It has been miserably hot here in the south lately and since August hit I have been desperate for fall. This book definitely helped to give me that feeling! It was charming and such a cute romance.

The slowburn/slow build up was enjoyable, as I love it when a relationship isn't the main plot driver. I loved that the magic wasn't the only focus of the story, but that the interpersonal dynamics and the settings also played a role.

It is heartwarming and sweet, and the relationship was well earned.

Thornhaven is rich and inviting, and honestly I want to read more about it! It was strongly written, and it was cool to see the contrast between the local and touristy spots.

It was a great palate cleanser from my typical heavy reads and I'd like to read more from the author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for the ARC read!

I could read this book and over!

Recommended for teens looking for:
- sapphic rep
- ace rep, especially discovery of asexuality
- themes of self-discovery and forging community connections
- autumn vibes
- witchy tropes

2.5

Lily and Chrysanthemum are rivals. Lilly just wants her parent's praise and Chrys just wants to fit in. Their rivalry gets a little out of hand resulting in a strange curse that only they can stop. Can they put aside their differences and find common ground?

Read if you like:
-Rivals to Lovers
-Sapphic Witches
-The Grass Isn't Always Greener on the Other Side

I really wanted to love No Charm Done. The blurb made it seem right up my alley. But the book lacked in execution. The pacing was off, and the romance element felt like an afterthought. I do really love the concept, including a small witchy hamlet in Massachusetts, but I wouldn't call it a spooky season must read.

Despite it being in the upper 90’s and even low 100’s around here lately, this book had me longing for a hot PSL and a cozy sweater. I appreciated the dual third person POV through the two young witches, Lily and Chrysanthemum, it was fun to see how alike they were even if they are slow to admit it! I was initially hesitant to request this ARC since I’m not always a fan of books that are heavy on romance, but this one utterly charmed me. The slow buildup to their relationship was enjoyable to experience because it wasn’t the only thing driving the plot. There was a lot of focus not only on the magic in their town going wonky but also the high school and interpersonal dynamics they had to overcome. Both the girls working to tear down their walls and realize how alike they both are was so heartwarming and made their eventual relationship feel earned.

As an asexual I really appreciated the brief mention of asexuality and how it was presented in a positive light. As a witch I loved how the author weaved real life aspects of witchcraft with the more fantastical aspects in a way that
felt very natural.

The island of Thornhaven was such a rich and inviting place, I hope to read more novels set in it in the future! There was such a strong sense of place and I like how the touristy areas were contrasted against places that were more for the locals as well as how that can sometimes overlap.

I don’t usually like a third act breakup, but this one felt very in character and helped drive the plot in a meaningful way. I really enjoyed reading his and look forward to more by this author!

3.5
No Charm Done is a charming, playful, rom-com about two young witches who are forced to work together to undo a hex while also fighting off growing affections.

Overall I enjoyed my time reading this. Its a lighthearted, cozy, spooky read perfect for the upcoming autumn season. It reminded me of Disney's Halloween town; just a cute fun time with some spooky hijinks as result of the hex and dark magic.

I recommend getting a PSL while reading~

here are a few tags the author marketed the book with on her Instagram:
"-Sapphic & Ace Rep
-Rivals to Romance (feuding witches who are absolutely NOT suppressing feelings for each other)
-Halloween Vibes
-Magical Island
-Out of Control Hex
-Tarot Mis-reading"

so if any of that interests you, then totally check it out.

****

Now for some of the cons and spoilers
I was not the biggest fan of having the inciting incident involving a boy. I think the already established feud between Lucy and Chrys was enough to propel the story forward. Luke essentially disappears from the plot and I thought he was going to play a more significant part in the story but he didn't. I understand that part of his presence was to explore Lucy's sexuality but based on how the story plays out, he wasn't necessary.

Their punishment was a slap on the wrist.
I also expected them to do most of their bonding and recontexualizing of each other to happen during that time but they so quickly start hanging out outside of their punishment; hanging out at Lily's house. Their rivalry dissolved way too quickly

I personally hated the tarot card misreading plot line. you'd think a talented and apparently smart witch as Lucy would know how tarot works lol

Since they are the only ones who can see the hex lines/cracks, I don't understand why the entire school couldn't just be a magic school full of witches.

The magic wasn't very original so it made alot of the book feel kind of lackluster. I never really thought about it that deeply before this book but I've come to realize that I vastly prefer to read about more unique magic.

The angst could have gone a little harder. When Chrys calls Lily out for her unfair treatment towards her, they make up pretty quickly. It happens again after the third act break up. I get that part of it was because they had 'bigger fish to fry' but their anger never felt like it took root. And sure they are teens and their feelings can be ever changing but it kind of felt like their feelings were a bit invalidating because they never got to sit in it that long before good fluffy feelings took over. I prefer a little more angst and the potential was there but it didn't land for me. But it could have!

Why didn't the story lead up to another magic fair? Their rivalry started with one, it would have made sense to end with one

I wanted to see more more development between Lily and her parents, especially her dad. He's the one who is present at the start but then he sort of disappears as a looming presence. Her mom instead apologizes for him and both of their negligence is swept under the rug because Lily now sees that they are "trying". Where? I didn't see it. I was expecting her to stand up to them and finally making them SEE her, that she is good enough as she is. Never happens.
It's like the story falls apart once they realize they want to kiss each other. It becomes a totally different story half way through. so weird.

Chrys and Lucy find out that something in their ancestors past caused their Hex to go off the rails, and I was so expecting that to be more of a thing. But, no, its just random lore that gets mentioned once and tossed to the wind

There are are few pop culture references that felt like they dated the work further than it had to. It's a very minor thing but it stuck out enough for me to be distracted by it and question when the story was supposed to be taking place. I always assume contemporaries take place in the year they are published unless stated otherwise. There was one reference to LoTR to explain the creepy vibe brought on by the hex on school grounds that but I thought Stranger Things would have been a better reference. Not saying that the target audience isn't watching or like LoTR but its definitely something I associate more with an older generation.
Also what was Lily's deal with how Chrys dressed? She compared her to Wednesday Addams and I don't think that's a negative comparison but she used it to make fun of her. But from what I see Wendesday is such an adored character, so it was strange to use her as a way to insult the other character. All this to say that some parts felt like it was written by someone who hasn't been a teen in a while and at some points it was a little distracting but something I think could have been easily fixed.

The third act breakup was weak. Lucy has anxiety and that leads her to act on extremes but it could have gone a little harder than her just telling Chrys them being together was a mistake

This book having charm in the title with the book is mostly about a hex is funny to me

I hated that the non witchy folk were called "normies"

okay I think I've said enough

overall I think the book could have gone a little deeper but despite that it was still a fine read

THIS BOOK WAS SO CUTE!!! I LOVE THE WICHY SUPERNATURAL ASPECT OF IT. I ALSO LOVE A CUTE ROM-COM FROM TIME TO MINE. I LOVED LILY AND CHRYS'S RELATIONSHIP.

As an adult, I ADORED No Charm Done. Gorgeous prose, strong plot, and flawless characterization. Easy 5/5 stars.

Teen me? Would have made this book my entire personality. Truly, this book would have been read and re-read until the cover fell off. Annotated and dog-eared within an inch of its life. Sapphic enemies to lovers + magic + a coming out story that doesn't hurt? Absolutely beautiful. 💓

Well done Tori Anne Martin, this book is a treasure.

This is such a cute book. A YA witchy sapphic romcom , say no more. I loved getting to see Lily and Chrys’s relationship. This had laugh out loud moments as well as heartfelt ones. Also loved the witchy/supernatural aspect. Fun read.

I really enjoyed getting to know Lily and Chrys in this book, they were wonderfully written and had that concept that I was looking for and enjoyed about this romantic comedy. It uses the enemy to lover concept that I was looking for and enjoyed the use of the witches element for this world. It had that feel that I was looking for and thought the supernatural element worked overall. Tori Anne Martin has a strong writing style and I really enjoyed getting into this world and characters. It was everything that I wanted from a romantic comedy.

This was a great witchy YA romance! The setting was a strong point for me, Thornhaven, and I loved the way the author created this place and the magic of this world. I was really impressed with how Martin made the characters actually feel like real teens, and how believable their relationship was, for people of that age. It was a super quick read that did a great job of getting me in the Autumn mood.

No Charm Done was fun and entertaining! I found the world the author built, Thornhaven, to be really interesting and well-thought out. I was engaged even through the world-building bits (which sometimes cause me to lose focus), and I was a huge fan of the two main characters, Lily and Chrysanthemum, and their individual and shared journeys. I do think we could have integrated a rather forced interpersonal conflict toward the end of the book in a more believable way, but otherwise I had a good time following this story.

Basically I am Lily in the sense that she hates horror films because there’s enough bad happening in the real world to want to seek out more, and I would’ve been obsessed with Chrys in high school. That’s what I got from this book. And lots of cool magic.

Loved this enemies to lovers YA. The author did a great job making you feel for these teens. When they were finally able to put aside their differences, they were also able to defeat the curse. I’d love to maybe see a prequel of the main characters families.

Thank you for the opportunity to read! I loved the idea of this book. I found the blurb to be written for a higher level audience than the book itself. The cover art is great and I hope this book is able to find the correct audience.

Thank you to netgalley and publishers for this ARC!

This was SUPER cute and sweet. I loved the true enemies-to-lovers aspect of the story, plus the little bit of forced proximity. It was so much fun to read and I had a hard time putting it down. Sapphic witches and self-discovery that doesn't involve a pained coming-out plotline? Absolutely wonderful. Loved!