Darcy is the daughter of parents who own a paint shop and run the Halloween festivities in their small town, but she feels trapped by their plans for her life not consulting her. Anya is a friendless witch who needs to find a mortal to become her protector in order to be initiated into her coven. She's lied to her parents that Darcy will do it — the only problem is that Darcy doesn't believe magic is real and doesn't know her. She ends up joining the fall planning committee to get to know Darcy, only to find herself falling deeper for the other girl in the process.

This was a quick, fun read, but things got a little darker than I expected for cozy fantasy. It feels as if a lot of the dynamics that frankly constitute child abuse (emotional abuse) were glossed over as not that big a deal in the ending. That seems insensitive to me given the number of LGBTQ teenagers who either are kicked out of their family for being LGBTQ or fear that happening if they come out. I still enjoyed the book quite a bit, I just feel that some of the topics could have been handled more sensitively. Even though it wasn't directly based on the girls' sexuality, it's still not okay parenting, and it still comes off as bigotry-flavored even though the parents claim it wasn't based on the girls' sexuality. That's a thing a lot of bigots claim. I also wasn't necessarily expecting a medical emergency as the climax in a cozy fantasy. I was honestly expecting the climax to be Anya's initiation, but that isn't even shown on the page! It was just a little weird to me.

The good aspects of the book (cute town, vivid characters, sweet relationships between the girls and their friends) did outweigh the negative aspects, though. I would recommend this novel to people who like cozy-ish sapphic fantasy, with just a warning that it may contain a bit more trauma than a cozy fantasy reader might expect.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children’s Books and author Bridget Morrissey for providing me with the eARC of “Everything she does is Magic”, in exchange for my honest review.
Publication date: September 9th, 2025
Reviewed on Goodreads: June 26th, 2025

5 stars! I really loved this!

- YA Sapphic romance
- Witchy/magic themes
- Autumn/Halloween vibes
- Cozy

In this story we meet two teenage girls, Darcy and Anya.
Darcy is a lifelong resident of their small, Halloween-loving town, and works at her parents’ art shop.
Anya is new in town. She is reserved, quiet, mysterious and seems somewhat sinister to those around her. Little does everyone else know, Anya is harboring magical secrets, and is seeking something important in town. Something that may just change her life as she knows it.

This was SO cute. Just super adorable.
I love the fall and Halloween themes in this story. I love the magic. I love the romance. Everything!
Darcy and Anya are adorable together, and I loved seeing them support each other so well. Their characters felt well-developed and seemed quite perfect for each other.

I really appreciated reading Darcy’s story about how desperately she wanted to experience a life outside of her parents’ wishes and expectations for her. I think this is a message that is not only relatable, but also super important for young-adult readers.

The story is quite short, and it is very easy to read. It is also super wholesome and had a very nostalgic feel for me personally.
I liked the writing style, and the dual point of view!

Overall, this was a really good read for me. I would love to reread during fall/Halloween!
I would love to read more from this author in the future.

This book 🙂‍↕️

I smiled pretty much the entire way through this story. It is YA, and not YA that bends to NA or Adult. There are merely a few kisses here and I think one expletive use.

DO NOT LET THAT STOP YOU from reading this. Bridget Morrissey does a fantastic job of delivering a warm, fun world in Everything She Does Is Magic.

The blurb said this was Gilmore Girls meets Wicked and it couldn't be more true. I'd even add in Halloweentown vibes to the mix.

Read if you like any of the following:
👻 Spooky books
👻 Endearing romance
👻 Queer rep
👻 Dynamic family relationships
👻 Intriguing side characters
👻 Solid plot that's not overwhelming
👻 Fall vibes
👻 Halloween
👻 Costumes (there are several)

I will be buying this in paperback when it comes out later this year. I cannot resist!

Thank you to the publisher (Random House Children's Books | Delacorte Romance), Bridget Morrisey, and NetGalley for the early copy.

Review: Everything She Does is Magic, Bridget Morrissey
Acknowledgement: This book was given to me through NetGalley for free, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher, Ms Morrissey and NetGalley for this opportunity.

Trigger Warnings: Lying to your kids, lying to your friends, overbearing parents, teenagers

Personal Note: I will absolutely be the first person to admit that this sort of book is not my usual style. However, last year, I was convinced by some seriously good marketing to try out a Fall themed romance series and I actually really enjoyed all of them even though I find most romantic books to be quite silly. So when I picked up this one, I was going to put it off until later but I’ve read some very heavy, somewhat tragic, largely depressing books recently and I needed a bit of a palate cleanser.

Summary: In the fictional town of Fableview, the residents take Halloween very seriously. And I don’t mean they just like Halloween a whole lot, no, they have a town calendar that is filled to the brim with a new Halloween and/or fall themed activity for the whole town to take part in every single night and weekend of October. The main characters are Darcy Keller, a Fableview staple, an artist, playwrite, actor, and all around successful seventeen year old. Opposite her is Anya Doyle, a transplant who has never settled down in one place for more than a year, a self described dour malcontent who has no idea how to make friends. There’s only one problem with that – Anya Doyle is a legit witch with legit powers, and she needs to find a mortal person to be her protector for her to continue on in her family coven. If she doesn’t succeed at finding someone willing to protect her in their coming of age ritual, she’ll be stripped of her powers and forced to leave her family forever. The minute she meets Darcy Keller, she knows that this sunshine girl is the protector she wants and the girl she has a massive, massive crush on. There’s just one problem: Anya has never spoken to Darcy before, and she’s already told her parents that Darcy will be her protector.

The Review: Genuinely this book was really cute. I enjoyed it a lot, in that it was a nice, homey kind of book – while I didn’t really relate to either main characters (seventeen was over half my life ago after all), I did sort of relate to their personalities and their quirks. Anya is anxious all the time, too afraid to talk to Darcy for fear of being ‘too weird’ or bothering her. Darcy, unused to people not opening up to her immediately, thinks she’s offended Anya. Darcy’s parents have decided her whole life for her, and she just wants to go to a college far away and is too afraid to say so.

The town itself was a mix of a few small town tropes, but not in such a way that made it unbelievable. It was like Stars Hollow and my own hometown met and had a baby. It was small enough that everyone knows everyone else, every class had the same amount of kids in them and those same kids had been going to school with these classmates for their whole lives. It was a big tourist town but other than that, they never saw anyone new who stuck around past October.

Coming from a small town (smaller than Fableview for sure) it was easy to see why Darcy may have chafed against staying her whole life there, and as someone who has terrific anxiety, Anya’s reasons for what she does make a lot of sense to me. I’m not condoning them though, because in her fear, she hides a lot of what she needs from Darcy and leaves her to find out in a truly awkward way.

I also felt really bad for Darcy closer to the end. When it comes out that Anya is a witch, every single person she knows and talks to seems to already know. Not a single one of them is surprised, and Darcy is basically the only one who didn’t know from the getgo. While Darcy doesn’t have much of a reaction to this, I certainly did. Being the only person who didn’t know something huge, I’ve been there and it’s been extremely not fun.

Of course, the girl gets the girl and all loose ends are tied up in a neat little Halloween bow but instead of being trite or kitschy, it was actually really cute. I really enjoyed this Fall/Halloween slice of life, and I give Everything She Does is Magic a 4/5, I’d recommend this for a cute, heartwarming G rated romp.

AL

This was cute, but definitely more middle grade than I was expecting. I think the themes could have been better explored due to the age of the characters, and it felt a bit "and we all clapped" at the end, but it was a nice palette cleanser after some more dense reads.

This is a cute, lighthearted book that would definitely be great to read around Halloween. Both characters are likeable and interesting. The story had a good flow and had me invested until the end. The side characters were also cute and it was an easy read. Romance was also sweet and light. Nothing too deep going on but still very much a solid story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

Incredibly sweet!! These are the lesbians my mom warned me about. As Darcy grappled with charting her own path and Anya with becoming a witch and living into her family legacy I was struck repeatedly with what a lovely coming of age story this was. Highly recommend for spooky sapphic vibes.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Random House Children's Books- Delacorte Romance for the earc in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet read! YA, witchy, coming of age, finding your self and inner strength, friendship, importance of community, romance and queer romance, family dynamics. It has a little bit of everything!

The dynamics between Anya, Grace, and Darcy were perfect. I wish we got more from Piper but maybe that’ll be in a follow up book. That’d be fun!

I appreciated the kooky small town setting, because coming from a town that is rooted in tradition it really do be like that when people (especially young people heaven forbid) try to change anything. It’s not like they want to ruin and get rid of things, just shake it up a tad. So seeing those types of personalities come out in this story was so funny to me.

I think the author wrote about navigating family dynamics as a teen very well and this could be a helpful read to feel seen for folks around that age.

Love that Kyle got a little redemption arc but not enough to steal any spotlight because this wasn’t about him.

Overall definitely recommend! Reminded me a lot of These Witches Don’t Burn which I adored so if you’ve read that, would definitely say to read this and if you want a follow up after reading this one, look for the Isabel Sterlings series.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!!

This was such a cute sapphic YA!!! It reminds me of Halloweentown the movie!! Anya and Darcy are so adorable and I was rooting for them the whole time!! Definitely a fun read with some great side characters!!!

Cute lgtbq+ romance book with magical realism built in....I like that the main story wasn't about the concept on anyone being gay but more about magic :)
Overall, cute book!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this book! It was really giving cozy fall vibes, and it made me so happy. I loved the grumpy/sunshine trope! The only reason I gave it 3 stars was because it was definitely a little predictable to me. Not a bad thing at all, just made it not AS enjoyable as it could've been if I was a little more surprised by where the story was going. All in all, I really enjoyed it and will absolutely be rereading during Halloween time!

This book felt like stepping into a queer Halloweentown! I loved this cozy and atmospheric book and can't wait to buy a physical copy! Such a sweet and heartfelt story, I really enjoyed this!

I really did love this book. Bridget Morrissey wrote an excellent sapphic YA novel that felt like Halloweentown meets the Netflix show Wednesday in the best way. I knocked off one star because I pretty much predicted exactly what would happen, and I wanted a bit more surprise. But it was such a cute and fun read and I loved every page!

Such a sweet and cozy romance for the spooky season. Very reminiscent of Halloweentown and other 90s Halloween classics!

One of my favorite reads of 2025! This was a delightful mishmash of so many things I love: sapphic, witchy, cozy, Halloween-themed, grumpy/sunshine, swoony, and a dash of toaster oven sapphic awakening. There’s even a lovely theme of figuring out who you are and what you truly want. I had a smile plastered on my face the entire time I was reading it. Can I move to Fableview? It sounds like my dream town.

Anya and Darcy were both adorable, filled with palpable fluttery feelings for each other, and I rooted for them to get together from the start. I also really liked Darcy’s best friend, Grace, and Grace’s little sister, Maddie.

I can already tell I’ll be rereading this comforting mug of hot cider in book form religiously every fall. Definitely a must-read for anyone who loves Halloweentown. And although it’s YA, I feel like all ages should be able to enjoy it.

It looks like other books are planned for this series, so I can’t wait to read those as well!

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

This was so adorable and everything I wanted it to be! So cozy and witchy and perfect for Halloween! I want to live in the town this is set I'm! Thank you for the e arc

4.5 stars!! read this early though netgalley and absolutely loved it!! a great witchy sapphic read that was funny and sweet! i love love grace anya and darcy and the writing in this book is outstanding!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC of Everything She Does is Magic.

A sweet, cozy low-angst sapphic romance with a lot of heart. I loved this book. Darcy and Anya are cute together. Grace is a true friend. Kyle seems like he might have a problem with Anya at first, but he turns out to be an endearing and helpful guy.

Both sets of parents want the best for their daughters, but their expectations are what add to the minimal drama here. But they’re good parents who take their daughters viewpoints into consideration and help them throughout this book.

Thoroughly enjoyed. Highly recommend.

Darcy's life revolves around Halloween: in the small town of Fableview, Halloween keeps the town running, and her parents are effectively the masterminds behind it. She's about to graduate from high school, and the job of keeping things running exactly as they always have, with no changes whatsoever, is hers to take over...whether she wants it or not. Meanwhile, Anya is in a bind—she needs a human to act as her protector so that she can join her family's coven when she turns eighteen, but finding someone she can trust is harder than it seems. And to get the pressure off, she's told her parents that Darcy is up for the job...

This was a cute, fast read. The way the town approaches Halloween is intentionally over-the-top cheesy—they know they're a tourist destination, and they long ago decided to lean into it. For Darcy's parents, Halloween is about candy-corn-printed cotton fabrics and cutesy fairies and bobbing for apples, not blood or zombies or the Salem Witch Trials. (Think "Sabrina the Teenage Witch", not "Scream".) For Darcy, it's gotten stale, but she's not looking for "Scream" either, just...I've run out of analogies. Darcy's just looking for a bit of change, and for the chance to find out what *she* does when her parents aren't running the show.

So I enjoyed the playfulness here—this fully leans into cozy vibes. A bit of a Sarah Dessen feel, actually, at least in the way the quirky best friend plotline plays out I'm not sure if a sequel is planned, but there is space for that quirky best friend to get her own story... I could have used a bit more exploration of Anya's powers, though; for me, witchy characters are basically wish fulfillment, because who doesn't want to be able to send some tingly power through their fingertips and effect instant change? Anya barely seems to use her powers, and I'm not sure if that's because she's not very powerful (though we're told that she is), or if there are serious limits to how much power a witch can use (does she need to recharge?), or if there's something to do with her being under eighteen, or something else. Anya's magic is in fixing things, of course, not creating rainbow glitter or whatever, but...I guess I wouldn't have minded a bit more of her family coming in and making things more magically chaotic. (Surely one of them can create rainbow glitter at will?)

A good one for those looking for a super cozy, low-heat, queer autumn YA read.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bridget Morrissey, and Random House Children's Books- Delacorte Romance for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

I loved this book! It was beyond adorable! It gave me the cozy vibes I get from watching Gilmore Girls but with queer characters. I mean, what’s not to love about that? This is a good coming-of-age YA story. It follows Darcy, who wants to make her own path instead of following in her parents’ footsteps. And Anya wants to embrace being a witch, but it’s hard for her to do so. I’m curious to see where their storyline goes from here. This is the perfect fall season read. Please read it during the upcoming fall/ Halloween season. I need the next book in this series!