From the outside, Mystic Hollows is an enchanting small town. Within its borders is a centuries old divide between two covens. A curse taints the first-born witches of the most powerful magical families. It’s a burden they’ve been taught to bear. But dark secrets buried long ago are bubbling to the surface.
Josephine Delvaux can’t touch anyone without feeling pain. Small it’s impossible to avoid contact when you have healing magic and work in the family business.
Roman Blackthorn has slowly been shutting himself off from the world. When you’re cursed to never feel the touch of another, it’s hard to care about anything.
One accidental brush of skin changes everything. For the first time, their curses don’t matter. Their families and covens, on the other hand, are a completely different problem.
Curses and Cauldrons is a paranormal romance that will leave you spellbound until the last page!
I think I would’ve liked this book better if Josephine wasn’t such a pushover. Her curse was that anytime somebody touched her. It caused her pain, but yet that is how her family members would punish her. Instead of sticking up for herself and getting away from them when they were doing that to her since she was an adult, she just let them do it to her. Apparently she needed to have a man rescue her and that is another reason I didn’t necessarily like this book. It was definitely a cliché that she ended up dating a man literally on the wrong side of town. Apparently Roman was a black witch, and Josephine was a white witch, and those two were not supposed to be together. I did like the ending of this book, but I’m not sure if I’m going to read the next book in this series. I might try it just to see if they get better.
Having read the Awakened Gods books I was far too tempted to say no to an ARC of this book.
With an empty house and a long list of chores on a Sunday afternoon, I sat down to read just the first couple of chapters with a cuppa and ended up reading the entire book in one sitting and what a fab way to spend a Sunday afternoon! This book was a very easy read and I laughed out loud a good few times. I would say that the direction of the story was a little predictable, but I found myself avidly wanting to follow those breadcrumbs and tear through the pages for the ending I was hoping for…
A perfect book for escapism and relaxation and I cannot wait for the next instalments!
This was my first time ever getting an ARC copy of a book & can honestly say this is definitely a book I'll be getting a physical copy of to add to my book trophies. Especially since I literally struggled with putting it down.
This was essentially a Romeo & Juliet retelling with a witch twist as well as a HEA. It was really easy to sympathize with both Josephine & Roman once you discovered not only what their curses were but also the way they were literally seen as pawns for their power hungry families. It made you really want to root for them & cheer as their relationship developed.
As somebody who's pagan, I also appreciated how it was clear that the author took her time researching witchcraft & wrote about the various aspects of the craft. From the importance of the Maiden, Mother & Crone to the significance of Grimoires and the value of a knowledgeable apothecary owner.
This witchy Romeo and Juliet was so good!! I’m telling you, forbidden love, rival covens, fated mates, secrets and lies! Everything will be uncovered and nothing is what it seems!
This is my first time reading Lizzy Prince but she is fabulous! The building of suspense had me rushing through to get to the action and uncover the secrets! She sets you up so you just can’t help but be curious.
I also felt like the writing was easy to read, it flowed, lots of banter and fun stuff! Nothing was excess words if that makes sense; i really appreciate that.
Roman and Josephine were so adorable! Tall dark and broody handsome vs small, striking and powerful. I really am happy she found her voice but I respect that she was just doing what she thought was best for her family, and Pen!
Speaking of family, what horrid families!! Josephine’s mother belongs in straight up hell 🔥 I hope she burns forever Roman’s family trying to marry him off and even the other friends’ families! It’s all power and greed! Well written obviously because you really do feel anger and pain reading what’s happening. I was so mad at what her mother was doing to her! Poor Josephine!
It wasn’t the spiciest scenes but it was still good, didn’t take away from the plot which I like. Sometimes too much spice for spice sake! This was perfect
Plot was good, really liked the ending even if it was a little too perfect 😋
I look forward to more from Lizzy and hopefully a sequel
I always knew a Lizzy book was going to slap, but this one was perfect!!! _________________________________ Roman and Josephine were so good together. We have the forbidden aspect, the banter, the she/he is the only one that can touch me, the I-think-I'm-falling... I was sucked in and couldn't put it down. The plot was interesting on its own and I loved how even having to submit to her family, she wasn't blind to their evil. Blood is not thicker than the found family in this book.
Roman is the perfect tortured hero. Slowly, he realizes he's falling for Josephine and that there's nothing he won't do for her. He would drop anything and go into enemy territory just for her. He is so dedicated, and the fact that he likes her even if his curse comes back is the cherry on top. "Sometimes a man likes to look at his food before he eats it" It is steamy in this book.
Josephine was a little too complacent to her family and blinded by the want of a younger self of love and acceptance from her family. She was protecting her sister at the highest cost and that just showcases how pure of a heart she has. They balanced each other so well. Also, I would not have let them live, but props to her for having self-control and compassion.
I was so lucky to get an ARC for the next one because this series is shaping up to being one of my faves.
I absolutely loved it and devoured it. I can’t wait for the next book.
Jo is such a strong female lead she may appear weak to some but she isn’t at all. She is strong as she endures everything her family deals out to her in order to protect her 12 year old sister. Her curse is she is in pain every time she touches someone yet she has healing magic that can only happen though touch. Her light magic family truly misuses its power over her and threaten to treat her 12 year old sister the same if she doesn’t comply. That is until she starts to learn the truth of everything.
Roman is a dark witch and powerful businessman but his mother is pushing him to marry to have children and create powerful witches. But Roman has no interest in passing on his curse, he can’t feel touch. That is until he meets Jo they learn that together he can’t feel touch feel and she doesn’t hurt from his touch. But what will this mean for their family and lives.
Amazing story through out with lots of carefully thought out snippets that I feel will become more important as the series develops. I can’t wait to read the next book.
I am a huge fan of anything that Lizzy writes, and the anticipation of a new series from her was keeping me on the edge of my seat. This book was absolutely wonderful! It was the perfect start to a new, mysterious series with some serious witchy vibes! Josephine and Roman were to die for...their chemistry was literally jumping off the pages! The way Lizzy wrote their curses, and the overarching storyline just kept me hooked from page one. Josephine's parents were truly awful, and I absolutely cackled at their come uppance. Roman was a dreamboat of a MMC. His protective nature for Josephine was so swoon worthy. I loved seeing these rival families come together to help each other. This was an excellent start to a new series! I am so looking forward to the next book!
This is my first time reading a Lizzy Prince book, and it definitely won’t be the last. I don’t read many stories about covens, so this felt fresh and exciting to me. It was incredible to see how much detail was put into the pages and witchcraft. I especially had so much fun - and shock! - reading about the curses. That was pretty cool and horrible at the same time.
Josephine and Roman, our MC’s, were incredibly likable throughout, and I fell in love with their bond and closeness. 😭
Thank you so much for gifting me an ARC. I can’t wait to read more in this series, and I’ll definitely be purchasing a physical copy.
Loved this book! A modern witchy Romeo and Juliet retelling. The banter between the MCs and even the side characters is great! All of the families seem to have a strained relationship in one way or another in addition to the covens being divided, but each MC has a great group of friends to rely on throughout their troubles. There's a good amount of humor, banter, and steam mixed in to balance out how horrible the FMCs family is.
Overall a great read if you like magic, curses, secrets, and some steamy moments!
I haven't really sought out a witch story since Discovery of Witches long ago, but so fun to delve back into that side of fantasy with this compelling read. It is a fun, breezy story that you can gobble up in one sitting, but it packs a punch of all the emotions. Frustration, anger (at her family, who I loathed!), amazing character development that I've come to expect from Lizzy's books, emotionally satisfying ending, great worldbuilding and the perfect amount of spice! You really can't go wrong with this well written book.
Oh loves, do not get confused by the cute cover. This book is not just a fun witchy romance. It has some darkness and the trigger warnings are triggering. Especially the family abuse towards all the characters is excruciatingly frustrating. It feels that Jo had it the worst. There were instances where I just put the book down because I needed a breather. A wonderful start for a series with lovable MCs and secondary characters. I loved it that they were not just out of age and they could do their thing away from their parents when they found the strength to do it. The curses were a wonderful touch. It is so satisfying to see them push through their disadvantages and overcome them. Found Family at its finest! I cannot wait for the rest of the books!
I enjoyed most of this book! While the descriptive details got a little long at the beginning, I fell for the MMC and FMCs love story. A witchy retelling of Romeo and Juliet, which it even references in the book. I enjoyed a few other references, like vampire diaries, especially when I kept wanting to call the town mystic falls!
This is the first book I've read by Lizzy and it won't be the last. I love the characters. I feel for the main characters and their curses. I'm mad at the ancestors and parents for the way they treat their children. I love the plot as it is something different from what I've read before. This book ends without a cliffhanger but leaves room for more books which I can't wait for.
This writer makes you want to step into the story and help the character with their troubles. You want to punch the bad guys and hug the good guys. She really makes you feel the characters problems. I can't wait for the next Mystic Hollow book. I really want to see which characters story is next. Can't wait!
Wow - what a book to start a new series. It's not the first book I've read from this author but I really need to find time to read some more of her books! Romance, mystery, curses etc. I might be a little partial to this book as the main character has my name 🥰 I hope to see many more books in this series. I can't wait until the next one comes out. Go grab a copy today!
Loooooved Jo and Roman!! It’s like a Romeo and Juliet retelling. Two warring covens, star crossed lovers, fated bonds, first born curses, evil parents, magic, secrets and lies and lots of witty banter - what more could you ask for?! Great stand alone and quick read!
Josephine and Roman’s relationship had me rooting for them and I was thrilled that they had their HEA. This was a refreshing, witchy retelling of Romeo and Juliet but with a much more desirable outcome.
3.5 ⭐️ I was absolutely hooked on this one. It was an easy but compelling read. I liked the world building. It felt rushed towards the end and unfinished. I get that there’s more books to the series but even Jo and Rowans story or atleast the dickbags targetting them, was unfinished.
Holyyyyy shit do all the parents in this freaking town suck!! This was surprisingly really good! I really didn’t think it was going to be as dark as it was based on the cover. The whole cursed first born situation is really different!
Such a fun fast paced read! It has Romeo and Juliet vibes with Jo and Roman being on separate ends of a warring witch coven. I highly recommend checking this book out when released!
I want to move there! The romance is cute with a dark backdrop. This is an easy but engaging read that’s perfect when you want to disappear and relax for a while. Oh and yes it has spice 😎
It started off a bit slow, but had me hooked! I appreciated the fmc’s character development. Not whining about never standing up to her family before and just doing it now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.