Cute, but a little cliche. It didn’t wow me but it was an easy read! I love all things cozy, witchy, and rom coms

very very cute, if a little cliche at times. but i will never not love a good witchy romance book. and this surely delivered!!

This book was like stepping into a warm, cinnamon-scented spell, all cozy and magical. The magic system was soft and whimsical so definitely don’t go in expecting dark fantasy or high-stakes battles, but if you’re here for mysterious family secrets, haunted bookshops, petty generational witch drama, and a sprinkle of Southern charm, you’ll be obsessed. Would totally recommend if you’re into The Ex Hex, Gilmore Girls with magic, or anything that gives witchy romcom energy.

I’ll definitely be reading whatever Isla Jewell writes next!

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this ARC

I flew through this book. It has the bones of a cosy fantasy, though the execution needs some refinement.

Rhea is a typical eldest child - she puts everyone else first, even her shitty on-again-off-again boyfriend, never sparing a moment for her dreams. But that all starts to change when her estranged grandmother dies and leaves Rhea her legacy in a sleepy forest town.

This book is very fast paced. It's easy to read in a couple of days and quite captivating. My main issue is with the climax of the book - it happens entirely in maybe 10 pages and doesn't do the rest of the book justice or tie it together satisfyingly. I wish the author and their editors spent more time refining the lead up to give this story the pivotal moment it is working its way to earning.

✨📚 Books and Bewitchment by Isla Jewell 🪄
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 | ARC via NetGalley

Okay, I am living for this wave of cozy, witchy romcoms lately, and Books and Bewitchment totally hit that warm and fuzzy sweet spot! Small town charm? Check. Found family? Check. Low stakes magic, a talking cockatoo, and a swoony handyman? Check, check, check.

Rhea Wolfe is your classic eldest daughter overachiever just trying to keep her life (and her sisters’) from going up in flames. And then BAM! Surprise inheritance, surprise magical legacy, surprise haunted parrot (seriously). She moves to the adorable town of Arcadia Falls, turns a crusty video store into a dreamy bookstore, and slowly discovers the witchy roots she never knew she had.

Hunter Blakely? Let’s just say: if you love a cinnamon roll handyman with “man written by a woman” energy, you're going to fall hard. He’s respectful, sweet, and the definition of a cozy book boyfriend in flannel. Honestly, their chemistry was soft, slow burn perfection and I loved the "our families were rivals but I want you anyway" trope.

That said, the pacing was a little wonky. It started slow, then suddenly hit 1.5x speed in the last chunk. I would’ve loved more consistency so the emotional beats didn’t feel quite as rushed. And while I adored the cozy magic and setting, I do wish we had more actual witchyness in the middle sections because it leaned more “cute small town mystery” than “witchy fantasy” for a bit.

But still, this was FUN. Like, curl up under a blanket with tea and a cat kind of fun. I flew through it in a day and was smiling the whole time. Rhea was relatable, her growth was really satisfying, and the town of Arcadia Falls is just begging for more books. (Can we get one for her sisters next?! Please?!)

📚 What to expect:
witchy inheritance vibes
grumpy girl x sunshine handyman
slow burn romance (closed door)
magical bookstore dreams
a possessed parrot named Doris 🦜
soft magic meets sweet mystery

A charming little spell of a book that’s just as cozy as it is magical! 💫

Thank you to NetGalley, Isla Jewell, and Del Rey for the eARC of this book.

Tropes: Witchy romance • Small-town charm • Found family • Bookshop dreams • Cinnamon roll handyman

If you’ve ever wished your local bookshop came with a dash of ancestral magic, Books & Bewitchment is your next cosy obsession. Isla Jewell conjures a warm, witchy romcom that feels like Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic—with a Southern twist.

Rhea Wolfe, our eldest-daughter heroine, inherits a crumbling video store and a magical legacy in Arcadia Falls, a town brimming with secrets, spells, and suspiciously helpful handymen. As she transforms the shop into a cozy book haven (dreamy!), she uncovers family mysteries, forbidden love, and a community that’s more enchanted than it lets on.

First off; thank you to NetGally and Del Ray for the arc. The following is my unbiased review.

I absolutely adored this book!

We are quickly thrown into the life of Rhea Wolfe who really doesn't like her life. She wants to be the main character for once. As soon as she is fired for her boss's niece, she gets her wish and ends up moving to a quaint little town - Arcadia Falls. To obtain the inheritance from her grandmother, she must go through some crazy steps that were specifically laid out in her will.

Rhea decides to turn the run down video store her grandmother owned into a book store (while keeping the boiled peanuts that were a real money maker). She enlists the help of the grandson of her grandmother's sworn enemy in all things magic; Hunter Blakely. She also can't help fall for him, despite the spirit of her grandmother squawking in her mind. But who wouldn't fall for the guy who is handy and emotionally mature?

I really enjoyed the use of magic with the every day. The author did great research in what it's like to remodel a store that needs a lot of work into a book store. It very much reminded me of when I opened my own store, minus having a poltergeist. I wish we had a little more in the magical aspect, however this book is the first in the Arcadia Falls Series, and I can't wait to see what Isla Jewell comes up with next for this little mountain town.

All intimate romance scenes are off the page. This had no bearing on my review as I like romance both on and off page.

thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Let me start this off by saying I will definitely be revisiting Arcadia Falls for book 2!

This book was really cozy and I loved the vibe and the little magical bird. It was a super fun read!

I wish the world building of the magic got fleshed out a little more and i feel like a lot of questions were left unanswered at the end. I felt the romance pacing was rushed and took a backseat for a book marketed as a small town romance.

I also felt sometimes the book tried too hard to be endearing and “hip” with the youth. But i otherwise loved the writing style, it was really funny!

This book is such a cute little romance, honestly its so cozy and I can definitely see it being turned into a series. Personally I thought the romance and the plot felt a little bit rushed in the last few chapters, but it was still easy to read and flowed well.

I am absolutely in love with this book. I love Rhea, Doris, Maggie, Hunter, Arcadia Falls. Just...love.

Rhea is getting tired of her small town life when she learns her estranged grandmother has died and left her an inheritance, leaving everything to her. She breaks the promise she made her mother to never visit Arcadia Falls, packs up her life and her show tunes loving cockatoo, and heads to the mountains to discover she inherited a dying video store and... magical abilities.

I struggled in the first few chapters of the book because the pacing seemed weird. Everything happened all at once with no real building up to it but once Rhea enters Arcadia Falls everything clicked into place for her and for me.

I didn't do much of anything over the last 24 hours because I didn't want to put this book down. I love the humor, banter, sass, love, and small town kindness. This book is a cozy hug and a bundle of joy.

I will absolutely be buying this and reading it again when it hits shelves. I cannot wait for subsequent books. This may be my favorite read of 2025 thus far, and I've read 154!

•If you’re looking for a lighthearted, hallmark movie vibe, easy beach read then this is perfect for you.
•I just gave it 3 stars because it just wasn’t really for me.
•Cute and innocent and very cheesy at times.
•Grazed right over the intimate/sexy scenes.
•Really funny moments that actually made me laugh out loud.

I went into this book not knowing what to expect. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be purchasing it for my store. Didn't realize it's not released until Feb - bummer that I have to wait to share! Looking forward to more in this world

Books & Bewitchment is a cute fantasy with a romance subplot. I really enjoyed the premise, there’s a magical bird, a charming small town, and fun side character, but the pacing didn’t work for me.

I love romance, but in this book it felt unnecessary. I think the FMC could’ve used more time with other characters instead of the MMC. The conversations between her and the MMC felt a bit staged and didn’t have the natural chemistry I was hoping for.

The book had a quirky tone, which I usually like, but the TikTok references didn’t work for me and took me out of the story. I also wish there had been more world-building—we barely saw or understood how the magic worked.

What I liked:

The magical bird (seriously adorable)
Fun small-town side characters

What I didn’t like:

Romance pacing
Staged-feeling dialogue between the leads
TikTok/pop culture references
Not enough development of the magic system

4.5⭐️
What a lovely, cozy, witchy read! Thank you to Isla and NetGalley for the advanced copy, I had so much fun with this book! I love a cozy read, and this was 100% what I look forward to when I’m craving that vibe. Rhea and her sisters have been told their whole lives that their grandmother is evil and cannot be trusted and made to promise that they would never try to find her or return to their mother’s hometown. Now, both of them are gone and Grandma Maggie’s estate has been left to Rhea after Maggie’s best friend, who was supposed to inherit everything, died with her. She finds out there are plenty of secrets, and plenty of reasons she might have been kept away, but maybe just as many to stay. This really is just an overall feel-good story, even if there are some rough edges (iykyk), it all works out in the end. The found family, the legacy, the talking cockatoo (before, during, and after)… I loved it all. I might have even cried a little.

Gosh I adored this book. It was like a warm hug. It made me miss my home town, call my sisters and fall in love with reading, one page at a time. It’s the perfect cosy novel to curl up on the couch with a warm beverage, and finish reading after a long day.

(Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher, but this has in no way influenced my review. My thoughts are entirely unbiased and honest.)

I'm probably in the minority here in saying that I did not enjoy this book at all.

Maybe it's because I didn't like the conversational style of writing, didn't feel the magic in the setting, nor did I laugh at any of the puns between the leads dkdkfk

Was excited for the cozy fantasy plot but alas ended up being disappointed.

To break it down, the prose got some getting used to; I felt confused how the main character jumped one topic to the next. I know it's intended to be a kind of stream-of-consciousness type but there's almost no nuance left with our main lead, Rhea. Everything is described as is that it's no longer entertaining.

What really irked me though were the characterization of everyone (from Hunter to Doris the cockatoo) and the cringey dialogue. No one speaks like this or jokes like this fkfmfmg

In my opinion, it was trying too hard to be endearing and funny, that it became corny huhu

The romance and the sexy scenes also reminded me of those classic romance novels written by your aunties? Make of that what you will.

While the author already has an impressive list of published works in other genres, I think they should definitely try reading fanfiction (if they haven't already) if they want to continue with adult romance because gosh... I've read better fics out there with greater banter and characterization.

'Maybe it seems silly, but several times in my life, I've found my answer in books. Words are my Magic 8 Ball.'

⭐⭐½

I loved the idea of this book, but it didn't quite meet my expectations. It had a really strong start, and I loved the small town setting. I thought the relationship between Maggie and Rhea was done well, and I liked seeing them attempt to bridge the gap that their estrangement had created, even when it wasn't easy.

I did think this story could have been a lot tighter, as sometimes it did get repetitive and the action just didn't move forward easily. I would argue this book also isn't a rom-com, as it seemed to be more of a family drama with a romance sub plot. And honestly, the romance was where it lost me a bit...
There were a couple of clunky, weird moments that just made it hard for me to connect with these characters.

I'd say definitely give this one a go if you like cosy, witchy reads because it definitely delivered those vibes! I'm sure it will be a better fit for other readers, it just wasn't right for me.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Del Rey and Random House Worlds for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

As someone from the South, I absolutely adored that Books & Bewitchment is set here—it gave the whole story a warm, familiar atmosphere that felt personal and comforting.

The idea of a girl discovering she’s a witch and opening her own bookshop is pure magic (and honestly reminded me a bit of myself, which made it even more special!). The romance between Rhea and Hunter is cozy and sweet, with any spicy moments left behind closed doors—so you get to fill in the gaps with your imagination. I especially loved how they worked through the old family tensions to build something real together. And can we talk about Hunter’s house in the woods? Absolute dream.

I did find myself wishing for more detailed character descriptions and more depth about what happened to the magic and everyone’s lives. The middle and ending felt a little rushed, and I would’ve loved a slower, more drawn-out conclusion. Also, some of the phrasing in the book threw me for a loop—it either didn’t quite match the context or felt a bit too technical for certain scenes, which sometimes pulled me out of the story.

Still, it’s an enchanting, witchy comfort read with a Southern heart. Highly recommend for anyone who loves cozy magical romances

This was an enjoyable feel good lighthearted romcom, with some sweet witchy parts thrown in for good measure. I warmed to the main character right away and enjoyed accompanying her on her journey.

This was a wonderfully romantic, cosy, cliche read that made me feel so fuzzy inside.

Rhea is hitting a dead end in her home town. Her deadbeat ex boyfriend has proposed, her boss has let her go, and she’s become the owner of a Cockatoo that loves show tunes. Then she gets a letter inviting her to Arcadia Falls where a Grandmother she has never met has died and left her something - a rundown set of storefronts, and a magical legacy.

This is exactly how I like all of my favourite Hallmark movies and romance novels to start. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a tried and tested plot device, the main thing you need is to write it well and make it interesting. The town is described lovingly and feels right off the front of a Christmas card, and the people that make up the town are filled with character and quirks and personality.

The use of the magical bloodlines in the town is sweet and wholesome - it brings a sense of wonder and brilliance to the mundane, with the characters having “knacks” for things like baking, reading, and woodwork. The idea of creating a magic system based on skills and things that people love ties so nicely into a “small town” vibe, because tell me that the best products you come across in life aren’t from small independent businesses!

I would LOVE to return to Arcadia Falls - I’m hoping we get another two books, one for each sister maybe?

*Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC*