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Spellbound Solstice
Ella Enchanted meets The Parent Trap in this spellbinding wintery tale where two young enchanters team up to break a centuries-old family curse and accidentally put their entire town at risk along the way.
Every winter solstice, when people lock eyes in the Ambrose Ensorcelled Cottage, they fall in love.
This year, Alice Ambrose has secretly invited her dad in hopes that her parents will realize they’re happier together than apart. With her parents together, Alice will finally feel whole. But when Alice's parents lock eyes…nothing happens.
Turns out, the women in her family are cursed to never fall in love.
Ronan Knight will do anything to get his enchantress mom to settle on a forever home. Luckily, he’s found her a perfect job at a perfect place: the Ensorcelled Cottage. The only snag? His mom would rather run from their mysterious past than settle down.
When Ronan learns about Alice’s family curse, he figures he can kill two birds with one broken curse, since helping Alice will surely earn his mom points with the owner of Ensorcelled Cottage. But when their meddling causes the town to lose the ability to love all together, and ghosts whisper of the very past haunting Ronan’s family, Alice and Ronan discover that happily ever after doesn’t look the same for everyone. And sometimes, to get what you want, you’ll have to give your heart away.
Every winter solstice, when people lock eyes in the Ambrose Ensorcelled Cottage, they fall in love.
This year, Alice Ambrose has secretly invited her dad in hopes that her parents will realize they’re happier together than apart. With her parents together, Alice will finally feel whole. But when Alice's parents lock eyes…nothing happens.
Turns out, the women in her family are cursed to never fall in love.
Ronan Knight will do anything to get his enchantress mom to settle on a forever home. Luckily, he’s found her a perfect job at a perfect place: the Ensorcelled Cottage. The only snag? His mom would rather run from their mysterious past than settle down.
When Ronan learns about Alice’s family curse, he figures he can kill two birds with one broken curse, since helping Alice will surely earn his mom points with the owner of Ensorcelled Cottage. But when their meddling causes the town to lose the ability to love all together, and ghosts whisper of the very past haunting Ronan’s family, Alice and Ronan discover that happily ever after doesn’t look the same for everyone. And sometimes, to get what you want, you’ll have to give your heart away.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published October 22, 2024
4 people are currently reading
3251 people want to read
About the author
Alexandria Rogers
3 books71 followersAlexandria is the author of middle grade fantasy adventure, The Witch, the Sword, and the Cursed Knights.
After receiving her master’s degree at City, University of London for her non-fiction book on the romantic mythology of Paris, she acted, modeled, and wrote in Los Angeles. Eventually, she discovered she preferred drizzly days to eternal sunshine, and that she didn’t want anything to divert her time from writing.
Now the Wisconsin native lives in Edinburgh with her husband and dog, in eternal search of excuses to visit Paris.
After receiving her master’s degree at City, University of London for her non-fiction book on the romantic mythology of Paris, she acted, modeled, and wrote in Los Angeles. Eventually, she discovered she preferred drizzly days to eternal sunshine, and that she didn’t want anything to divert her time from writing.
Now the Wisconsin native lives in Edinburgh with her husband and dog, in eternal search of excuses to visit Paris.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 26, 2024
This book was so cute! It was really well written. This author is very good and her other books are amazing as well. Thank you to the author for gifting Max and myself with this wonderful book! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Little Brown Books for Young Readers for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Description: Alice Ambrose lives in Ensorcelled Cottage where on every winter solstice people lock eyes and fall in love. Alice is trying to make her parents fall in love so she invites her dad in the hope of her parents getting together after they lock eyes. But when they do lock eyes nothing happens. It turns out the women in her family are cursed to never fall in love.
Ronan Knight will do anything to get his enchantress mom to stay in a forever home. He’s found her just the right job at the perfect place: Ensorcelled Cottage, but his mother would rather run from her mysterious past than settle down.
Ronan learns about the mysterious curse and with the help of mysterious ghosts he figures out that Alice’s curse maybe linked to his own mysterious past. As Alice and Ronan try to break the curse the town loses their ability to love. Alice and Ronan soon realize happily ever after doesn’t look the same in every family, and sometimes to get what you want you must giveaway your heart.
Review: I loved reading both Alice and Ronan’s P.O.V.’s. I also loved their friendship and how it progressed. They were both entertaining characters and it was fun to see them trying to break the curse with Alice’s friend Marcela and a few ghosts. This is definitely a five star read!
Recommended age: 9-12
Definitely give this a read!
#SpellboundSolstice #gifted #NetGalley #LittleBrownBooksforYoungReaders
Description: Alice Ambrose lives in Ensorcelled Cottage where on every winter solstice people lock eyes and fall in love. Alice is trying to make her parents fall in love so she invites her dad in the hope of her parents getting together after they lock eyes. But when they do lock eyes nothing happens. It turns out the women in her family are cursed to never fall in love.
Ronan Knight will do anything to get his enchantress mom to stay in a forever home. He’s found her just the right job at the perfect place: Ensorcelled Cottage, but his mother would rather run from her mysterious past than settle down.
Ronan learns about the mysterious curse and with the help of mysterious ghosts he figures out that Alice’s curse maybe linked to his own mysterious past. As Alice and Ronan try to break the curse the town loses their ability to love. Alice and Ronan soon realize happily ever after doesn’t look the same in every family, and sometimes to get what you want you must giveaway your heart.
Review: I loved reading both Alice and Ronan’s P.O.V.’s. I also loved their friendship and how it progressed. They were both entertaining characters and it was fun to see them trying to break the curse with Alice’s friend Marcela and a few ghosts. This is definitely a five star read!
Recommended age: 9-12
Definitely give this a read!
#SpellboundSolstice #gifted #NetGalley #LittleBrownBooksforYoungReaders
July 12, 2024
This was so adorable and well written. Felt a little like a middle grade practical magic. Small town with a magical family, a focus on friendship and parental love, with a smidge of age appropriate romance thrown in.
November 27, 2024
This is a sweet wintry read with a dash of romance for older middle grade readers. It's like Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman for kids.
Every winter solstice, anyone who visits the Ambrose Ensorcelled Cottage, run by enchantresses, will likely fall in love. The magic takes two eyes locking, and two souls to fit. 13-year-old Alice has invited her dad to the cottage on the winter solstice in hopes that he and her mom, who runs the cottage, will fall in love and he will stay with them. But the magic fails, and she discovers that her family is cursed to never fall in love.
14-year-old Ronan never stays in one place long. He's travelled the world with his Maman, but he longs to stay in one place. When he reads about the cottage, he decides to trick his mom by having her fall in love, and thus, she'll want to stay in the town. Ronan is also magical; he can see and speak to ghosts.
I enjoyed the characters and romance, the ending was fast-paced and fun. Some of the characters weren't as well developed as others, and the pacing is off at the beginning, but I still really enjoyed reading this.
Every winter solstice, anyone who visits the Ambrose Ensorcelled Cottage, run by enchantresses, will likely fall in love. The magic takes two eyes locking, and two souls to fit. 13-year-old Alice has invited her dad to the cottage on the winter solstice in hopes that he and her mom, who runs the cottage, will fall in love and he will stay with them. But the magic fails, and she discovers that her family is cursed to never fall in love.
14-year-old Ronan never stays in one place long. He's travelled the world with his Maman, but he longs to stay in one place. When he reads about the cottage, he decides to trick his mom by having her fall in love, and thus, she'll want to stay in the town. Ronan is also magical; he can see and speak to ghosts.
I enjoyed the characters and romance, the ending was fast-paced and fun. Some of the characters weren't as well developed as others, and the pacing is off at the beginning, but I still really enjoyed reading this.
October 12, 2024
This book was so adorable. It’s a perfect entry into a magical world for the middle grade reader!
It is well written and the story appropriate for the target age as well as engaging even for this adult reader.
I would say it’s a medium speed read as it took me a little bit to get through but that could have been due to personal reasons.
I loved the relationships created as well as the adventure. It even had some social commentary that was very appropriate and not thrown in the readers face. So it had more of a younger reader morality story vibe to it. The world building was great as well!
I recommend this book for teachers especially for their middle grade readers!
I am thankful to have gotten the eARC for free from Netgalley and Little Brown Books for young readers so I can leave my voluntary review.
Book comes out October 22nd so ger it
On your TBR now!
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.
⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again
It is well written and the story appropriate for the target age as well as engaging even for this adult reader.
I would say it’s a medium speed read as it took me a little bit to get through but that could have been due to personal reasons.
I loved the relationships created as well as the adventure. It even had some social commentary that was very appropriate and not thrown in the readers face. So it had more of a younger reader morality story vibe to it. The world building was great as well!
I recommend this book for teachers especially for their middle grade readers!
I am thankful to have gotten the eARC for free from Netgalley and Little Brown Books for young readers so I can leave my voluntary review.
Book comes out October 22nd so ger it
On your TBR now!
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.
⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again
October 16, 2024
Spellbound Solstice by Alexandria Rogers is a captivating fantasy that weaves magic and adventure into a beautifully crafted narrative. The story follows a young protagonist navigating a world filled with enchanting spells and intriguing characters, all set against the backdrop of a winter solstice celebration. Rogers’ writing is vibrant and engaging, making the magical elements feel both fresh and relatable. With its charming storyline and rich world-building, this book is a delightful escape for fans of fantasy and magical realism.
March 21, 2025
This review is done along side my daughter (11) we read this together.
This is perfect for upper elementary and middle grade readers.
This is a dual POV so you get to read from both Alice and Roans POVs. You really get to see their friendship grow through both of their eyes. This is perfect for little readers who want to dip their toes in to their first romance read. If as a parent you liked practical magic its almost like a junior novel version and it brought back that nostalgic vibe with a young readers twist.
We loved that they both had their own magical background and they were characters that stood very well on their own. The family bonding was a nice little touch too, many times in books kids feel left out or on their own it was nice to see a supportive family.
Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the Digital ARC.
#SpellboundSolstice #NetGalley
This is perfect for upper elementary and middle grade readers.
This is a dual POV so you get to read from both Alice and Roans POVs. You really get to see their friendship grow through both of their eyes. This is perfect for little readers who want to dip their toes in to their first romance read. If as a parent you liked practical magic its almost like a junior novel version and it brought back that nostalgic vibe with a young readers twist.
We loved that they both had their own magical background and they were characters that stood very well on their own. The family bonding was a nice little touch too, many times in books kids feel left out or on their own it was nice to see a supportive family.
Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the Digital ARC.
#SpellboundSolstice #NetGalley
August 22, 2024
I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy of this new fantasy from Alexandria Rogers. The story effortlessly walks a tightrope of being funny, creepy, and whimsical simultaneously. The setting and family curse about gave me strong "Practical Magic" vibes and I know readers young and old will enjoy!
April 23, 2025
Set in Chanterbrooke Main, thirteen year old Alice Ambrose lives with her mother: Brise at Ensorcelled Cottage.
Fourteen year old Ronen Knight arrives in town from France with his mother.
A spooky ghost story involving a family curse and Melusine.
Fourteen year old Ronen Knight arrives in town from France with his mother.
A spooky ghost story involving a family curse and Melusine.
June 25, 2024
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
September 21, 2024
A likable book. A likable story. It didn’t capture my heart or my imagination. It seemed like a younger version of Practical Magic and just not as magical.
December 13, 2024
This was a perfect story to read as Christmas is coming up. I love the setting and the magical details most of all.
December 18, 2024
great for readers who like the world-building aspect of stories.
May 13, 2025
This was so good and so sweet. A great beginner magic romance, perfect for the young romantic
March 14, 2025
Since the curse is no more I would like to see Alice and Ronan having a relationship
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews