Happy release day to Hopelessly Teavoted by @audreygoldbergruoff!! Huge thank you to @atriabooks for the gifted copy and opportunity to read this early!! I love a good witchy romance around this time of year!

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

The story centers on Azrael and Vickie. Azrael, a powerful witch grieving the recent loss of his parents, and Vickie, his childhood neighbor (and long-time crush), who also happens to be able to communicate with the dead. When they both return home, they quickly realize something sinister is stirring in their town. Together, they must unravel curses, face evil forces, and fight for the chance at love!

✨ MY THOUGHTS ✨

I loved how the romance and magic were balanced! The yearning, tension, danger of even touching each other, it all worked so well. The atmosphere was spooky yet cozy, with a witchy teashop setting that made it even more charming. I loved the little touches of magic throughout the whole book it made the story that much better!

Perfect for anyone who wants a magical, romantic read this spooky season!!

This was such a cozy magical rom-com full of yearning, pining, and laugh out loud moments. I adored the lush descriptions, fun and punny references, and the charming town. The chemistry between Vickie and Az was absolute chef’s kiss. And, while it’s a fun ride, the book also touches upon serious topics like mental health and grief, which was handled well. It’s the perfect book for fall and Halloween, and I’m so excited that Priscilla’s getting her own book!

4⭐️
Omg this was pretty fun! Audrey Goldman-Ruoff is a new to me author but if all her books are gonna be fun and magical like this I’m gonna be excited. Hopelessly Teavoted is a small town romance full of witchy, funny as hell characters. I was pleasantly surprised to find the backstory very detailed but easy to follow. This book reminded me very much of the Graves Glen series by Erin Sterling in a great way! Great backstory, the mystery-solving and teamwork was fun to read. It’s a slow burn full of yearning but I freaking loved it, Azrael and Victoria were stinkin’ cute start to finish.

This is a great lil spooky read just in time for October/Halloween 🥰🥰

Thank you to Atria Books, Audrey Goldberg-Ruoff, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Book is out September 16th! 🫶🏼

📖 Title: Hopelessly Teavoted-a standalone

✍🏾 Author: Audrey Goldberg Ruoff-debut author

📅Publication date: 9-16-25 | Read: 9-15-25

📃 Format: e-Book 352 pgs.

Genre:
*Paranormal Romance
*Rom-Com

Tropes:
*witches/ghosts/magic/curses
*2nd chance romance
*BFFs to lovers
*small town
*slow burn
*gothic, haunted manor
*LGBTQIA+ rep

👆🏾POV: 3rd person dual

⚠️TW: bullying, parental estrangement, death of parents, grief

🌎 Setting: Hallowcross

Summary: Azrael returns home after the death of his parents. He doesn't know his childhood BFF Victoria bought his parents' tea shop. She defied her parents' wishes and stopped going to college. She is visited by a devil Lex indicating that she has to pay her parents debts by reaping souls. She was cursed with the power to summon the dead by touching an important object they owned. Azrael's parents' ghosts warn them about an evil force trying to destroy their town, and they must work together to save their hometown.


👩🏾 Heroine: Victoria "Vicki" Starnberger- cursed to summon the dead, takes out a loan to buy Hopelessly Teavoted. Also has an untouchable curse she has until Halloween to break. Must bind souls to break the spell.

👨🏾 Hero: Azrael "Az" Hart- comes home 8 years after a failed screenwriting career, becomes a 10th grade teacher

🎭 Other Characters:

* Benedict + Persephone Hart-Az's parents
* Priscilla "Prissy" Hart-Az's younger sister
*Amelie + Maximillian Starnberger-Vicki's parents
*Olexandre/Lex-a lesser devil
*Emily Lickinson- Az's cat
*Evelyn-Priscilla's girlfriend


🤔 My Thoughts: This novel featured a childhood crush with Az and Vicki given another chance at love. Things were complicated by her magical curse-not being able to touch Az without killing him. Az was grieving his parents while Vicki didn't talk to hers because they couldn't use her anymore. Homosexuality wasn't made a big deal in their witchy community which was a nice change. There was a HEA, and I hope for more in this world.

Rating: 4/5 ✨
Spice level: 4/5 🌶️

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Audrey Goldberg Ruoff for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

A fun spooky read! It was cute, but I felt that their relationship was a little weird. Weird in the sense that it was super will they, won’t they and they always acted as if they mentioned their one night stand that the other would shatter so they kept having awkward interactions and playing it off while still trying to be friends like they were before. I love a second chance and I love the set up at the beginning but I think that it was just overly vaguely shared. I will say I love the plot and that was a big drawing factor for me and this book, because it was pretty well paced in terms of the plot. I love their abilities. I’m going to be completely honest I think my favorite character was the lesser devil!

First off, I want to say thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the advanced copy!

3.5 stars!

I was drawn in by the interesting premise and the promise of a friends to lovers storyline. The witchy teashop setting really added to the atmosphere. Sadly, the story fell short of my expectations. I just couldn’t get invested in the characters journey.

However, the book was able to turn it around for me. Despite a somewhat slow beginning, I grew to like this book. The mystery aspect was intriguing, and I became invested in finding out how it would all resolve. It’s a sweet and touching Halloween story that deals with grief, connection and love. I especially appreciated the references and homage to Morticia and Gomez Addams. I loved how the author built tension and longing through the character’s inability to touch. The pining was intense! It felt like a steamy cross between Gilmore Girls and Wednesday.

Even though it started a bit chaotically, there was definitely a lot to like in this book. I’m really looking forward to reading more from Audrey Goldberg Ruoff.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Booksfor The ARC.

The premise of the story was interesting, and was super excited about the friends to lover trope. The vibes were there with the witchy cozy teashop. However the miscommunication between Az and Vickie was a bit frustrating so to say the least, especially since they known each other since childhood, there should have been some form of communication still in tact. Not to mention one thing kept coming after the other, it was a bit hard to keep track of things happening in the book it left me having to go back and reread parts since it would comeback up later on.

If there was just a bit more polishing up, I feel like this could have been much more promising.

The premise of this book sounded so good, and I was really excited to read it. Unfortunately, the story fell flat for me. I couldn't find myself really investing in the characters. Also, the COVID mention sort of pulled me out of the story. I don't necessarily mind mentioning COVID in books, but for a magical realism book involving witches, it just felt out of place for me.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Atria for the chance to read this story! I had a hard time with the back and forth and miscommunication in this book. I love the cover, love the premise, and think it still a great read for this season.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for the advanced reader's copy of Hoplessly Teavoted.

I was initially intrigued by the premise of Hopelessly Teavoted by Audrey Goldberg Ruoff, but unfortunately the execution didn’t work for me. The story often relied more on telling than showing, which made it harder to fully immerse myself in the characters or their experiences. The pacing also felt drawn out, and at times the tone came across as a bit immature for an adult novel. While the concept had potential, it ultimately fell flat for me.

3.5*

Well after a bit of a slow start I ended up liking this book a good bit. I found myself really intrigued by the mystery element and was invested in seeing how it would all play out. And it ended up being pretty darn satisfying; I always love seeing the villain get their comeuppance. As for the romance, Azrael and Vickie were sweet together. They had so much history (both good and not so good) and I liked seeing them work together and realize just how much they loved each other. A fun read, especially for spooky season.

I have been anticipating this book since it was announced, and it was as quirky and original as I hoped. I never watched Pushing Daisies, but I loved how the author used the characters inability to touch each other to build the tension and pining and...wow was there pining! To me, it was Gilmore Girls meets Wednesday but make it steamy!

I was really excited to read this book and share my thoughts. The premise hooked me right away—friends-to-lovers, a tea shop, a witchy MMC, and a heroine who makes a deal with a demon and can suddenly see ghosts. That setup sounded so fun and I expected a cozy, magical romance with some spooky charm.

Unfortunately, by 11% in, I found myself struggling. The story dragged with years of unresolved miscommunication between the leads, and instead of feeling cozy, it felt slow and a bit frustrating. I also couldn’t connect with the characters, which made it harder to stay invested.

I decided to DNF at this point, but readers who enjoy very slow-burn second-chance romances with lots of focus on past misunderstandings may enjoy this more than I did.

There was so much going on in this book that I got lost. Between the present-day issues, the parents, the family loss, the world building, the magic, the sister with the girlfriend, the murder, the devil, the loss of power, the friends to lovers to enemies to lovers again??? My head was spinning. I gave up.

i got 21% in and i’ve decided to dnf. witchy books aren’t always for me, i’ve yet to read one that i like. i’m glad i gave it a chance and i’m sure others will enjoy it!

Let me preface this by saying right away, I did enjoy this book! I think the premise is fun, the childhood crushes to yearning to lovers was done well, in my opinion, and the mystery subplot was quite interesting!

What I kept feeling “iffy” on, was the inability to communicate with each other. Az and Vickie have been childhood friends for decades. They have both been basically in love with each other for years upon years. Granted, some level of awkwardness and re-learning each other after a few years apart would be expected, but to this degree? It drove me slightly insane.

On the topic of things that drove me slightly insane is the way Vickie knew they had feelings for each other, especially knowing what Az felt for her, but constantly turning around and saying “let’s pretend” “let’s pretend”. It broke my heart a little bit every time 😭 Can you imagine loving someone for essentially your whole life, them knowing this, and then also saying “let’s pretend” as a well to have intimacy with you (to the best of your abilities lol)

Outside of those two things, I did have a good time reading this! I love all witchy, small town, demons, and fun sentient houses! Add in a super cute witchy tea shop? I was obsessed!

P.S. I hope and pray to see more of Lex in any future books!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

The premise of "Hopelessly Teavoted" hooked me so thoroughly that it was honestly one of my most anticipated releases of the fall, which is impressive considering that this is a debut novel. And overall, I'd say that this was a pretty successful debut, though I am excited to see how Goldberg Ruoff develops as an author in future releases.

All in all, this book had incredibly good bones and worked pretty well as a romance. It is shocking to me that there are not more "Pushing Daisies" inspired romance/paranormal romance novels. The "touch and one of you will die" trope works so incredibly well for building romantic (and sexual) tension. Through I wish the characters didn't seem to find so many loopholes, it broke the tension a quite a bit.

I overall really enjoyed both Azrael and Victoria as characters and seeing them reconnect after years apart. While I don't think the pacing of this romance worked super well (full profession of love very early on followed by lots of somewhat nonsensical starts and stops), their chemistry still really shone. I loved how Goldberg Ruoff leaned into her Jewish heritage here, though this found its way into the book through a few scattered religious references rather than the Hart family seeming to have any cultural connection to their Judaism.

My biggest issue with this book was that there was so much going on that it was often very difficult to keep track of what was actually happening. It almost seemed like the author couldn't decide between which tropes to include and so just smushed all of them in there. There was a small town mystery to solve concerning a religious cult, a curse to break (separate from the cult thing), a debt to the devil that needed to be repaid (also separate from the cult thing), and a struggling business to save. With all of these things happening at once, none of them were super fleshed out. The plot was often chaotic, confusing, and a bit cliche, but the vibes and romance were worth sticking around for.

Overall, while a bit chaotic out the gate, there was definitely a lot of promise here. I'm really looking forward to reading Goldberg Ruoff's future books.

3 stars

Thank you Net Galley and Atria for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I tried so hard to get through this book. I really did but I gave up around 65%. I dislike DNF'ing books but I was so bored with this book and I didn't care anymore.

The writing was good but I just didn't love the plot and I wasn't a huge fan of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing the ARC.

I was really excited to read this book, but it was pretty much a let down.

The pacing in this book drags so much. I love a good slow burn romance, and the yearning was definitely there, but it moves at a snail's pace that you just find yourself drowning in this pit with no idea how quickly you'll get to the next plot bit. There are a lot of "side quests" that take place, which also slows down the story and seem superfluous when trying to parse out the main story. The mystery aspect was there but then it was pushed out of sight in favor of focusing on the characters relationship.

I think this book could benefit from a good editing and refocusing on what the plot needed to be. There's too much extra detail that doesn't really need to be included and there's not a clear path from the beginning of the story to the end.

DNF at 40%

Unfortunately there was just too nuch going on in this book for me to want to continue. Things didn't seem cohesive enough and the main plot seemed to be barely moving forward. There were so many side things that stopped the main story line and they just ended up confusing things. This story probably needed some more plot editing. I liked the ideas of things though so I wouldn't be opposed to trying something else from Audrey in the future