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!

i am the second chance trope’s biggest fan…hence why i was super thrilled to arc read this paranormal second chance romance

what I love abt second chance is the angst & yearning that clearly play as the most central theme to the characters love story. unfortunately i did not pick up on any romantic chemistry between the lead characters and honestly thought they would have been better off as friends.

i would’ve also loved to see the magic system either developed or at least demonstrated more? at times, i forgot this was meant to be paranormal because this element wasn’t explore nearly as much as i thought it would be.

thank you so much to st martin’s press for the digital arc in exchange for my honest thoughts 💌

📖 Title: A Simple Twist of Fate

✍🏾 Author: April Asher- I've read Supernatural Singles # 2,3 both 4⭐

📅Publication date: 5/13/25 | Read 5/8/25

📃 Format: e-Book 352 pgs.

Genre:
*Paranormal Romance
*Rom-Com

Tropes:
*2nd chance romance
*small town
*miscommunication
*high school sweethearts
*found family
*fated mates
*witches/shifters
*magic
*opposites attract
*1 nightstand

👆🏾POV: 3rd person dual

⚠️TW: parental absence, teen angst

🌎 Setting: Fates Haven, CO

Summary: Harlow returns home to Fates Haven after a thirteen-year exile. She was broken-hearted at eighteen after their Fates Finding Ceremony indicated Harlow and Jaxon weren't fated mates. Jax and her BFF Elodie were fated and Harlow left town to give them a chance at happiness. While in New York she met Cassie who had a daughter Grace now sixteen. Grace can't control her magic and has no idea what kind of shifter she is. She is angry and needs help so Harlow returns home thinking the old alpha-Jax's mother Patricia-will help.


👩🏾 Heroine: Harlow "Harry" Pierce-31, a witch

👨🏾 Hero: Jaxon "Jax" Atwood-31, a cougar shifter, the new Alpha of the Rocky Mountain Pack

🎭 Other Characters:

*Grace-Harry's temporary ward, Cassie's daughter
*Cassie-Harry's BFF, searching for Grace's biological father
*Nora-Harry's great aunt
*Elodie-Harry's childhood BFF, a warrior angel
*Maddox, Silas, and Gavin-Jax's BFFs-a human, demon, and vampire
*Lennox "Lenny"-Harry's childhood BFF

🤔 My Thoughts: I loved this cute, lighthearted paranormal romance with a witch and a shifter. I'm a sucker for 2nd chances and Grace experiences a found family like no other.

Rating: 5/5 ✨
Spice level 4/5 🌶️flirting + 1 good cabin scene

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin, and April Asher for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

This book was AMAZING! I really enjoyed the magical realism, felt very natural like it could be real. This book would make for a great tv show. Loved the romance the mishap fated mates and the shifter training.

Having read April’s Supernatural singles, I was happy to see another witchy story of April. And she has done it again!

The story of Harry and Jaxon is original funny and has some spunk. The build up of the story is done excellent, the banter between Harry and Jaxon is funny as hell and snarky teenager Grace is definitely my favorite character.

So, what can I say: just dive in and enjoy! Five out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Nergalley for providing the arc.

This book was very fun! I loved April Asher’s Supernatural Singles series so I couldn’t wait for this series! And it has a very similar feel, just in a small town romance style. While I thought the characters were so wonderful and the story was charming, I didn’t really connect with Harry and Jaxon as a couple so part of the story fell a bit flat for me. But I cannot wait to the next book! I loved an enemies to lovers story and she set up the next one perfectly!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Griffin for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Witch Harry Pierce left her broken heart and hometown of Fates Haven behind for the Big Apple. But when her friend leaves Harry in charge of her teenage shapeshifter daughter Grace, Harry is out of ideas to help the young shapeshifter. Her last resort is to return to Fates Haven and hope the Rocky Mountain Pack can help. Problem is the pack leader is Jaxon Atwood-her ex and the reason she left Fates Haven. As Harry slowly begins to rebuild old relationships and move on from her past, Grace begins to gain control of her powers thanks to Jaxon’s help. But will Harry and Jaxon let fate get in the way of their happiness a second time?

This is my first April Asher book, and I am hooked! With a magical Rocky Mountain small town, and highly entertaining and hilarious characters I cannot wait for my next visit to Fates Haven!

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so much fun. I have loved every one of this author's books and will probably continue to read all of them. (Her supernatural ones at least) Love that this book didn't really have a third act break up, I at least don't count what happens as one. I kind of predicted most of the things that happened in this book but it's a romance book not a thriller so it's not like I'm expecting twists and turns.

My only complaints is that I felt like the ending was a little rushed, a lot of things happen in the last 10% of the book. Also I'm sure it's going to come up in another book but I want to know what the other favor that Harry owes to the fae is going to be and how he knows her aunt.

April Asher writes supernatural/paranormal romance books, and I jumped at the chance to read this book as I love her Supernatural Singles series. A Simple Twist of Fate is a second chance paranormal romance which while, enjoyable, failed to cast its spell on me.

Thirteen years ago, witch Harlow “Harry” Pierce, fled after her cougar shifter boyfriend, Jaxon Atwood was fated to be with her Harry's best friend instead. Heartbroken and shocked she fled town. Now that she has returned to town, she has become reacquainted with her friends and family including Jaxon!

While I usually fall head over heels in love with Asher's books, I found myself not as captivated as I usually am. I usually love the fun banter between her characters and am instantly drawn into the worlds, but this time, I just didn't feel a connection with the plot. One thing that I did enjoy was the creation of this paranormal world, the originality and uniqueness of the towns and characters. Speaking of the characters, while I enjoyed both main characters, Jax was my favorite. I found that I had a hard time becoming engaged in this book. I found it was lacking a little bit of oomph even with the steam, to have me falling in love with this book.

Fans of second chance romances, paranormal romances, shifter-witch romances may enjoy this book. Other reviewers have enjoyed this book more than I did, so please read their reviews as well. This was a solid 3-star book for me.

Enjoyable and entertaining.