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Hot Spell: A Chaotic Midlife Magic Urban Fantasy Paranormal Romance Adventure
On the eve of her 44th birthday, Nat’s “menopause” unleashes more than just a hot flash.Blinding neon magic surges in her veins, awakening a power she never knew existed. YIKES.
She may have even burnt a house down…
Fortunately, it was her ex-husband’s—and he kind of deserved it.
So it turns out she’s a … pyromancer witch. WTF? That was never on her bingo card.
And then things get even WILDER.
It turns out that no-one in her life is who they are pretending to be.
No-one.
Not her therapist, not her ex, not even her boozing BBFs (Best B*tches Forever) at book club. Even the rather entertaining supernatural creatures who keep arriving at her door to help seem to be hiding something.
Only one man is willing to tell her the truth.
Draven, a smoldering vampire who is all fangs and bad intentions, feels it’s the least he can do before he finishes the job he was tasked with by his ruthless clan, who are secretly siphoning the magic that fuels the Realm.
Nat’s potent midlife magic is a big, bright spanner in their carefully orchestrated works. In order for the vampires to seize ultimate power, Nat needs to die.
Their collision sparks intense hatred … and forbidden attraction.
As more devastating secrets emerge, Nat realizes that the only man she can trust is the vampire sent to kill her.
In a gritty city buzzing with hidden magic, orcs, goblins, witches, and werewolves, Nat discovers her life-changing mission.
Can she uncover the truth and master her power before the vampires destroy the Realm’s magic forever?
***
ALL THE FUN, DANGEROUS TROPES
• A Deadly Meet-Cute in a gritty setting
• Midlife A Woman of a Certain Rage with a lot of VOICE
• A wolf shifter soft-life bodyguard you'll adore• Darkly delightful humor that's a bit OTT IMO
• PNR / Romantasy Lite - it's more about the character than the romance
• Vampire Battles and High Stakes
• Violent, rompy action and adventure
• Hidden Magical World beyond the Veil
• Betrayal Cascade that will break your heart
• Enemies to Not-Quite-Lovers, Brooding Hot Vampire style
• Supernatural Creature Found Family with food and cozy vibes
• Secret Cabal who may or may not be evil
• A roller derby punk goblin masquerading as a wise old monk
• Did we mention the Hot Vampire?
***
HOT SPELL is book 1 in the brand new SpellStorm series, a continuation of the bestselling Realm of Magic & Mayhem universe, which has thousands of five-star reviews on Amazon and 180 million pages read in Kindle Unlimited.
Series 1: BLOOD MAGIC (Jax, a vampire-hunting wizard) 5,100 reviews, 4.5 star average
Series 2: CURSEBREAKER (Asha, a green witch assassin) 2,800 reviews, 4.7 star average
Series 3: SPELLSTORM (Natalie, a housewife-to-heroine witch)
***
What readers have said about other books set in the Realm of Magic &
“Amazing read. I couldn’t put it down. I have laughed and cried. It captured me heart, body, and soul.” - SuzieQ
“Absolutely loved the whole series. I whipped through every book and love them all.” - Kindle Customer
“Unputdownable. A six-book rollercoaster of magic adventures which once you pop you just can’t stop!” - T Edges
“I find this series so hard to put down.” - Froggy
***
Escape your own chaos and come join ours in the Realm of Magic & Mayhem! We have magic, cinnawhisky, salty goblins and deliciously dark vampires.
Grab your copy today and stay up all night with USA Today bestselling author and Kindle All-Star JT Lawrence.
Also available in German, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
530 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 2, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 2, 2026
I was so excited for this new series because I’m really feeling, in more ways than one, this genre of urban fantasy of “older” main characters. The book opens up with Nat watching her ex’s house burn after having accidentally set it on fire. Then we are swept up in her discovering her life was a lie, she has powers, and she is part of a prophecy. I so much enjoyed this book, and I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for us in the next installment because that ending was intense. This is a wonderful, well-written, entertaining, and engaging series opener, and fans of this author will love this. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
October 13, 2026
What a BRILLIANT opening line!!! Ms Lawrence had me hooked from the git go and her special brand of humour, well, heck, the humour is instantaneous, I was giggling by the time I got to "trophy wife". But to the actual story.... Natalie is in her mid 40's, she has always been 'the obedient dutiful one', she's been taught to 'compliant', not make waves, basically to be a doormat. Until she snapped. With reason. Her asshat ex-husband reason. And something very weird happened. To her, from her. And it's just about to get even weirder when she 'meets' Morgan and Creed and learns her entire life was a lie.... Oh heck did I love how the author captured Natalie's voice, the betrayal, the insecurities, the uncertainty, the guilt, the confusion, the denial, ALL of it so extremely realistically. The topic of a beaten down woman, a bullied woman, a woman who her entire life was made to feel lesser, is handled superbly delicately by the author. No, not skirting around the issue, confronting the realism surrounding belittled women with sensitivity.
Natalie's ex did quite the number on her, not only did he kick her to the curb and get "a new, younger" model, he belittled her in subtle ways that eroded her self esteem. Not that she had much to start off with, her parents were cold, uncaring, she felt like a burden all her life. It was her new.... circumstances... that threw her for a loop. As was the sense of deep betrayal of her inner circle, which wasn't really betrayal but Nat didn't see it like that. Initially. Her bff's turned out not to be who she thought they were and her biggest tummy sinker was Esme, her therapist. I just adored the unveiling of the truth, well, semi truth, at all Nat had to process, finally realising they WERE all genuine, they did it all to protect her. Nat's new life takes yet another unexpected turn, in the form of Draven. Heck is he magnificently complex, the who he is, is one of those wide eyed moments. Gotta admit, it was insta love from me, the bad boy vibes conceal so much under the facade. With Natalie earmarked for destruction, I just loved his confusion at... the events transpiring.
Golly are these some of the fiercest, finest characters I've come across in a long while. Their motives brilliantly concealed by the author, their love for Nat genuinely resonated and Creed, oh heck did I adore him too! His entire stance, his personality is a big teddy, even though he's a wolf, he's so matter of fact about everything but he's so fiercely protective and caring to Nat. Natalie's friends are true friends, again, well designed by Ms Lawrence, credible and ultra supportive. The kind of reliable friends one could call at 2am to help bury the body, no questions asked...Golly did I love the banter between the gals! Giggle central! And then Ms Lawrence dropped a bombshell, like what now???? And heck if she didn't veer the entire plot off course, into another unexpected, dramatic and suspenseful manner.
This book, yes, it's fantasy, was so realistic, the lessons about a whole new hidden world, magic, the supernatural, Nat had at the Monastery, were lessons I took to heart too. I forgot that magic doesn't really exist. Or does it....? The twists and turns hit unexpectedly, like OMG unexpected. I never would have expected to feel a teensy twinge of sympathy for Ben but I did. Briefly. What I enjoy immensely with a JT Lawrence read, is she writes her books in 'my language', 'my backyard'. The wonderful South Africanisms warm my heart no end, 'vreeslik lekker!'
There is so much to love about this book, the humour, the tension, the FEELS, the exceptional pacing, the whacky monastery/academy and it's inhabitants, and the cutest little Frenchie called Frostbite. But there were real shocker moments too, I felt so profoundly, my jaw collapsed on it's own accord. The 'ordinary' world because very extraordinary and otherworldly, It's tense and intense but at the same time very humourously lighthearted. The banter was outstanding, even in the most dire of situations. I giggled a lot, I also cringed a lot at the rawness of emotions and events. 'Never allowing for complacency, Ms Lawrence nearly floored me with the events leading up to THAT ending! The entire book was executed superbly, I quite literally couldn't put it down! All that's left for me to say is, I FLIPPING LOVED IT!
Natalie's ex did quite the number on her, not only did he kick her to the curb and get "a new, younger" model, he belittled her in subtle ways that eroded her self esteem. Not that she had much to start off with, her parents were cold, uncaring, she felt like a burden all her life. It was her new.... circumstances... that threw her for a loop. As was the sense of deep betrayal of her inner circle, which wasn't really betrayal but Nat didn't see it like that. Initially. Her bff's turned out not to be who she thought they were and her biggest tummy sinker was Esme, her therapist. I just adored the unveiling of the truth, well, semi truth, at all Nat had to process, finally realising they WERE all genuine, they did it all to protect her. Nat's new life takes yet another unexpected turn, in the form of Draven. Heck is he magnificently complex, the who he is, is one of those wide eyed moments. Gotta admit, it was insta love from me, the bad boy vibes conceal so much under the facade. With Natalie earmarked for destruction, I just loved his confusion at... the events transpiring.
Golly are these some of the fiercest, finest characters I've come across in a long while. Their motives brilliantly concealed by the author, their love for Nat genuinely resonated and Creed, oh heck did I adore him too! His entire stance, his personality is a big teddy, even though he's a wolf, he's so matter of fact about everything but he's so fiercely protective and caring to Nat. Natalie's friends are true friends, again, well designed by Ms Lawrence, credible and ultra supportive. The kind of reliable friends one could call at 2am to help bury the body, no questions asked...Golly did I love the banter between the gals! Giggle central! And then Ms Lawrence dropped a bombshell, like what now???? And heck if she didn't veer the entire plot off course, into another unexpected, dramatic and suspenseful manner.
This book, yes, it's fantasy, was so realistic, the lessons about a whole new hidden world, magic, the supernatural, Nat had at the Monastery, were lessons I took to heart too. I forgot that magic doesn't really exist. Or does it....? The twists and turns hit unexpectedly, like OMG unexpected. I never would have expected to feel a teensy twinge of sympathy for Ben but I did. Briefly. What I enjoy immensely with a JT Lawrence read, is she writes her books in 'my language', 'my backyard'. The wonderful South Africanisms warm my heart no end, 'vreeslik lekker!'
There is so much to love about this book, the humour, the tension, the FEELS, the exceptional pacing, the whacky monastery/academy and it's inhabitants, and the cutest little Frenchie called Frostbite. But there were real shocker moments too, I felt so profoundly, my jaw collapsed on it's own accord. The 'ordinary' world because very extraordinary and otherworldly, It's tense and intense but at the same time very humourously lighthearted. The banter was outstanding, even in the most dire of situations. I giggled a lot, I also cringed a lot at the rawness of emotions and events. 'Never allowing for complacency, Ms Lawrence nearly floored me with the events leading up to THAT ending! The entire book was executed superbly, I quite literally couldn't put it down! All that's left for me to say is, I FLIPPING LOVED IT!
October 3, 2026
Wow, how to explain how much I loved this book!
Midlife MFCs are so relatable (aside from having a complete lack of actual magic myself), because they’ve lived life, known heartache and disappointment, made some questionable decisions, and mostly in an age without social media telling the world about it. Natalie’s midlife though, takes all of that, shakes it about, throws it in the air and comes down full of fire…literally!
In the space of a day, Nat’s life gets turned upside down. She discovers she has a hitherto unknown power, she burns down her ex-husband’s house and realises her whole life has been a lie - no one is who she thought they were.
This book follows Nat as she learns about her power and tries to come to grips with it, finds out about a whole new way of life and meets a lot of new people, from whom she has to work out who to trust - easier said than done. Then there is Draven, the vampire who was supposed to kill her…
I enjoyed this book SO much and cannot wait to read the rest of the series, to see where it takes Nat, Draven and the others.
I was provided with this book by the author, but this review is very much my own opinion, freely given.
Midlife MFCs are so relatable (aside from having a complete lack of actual magic myself), because they’ve lived life, known heartache and disappointment, made some questionable decisions, and mostly in an age without social media telling the world about it. Natalie’s midlife though, takes all of that, shakes it about, throws it in the air and comes down full of fire…literally!
In the space of a day, Nat’s life gets turned upside down. She discovers she has a hitherto unknown power, she burns down her ex-husband’s house and realises her whole life has been a lie - no one is who she thought they were.
This book follows Nat as she learns about her power and tries to come to grips with it, finds out about a whole new way of life and meets a lot of new people, from whom she has to work out who to trust - easier said than done. Then there is Draven, the vampire who was supposed to kill her…
I enjoyed this book SO much and cannot wait to read the rest of the series, to see where it takes Nat, Draven and the others.
I was provided with this book by the author, but this review is very much my own opinion, freely given.
October 7, 2026
I was NOT expecting that! This is Ms. Lawrence at her best and a must read!
JT Lawrence has created a world which I have thoroughly enjoyed with her previous series. This new series begins with this tour de force of a first book starring an unlikely protagonist. A mid forties, pre-menopausal divorcee with a smart mouth and evidently quite an explosive temper. Literally. Natalie has just confronted her ex husband and while she was there his house caught on fire. She was sure the handsome stranger with a nice beard was taking her in under arrest but oh how she got that wrong. She finds out more secrets, some betrayals and learns slowly about a world she had no idea existed. All this would be enough to drive a normal woman crazy but Nat isn’t a normal woman. She is extraordinary and she learns she is someone who could save a race, a world and her friends. but she has much to learn first. You HAVE to read this book. NOW!!
JT Lawrence has created a world which I have thoroughly enjoyed with her previous series. This new series begins with this tour de force of a first book starring an unlikely protagonist. A mid forties, pre-menopausal divorcee with a smart mouth and evidently quite an explosive temper. Literally. Natalie has just confronted her ex husband and while she was there his house caught on fire. She was sure the handsome stranger with a nice beard was taking her in under arrest but oh how she got that wrong. She finds out more secrets, some betrayals and learns slowly about a world she had no idea existed. All this would be enough to drive a normal woman crazy but Nat isn’t a normal woman. She is extraordinary and she learns she is someone who could save a race, a world and her friends. but she has much to learn first. You HAVE to read this book. NOW!!
November 8, 2026
This was the first book I have read by the author and it won’t be the last! Nat is in her mid forties and the book starts with her burning down her ex husband’s new house!
She then discovers that her whole life has been a lie and she has unknown magic that she needs to learn to control to save the realm!
I was so invested as she navigated this, while not knowing her whole story, learning who she could trust whilst being unaware of who was trying to kill her. Apart from the vampires - who all wanted her dead. Add in to the mix Draven who came to kill her but was unable to do so!
The story ended on a totally unexpected way and I am now desperately waiting for book 2 WITCHFIRE as there is so much more for Nat to discover and navigate in this story!
October 22, 2026
Amazing, I never can tell what's coming but when it does I love it
After the first two series, I thought there couldn't be anything better than Jax and Asha, but Natalie had already won my heart between committing dognapping and using a coffee mug and chocolate cake serving knife to beat her enemies.
After the first two series, I thought there couldn't be anything better than Jax and Asha, but Natalie had already won my heart between committing dognapping and using a coffee mug and chocolate cake serving knife to beat her enemies.
October 17, 2026
Fans of Lawrence's previous urban fantasies will be thrilled to meet up with previous characters, and be back in this world! And I so pleased that it was still full of nods to Johannesburg. Can't wait for the next one.
October 13, 2026
Amazing
Love this world the author has created. So many characters to love and hate. Magic, adventure and romance... exactly what I love in a great book.
Love this world the author has created. So many characters to love and hate. Magic, adventure and romance... exactly what I love in a great book.
October 19, 2026
DNF. Started our cute but got tiring. I made it to almost 55% and just couldn't take it anymore. Can't put my finger on why.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews