So, I'm 40% of the way through my e-ARC, and all of the stories I've read so far have been fun, but OMG: Tasha Suri's "The King's Witch" is an absolute dagger-through-the-heart triumph, SO gorgeously swoony and romantic it completely blew me away and made me breathless as I read.

I'll be re-reading that story often!

And I'm diving back into the anthology now. :)

**

...Coming back at the end: this is a FABULOUS anthology. I normally read anthologies in small bites with lots of time between each story, but this one I devoured in less than 48 hours! There's a lot of variety in the 12 stories; I really liked 10 out of the 12, and there were fun elements in the other stories, too - I'm sure other readers will name those as their favorites.

It feels too difficult to break down "favorite" stories, but I sooo enjoyed this whole book, and it led me to look up two new-to-me authors - Kamilah Cole and Kelly Andrew - to read their full books as I enjoyed their stories so much. (And of course I've already read and loved novels from many of the other authors whose stories I loved here!)

I was lucky enough to get an e-ARC of this one, but I am now planning to get a print copy as well once it's published. Definitely a book I'll enjoy re-reading in the future!

The Secret Romantic's Book of Magic is a charming anthology of magical short stories from a talented lineup of authors. While some tales stood out more than others, the overall tone is whimsical, romantic, and imaginative. I appreciated the variety of voices and magical settings, though a few stories didn’t quite resonate with me.

The Secret Romantics Book of Magic is a collection of romantasy short stories from a variety of authors.

I feel like short story collections are so hard to review, because typically some are good and some are… not. But I was pleasantly surprised by this collection. I definitely have favorites! But most were quirky and creative and I think there was only one or two I didn’t like all that much.

Favorites:
* San’t Marten’s Book of Mild Melancholy by AG Slatter (my first but NOT my last by the author)
* Until December by Kelly Andrew
* Rosebud by Katherine Arden
* The King’s Witch by Tasha Suri

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Secret Romantics Book of Magic is a wonderful collection of short romantic stories, each one different and written so well! I enjoyed each one so much, some I liked more than others but that's personal preference.

My favourites were; The Dubois Ladies of Mirador, Designated Virgin Sacrifice and Good Deeds and Their Magical Punishments.

I felt like a few were just trying to write some of the classic tropes like "enemies to lovers" as their main plot but it worked well nonetheless.

The only thing I wanted more was LGBTQ+ love stories. I believe there was only 3 or 4 out of the 12 stories that featured a LGBTQ+ pairing and they were all sapphic, so a bit more representation would have been nice to see.

Overall these stories had me grinning and kicking my feet and I will be checking out more work by the authors included in this anthology.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for the e-arc in exchange for a free honest review.

Thank you NetGalley UK and the publisher for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for a review.
4 ⭐
Ever since I first heard about this book, saw the list of authors I was buzzing! I really enjoyed each one, a massive mix of styles and subsections of the romantasy genre. Each of the short stories withing the book had compelling characters which managed to draw you in quickly - enough that I kept becoming frustrated when each chapter was over! Still, it's allowed me to discover some new authors to delve more into, for which I'm very grateful! Additionally, it was nice that there were many queer, specifically multiple wlw, stories included.
Overall, I found it a very satisfying read!

3.25 stars from me!
Short stories are hard. Like it's hard to get the story to flow so well and make sense, and also have all that description. There were a couple of stories I really enjoyed such as Hannah Nicole Maehrer's, Eliza Chan's and Melissa Marr's but others I just could not enjoy as much. Reading is subjective though so I would say if you are wanting to have a taste of certain author's writing because you're yet to try their books I'd say go for it! I have never read Olivie Blake's work for example and it helped me make a decision whether she may be for me or not. There were a few authors in this that I have not heard of or read anything by and they were alright short stories. But the ones that stuck out the most for me were the ones I said above.

Deffo recommend if you want to have a taste of certain authors writing!

Short stories are tough. It takes a talented author to tell a story in a tight package and this anthology makes that clear. I requested this because Kelley Armstrong, Katherine Arden, and Meagan Bannen are on the author list. I know Kelley’s work and her novellas are fantastic, so I expect she’ll write a great short story. My review is my thoughts as I read…

⭐️<b>The Fall Guy by Olivie Blake</b> - The premise is confusing. This is romance-first, world-building second. Mer is the MMC and seems to be a magician/scribe. Lilari is the FMC who seems to be marrying for convenience or safety, but for some reason, she needs to steal a necklace? She might be an aristocrat or a pirate? This is unclear, but there’s an info dump towards the end that kind of explains this. Mer is going to help her do this as a masked ball.

I never read The Atlas Six and the writing here doesn’t compel me to.


⭐️<b>The Dubious Ladies of Mirador by Melissa Marr</b> - This story starts well, but we once again have an unclear premise when the opening scene ends. A convent seems to train nuns for espionage. A novice named Alwen is being sent on a mission. Then we have Christabel, “Lady of Mirador,” a woman in a castle with eagles? Alwen is supposed to kill Christabel. Maybe. Or maybe they’ll get married.


⭐️⭐️⭐️<b>Until December by Kelly Andrew </b> - College student rivals who study the same magical concept, “drifting.” It’s a sort of time travel with entering others’ minds. While it takes a bit to understand what’s happening and the solution to their problem isn’t explained well, the story is interesting and holds your attention.


⭐️⭐️⭐️💫<b>The King’s Witch by Tasha Suri </b> - A witch is chosen to marry a new ruler, but because travel is dangerous, she marries a priest by proxy. She is in love with someone she met a few years ago, but that person was killed by guards…or were they? Super short, but well done.


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️<b>Disgraced Virgin Sacrifice by Kelley Armstrong </b> - it’s no surprise that this wash favorite of all the stories. A gryphon will stop terrorizing a town of a virgin princess is sacrificed to it. The FMC is a monster-slayer who pretends to be an innocent virgin to get to the royals. No spoilers, but this turns a trope-y story on its ear. It even manages to have some social critique, humor, and a little romance.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫<b>Second Class Magic by Kamilah Cole </b> - Former friends and now rival researchers both aspire to a job on a mysterious island, working as assistant a powerful magician. They get a two month trial on the island and become reconnected. The fact that they used to be friends makes the romance that blossoms during the trial believable. A little thin on magic once they get on the island.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 <b>Bamboo, Ink, Paper, Clay by Eliza Chan </b> - Beautifully written, but the dual timeline and lack of world building makes it hard to understand what’s happening at times. A second chance romance?

⭐️⭐️ <b>Slay the Princess, Save the Dragon by AC Wise </b> - A modern story of the popular, rich girl and the outcast, trailer park dweller becoming friends and more. With a dragon. The characters are in high school and it would probably appeal to a younger audience.

⭐️⭐️⭐️<b>San’t Marten’s Book of Mild Melancholy by AG Slatter </b> - A necromancy story with some good world-building, but the backstory is sped through. The FMC and MMC met prior to the story starting, but I wish there was a little more to that story. Some of the romantic elements are a little too obvious, but subtlety is a personal preference.

⭐️⭐️⭐️<b>Good Deeds and Their Magical Punishments by Hannah Nicole Maehrer </b> - A woman is taken from Manhattan to a magical realm by an aristocrat woman who wants to prove to her son that mortal kindness exists. The son must spend a year in the mortal world because he lost the bet. A little simple in style, but entertaining. I wish more of a time jump was used to make the physical relationship more believable.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️<b>The Larkspur by Megan Bannen </b> - Set in the world of Hart and Mercy (and Bannen’s other recent books), I loved this. I could see a new reader not appreciating the nods to that world.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️<b>Rosebud by Katherine Arden </b> - Daughters of a diplomat move to Brussels for their father’s post-WW2 work. They think they’re dreaming when they encounter an early 1800s ball happening in their rental home’s ballroom every night. They find out the house is where the famous Duchess of Richmond’s ball happened the night before Waterloo. They escape to the ball every night, but it’s not exactly an escape.

I love reading anthologies because they introduce me to new authors, though I often find them challenging to review. When I saw that The Secret Romantic's Book of Magic features some of my favorite authors, I immediately requested it. I really enjoyed Kelley Armstrong and Megan Bannen's stories, and I also discovered new authors to explore. If you prefer your fantasy more romance heavy, this anthology is fantastic, and I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'll post my review closer to the publication date.

Actual Rating: 3.75

Generally I’d like to say that I love a short story collection but in truth my experience with them over the last couple of years has been slightly mixed. ’The Secret Romantic’s Book Of Magic’ was one that instantly called to me though between its alluring title, promise of romantasy tales and a mixture of authors whose work I’ve previously enjoyed or longed to check out. Happily I can honestly say that this was a collection that I truly enjoyed on the whole; some stories more, or less, so than others but that always tends to be the case with this kind of book.

One thing that I feel is worth noting before anything else is that on the whole I fell for the fantasy elements of this collection’s tales much more strongly than the romance. There were a couple of stories where the romance managed to get beneath my skin too but others where I was only really invested for the other elements that were at play. As a major fantasy fan this didn’t particularly worry me but it’s definitely worth mentioning given its romantasy promises. Although maybe this was just a me thing; maybe as someone who doesn’t read romance overly much I needed longer to invest in new pairings?

Given the length of each story I don’t really want to go into the plot of them all – those are best discovered for yourself – but I will highlight my favourites. ’Until December’ was an instant hit for me which came as somewhat of a surprise as it dealt with an element that I’m generally apprehensive of. ’Good Deeds And Their Magical Punishments’ was another that I ended up falling for swiftly and honestly convinced me to move the author’s series right up my TBR. ’The Larkspur’ is set within the author’s established world but perfectly readable with no knowledge of it (I managed and I haven’t picked her books up yet); it’s also another that’s left me longing to pick up more by the author as this world instantly got its hooks into me. ’Rosebud’ was my other highlight and captured the kind of ghostly, fairytale vibes that I dream of. All four of those I loved.

There were two other stories with worlds that particularly stood out to me as ones I’d love to explore more thoroughly – Melissa Marr’s and A.G. Slatter’s. I actually never knew I needed a vampire novel by one of my favourite fae authors until I discovered her example for myself. Yet the romances didn’t quite click for me. Both had pairings that I quite liked the idea of, I just felt they needed more page time to truly develop but I guess that’s just a danger of the format.

The rest of the stories within this collection were generally enjoyable too. One had a twist that I particularly appreciated and another a magic system that I enjoyed reading about. Truthfully there weren’t any within this book that I disliked although one did feel more suitable for a YA collection and another had a storyline that I liked but a writing style that didn’t quite click for me.

Ultimately I’d consider this collection a success and am thrilled to say that it’s sent me away excited to check out more books by some of its new to me authors. There were four stories that I loved and the rest were generally enjoyable tales to explore too. Yet I do think this collection is more likely to work for fantasy fans than romance ones. As someone who needs to test the latter genre out more though it’s probably best to see if other reviewers, who read more romance, agree. But if you’re intrigued by the idea of exploring a few new fantasy lands and testing out some of these authors’ styles for yourself then this is a great book to do so with.

The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic is a great collection for someone looking to enter the world of romantic fantasy.

As with many short story anthologies, I liked some stories more than others. My personal favourites in the collection are Until December by Kelly Andrew, Designated Virgin Sacrifice by Kelley Armstrong, San't Marten's Book of Mild Melancholy by A. G. Slatter, and The Lakespur by Megan Bannen.

For readers looking for a quick taste of fantastical (many I would also say are haunting) romances, this would be a great start.

Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic comes out on June 24th.

This collection was, like many short story collections, a bit of a mixed bag. There were some stories that really worked for me, and some that really didn't, as well as quite a few in the middle. My favourite stories were by Tasha Suri, Kelley Armstrong, Megan Bannen, and Katherine Arden, and I really liked the opportunity to read a snapshot of many authors to decide if I liked their writing. There were a couple of really popular authors in this collection that I hadn't read anything from, so this was a nice introduction to them. I really like the concept of this collection, and hope that this paves the way for more romantasy short story collections.

A bit of a mixed bag of Romantasy stories with some that just weren’t my thing (but could very well be perfect for someone else) and others I really loved!

From stories of shapeshifters, time travellers and damsels causing distress to folklore and mythology inspired tales, there’s definitely something for everyone in this collection.

My absolute favourites from this collection were Until December by Kelly Andrew, San’t Marten’s Book of Mild Melancholy by A. G. Slatter and Rosebud by Katherine Arden.

Lovely anthology to get a glimpse into the writing style of authors and enjoy sweet short stories. Overall I enjoyed it immensly and found new authors to check out. Would recommend to any romantasy lover.
Overview of each story:

The Fall Guy | Olivie Blake: ⭐⭐⭐ interesting writing style, romance fell a bit short for me, spy in disguise, mf

The Dubious Ladies of Mirador | Melissa Marr : ⭐⭐⭐ sweet, vampire and warrior nun, ff

Until December | Kelly Andrew : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ academic rivals, teleportation, mf

The King’s Witch | Tasha Suri : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ unexpected betrothal, ff

Designated Virgin Sacrifice | Kelley Armstrong : ⭐⭐⭐ nice take on virgin sacrifices and monsters, mf

Second Class Magic | Kamilah Cole : ⭐⭐⭐ academic rivals, ff

Bamboo, Ink, Paper, Clay | Eliza Chan : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ east asian mythology-ish, nice storytelling

Slay the Princess, Save the Dragon | A. C. Wise: ⭐⭐⭐ poor meets rich plus a dragon, ff

San’t Marten’s Book of Mild Melancholy | A. G. Slatter: ⭐⭐⭐ betrayal and a meaningful ONS, mf

Good Deeds and Their Magical Punishments | Hannah Nicole Maehrer : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ bit of isekai, shared loss, mf

The Larkspur | Megan Bannen: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ mc who thinks he is not worthy of his wife, mf

Rosebud | Katherine Arden: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ heartfelt, war, mf

Thanks to netgalley and Titan books for providing me with an ARC for this book.

A lovely anthology full of magic and love. All of the featured authors were new to me although I've heard of some of them I'd never actually read their work. Glad to say I now have. I really enjoyed this collection, it's a good palate cleanser for the heavier high fantasy/romantasy books out there.

Overall 4 stars after averaging out my rating for each story below.

The Fall Guy: Olivia Blake - 3* Fast paced, felt like an excerpt from the middle of a novel as apposed to a short story.

The Dubious Women of Mirador: Melissa Marr - 4* Interesting story, very short enemies to lovers/fated mates plot.

Until December: Kelly Andrew - 5* - More Sci-Fi than fantasy, but loved it all the same. Addie Laure/Our Infinite Fates vibes.

The King's Witch: Tasha Suri - 5* Good world building, well paced with chapters split between current time and flashbacks. I really enjoyed this one.

Designated Virgin Sacrifice: Kelley Armstrong -5* Favorite one so far! Absolutely loved the twist in this one, for a short story it was really gripping and so well paced.

Second class magic: Kamilah Cole - 3 stars, interesting magic system for a short story, good academic rivals to lovers plot, felt a little bit rushed and disjointed but otherwise a nice little sapphic romance.

Bamboo, Ink, Paper, Clay: Eliza Chan - 3* Loved the magic system in this one, very unique, but otherwise really struggled to get through it and almost skipped it all together a couple of times. Well written, beautiful ending, just slow for me personally.

Slay the Princess, Save the Dragon: A.C Wise - 4* Whirlwind of an academic rivals to lovers story. I really enjoyed this one, fast paced and sweet, ending on a lovely little cliffhanger.

San't Marten's Book of Mild Melancholy: A.G. Slatter - 4* I was a little bit confused by the world building at the start, it felt like too much for a short story, but once it actually got into the plot and the magic I really enjoyed it.

Good Deeds and Their Magical Punishments: Megan Bannen - 5* - Adored this story so much, easiest 5* in this whole anthology. My favorite of them all.

The Larkspur: Megan Bannen - 3* Cozy fantasy vibes but I was a little bit bored with the MCs self pity, it fell a bit flat for me and didn't give his character much depth. I'm not a huge fan of the 'Woe is me' character profile.

Rosebud: Katherine Arden - 3* A beautiful story but closer to gothic/paranormal that romantasy.

A very cute, fun, and ultimately unique collection of romantasy stories! I'll be honest, while I love the genre, "full-on" romantasies are just as hard for me sometimes as standard or even ~high fantasy-genre reads for me in that, one, there's all the world-building and etc.... but also two, sometimes after awhile they all seem to blur together and sound the same? (This same truth I think can be said about general romcoms for me lol.) That being said, I had fun with this one; I really only knew of a handful of the featured authors going into it (Blake; Slatter; Wise; and Chan, mostly), so I feel like I went into this read with a fairly unbiased view of what to expect. As always, of course I loved some stories more than others, but that's to be expected with anthologies, so it didn't color my overall experience as much. More importantly, I think a majority of them did a good job at being subversive additions to the genre(s), as well as being tales that are able to stand on their own. Overall would definitely recommend, especially if you're new to the genre or, like me, who like to dip their toes in some of the time and want to be exposed to several different authors at the same time!

I thoroughly enjoyed the range of short stories in this anthology. I loved the focused on romantasy which is fast becoming my favourite genre. There were several authors on the list that I was so pleased to see and they did not disappoint. Good Deeds and their Magical Punishments by Hannah Nicole Maehrer stood out as one of my favourites. It had the cute, adorable banter of Assistant to the Villain as well as an interesting premise with lots of plot points added to a quick snap shot of the protagonists lives. Eliza Chan's Bamboo, Ink, Paper, Clay was so enjoyable and straddles a line between myth and past loves. It was beautifully written and I was there for it all. I am also a big fan of Katherine Arden whose story, Rosebud was a beautiful blend of historical fiction with magical undertones. Whilst I enjoyed them all to varying levels my final story in my top selection was Designated Virgin Sacrifice by Kelley Armstrong. I loved the feel of the story which was reminiscent of the film Damsel but nothing like it in plot lines so no spoiler there. For anyone who loves Romantasy and would like some quick short stories to quench their thirst for the genre, I would highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGallery and Titan books, as well as these amazing authors for the ARC of this book.

Such a fun and flirty collection of Romantasy short stories! This would be a great recommendation for someone wanting to dip their toes in the genre and see if it’s for them.

I think this is being published at a perfect time, with many readers experiencing Romatasy fatigue from story threads and narratives being rehashed over and over again in some big releases over the past year - this collection shows the widespread variety the genre has to offer, and showcases the talent of 12 great writers. I was only familiar with a few before reading this, and I’m very excited to check more out (Eliza Chan’s prose was gorgeous!)

As with all anthologies, I enjoyed some much more than others.
My favourite was most definitely Until December. Time-travel and Academic Rivals to Lovers???? Say less!!!! I felt like a mouse led to the most delicious cheese.
The Larkspur was also a stand out for me. And I feel the need to shout out Designated Virgin Sacrifice as the FMC is named Marielle, which is my (government) name, and it felt really cool to see it in a book.

Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
What a treat this anthology was.. I spent a wonderful time with my favourite authors and met two new-also now my favourites.
They were not simply short stories (technically I may even call each a novella), they were each different worlds.
Olivie Blake was as usual, amazing. I love how she makes me imagine her actually talking. It was witty, full of humor-sarcasm combined and rich in descriptions.
Tasha Suri's story was dynamic, yet following the pace of other stories. As with Katherine Arden's, I thought they had an understanding as how fast things may go (I don't know how anthologies are planned)
Which was my favourite? As it depends on the mood I was while reading, I guess this time I enjoyed Second Class Magic by Kamilah Cole.
I cannot thank enough for the time I enjoyed while reading..Hope more compilations/anthologies are published.

Loved this! I don't typically do anthologies but the author list is absolutely stacked and I had to give it a try!

As with all anthologies, not every story was for me, however I did enjoy the majority of them. And of course I wished some of the stories were longer! All around, very well done. Loved it.

Alot of these were up and down for me, my favorites were by Kamilah Cole and Tasha Suri! Unless you are already an anthology fan I'm not sure this is for you.