Sorcery & Secrets

by Autumn Wittaker

He came to steal her sister. He never expected to pay with his heart.

River Thorne lives with a curse: she sees every heartbreak before it happens, but is powerless to stop it. To protect herself from the pain of the future, she has built walls around her heart. But as the first snow falls over Juniper Falls, her visions turn violent and chaotic. She is losing control, and if she doesn’t master her gift, it will consume her.

Cold, dangerous, and bound by duty, Idris Snow is a lead Ministry instructor charged with breaking untamed magic. His orders are simple: take River's little sister to the academy. But the fierce woman standing in his way—and the raw, uncontrolled power she wields—challenges everything the Ministry taught him.

Desperate to save herself and protect her family, River strikes a dangerous bargain: she will let Idris train her, even if he is the enemy. But as the winter chill deepens, the heat between them becomes impossible to ignore. Idris begins to see cracks in the Ministry’s perfect facade, and River begins to see the man beneath the agent.

With Christmas approaching and the Ministry’s patience running thin, Idris faces an impossible choice: obey his orders and destroy the woman he loves, or shatter his own world to save hers.

Genres: Fantasy

370 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 11, 2025

About the author

I'm Autumn Wittaker, and I absolutely love all things spooky, romantic, and cozy. As a total holiday fanatic with a serious soft spot for small towns and anything supernatural, I just released my very first book, Bewitched & Bothered. It's a story with magic, mishaps, and a happily-ever-after.

Writing is new to me, so I'm taking all the help I can get! My goal is to create trilogies that give readers the perfect cozy escape, where romance meets a touch of the otherworldly. If you love your love stories with a side of enchantment and don't mind cheering on a debut author who's figuring it out as she goes, then we're going to get along just fine!

Reviews

[Lynda Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sorcery & Secrets

Sorcery and Secrets is the next installment of the Juniper Falls series. A series of standalone stories in an interconnected world. This time around our FMC is the middle Thorne sister, River. The calm and steady one who is gifted with the Sight. She sees herself as the supporting character in the Thorne saga and always has, keeping the peace and a calming hand on her sisters. Until she meets our MMC, Idris, a ministry agent who has been sent to bring her younger sister Nova into the ministry. Have you heard about love at first sight? Yeah, that's not what happens here. More like distrust and dislike at first sight.

Even though River doesn't trust Idris, there is something there. A kind, gentle and calm instructor who helps centre and focus Nova and her powers and thus allowing River to see him as something other than a ministry henchman.

Autumn has written both of these characters with flaws and those flaws allow each of them to find a way to allow themselves to heal from past pain while helping each other discover their true selves. Their relationship is written with depth and understanding showing a willingness to learn from each other and to have the relationship grow organically. You feel their pull towards each other instantly, even if they don't.

We also get more information about the Ministry and the workings that go on inside the sterile walls. This book is self contained with a beautiful ending but it also leaves you wanting to read more because you just know that there are more surprises to come.
I am truly looking forward to the next book in this series. 4.5 stars from me.

[The Book Ssirren · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful read. I’ve never read this author before but was given the opportunity to read IT as an ARC. And in glad that I was. I found it to be very intriguing and it grabbed my interest from the beginning. I loved the characters, the world building. The town sounded amazing. The description of everything in this book was so well written, and I really enjoy that an author puts the time in to help you visualize the world they’re building to hero you truly see what is going on in the story. This author did that and then some. With that, it helped me truly fall into this story and see the action, the formation of what was taking place, and see what each character was going through. I absolutely loved this book.

[Mybookish.odyssey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Autumn Whittaker book I have read. The book returns to Juniper Falls and the Thorne sisters. I enjoyed the pace of the plot. The suspense of what’s will happen next. This book explored further the Thorne Sisters; which brought clarity to the questions I had in the first book. Love the plot twist and the slow burn. Most of all I really love the Thorne Sisters and how they empower each other. Definitely a good read for the holidays .
Thank you Cracked Pepper Books and Autumn Whittaker for this eARC.

[Gwen Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Sorcery & Secrets” is the first book written by Autumn Wittaker that I’ve read. I accepted an ARC from Cracked Pepper Books because the description fit with my current paranormal era. These are my honest opinions.
Wittaker is excellent when it comes to world building. Juniper Falls is the type of small town I enjoy reading — it’s got a town square, frequent festivals and quirky residents. If I visited Juniper Falls, however, I would not see what truly makes the town unique — its resident witches and other supernatural characters because these characters keep the town bewitched for “morties” (or mortals) like me.
Sisters Serena, River and Nova Thorpe are at the center of the Juniper Falls witch community. At the heart of “Sorcery & Secrets” are River and Idris, an agent of the Ministry, which is a training ground for powerful witches. Idris has been sent by the Ministry to evaluate Nova’s talents.
Enter our primary conflict — the Thorpes have no use for the Ministry nor do they trust Idris.
Through descriptions of both places, Wittaker presents the juxtaposition of these two sides of the witchy world — the regimentation and order of the Ministry and the beauty and freedom of life in Juniper Falls.
I also enjoyed the background on the different supernatural strengths of the sisters, especially the toll that those with the Sight take as well as the truth that not everything seen in the future will come true.
“Sorcery & Secrets” was satisfying from the beginning, but once the conflict between the two worlds burst into the open, I was truly hooked. From there, the pace picked up and my tears started to flow. I was positive that River and Idris would end up with an HEA, but I had no idea how!

[Cassy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's giving Piper and Leo in a great way.

The dynamic of a trio of sisters is warm, and familiar and just lands so well. The community surrounding them and the little town they live in. It just screams Practical Magic mixed with Charmed. The romance builds beautifully focusing on intimate moments and built trust.

That being said, there is one flaw in the way this book was structured that feels off. The Christmas element. It almost feels like the book was written and Christmas was kinda snuck in afterwards. The Christmas element felt unnecessary. This book would stand up very well without the Christmas theme.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Steph Goodrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author and her team for the opportunity to read this as an ARC.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I will be looking to read Juniper Falls book 1 when I get a chance.

This is a cutesy, small town romance which leaves you feeling good at the end. It reminded me of the series Charmed with an undercurrent of Harry Potter when we visit the Ministry. I will admit to disliking River for at least the first 25% of the book. She just seemed angry and defensive for no reason which I didn’t like, however, once she softens her defences to Idris and you understand the reasons for the distrust, it’s easy to like her and to root for her HEA with him. Perhaps if I’d already met her in book 1, I may have understood her already.

I can’t wait for book 3. Will we see Nova and Garrick???

[Sam Ashby · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off thanks to Cracked Pepper Books for this ARC. I loved my first trip to Juniper Falls. I found myself utterly bewitched and in awe of the Thorne sisters. I found Ildris likable from the start so I’m glad he proved himself not to be the enemy he was supposed to be. The suspense and mystery mixed with all the magic and holiday vibes kept the plot interesting. The slow burn chemistry of will they or won’t they between River and Ildris was literally mouth watering. Over all great cozy holiday witchy romance I’d recommend reading if that’s your vibe.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good continuation

If you liked the first one, you'll like the second one. I liked seeing more of the characters. The plot ended up being a bit more larger than I thought, but I enjoyed it. It was a hood time story.

[Lindsay C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this deeper dive into the Thorne sister’s world! Idris is a great addition to books too. Sorcery and Secrets has a great balance of cozy, romance and fantasy. Highly recommend!

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this read! Snowy, small town Christmas setting with strong, loving family bonds. A Halliwell sisters reimagined. Definitely should add to your reading list!

[Ritha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as ARC.

Really good character building and development, love the build up and the story’s unraveling. Absolutely recommend it! Would love to live in Juniper Falls 🤩