though the plot could be easily followed.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin) for the gifted earc copy

After reading the synopsis, I was really looking forward to reading this one and so disappointed it didn't end up as a top read for me!
The concept was great as it was surrounded by witches, curse, trials, and romance. Unfortunately as I read along, I struggled with the plot development, which introduced too many subplots, with some not being overly beneficial to the story. I didn't find the instant-love between Doreen and Ambrose to work, it felt forced as the story wrapped up.

This was a great plot and I enjoyed the world building throughout. Some of the story was a bit unnecessarily muddled at times and I couldn't get into the romance as much as I'd like. Overall, it was a good fantasy and I'd recommend it to folks looking for something Celtic or specifically witchy, but wouldn't recommend it as a romance.

Thank you to NetGalley, Saint Martins Press, and Paige Crutcher for allowing me to read an ARC of A Circle of Uncommon Witches.

I requested this book because I’ve been into the witchy vibe a lot this year and the summary of the book sounded right up my alley! I was reminded a bit of The Ex Hex, which I loved!

This book was a cozy, witchy love story and I did enjoy it. I wish there had been more magic aspects and more witchy things but overall I liked it a lot! I liked Doreen and Ambrose, even though I felt like they fell for eachother a little too quickly.

Overall I enjoyed this book and I recommend it to anyone searching for a cozy witchy vibe!! It was a fun read!

If you’re someone that enjoys cozy witchy vibes, then this book may be for you. Im giving it a 3 star review to remain neutral, but I did soft DNF around 25% and then ended up skimming through the book. The synopsis grabbed my attention, but I just couldn’t connect with the book or become interested in the characters or the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for providing me with an arc of this book.

ARC Review

A Circle of Uncommon witches
By Paige Crutcher
Published date: Feb 25, 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️


Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sending me a copy to review.

The premise of the book is what drew me in! This was a perfect blend of fantasy and romance and a different take on a love story!

The book started off strong and I was hooked but it lost me about half way through. I found too much jumping around trying to explain sub plots and couldn’t follow it all.

I did however love the FMC Doreen, she was easy to love. She’s independent, and feisty.

My one critique is I’m not a fan of insta- love and this border lines goes that way and I wish there was more witchcraft in the book. I however enjoyed the clues throughout to help uncover the curse.

I enjoyed Paige’s writing style and her ability to keep you captivated throughout the book.

This book would be a perfect cozy read for the fall.

OMG OMG OMG

The ending is this book was pure fire!!

I loved every minute of my ride with Doreen and Ambrose. So eventful!

You'll come to discover and love every part of these complex characters, like I did.

You'll love this one if you like:
- enemies-to-lovers
- powerful witches
- magic/ghosts
- quest adventures

TW for death, blood, grief, drowning, torture, physical abuse on a child, heartbreak

Many thanks to the publisher for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

When I first started this book, it reminded me a bit of Erin Sterling's The Ex Hex, and I do think it's a good choice for fans of the Graves Glen Series.
Though the book is more about a family's history with magic, relationships among generations, and an interesting system of magic. The romance is there, but I wanted it to be more developed overall. Overall a spooky, engaging read that would be perfect any time of year, but especially in the fall!

Book: A Circle of Uncommon Witches
Author: Paige Crutcher
Rating: 3/5 stars

A Circle of Uncommon Witches is a witchy and adventurous romance story. It follows the main character, Doreen MacKinnon, who is a witch and who risks dying from a broken heart if she does not fall in love before she turns 30. Her life might be cut short due to a curse that was put on her family hundreds of years prior - by Ambrose MacDonald, - who is a witch from an opposing family.
She is the thirteenth generation of her ancestral line of witches, making her one of the most powerful. Due to her drive, determination, and the power she holds, she decides to take it upon herself to set out and find a way to break the curse - not just for her but for her entire family. However, she only has a few months to do so, and the only person that can help her break the curse is Ambrose MacDonald himself.

The adventure that ensues by trying to break the curse ends up leading her and Ambrose on a whirlwind quest consisting of trials, tricks, and true love.
There were multiple different elements and characters included in her attempt to break the curse, which led to different perspectives and made the original goal unfortunately, much tougher for Doreen to achieve.

I thought that the premise of the story was very interesting, and the concept of the curse was unique. Doreen had a lot stacked against her, and I was glad that the story wrapped up in a way that was satisfying, but also left readers curious.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press (St. Martin’s Griffin) and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of A Circle of Uncommon Witches.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press | NetGalley, for this ARC. When I first received this book, I was very excited because the premise was right up my alley. The lore in this book was captivating. I loved the trials, the curse concept, the family dynamics, and, of course, the enemies-to-lovers theme. The romance is mild and enchanting. Unfortunately, I had a difficult time getting into the book at first; the story throws you in with out much context. However, I enjoyed it more once I became accustomed to the plot and the characters. I would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys fantasy/witch stories with romantic elements.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

There were so many aspects of this book that I loved, like the enemies to lovers, the curse, the dynamics of the family, the banter. Even the romance was super sweet and warm & fuzzy feeling! I just wish I could’ve connected to the characters a little more. I’m not sure if it’s something I was missing personally, but they just felt very, not there?

thank you netgalley and st martin’s press for the opportunity to read this arc

i really wanted to like this one, but it just wasn’t for me :( the plot of the book was really weird and i just couldn’t get into it. my first official dnf🫣

A witch with a conscience that points true north. She is a member of the MacKinnon witches of Scotland who had been cursed by a rival line, the MacDonalds over 500 years ago. As it ever is, it was all about love and loss, as is the current story. Witches, entrapment, never to be loved, being loved, curses, potions, spells and trials. Now it is the trials that held my attention despite being confused by them. Sometime you just have to make comparisons and the Magic Flute by Mozart speaks to similar trials and birds - anyway, in both stories the sky darkens, the wind howls, lightning flashes which begs the questions; will they make it? Will they best the trials of courage, heart, strength and cunning? Will they ever get off that ledge or will they fall into the abyss? And what does the “Pictish Beast” have to do with anything?

Loved the story, loved Doreen, Margot, Stella and Ambrose. A happy bunch of hours spent with these witches. Many thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for a copy.

(Actual: 3.5⭐) This was overall a quick read for me despite it being a littler slow to start and hard for me to connect with at first. From a purely objective standpoint, however, I found A CIRCLE OF UNCOMMON WITCHES to be a fairly solid romantasy with an intriguing plot. I loved the trials portion of the plot the most; or, at the very least, found it to be the most engaging. Our two MCs were also fairly well-rounded and dynamic, and these same descriptors can also be used when it comes to the secondary/ensemble cast as well. That said, I did feel like something was lacking and it's still hard for me to pinpoint exactly what..... perhaps it was just the writing (as, again, it took a beat or longer for me to truly lock in for this one). Overall, I'd still rec it out to others despite my gripes because it was still a fun fantasy romp!

The second I heard this book was a witchy romance with an enemies to lovers trope I sprinted over to NetGalley to get my hands on a copy. I really enjoyed this book however it didnt blow me out of the park, the writing was good and the storyline was intriguing but it wasn't anything to write home about.
With that being said I wil still be reccommending this book especially in the fall time when the spooky witch vibes really shine through.
Thankyou to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC!

Loved this book! A fun twist on a love-curse. A unique magic system and immersive world building felt at once fantastical and grounded in true witchcraft and mythology.