Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC.

This is a really cute paranormal romcom with second chances, snarky teens, and fated mates. It was a fun read from start to finish - I literally finished it in one sitting. The author crafted a compelling story, characters I cared about, snarky commentary that made me giggle and some hot spicy scenes that made me fan myself. I really hope this is going to be a series because I need to see Harlows besties find their happy every afters and see how Grace grows up.

What a FANTASTIC start to a new paranormal small town romance series! This first book is a second chance romance featuring Harry (Harlow) and her half human, half fae goddaughter Grace, who wants to find her mysterious fae shifter father. The two return to Harry's magical hometown and are reunited with her ex, Jaxon leader of the Rocky Mountain shifter pack in hopes he can help Grace with her shifter identity. This book had a little of everything, romance, friendship, magic, found family and mystery. I loved it so much and can't wait for more in the series! Perfect for fans of Nora Roberts and Kelley Armstrong. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

First and foremost, thank you to the publisher and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I loved this story and it was definitely worth the read!

Oh what’s that? A witchy romcom? Shocking!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and the folks at NetGalley for access to this eARC!

If you’ve been here for a bit then you know this is my go to genre when I need an unserious, goofy, good time is a completely unrealistic romance with witches and or/shifters/vampires/any combination of these! I am here for a good time, not a long time, hashtag no regerts.

Anyways, A Simple Twist of Fate revolves around a magical small town, and a witch (Harry) who ran from the town 15 years earlier when the towns annual Fate Ceremony went awry. Her boyfriend (and jaguar shifter) at the time was revealed to be fated to her best friend. Heartbroken, she leaves and magically covers her tracks. When she returns she has to face everyone she left behind including her ex!

Overall, this book was all vibes. I thought that the second chance romance was sweet, and as predicted I ate up the found family aspect of the story. Were there some absolutely cringey moments? Yes. 100%. But I soldiered on. And there are obviously 2 other connected stand alone that are going to come out of this and I will absolutely be here for them.

If you want a magical pallet cleanser in your reading life then I think this is a great low stakes funny choice. If you want a solid magic system or complex story, you should look elsewhere.

This title is out tomorrow May 13th!

Looking for a cozy magical soap opera to fall into for a little while? Look no further. “A Simple Twist of Fate” is exactly that - cozy, low stakes, and teeming with fun moments designed to make your cheeks hurt from smiling. This book was exactly what I needed to switch things up this weekend.

You can expect:
Second chances
Magic Festival
Fated Mates
Meddlesome Aunts
Wonderful side characters
HEA with the potential for future stories from Fates Haven

I think there could have been a few plot lines tightened up, but overall I really enjoyed this book. It felt like watching a magical soap opera and when I was done with the last chapter I wanted the next episode/season to binge. I hope there will be more stories about Elodie and Silas, and Lenny and her vampire mate. Maybe even Cassie and the mysterious Luke.

As always, I requested this ARC not knowing anything about the book except that the cover was pretty and there was a dragon on it!

I have not read any April Asher books before this one but I would definitely pick up another one, and I wouldn’t be mad if this turned into a series of standalones!

This book is paranormal rom com that felt like Gilmore Girls (in the small town vibes) meets Halloweentown (mostly just because everyone is some sort of supernatural person, like shifter, witch, angel, seer). It was a fun read and I enjoyed it! There was some great found family and fated mates. And some spice 🌶️

4.25/5
This is such a cute, kick your feet story. The relationship between everyone is amazing for how short the story is. Harry is a great representation of a strong, female who admits to her flaws. Also she's a curvy representation. The relationship she has with her old friends and her charge is wonderfully built. The chemistry between Harry and Jax is sizzling and the spice is definitely there. If you are looking for a cute (non frustrating) romance this is it. It has a broody MMC and fun energetic FMC and is in dual POV which is always amazing for a romance!
Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the opportunity to read this book!

Fates Haven is essentially Stars Hallow with paranormal creatures. A Simple Twist of Fate is heartwarming, whimsical, and endearing. Watching Harlow (Harry) interact with Grace and encouraging her to find herself while Harry healed her broken relationships with her friends (the Fearsome Four) made me emotional. However the highlight was watching her interactions with Jax which made me want to giggle and kick my feet. Plus I am always here for a cat shifter romance.

A simple twist of fate is a paranormal romantic comedy that has themes of second chances found family and magical mishaps. It has lots of amazing banter. If you are looking for a cozy magical setting this is for you

I love April's books. She writes the best spicy fantasy-rom-coms! Love the surprises in this one and all the personal growth that is showcased.

A Simple Twist of Fate features found family, second chances, fated mates, and forced proximity, to name a few. As well as, shifters, witches, angels, vampires and fae. And did I forget to mention magical tattoos - one of my favourite fantasy elements.

I really loved this and really hope it is the beginning of a Fates Haven series of related stand-alones. Can't wait to find out what happens with Elodie, Lenny, Cassie, Silas, Luke, and Gavin, and would love to watch Grace continue to learn and grow.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Big thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun, quick paranormal rom-com between a witch and an alpha shifter. It was cute but it wasn't a new favorite. The main characters were kind of frustrating because they wouldn't just talk about their past and feelings for the longest time. I hope we get more books in this series though, because I really liked the side characters.

What to expect:
- witch + alpha shifter
- Close-knit small town (like Stars Hollow)
- found family
- second chance romance
- fated mates

This book was the exact book I needed to pull me out of my book funk. I hadn't been able to get into a story for over a month as nothing spoke to me, but when I picked up Asher's newest book, it immediately drew me in and I finished it in two sessions. I only spaced it out because it was 3 am and I had to sleep, otherwise I would've finished it in one read.

Asher has always had a way with creating complex stories & dynamic characters, and this book is no different! I am desperately hoping that this is the first book in a new interconnected series, because I am already dying for the next book! We need to have more of these friends and Fate Haven.

A Simple Twist of Fate by April Asher was a cute cozy paranormal romantasy. The author did a great job of making the readers feel the history between the characters which can be difficult with two different time periods of friends to account for. Sometimes the book was a tad cheesy but who doesn’t love some good cheesy romance. Over all a cute cozy book.

ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ☕️☕️☕️☕️
ꜱᴘɪᴄᴇ:: 🍄🍄🍄🍄

ᴍɪɴɪ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ:
I loved the small town feel of Fates Haven which reminded me of Stars Hollow and a little bit of Halloween Town. I liked Harry but Grace and Nora were instant love matches for me. Jax was all the perfect amounts of broody shifter MMC. As the story went on Harry definitely redeemed herself more. I’m hoping we get lots more books in Fates Haven because the side characters deserve their fated matches.

Look, I wanted to love this. I really did. Magic? Shifters? Fated mates? A witch named Harlow who insists everyone call her Harry for reasons never quite explained? Sign me up. But somewhere between the cougar shifter angst and the town’s magical matchmaking crisis, my excitement fizzled.

First of all, shoutout to the Fates Haven tourism board, because the whole town reads like a Pinterest board for a magical small town with emotionally unavailable men and festivals every 30 pages. But here’s the thing: if you’re going to sell me on a world where a glowing wisp determines your soulmate and everyone just accepts it like magical Tinder, I need a little more logic and a lot fewer dramatic exits.

Harry fled town after her bestie got magically paired with her boyfriend. Relatable? Sure. But then she returns more than a decade later with her goddaughter in tow, like she’s starring in a Hallmark movie spinoff where the main plot is trying to get a teen to stop setting things on fire.

Enter Jaxon, the stereotypically brooding Alpha who’s somehow still upset that Harry broke his heart. I mean, how original. This entire situation reeks of bad decisions, unresolved tension, and a whole lot of supernatural angst that made me want to roll my eyes so hard, I might’ve given myself a migraine.

The magic in this town is apparently going haywire (shocker) and there’s some intense focus on “Fated Matches” that’s apparently the big deal in Fates Haven. But… the Fated Match plot? It’s more like “here’s a bunch of random magic mumbo-jumbo with zero real explanation.” It felt more like background noise to Harry and Jaxon’s “Will they? Won’t they? Should they even?” saga.

The stakes are either incredibly high or utterly ridiculous, and I honestly couldn’t tell which. And the characters? Well, they were fine, but I couldn’t care less about their complicated feelings or their emotionally turbulent history. I just wanted them to make some decent decisions and stop acting like teenagers in a really bad relationship.

All in all, this book had a lot of potential—but it just wasn’t for me. If you enjoy slow-burn second-chance romances where the burn is more of a smoldering pile of resentment, and you’re okay with characters who make you want to shake them and shout “USE YOUR WORDS,” this might be your jam.

As for me, I’m off to find a magical wisp that’ll lead me to a book with more chemistry and less small-town trauma.

But hey, at least the cover’s pretty.

A Simple Twist of Fate was a cute paranormal romance, set in the same world as April Asher's previous series. I liked this one, but I wish the angst of the original misunderstanding was turned up. It also got a little too saccharine near the end.

Harlow (aka Harry) leaves Fates Haven when she finds out her boyfriend is fated to be with her best friend. She creates a new life in New York City and makes sure none of her friends can find her. When she's down on her luck 13 years later, she returns home with her goddaughter, Grace. Harry and Grace need to find out what is going on with Grace's powers from an unknown parent. Harry also reunites with Jax, the new alpha of the Rocky Mountain Pack, and her former love.

A lot of this book was setting up the series, and I think it was trying to do too much. Aside from the primary romance, we also had to figure out Grace's situation, introduce the next two presumed books, fix the magic in the town, and deal with Harry's past and future. I think several of these storylines got shortchanged. I had a good time still, but I was hoping for a bit more angst with the situation that caused Harry and Jax to break up in the first place. That's what second chance romances are for! This world is fun to be in and I would read more for entertainment purposes, but this isn't one that's life changing.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Griffin's for the e-book in exchange for my honest review.

A Simple Twist of Fate was a fun read with solid friend dynamics and a second chance romance. I loved the setting of this story with a small town of magical residents. It felt like Stars Hallow, but magical! The book doesn't dive into the magic of the universe which left me with some questions. Overall, I enjoyed this read.

3.75 stars

A Simple Twist of Fate is a fast paced, second chance, paranormal romance. The majority of the book takes place in Fates Haven, CO, a town full of paranormal normality and lots of interesting characters. The FMC, Harlow or Harry, is a witch that is trying to help her best friend's teenage daughter figure out what her paranormal proclivities are and in doing so, returns to her hometown 13 years after fleeing in search of answers. The MMC, Jaxon, is a shifter alpha with attitude and a mushy heart.
I enjoyed Asher's latest work and look forward to more in the future.

Negatives: I wish the cover had not given the mystery away. I wanted more demonstration or explanation of the magic system and the background of the town's origin since it plays such a major part in the story.

If you are a fan of second chance romance, paranormal romance, or cute stories full of hope for the future and lots of loveable characters then this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE is a wonderful second chance romance between high school sweethearts in a magical small town. Author April Asher writes well and her tale is enveloping; her world building is delightful. She provides the requisite feisty female/ hunk of a male couple that also happens to be a witch and shifter. Add in a teen with fire starting issues and a town where gossip travels faster than the speed of light, and the set up is a good one. I read it in one sitting and only wished for more. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

This was a perfectly pleasant read but nothing elevated it beyond that. The town of Fates Haven felt like whimsy taken a bit too far, I’m not sure how to articulate it but it wasn’t cohesive, it didn’t have a through line that integrated it all together. Maybe if the worldbuilding had stood out more I would have liked this better, but as it is this romcom conflict was one of my least favorite.

I can’t get on board with abandoning your friends because of a boy. 13 years is an insanely long time to ditch friends bc of a broken heart that’s not their fault. The angst is fully self imposed, it’s infuriating. She left and cut out everyone in her life because of a single event that she never tried to get more answers about, in fact prevented herself from learning more. There are no stakes to this HEA because it was only Harry’s exile that prevented it. At one point late in the story, Harry’s Aunt Nora is comforting her and she says, “It’s nothing a simple conversation won’t fix.” That about sums the whole thing up. The rest of the plot is lots of manufactured shenanigans, forced conflict, and stilted love confessions. Wish I had liked this more!