This rivals to lovers has adventure, romance, and one big problem. The problem is Miriam is part of the finance team that is going to ruin Nelson’s plans to house the low income/homeless people of New York. She is strong, independent, and career-minded to the core. She never thought about love or romance and weekends were meant for even more work.
But, Miriam is passionate about helping her parents. She wants to be able to help them retire. She likes Nelson’s housing plan. But, she is caught in a tough position of doing the right thing for work and or doing the right thing in the name of humanity and love.
This was a quick read, and I absolutely loved that even though Miriam was brilliant, and great at her job. She would much rather spend time watching TV and her cat while eating mint chip ice cream. Her magic was of the chaotic kind, and it made the adventure that much more fun.
If you are looking for a romance between rivals that have reunited, where he falls first, and they have adventures all over the Big Apple and New Jersey, this is for you.

The Witch of Wall Street is a lighthearted, entertaining read with a bit of spice and supernatural elements. Going into the book, I was attracted to the supernatural romance premise. From the start, though, I felt distracted by pacing issues. I found a lot of excessive explanations and felt like parts of the novel read like YA.

I appreciated that the characters were written with flaws, which made them feel more authentic and relatable. When it comes to romance, I feel the main leads lack the push-and-pull that is crucial when it comes to rivals/enemies-to-lovers. Overall, I really wanted to like this, but the execution wasn’t quite there and I struggled to finish.

The Witch of Wall Street* pleasantly surprised me! This book struck a perfect balance between being a nice, easy read and tackling some hard-hitting real-world topics, all with just a touch of magic. I saw so much of myself in both Miriam and Nelson—Miriam’s fierce independence and reluctance to ask for help, and Nelson’s selfless desire to support everyone around him, sometimes to his own detriment. The blend of magic with the real world was seamless, adding just the right amount of whimsy to an otherwise grounded story. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I’m happy to give it 4 stars!

Bewitched meets Wall Street!

Absolutely loved this cute witchy romcom. This is the first books I have ever read by M.J. Etkind and let me tell you I am so ready to read more! 😍

When an unexpected wooing leads to a chaotic magical mishap Miriam and Nelson must embark on a paranormal quest around New York. Jam packed with Jinns, dumplings and poisonous leather shops. Who will fall first? There is only one way to find out. So come on down to Wall Street and be enchanted with what a little bit of magic and love can do.

The Witches of Wall Street follows Miriam, an ambitious witch working in finance, who reconnects with Nelson, her high school rival. Together, they’re unwillingly thrown into a magical quest around New York.

I requested this ARC because it seemed right up my alley (plus, the cover is cute), and I want to thank NetGalley and MJ Etkind for providing me with an early copy. Unfortunately, the book didn't quite meet my expectations.

The story has its moments. Initially, I found it a bit slow and repetitive, but it gets a little better after a few chapters. Miriam and Nelson’s struggles are relatable, and I appreciate the author’s attempt to address tougher issues like addiction. Writing about it must have been challenging.

With a little more editing, this could have been a charming and fun witchy romance. What ultimately made me rate this below average were the comments about women, particularly housewives. There’s an entire rant justifying why it’s only okay for the FMC to wear makeup (it’s a "necessary evil" for work purposes), but the worst part for me was reading that the FMC could never be a housewife because they have “no identities.”

I genuinely did not expect that from a book published in 2025 and I'm baffled that women continue to be judged and belittled for choosing what they want to do with their lives. If I hadn’t committed to reading and providing honest feedback, I would have DNFed it.

A cozy, romantic book filled with chaos magic and small miracles.
I really enjoyed reading this. From the delicious food descriptions that made me DEEPLY crave spring rolls. To the silliness and cute romance. To the serious topics blended seamlessly into the story. It all pulled together into a great story.
I generally gravitate towards a more slow-burn romance in the stories I read, so I will admit that I felt the romance moved a little too fast for my personal tastes. Having said that, I do think it worked really well in this book, and set up the story nicely.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Witch of Wall Street by M.J. Etkind!

4 stars!

Minimal spice, mostly fade to black

Content warning: addiction, overdose

Favourite lines: "Romance was a myth perpetuated by the patriarchy to keep women in terrible relationships," and, "All the men she'd dated were experts in domestic incompetence."

I have to start this by saying that I really enjoyed this magical urban romance. M.J. did a really wonderful job of immersing me into a magical New York filled with witches, jinns, other magical creatures (including mer folk who frequent Montauk/the Hamptons), broomsticks, and a warming grump X sunshine romance.

The Plot
The plot centres around Miriam and Nelson galivanting around New York - using regular modes of transport, much to their chagrin - to find their missing magical items and Miriam's incriminating paperwork that could <spoiler> undermine Nelson's deal to secure 500 apartments </spoiler>. All the while, both Nelson and Miriam are struggling with ethical and moral dilemmas in their workplaces, revolving around big corporate and capitalism. I enjoyed the discourse around finding a voice and a way forward when you feel like you're stuck between a rock and a hard place in a capitalist society. The romance was also believable! Thank you M.J. Etkind for writing a compelling romance that actually made sense! I swooned a little bit when Miriam realised she wanted Nelson to take care of her!

The FMC
Miriam: a 30-something chaos witch who kicks butt as an investment banker for more hours of the day than any reasonable person should. And she likes to ride her broom above New York, like the queen that she is. Miriam is kinda grumpy and likes to be in control, which is in total contrast to her nature as a chaos witch. She keeps people at a distance, including her coven of similarly like-minded career-focused witches, and tries to do everything herself. Until a tryst with a certain witch frenemy from her childhood leads to her broom magicking itself away and a quest around New York to find it, along with her handbag and confidential files that could ruin a blossoming relationship with said frenemy...

The MMC
Nelson: a 30-something witch who can magic small miracles with a hero complex. Nelson is kind of a ray of sunshine, which pairs really well with Miriam's grumpy outlook. He's also annoyingly perfect, which grates on Miriam's carefully controlled persona. He's a social worker who helps ex-felons, addicts, the disenfranchised find housing, treatment, and employment. So, the total package, really. He's working on securing 500 apartments for those in need when he runs into Miriam and the two share a... passionate encounter, before her chaos magic spirits away his beloved magical taxi medallion.

The cat
Shout out to Larry, Miriam's 17 pound cat who acts like he's never been fed a day in his life despite getting kibble and wet food multiple times a day.

I knocked one star off because I felt like Talia, the character who OD'd, was just kind of forgotten about, or was used as a means to expedite Miriam's relationship with Nelson. Passages on addiction and the overdose itself were written with care and empathy, but it kind of just fell off the page, with one brief mention relating to a safe-use centre, but no real closure.

Overall, this is a great non-cheesy romance novel with a twist and a happy ending.

I really enjoyed this book, A chaos witch who was really relatable and an MMC who is just such a sweet golden retriever type was perfect. It was really interesting to see how the magic worked and the distinctions between the different types of magics there are. This kind of lore is always very interesting and it was written very well and kept the reader hooked and wanting to know more.

Golden Retriever Boyfriend, He Falls First, Rivals To Lovers.

I received this book as an ARC for free in exchange for an honest review. This is the first book that I have read by M.J. Etkind.

The witch of wall street is a whimsical, witchy, romance books with a HEA. The story follows Nelson (Wizard) and Miriam (Witch) have known each other since high school and hadn’t seen each other in years until they both attend a fundraising dinner. Nelson works for a non profit organization that helps its community and always wants to help others and Miriam works for a financial investment firm who feels like she has to do everything on her. They fall in love while searching NYC, NJ and Long island to find their magical artifacts that go missing.

Thank you so much to M.J. Etkind, Izzi House Books & NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. The Witch of Wall Street by M.J. Etkind is an intriguing historical fiction novel that blends elements of magic, mystery, and the cutthroat world of finance. Set in the early 20th century, it follows the life of a woman who navigates both the world of Wall Street and her own mystical abilities. The book presents a strong, complex protagonist who defies societal expectations, making for an empowering and captivating read. With its mix of intrigue, ambition, and supernatural elements, The Witch of Wall Street will appeal to readers who enjoy stories about trailblazing women and a touch of magic.

Miriam Blum and Nelson Copperfield have known each other for most of their lives and for most of that time Miriam has disliked the oh-so-perfect Nelson with his helpful magic, which is the direct opposite of her chaos magic! Years after graduating college, Miriam has learned to subdue her magic and is working for a Wall Street investment banking company, with hopes of making partner soon. When a new project comes her way, she feels like it is wrong, but it is also an opportunity to prove herself and finally achieve the success she has worked so hard for. She shoves down her misgivings and accepts the chance to lead the top-secret project. To ease her conscious, she attends a fundraiser for Housing Magic, a non-profit that provides housing for those in need – which happens to be the company that is in direct competition for the property at the heart of her business project. She is shocked to learn that Nelson is the executive director of Housing Magic and even more stunned that she is attracted to him. They spend an ill-advised night together and the next morning when she tries to leave, she learns that her bag containing her broomstick and the files concerning the project is missing, when Nelson tries to help her find it, he discovers that his enchanted taxi medallion is also missing.

Together they will have to find a way to work together to find their missing items. But Miriam can’t risk Nelson learning the truth about her project, something that is harder to do than she anticipated, especially when she begins to acknowledge that her feelings for Nelson are deeper than she wants them to be. Their time together makes her long for things she never thought she really wanted, things that could never be especially when he learns of her business project. But somewhere between feeling left behind by her coven, work mishaps, an enchanted dumpling shop, a jinn who is also a CPA, poisoned leather and a clay monster, she falls in love with the only man she can’t have.

I really enjoyed this magical rom-com, it was a quick and easy read with wonderful characters and a satisfying ending. This story has a lot going on; chaotic magic, enemies to lovers, magical beings, work obligations, ethical complications, secrets, hidden desires, coven problems, a slow burn romance and finally a solution that didn’t seem possible, ending with a happily for now and maybe forever. It took me a little while to warm up to Miriam, but by the middle of the book, I was firmly on her side. I do wish this book had more of a dual POV as Nelson was such a large part of the story and I never really felt like I got to know him. But overall, it was a delightful read and I would happily recommend it!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Witch of Wall Street. It's a much lighter read than I'm accustom to, and it was absolutely lovely. It is very well written, with brilliant imagery, and the rom com style is a new favourite of mine. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a fun, light read.

Overworked witch eats too many dumplings but still manages to be a boss witch.

🧹 Bewitched vibes
🧹 He falls first
🧹 Rivals to lovers
🧹 Jewish rep
🧹 NYC love

Review: This is a sweet and cozy romance that while being light and whimsical, still manages to touch on some really heavy themes of corporate greed, addiction, homelessness, and adult loneliness.

The pacing was a little uneven and there were some editing issues that pulled me out of the story. But overall, it’s a fun read for curling up under the covers and following the kooky adventures of Nelson and Miriam. Miriam has great character growth, and Nelson is seriously the kindest human on the planet and deserves all the forehead kisses and dumplings.

Thank you to the author for providing a digital pre-release copy for this review.

This book was a fun and quick read! I don't read a lot of stories centered around magic that have a realistic setting (this one being NYC), but this one was cute and enjoyable! I wanted to wrap Nelson up in my arms and protect him from everyone always needing him, and also rap Miriam on the head and tell her to let others help (but that's because I, too, struggle with thinking I need to do everything myself). I also don't know a whole lot about witchcraft and magic, so I enjoyed getting to dive into a relatively new-to-me world.

I'm never a fan of the driving tension in a story being the secrets kept from one of our main characters, so that's why I'm not giving a full five stars, but, regardless, I still had a good time reading The Witch of Wall Street and hope to enjoy more of Etkind's novels!

‘The Witch of Wall Street’ is a fun, lighthearted, magical quest through the streets of New York City with a solid rivals to romance angle. There was never a dull moment with plenty of supernatural encounters to keep the story going. A fantastic read for the magical rom-com lovers.

I give it a 3.5 stars. While the story line is great, the character development was rather lacking and I do wish the ending fully explained the why to the location of the missing items.

Get ready to delve into a new magic system!

Miriam and Nelson have always been enemies; Nelson had a hero complex while Miriam was trying to gain control over her magic while trying to get into Harvard. Fast forward years, and the duo meets again at a work function, with Miriam in charge of a project while Nelson is the head of a non-profit organization. Their magical items decide to take a trip together, nestling themselves in a hiding spot in New York. While on the mad dash to find their things, Miriam begins to realize that maybe she didn't hate Nelson as much as she thought.

Etkind did such an amazing job at crafting lovable characters, bringing light not only to the agenda of big corporations but also exploring human morality. The spice was very minimal and faded to black with each scene. This fell just short of a 5-star review, but that was due to my want to have my emotions pulled on some more. A girl likes to cry sometimes while reading! Highly recommended to pick up a copy on the release date of 3/25/25!

Tropes:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Black Cat Girl and Golden Retriever Boy
- Grumpy and Sunshine


https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R39I2X6EGDIDR7/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0DMWRLLQ2

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this ARC. This was my very first and I did really enjoy this read!

The characters were fun and this was a lighter read than what I’m used to. The magic components mixed with real-world issues was a nice balance. It was the perfect length for the storyline and development without dragging on. A fun read for me!

𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪: 3/5 𝓢𝓣𝓐𝓡𝓢 ⭐️

M.J. Etkind’s The Witch of Wall Street offers a delightful blend of magic, romance, and finance in a bustling New York City setting. The book follows Miriam Blum, a powerful but unpredictable witch navigating the high-stakes world of Wall Street, and Nelson Copperfield, a wizard working in the nonprofit sector. When a magical mishap forces them on an unexpected adventure, their long-standing rivalry turns into something more.

The strongest aspects of this novel are its unique premise and whimsical world-building. The idea of a supernatural financial world—complete with an enchanted dumpling house and a Jinn-run CPA firm—is creative and refreshing. The dynamic between Miriam and Nelson is engaging, especially as their contrasting personalities spark both tension and humor.

However, the execution doesn’t always live up to the concept. The pacing feels uneven at times, with some sections dragging while others rush past important moments. Miriam’s character, while fun and fierce, can be a bit frustrating, making it difficult to fully connect with her journey. The romance also leans heavily on familiar tropes like friends-to-lovers and opposites attract, but without enough emotional depth to make it feel fresh.

Overall, The Witch of Wall Street is an entertaining read with clever ideas, but it doesn’t quite reach its full potential. Fans of magical rom-coms will likely enjoy it, but those looking for a more developed romance or deeper character arcs may find it a bit underwhelming.

Thank you so much to M.J. Etkind, Izzi House Books & NetGalley for the ARC!

The Witch of Wall Street is a fast-paced, magical romp through New York City, filled with whimsical supernatural encounters that keep the adventure fresh and fun. From an enchanted dumpling house to a Jinn-run CPA firm, the novel brims with clever worldbuilding that introduces readers to a variety of magical entities, each adding charm and chaos to Miriam and Nelson’s quest. But beneath the humor and high-energy escapades lies a heartfelt exploration of what it truly means to help others—and to accept help in return. Miriam, fiercely independent and determined to control every aspect of her life, must learn that leaning on someone else doesn’t make her weak. Likewise, Nelson, ever the altruist, begins to understand that not all help is welcome or needed. At its core, the novel is also a journey of self-acceptance for Miriam, who has spent years suppressing her messy, chaotic magic and distancing herself from her unconventional upbringing. As she embraces her quirks rather than hiding them, she discovers that being true to herself is far more powerful than trying to fit into the mold she thought she needed to.

This book was so whimsical. I appreciate a well thought out magical community with insight and a variety of magical findings - not just a run of the mill witch or wizard. I also found the main characters occupations and morality fascinating and thought provoking. Funny enough I’m a Nelson and many of the social work themes presented such as affordable housing and people over profit hit close to home. Overall the heavy themes were balanced with fun, lighthearted happenings - the dumpling shop! Would recommend!