Tag: witches

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A Witch in Notting Hill: A Novel – A Whimsical Paranormal Romance of Spells Gone Wrong and Unexpected Love in London

343 pages Publisher Avon a Pub Date Aug 11 2026

ABOUT THE BOOK

When rising Hollywood actress and secret witch Willow James accidentally turns her manager into a cat while trying to escape her contract, she’s sure she’s hit her magical low point. Determined to fix her mistake, she journeys to London in search of a rare spell hidden within the famed occult bookstore, Coven & Codex. The last thing she expects? The shop’s brooding, handsome owner, Oliver Hadley, who’d rather avoid magic altogether.

Together—with a ragtag group of friends (both human and feline)—Willow and Oliver must scour every corner of the city, from museums to festivals to bustling street markets, to find the missing pieces of the spell. Along the way, Willow’s unpredictable magic and Oliver’s skeptical heart will face the one thing they can’t escape… love.

Filled with enchanting adventures, sparkling romance, and a dash of mischief, A Witch in Notting Hill is a sweet and spirited tale of discovering magic where you least expect it.

MY THOUGHTS

t’s always a great idea to break out of a reading rut and try a new genre once in a while and it paid off. I really enjoyed this book more than I thought I would.
Secret witch and American actress, Willow James fumbles the bag this time and accidently turns her manager into a cat with one of her spells when she refuses to do a romantic movie.
The only thing is to be able to reverse the spell she has to travel to England to an Occult bookstore to find a certain rare spellbook. To make matters worse the owner, her age has no belief in the spells and such as it’s an inherited bookshop.
This was such a fun book, the Fall vibes were right on, a slow burn romance, quite the adventure and witchy magic sprinkled throughout this book.
Quite the read, so enjoyable!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

About the Author

Alexandra Paige is a novelist and a marketing copywriter. Her debut novel was Weekends with You. She currently writes in an apartment she shares with her boyfriend in a cozy NJ suburb or in the coffee shop down the street, though her stories are always taking her elsewhere. She has a BA from Moravian University and an MFA from Lindenwood University.

Black cat with orange bow sitting on autumn book stack next to jack-o'-lantern and pumpkins
A black cat relaxes on a stack of autumn-themed books surrounded by pumpkins and fall decor.
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Review of two seasonal children’s books: A Bold Pumpkin Plan and The Not-So-Wicked Witch

32 pages ages 4-8 Capstone Editions publisher August 1, 2024 publication date



ABOUT THE BOOK

A plan to build a unique home takes a timid Hedgehog on an incredible journey of self-discovery. From meeting new friends to conquering countless obstacles, Hedgehog tackles his house plan with a newfound confidence. Best-selling creator Katy Hudson (Too Many Carrots and Mindful Mr. Sloth) combines her stunning, detailed artwork with themes of friendship, problem solving, and self-awareness in this empowering picture book.

MY THOUGHTS

Every year little Hedgehog has a dull plan. It’s as dull as the plain brown leaves he makes his house from. This year timid Hedgehog wants some excitement with a bold pumpkin plan. He makes an elaborate plan to have a beautiful new home this year. While gathering his supplies he meets new friends, overcoming his shyness, solves problems and has self-awareness while gaining self-found confidence. Lovingly illustrated and giving children a lesson that they can do it themselves and gain confidence.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

32 pages 4-7 years Frances Lincoln Children’s Books August 6, 2024 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

On the sleepiest of nights, when the air is still and the moon is full, the conditions are just right… for WITCHES TO TAKE FLIGHT!

And among all these terribly wicked, cackling witches, is one… who is actually, surprisingly quite nice!

This little witch doesn’t enjoy being wicked like the others. Not one little bit. She doesn’t like creating mischief, she doesn’t like making a mess and she definitely doesn’t like any naughtiness!

The other witches decide that the littlest witch needs rescuing from all this icky, gooey goodness! It’s time for some lessons in wickedness, and the best way to do that is by making a completely terrible and utterly awful potion…!

Will our little witch leave her kind and gentle ways behind her and join in the wickedness? Or will she persuade her fellow witches that actually, being wicked isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?

This playful take on spooky witches from the award-winning Bethan Stevens takes readers to a magical world of wickedness and kindness. This is the wonderfully funny follow-up to the prize-winning Grumpy Fairies and the fairytale twist A Damsel Not in Distress.

MY THOUGHTS

All witches are mean and not so polite, right? Now hold on just a minute, Halloween night finds a nice little witch who despite the others trying to change her to be like them just wants to be herself. A story about uniqueness and a wonderful lesson in not following the crowd and that it’s okay to be yourself. Super cutely illustrated for the younger crowd.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Enjoy your weekend and thank you for stopping in.

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A Dark and Secret Magic

304 pages Alcove Press publisher Publication dateOctober 8, 2024

ABOUT THE BOOK

A warm, spellbinding tale about a witch and the secrets her coven has been keeping from her, with echoes of the classic Hades and Persephone story, in the tradition of Practical Magic and Witch of Wild Things.

Hecate Goodwin, Kate to her friends, has curated the perfect life as a hedge witch, living in a secluded cottage with only a black cat for company. She spends her days foraging herbs from the Ipswich forest, gardening, and creating tinctures to sell at the apothecary she owns. Most evenings pass without her speaking to another human being, an arrangement she quite prefers.

Kate’s solitude is thrown into disarray when her older sister, Miranda, reaches out and asks her to host their coven’s annual Halloween gathering. The day marks the beginning of the new year for witches and is also Kate’s birthday. The pressure from her coven to make the evening memorable mounts as the event draws near. To complicate things further, a handsome man from Kate’s past turns up at her cottage, asking for sanctuary. It is Kate’s duty as a hedge witch to honor this request, much to her dismay. Matthew Cypher is no ordinary lost soul–he’s a practitioner of forbidden magic who’s tricked Kate once before, and her guard is up.

As she juggles Matthew’s arrival and the preparations for Halloween, Kate comes across an old tome shrouded in dark magic. She is horrified when she realizes the blood-red inscription is written in familiar handwriting: her recently deceased mother’s. Afraid to even touch the dark magic her mother secretly studied, Kate can turn only to Matthew for help. Her idealized memory of her mother begins to distort, and as she and Matthew grow closer, Kate has to reevaluate whom she can really trust.

A Dark and Secret Magic is a celebration of the Halloween season and a love letter to anyone who drinks pumpkin spice in August and carries the spirit of a witch inside their heart all year long.

MY THOUGHTS

A Dark and Secret Magic has such an incredible cover that I was drawn to it straight away and I knew I had to read it because it sounded so interesting.


Taking place in the days leading up to Halloween this is the perfect seasonal read.
Filled with all the Halloween and Fall vibes you want including our main character a hedge witch. She lives in a cozy cottage filled with herbs and her cat’s name is Merlin.

Hecate, our protagonist is always baking, cooking and making a special recipe hot chocolate, I swear I could smell the cinnamon as I read.


This is my first fantasy read and I was captivated by it. Witchy, Halloweeny vibes, black cats, cozy cottage, small town charm, a pumpkin contest I’m all in. Marvelous and I’ll be looking for more like this soon.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Wallis Kinney’s biggest sources of joy in life are science and fairytales. She tries to imbue elements of both into every story she writes. She studied planetary science and molecular biology at the University of Colorado and has a master’s degree in economics from Purdue University. She is president of the Jane Bosart Foundation, her family’s private foundation that focuses on granting high school and college scholarships to underprivileged students. She wrote A Dark and Secret Magic as a gift for her older sister, in honor of all the years they spent celebrating the magical wonder of Halloween together. Wallis lives in Dallas, Texas, with her family. In her free time she enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons and making videos on YouTube that document her writing process.