Book review: 3.5/5 ⭐️
Genre: rom-com
Themes: fake dating, social justice, class system

This is a sort of modern day Romeo and Juliet with magical black witches at the helm. Cayden lives happily within a community where her mother is a pet whispering vet and shelter owner, and her father owns a bakery. Yet, there is trouble brewing in this seemingly perfect life. Having been ostracized from the witch community for marrying her non-magical father, Cayden and her parents live outside a sphere of privilege and wealth. When the witch community stakes its eye on the neighbourhood, rent unexpectedly rises and several businesses face collapse. Cayden will take it upon herself to make a difference. Along with her cousin, she will rally to try to save small businesses from gentrification and fundraise for awareness and community building. When a cute boy unexpectedly enters her life, she thinks a summer fling will be a perfect antidote to her rising problems, yet he may turn out to be the biggest problem of all!

Coven it-boy Khy Carter is the son of the ruling witch over North America. He is practically royalty, not that Cayden would know. Gorgeous and kind, he is prince charming in a nutshell.

They both love sneakers and dogs and have an easy banter. When Cayden agrees to go out with him after meeting at the shelter, she has no idea who he is, nor that her privacy will soon disintegrate. When his true identity is revealed, Cayden will be appalled she fell for the enemy, the very personification of a society that wouldn’t accept her parents. Thinking things are over, she is surprised to find the bakery suddenly flooded with customers thanks to a photo of Cayden and Khy appearing online. Telling herself it is to save the bakery, Cayden agrees to fake date Khy whose recent breakup has been the topic of hot gossip.

As Cayden spends more time with Khy and gets to experience Coven life, she finds she may actually enjoy being a witch within the society she has always hated. As the fake dating start to produce some real feelings, Cayden must also battle the guilt of betraying her parents in some way, even if she is trying to help them. When the truth is finally revealed, hearts will be broken and each must choose between love and loyalty.

This is one of those feel good teen rom-coms of fake dating turns to fated lovers. Cayden and Khy are perfect for each other and I enjoyed the commentary on the class system and dissection of the fallout of gentrification on local communities. Cayden goes in with a set of prejudices against the Coven system and Khy is forced to face some harsh truths of what living on the outside looks like. The prose was modern and youthful perfect for the story though it took me a while to adapt…perhaps I am getting old! If I had one critique it would be that Khy was too perfect. I wanted him to have one flaw or an insecurity that manifested into some strong feelings or behaviour. I also wanted there to be a bit more witchy magic. Still this Cinderella story was fun to read and I rather enjoyed all the relationships formed in this story, not just the romance though that was adorable!

Thank you to Colored Pages Booktour Bloomsbury Books and Nia Davenport for this book. This has certainly been my summer of romance and this was an excellent addition to my reading list.

This was the sweetest, most adorable read! Thank you so much for this ARC. Seeing Cayden & Khy's relationship develop in the midst of this magical take on gentrification was truly entertaining. I'd actually love to see this world developed more with either sequels or spin-off stories of other characters.

YA is one of my favorite genres and this book makes me love it even more, Cayden & Khy meet over the summer before Senior year in high school. Cayden is a witch whose family doesn't belong to a coven while Khys' family is considered witch royalty. Cayden is looking for a summer time fling while Khy may be looking for something more. I really enjoyed seeing their friendship & possible relationship grow. It was super cute & gave me all the feels. I would have liked to see more of the "magical/witch* aspect. The book seemed to end a bit abruptly to me. Thank You to Net Galley for this ARC.

✨🅱🅾🅾🅺 🆁🅴🅵🅻🅴🅲🆃🅸🅾🅽✨

In 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 by Nia Davenport, readers are welcomed into a world of Southern magic, teen romance, and community resistance. Set in Texas, the story follows Cayden Jackson, a half-human, half-witch teen who agrees to fake date Khy to save her father’s bakery. What unfolds is a journey of self-discovery, love, and power.

This book explores how identity, class, and loyalty shape our choices. Cayden doesn’t fully belong to either world, and her struggle to embrace both sides of herself is deeply relatable. The Coven’s elitism and magical gentrification mirror real-world systems that push people out of their homes and histories. Davenport uses fantasy to critique these structures while celebrating Black girlhood and the strength it takes to stand firm.
Cayden’s relationship with Khy starts as a strategy but grows into something real. Their dynamic is sweet and layered, though I wanted more emotional depth earlier in the story. Still, the chemistry builds beautifully, and the romance feels earned.

The lesson here is that choosing yourself is powerful. Cayden’s magic isn’t just in her spells—it’s in her courage, her loyalty, and her refusal to shrink. Davenport reminds us that love, identity, and empowerment are all worth fighting for.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.5)

Thank you to @coloredpagesbt, @bloomsburybooksus, @nia.davenport, and @librofm for the gifted copies and sponsorship.
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🗣️Which theme resonates most with you: identity, loyalty, or empowerment?

🏷 #LoveSpellsTrouble #NiaDavenport #ColoredPagesBookTours #BlackGirlMagic #YAFantasy #FakeDatingTrope #WitchyReads #BooksByBlackAuthors #CandiceReads #HaleYeahBooks #wellreadblackgirl #bookreflection

This was a super cute, witchy teen rom-com! I loved the world in this book, with the high-society of witches in the South. The romance was super sweet, although a little insta-lovey for my taste. I think this book is perfect for teens who want a sweet teen Black romance with an added twist of witches. I look forward to reading more of Nia Davenport's YA works as a fan of her adult fantasies!

4.25 stars
"The Black girl who skis, and the Black boy who surfs. We are a whole vibe for sure."
"I didn't want you to be embarrassed, so I figured I embarrassed myself. You don't gotta be perfect around me, I like you for you."

Thanks to Bloomsbury for the E-ARC! Wow, I absolutely loved this so much, this is the cutest YA story ever! I enjoyed the sense of community and love wrapped around Cayden in her life. The sense of community was a solid force in this story and the way everyone supported each other in Cayden's community. The Black joy that Cayden and Khy experienced individually, and with each other was so powerful. I loved their banter and their time fake dating! Even with the drama involved the core of the story was never lost! I enjoyed the witch aspect and the hierarchy between coven witches and non coven witches and the implications that come with those differences. The way the author incorporated such important themes (gentrification, classism, etc) to the story but still made the story light hearted and welcoming was stellar. This story felt like a warm hug and I am so glad I read this!

Love Spells Trouble is a sweet YA Romantasy! I love how tight Cayden is with her family. Her parents are living and understanding but firm which isn’t always the case in magical stories.

Although Cayden and Khy’s budding romance is directly impacted by their family’s connection (or lack there of) to the local coven, magic seems to be a secondary element. The characters have magical inclinations but don’t really use them very often throughout the book. It’s more like the basis for the society in which the main characters live. Regardless, I enjoyed myself because I'm a fan of the fake dating trope.

Love Spells Trouble was a cute read and I think I’d definitely recommend it to teens!

A charming YA romance set in a world where witches and humans coexist, mixing fake dating fun with meaningful social commentary. Enjoyable overall, though at times felt a little forced to be relatable to a younger audience.

You can never go wrong with a Nia Davenport book! If she writes it I WILL read it. Love Spells Trouble was such a cute and cozy YA romcom. Our FMC, Cayden, and her family has bee shut out by their coven and has found their businesses to be struggling due to other wealthy businesses. Cayden meets Khy at her family's pet adoption center and they connect and really hit it off. She realizes that Khy is wealthy/well known amongst the royal witch coven. They decide to fake date because in the end it'll benefit them both. Even though it starts off as fake dating, there is no denying the feeling that are brewing between the two of them


Rating: 4.5 / 5

𝙰𝚁𝙲 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Love Spells Trouble is easily a 5-star read! The cover is very eye-catching and pretty. This book would be great to read around the spooky seasons.
• Coming of age
• Witches
• Black Romance

Thank you, NetGalley, and Bloomsbury Children's Book for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book. nice book.

I was in shock with how good this was and I shouldn't have been. The magic system in this was fun, the plot was plotting for me. I had a great time seeing how this was going to develop.

I definitely enjoyed this story especially the community aspect of it and how everyone worked together to save the small businesses from closing down. Then to see the blooming of Cayden and Khi relationship that started as fake dating 🥰.

Love Spells Trouble was a cute YA book! The author presents an interesting take on magical realism and addresses relevant topics such as gentrification. I liked that the characters felt real and authentic even though they are witches weaving magic into their everyday lives and businesses. I also enjoyed how caring the FMC was in this story and how the MMC was sweet and funny. Their moments together were adorable!

I would have loved to have learned more about the world the author creates in this book and to see inside the Coven system and the magical royal families. Maybe in a follow up book we will get more of a deeper dive.

Overall, this was a fun, light-hearted book with elements of fake dating and summer romance. I really liked this and definitely plan to recommend it to my baby cousins and younger family members looking for an age-appropriate magical romance read!

You Should See Me in a Crown meets Black girl magic--literally--in this enchanting rom-com about a reluctant witch caught up in a faking dating scheme.

Witches and humans have always had issues.

Cayden is well aware of that: her witch mom was shunned by her high-society parents when she fell in love with Cayden's human dad. Now, the family business is in trouble due to wealthy witches gentrifying her historic Texas neighborhood. So Cayden is appalled when she realizes she unknowingly went on a date with Coven it-boy Khy Carter. But when her father's bakery has an influx of new customers, she realizes Khy might just be a solution to her family's problems: Cayden absolutely cannot be with a Coven boy, but that doesn't mean she can't pretend to be.

Suddenly, Cayden is thrown into the Coven system she grew up despising, but it turns out embracing the witchy side of herself is actually…fun. As she spends more time with Khy, their fake dating starts to feel like real feelings. And even though she's doing this for her family, Cayden knows she's also betraying them. Her parents may have put love before everything else, but is Cayden willing to do the same?

A lovely YA romantasy with the perfect mix of romance, and social commentary on gentrification

The romance is this book is so damn cute. The two main characters have chemistry that jumps off the page, and the pacing and progression of their romance is perfect. The characters read exactly like 17 year olds in love, and I think many teen readers would find these characters relatable.

The commentary on class struggles and gentrification adds so much to this book, and communicates clearly how they affect communities, without taking away from the rest of the story. A perfect addition to the plot in my opinion.

I only wish that there was more world building in terms of the magic in this world. Especially why Ancestors are so important and held to such a high regard for this massive group of people. I think diving into the lore a little bit deeper would have made the book that much more interesting.

I would absolutely recommend this book to those wanting to read a romantasy with light world building, social commentary, and adorable teen romance.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury YA for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Now, this was a really fun book.

The fact that witches in this book are out and open was really enjoyable and considering I mostly read, really adult dark romance, this was a nice break.

I do wish it was dual pov
But i overall liked the class and royalty plot

Let's start with this cover, it is so adorable, i knew i wanted to give this book a try from the art alone.

This book was entertaining and very cute. i love Cayden and Khy's relationship. Their adorable fake dates and even conflicts had me fastened and hooked.

This story had the perfect balance of romance, magic and subplot which included sorting out family conflicts. I really think teens are going to enjoy this. The food and pastry mentions were delightful, it really helped me visualize the place and its culture. Mercedes who is Cayden's cousin, had funny banter with each other. Her support and humor was refreshing and heartwarming.

Oh and did i mention that there were dogs and cuts puppies involved ?! overall just a wonderful experience.

I’m not gonna lie…. I read the first sentence of the synopsis and that was enough for me. I knew this was going to end up on my favorites list as soon as I finished it. And sure enough…. it did. This book definitely lived up to all the hype from other readers, from the author, and the hype that I myself gave it. So freaking good and so freaking cute!

Ok so the best part of this was definitely the magic. I loved the way they all had different powers and they all had different ways of doing things. Idk how Davenport did it, but literally all of their powers were cool. I would love to have that heat thing. I would totally use that to dry my hair on wash day to cut down on time lol Anyway, the other cool thing was the council. I wish we got more information on them, but I understand that this wasn’t exactly about them. And like, finding out too much info about them would throw off the plot. I’m just saying, there is room for it in future book if that’s what you want to do Ms. Davenport lol

The characters were also pretty cool. One of his friends was annoying. I guess I get why people are overprotective, but she was out of line. She wasn’t her and she didn’t deserve to be treated like she was. That other girl was scum and she knew what she did. The “bestie” would have been better off trying to run ol girl off. She did too much. But everyone was cool. I love how she was new to their group, but she still folded in with them seamlessly.

The romance was doomed from the jump tho. And I mean that in the best possible way lol Because what do you mean you took her out just to make sure peolpe saw you, but you didn’t tell her that’s what you were doing?! I think I would have knocked him out and never talked to him again. It was then that I knew they were going to make it because how in the world did you stay with him after that. lol I would have been pissed. But watching them do other things together, like the boat, was truly magical. (no pun intended) They were so cute together. The third act breakup was terrible tho. There was truly no reason for it lol I was so mad at the way she was acting. It was annoying lol

This book was so much fun. So many times I laughed out loud, got mad, and even talked to them through the book. This was truly a paranormal rom com that I definitely will be pitching to my ToB group to make sure we can get this on the next list. If you haven’t read, go pick it up and tell me what you think of it!

Cayden and Khy are SO CUTE. I adored following their love story—two teens who actually feel like real teens, full of big emotions, awkward moments, and sincere questions about who they want to be. Their romance is sweet and swoony, but it’s layered with deeper themes like classism and gentrification, showing just how much teens have to navigate beyond high school drama.
Nia Davenport once again delivers vibrant, complex characters you can’t help but root for, and her mix of sharp banter and heartfelt moments had me smiling the whole way through. Add in a sprinkle of magic, lovable animal companions, and extended families that radiate warmth, and you’ve got a story that feels like a warm hug with a spark of adventure.
Perfect for the YA reader in your life—or any adult who loves a fast-paced, feel-good story that leaves you grinning and a little bit enchanted.