A cozy, witchy and whimsical second chance romance between two best friends, Victoria and Azrael. I loved that Az's family were Addams Family-inspired, whose late parents were utterly besotted with each other. I loved the intrigue with Victoria being forced to capture three souls for Lex, a minor devil and the warnings about the local megachurch.

However, it became repetitious with Vickie and Az constantly pining over each other, but even with gravedirt (a truth serum) and Persephone telling Vickie to put her sensitive son out of his misery, they still refused to talk about their feelings! It got old quickly and kept them - and the book's pace - in a holding pattern despite having to resolve everything by Halloween. Also, while there were some fun spicy scenes, I was perplexed why they were fooling around given they had an important mission. As such, the unveiling of the villain fell flat which was a let down because I was just as interested in the mystery was I was with the romance. That said, I adored Az and Vickie together and I loved their connection, especially with Vickie understanding Az’s grief given she also loved his parents.

I'm looking forward to seeing Az's sister, Prisc in the next book.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

After the death of his parents, Azrael returns home to his childhood crush who recently bought his parents business. When a demon comes back to make good on a deal, the two join forces (but not actually!) to save their town from those who try to cause harm.

This book has a very slow start and lots of side characters who are quite fun. This is a classic cozy story with lots of magical elements. Azrael truly spends most of the time yearning for his oldest friend. Azrael also deals with the loss of his parents and how his life looks now that they’re no longer present. Vickie is cut off financially from her wealthy parents and showed a lot of courage in following her dreams.

Overall this was a cozy and easy read that did have a slower start than I usually go for. This book is perfect for anyone wanting a childhood friends to lovers romance with character growth and themes of loss and self acceptance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hopelessly Teavoted by Audrey Goldberg Ruoff.

Judging by the title and cover, I thought this would be a little more light-hearted than it was. Overused tropes made this an uninteresting read and I often got confused by the dialogue and flow of events in this book.

It feels like almost every character in this book had a same-sex relationship, which unfortunately made it feel less authentic and more like a forced and awkward ad campaign. Honestly, I wasn't sure what drew the two main characters, Vickie and Az, together. My impression is that Vickie had more chemistry with Az's sister, Prissy, and I'm not quite sure why those two weren't the ones to hook up instead. In fact, Prissy had a much more interesting and engaging personality. Whereas, Az seemed like Eeyore with magic, and tried far too hard to be a "normie" instead of leaning into what made him unique.

There were some conflicts in the storyline that I couldn't quite work out. Az's family of witches were also Jewish. The characters main personality traits seemed to be promiscuity, especially Vickie, who seemed to be hot for anyone and everyone ever mentioned in the book, including the toxic lesser demon she's enslaved to. Despite this free love attitude, every time Az looks at Vickie, he seems to berate himself for being a "pervert", even when Vickie is publicly wearing lingerie for "Sultry Sundays" that she hosts at her teashop. That got really old, really fast, and also made zero sense considering they weren't exactly prudish in any other aspect.

The extensive content warning list should have mentioned excessive political commentary. I'm a middle-of-the-roader when it comes to politics, but I have family on both sides of the fence. It's why we've banned all political discussions from holiday get togethers. Perhaps my family situation makes me cringe a little more than most when politics is mentioned, but I don't enjoy having someone's political opinions shoved in my face every other page when part of what I'm looking for when I read is an escape from all of that nonsense.

2/5 stars. If you are a champion of LGBTQIA+ rights and the BLM movement, then read on - you will likely enjoy and even celebrate many moments in this novel. If you are looking for an escape from the insanity of modern-day American politics, then I suggest you pass. DNF at 25%.

Thank you to NetGalley, Audrey Goldberg Ruoff, and Atria books for the opportunity to read the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for providing the arc of this book!

First I need to say that it took two months to finish this book, and that's not the books fault. I am a mood reader through and through and I just was *not* in the mood to read this book. It sat at 58% for weeks before I decided I should probably finish it.

This books was not my cup of tea, but that's okay. Not everything is going to work out for every person. It was very cute, I liked the romance and the yearning between our main characters. And the magic system was fun from what we got of it. I enjoyed this book but it's not something that I'll pick up for a reread.

Beware of slight spoilers below!!!
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Things I liked:
-The *yearning*. I love a man that yearns. Az is so down bad for Vickie and I loved that
-The tea shop. Give me a cafe/bakery setting and the likelihood of me loving it is high.
-The cover of this book is adorable and even though I didn't love this book, I will be purchasing a copy just to have it's beauty on my shelves.

Things I didn't like:
-The end of the conflict(s) in this book felt very anti climatic of me? I felt like we got to the bottom of the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy) too soon for there to be any twist at the end.
-THE MEDIA REFERENCES. I did not expect to see a love hypothesis (love LH) reference in this and it gave me the ick. The Bridgerton reference gave me the ick and I love bridgerton.
-There was just a lot of things that gave me the ick.

Thanks @netgalley @atriabooks and @audreygoldbergruoff for the chance to read Audrey's debut, Hopelessly Teavoted, early! Audrey created an incredible world full of witches, devils, and some serious pining. I loved how unique this story was and how much care Audrey took with the characters. This is the perfect fall read, best paired with a steaming cup of tea. It releases on September 16, 2025.

Following the deaths of his parents, witch Azrael returns to his hometown of Hollowcross and teams up with Victoria, his forever crush and former neighbor, to help her reap three souls for one of the lesser devils. You see, her (terrible) parents made a deal that in exchange for Victoria getting the gift to summon the dead by touching an object they treasured in life, they would have to collect souls. When Victoria gets disowned by her parents, their debt falls to her and she only had until Halloween to reap three souls. But the spirits in town are warning about a sinister threat and Azrael and Victoria must team up to uncover the truth about the danger before they run out of time. And as they race against the clock, they just might realize that they have been hopelessly devoted to each other all along.

Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Tropes: touch (me) and die, childhood friends to lovers, paranormal, grumpy/sunshine

Finished this book in one sitting, An absolute treat to get and you wont want to put it down at all!

I absolutely adored this book and devoured it in a few hours! An absolute must add to any spooky season reading list- it would be a perfect little romance pallet cleanser between scarier stories.

Come for the spooky sweet romance, stay for Emily Lickinson, all the puns, and the Taylor Swift references. Also the yearning!!!

Honestly, there were so many pieces that normally don’t work for me (covid, childhood friends to lovers/second chance) that I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I loved it. That said, I would’ve liked to see a little more of them investigating the third soul (maybe a stake out at the school or the church) and personally I would’ve liked a little more will they/won’t they with Lex.

Overall I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a cute and witchy paranormal romance and can’t wait to read more by this author!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC- all thoughts my own!

With a mystery plaguing their town and souls on the line, former friends Victoria and Azreal must team up to stop evil forces—and maybe along the way reconnect in other ways.

Typically, romance novels don't catch my eye because I always end up finding them a bit predictable and problematic at times, but this novel did everything right. Atria has done it again. This book is very quirky in a great way. Both main characters being queer was cute too because it just made the romance between them cuter. While the plot was predictable, I found myself caring because every single character in the book was well throughout and added to the plot. My biggest gripe was the end mystery being solved a little too quickly. Some of the middle part could have been cut to add for a longer ending or it could have been flushed a tad more. But it was satisfying in the end.

I can confidently say that Audrey Goldberg Ruoff has earned herself a fan.

I love cozy mysteries so I was doubly excited for a cozy fantasy. Unfortunately this one didn’t completely work for me. I think the constant lusting over other characters by the FMC really kind of ruined the chemistry and attraction between Vickie and Az. I know that is definitely a me problem. So, keeping that in mind, this book was cute and kept me guessing as to what would happen next but just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was such a cozy, charming surprise! Equal parts heartwarming and hilarious, Hopelessly Teavoted is like a warm cup of tea and a hug from your favorite person. Sweet romance, lovable chaos, and so much heart—I adored it.

This was very cute and different kind of romance novel. Your usual couple who have feeling for each other but won't admit it but also there is a paranormal aspect to the story. Magical powers, deals with demons, spiciness, ghosts, souls. So many different topics through this story that all make it a great story. You spend your time rooting for the couples (not just the main couple) and also trying to find out the paranormal mystery of devil deals. Also touching on grief big in this story which I think was portrayed very respectfully and very real. Its comical, cozy, spicy, and mysterious.

I wanted to love this because I’m always here for witchy romances, but I just couldn’t connect with it. The main characters felt so teenaged despite being adults, and they spent most of the book being annoying and refusing to communicate. The timeline jumped around and somehow still felt repetitive, so it felt slow and shallow. I did like the sentient house and cozy witch vibes, but overall this just didn’t land.

Cute modern magical romance. Liked the fun witchy vibe. Felt more like a YA romance until it wasnt. The MMC was so loveable as he pined for the FMC his whole life.

A witchy romance with a touch of modern tech and language thrown in- so, so cute. I highly recommend.

3.5 stars. This book was interesting. I tend to not read contemporary romance with a fantasy-like subplot, so, honestly, this was my first one. Overall, I enjoyed it. It was so cute! The MMC really brought pining in and I adored it. The FMC seemed a little obnoxious at times, but othe time relatable. In the end, I liked how it ended.

What you’ll find in this book
- Childhood friends to lovers
- Some spice
- They are neighbours
- grumpy x sunshine ish
- He’s been in love with her since he was 6 years old

Thank you to NetGalley, Audrey Goldberg Ruoff, and Atria Books for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the cozy, small-town vibes. It has great elements for a witchy rom-com, such as ghosts and devils. I find it interesting how Victoria can communicate with ghosts, and that Azrael is a witch. I feel that typically the FMC is the witch for but I loved that there are different representations. I unfortunately did not love this book. I could see the potential, but I found the main characters to be frustrating, and I was confused about what happened for them to break up. Throughout the novel, it felt like Victoria and Azrael were younger than they were supposed to be. I thought it was a YA or New Adult novel until some spicy things happened. I don't think I will continue with this universe. Please, don't let my review sway you away from giving this book a try. It wasn't for me, but it could be for you.

Summary 📝
After the deaths of his parents, Azrael Ashmedai Hart—a down-on-his-luck witch—returns to his eerie family manor in Hallowcross, only to reunite with his childhood best friend and former crush, Victoria Starnberger. Vickie, newly disowned for buying Az’s late parents’ tea shop, is in debt to a devil and cursed to avoid touching Az without harming him. When spirits warn of a looming threat, the two must combine their magic to save their town—while navigating a romantic tension that refuses to stay buried in this witty, magically cozy rom-com.

Thoughts 💭
The pinning, the yearning! Yes please.
This book definitely has those cozy vibes and would be a perfect fall read. There’s magic and romance what more could a girl ask for. And a sentient house, I love a sentient house.

This book is like Charmed & Practical Magic’s love child.

While, I wasn’t expecting there to be spice scenes—I found that they weren’t too much. They definitely didn’t take up half of the novel which I appreciated. I don’t mind spice in books but sometimes it can be overdone.

I really enjoyed the writing and the flow of this story, the characters were great and I really liked the male mc as the love interest. If this were turned into a movie, I have a feeling it’d be a favorite of mine.

And if you like The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski, you’ll definitely like this one!

Overall Rating : 4⭐️
Audio : N/A ⭐️
Would I Recommend?
Yes!
Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

Hopelessly Teavoted is a spooky, slow burn romance. I usually love this genre, but unfortunately, this one was just not for me. It took me a very long time to read because I felt that the story moved too slowly. It’s very heavy on the angst and pining, which may work for some readers. The mystery component was almost an afterthought and felt very rushed at the end of the book. Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Cozy, cute, filled with yearning and pining, and spooky!

The perfect read for someone looking for some Halloween cozy vibes!

Our MCs have know each other their whole lives (childhood friends; then strangers; now lovers), you’ve got a curse, you’ve got magic, you’ve got more pining which is only made better by the fact that they can’t touch or it’ll kill our MMC, which is where the curse and them breaking it comes into play.

You get good world building and the perfect book to read for fall vibes.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC

•review links to come closer to release date

This book is for those who are hardcore romance fans. Lots of inner dialogues here. When I actually finish a story like this it says something - many times I just quit but it’s worth it to read!