This was such a cute book. It really took every fairy tale and weaved them in expertly. The romance was frustrating in the best way possible!

Wicked Witch Hector and Good Witch Ida have maintained "Happily Ever After" for 1000 years... and now they start to wonder if mistakes were made.

I love fairy tale retellings and twisted fairy tales, and I loved everything about this book. It had me laughing out loud at times. We get the quest, a little bit of social commentary, romance, daring deeds - really, I sped through this book.

Hector and Ida have both been at the job for 1,000 years, and both are immortal. The book is a little ambiguous about whether or not they have aged in that time, or if immortality keeps them fairly young. I liked this ambiguity; it allows the reader to imagine them however you please.

Also, I don't think it's mentioned in the description, but both witches are gardeners, and their love of their plants and gardens is delightful. Wonderful little detail.

This was such a fun, sweet, and unique fantasy romance!

For nearly a thousand years, rival witches Hector West and Ida North have kept the kingdom in balance by maintaining a Happily-Ever-After enchantment—and constantly hexing each other for fun. But when a magical mix-up sends the wrong princess after the wrong dragon, the two enemies must team up (with their lovesick gnomes in tow) to fix the chaos... and face the unsettling truth that their ancient magic might’ve been a mistake all along.

I'll admit, the beginning was pretty slow. Around 40% of the book is dedicated to introducing the world, the characters, and all the magical rules. It was definitely necessary to set everything up, but it could drag at times. The middle also loses a bit of momentum during the journey to a particular destination, but the pace picks up again once they get there.

The worldbuilding was excellent, though! There’s an incredible amount of detail—from magical rules and fantastical creatures to paparazzi and gossip columns. It’s like every fairytale got thrown into a cauldron together, and somehow the result works. I also really appreciated the humor throughout! The tone is silly and lighthearted, but never shallow, and the jokes consistently landed.

There are multiple romances in this book (about half of them LGBTQ+), and I was surprisingly invested in all of them. I usually only care about the main couple, but each subplot had its own charm. Honestly, the dragon and the gnomes had a better love story than the witches. The dragon’s romance in particular was adorable, even if it was fairly predictable. That’s true for a lot of the book: you can often guess what’s supposed to happen, and then just know the opposite will happen.

Ida and Hector’s romance is sweet, though I did find their transition from mutual loathing to love a bit sudden. Still, they’ve known each other for centuries, and the shift isn’t completely linear. They bicker, argue, and banter all the way through. I also really liked that they’re both described as older, with greying hair and creaky joints. It’s refreshing to see a romance between characters who aren’t in their twenties!

Overall, Wickedly Ever After is a silly, chaotic, and unexpectedly heartwarming read. It’s a little slow and a bit predictable in places, but the creativity, humor, and cozy charm more than make up for it! If you're in the mood for a whimsical, fairytale-infused fantasy romance with heart, humor, and gnome matchmaking, this one’s worth picking up.

This was OK! Not great, but not bad. You kinda just went along with the motions through the book. Towards the middle I started skimming. The book just did not ignite excitement for me.

This was a sweet, fun, emotional and thoughtful epic love story between two flawed but loveable characters.

Wickedly Ever After was a fantastic chaotic mess, and I loved every minute of Ida and Hector's story!

This book was just okay for me. I don’t enjoy the lack of communication/miscommunication trope and this book was completely full of it between all characters. I did enjoy the various fairy tale references and found some parts humorous. If you really love fairy tales, I’d say give this a try.

I received an ARC of this ebook from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review!

"Wickedly Ever After" by R. Lee Fryar is a whimsical and refreshing take on the classic fairy tale genre, blending fantasy with a delightful romance. The story follows Hector, the so-called wicked witch, and Ida, the good witch, who must set aside their long-standing rivalry to fix a disrupted Happily-Ever-After. Fryar crafts a richly detailed fantasy world that is both humorous and touching, making it a captivating read. The dynamic between Hector and Ida as two ancient witches with a love-hate relationship is both entertaining and endearing. The book's playful tone and unique take on familiar fairy tale tropes make it a fun and engaging escape. While the magic system is a bit wild, it adds to the charm of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

This book was an incredibly relatable and vibrant read with excellent characters that you can't help but fall in love with! I couldn't have asked for a more perfect fairytale remix!

What did I just read? Enemies to lovers, but they are rival witches and they are VERY VERY OLD and complain about aching joints and each other, and just want to work in their gardens with their gnomes. Hector, Wicked Witch of the West, and Ida, Good Witch of the North, have been engaged in a prank war of sorts via mail for almost a thousand years. Cardinal opposites, they are also tasked with maintaining the Happily-Ever-After for the past millennium. However, the recent Happily-Ever-After goes tits up when the princess refuses to be kidnapped by the dragon and rescued by the prince, the dragon thinks kidnapping the princess is barbaric (and in fact, dragon and princess fall for each other), and the prince is rather relieved since he is very gay and does not want anything with a heterosexual marriage. Ida and Hector are both blaming each other and themselves, and together, with their two lovesick gnomes (each hiding a painful secret from one another), go on a quest to right the wrongs and save the Happily-Ever-After. This was an absolutely bonkers read, delightful, with such great musings on what does it mean to secure a happily-ever-after? Hector is nine hundred and ninety nine years, and Ida is somewhere in her early nine hundred and nineties or late nine hundred and eighties. They are old, and it’s refreshing to have a romance where the main characters are elderly and just plain tired.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Wickedly Ever After follows the start of Happily Ever After with the lore of the wicked and good witch given a twist in this fantasy world. Hector (the wicked witch) and Ida (the good witch) aren’t really embracing their titles (except the wicked for both with one another), but when Happily Ever After this year is turned on its head the two need to work together to fix the mess they’ve created.

It’s hard to overview this book because the world it’s set in is so important to it and richly detailed. Kudos to R. Lee Fryar for creating a fantasy I bought hook, line, and sinker, but didn’t feel like a chore to learn about or so complex that I had to keep flipping back to remember. Incredibly humorous and touching, this is a romance second to being a fantasy that packs a solid punch. I found the magic stayed with me and would love to explore more of this universe.

What a delightful surprise! Wickedly Ever After is witty, whimsical, and full of chaotic fairy tale energy. It’s a love letter to twisted fairytales with a self-aware narrator and a heroine who’s anything but a damsel in distress. The tone is perfectly snarky and lighthearted, with enough heart to keep things grounded.

I laughed out loud multiple times, especially during the banter-filled scenes. The magic system is a bit wild and unhinged in the best way. Pure escapist fun.

✨ Humour level: Sharp, clever, and just the right amount of absurd
👑 Recommend if you like: The Princess Bride, Once Upon a Broken Heart, or Shrek meets ACOTAR vibes

This was a cute fairy tale remix! The gnome love story subplot was my favorite part.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.