Fangs, Fate, & Mondays

by Hayley Reese Chow

In Azalea Springs, a family curse just means more paperwork.

After her best friend was murdered, Dessa Blue McKinney swore she’d never return to the paranormal town of Azalea Springs. But after she walks in on her fiancé cheating with her business partner, she has nowhere else to go but home. Desperate for a distraction, she agrees to fill in at her uncle’s Paranormal Intermediary Office until she decides what to do with her life. But when the new intern is the handsome golden boy of the most notorious family in town and her dead friend’s sister goes missing, old secrets bubble to the surface, and the past may not be so willing to let her go.


Meanwhile, perpetual screw-up, Jamison Kane, is reeling from his role as the primary suspect in a triple homicide and the brand-new bearer of a family curse. When Dessa’s uncle offers him an internship to search for a cure, he reluctantly agrees—and totally not because Dessa was his high school crush. The job description? Keep the werewolves and vampires from tearing each other’s throats out, solve the missing persons case, and don’t fall in love with Dessa McKinney.

It definitely sounds like a Monday, but at least in this office, the coffee really is magical.

Genres: Urban Fantasy

Kindle Edition

Expected publication May 26, 2026

About the author

Hayley Reese Chow is the author of the Odriel's Heirs series (a dark YA epic fantasy) and the Into the Churn series (a romantic YA sci-fi adventure from Whimsical Publishing) with more YA adventures on the way. She’s also the winner of both the 2024 YA IndieReader Discovery Awards and the 2020 YA Florida Author Project.

When not writing, her hat collection includes mother, wife, engineer, USAF veteran, reservist, four-time All-American fencer, ex-ultramarathoner, avid traveler, book inhaler, and super nerd. Hayley currently lives in Florida with two small book dragons, her long-suffering husband, and her miniature ragehound.

To see what she's working on next, you can find her at hayleyreesechow.com or on Instagram, Threads, or TikTok @HayleyReeseChow. She's represented by Kristen Terrette of Martin Literary.

Reviews

[Hayley Chow]

Writing this book was such a fun escape! As someone that works a 9-5 in an office with our own cast of interesting characters, the idea of writing a book involving a paranormally-flavored office was percolating in my head for years before I pitched the idea to Whimsical, so I was so thrilled when they were as excited as I was.

Though this book is appropriate for YA audiences, this is my first published book with post-college-aged characters, and I absolutely loved getting to show that (somewhat bumpy) time of life. Themes of family, friendship, grief, and moving on were so fun to explore in the quirkily chaotic magical town of Azalea Springs, with office hijinks alternating between interweaving mysteries, a budding romance, and underlying secrets.

Thanks so much to Whimsical Publishing for making this book beautiful and getting this fun paranormal mystery out into the world! This story is the first of a trilogy (but don't worry, it's marked safe from cliffhangers), and I'm so excited for you all to come along with us on our first adventure in Azalea Springs! We so hope you enjoy!

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a surprisingly fun, cozy, paranormal romance! With strong vibes from two of my favorite shows, Veronica Mars and The Office, I started this straight away and was not disappointed!

Dessa has begrudgingly moved back home after a failing startup with her cheating ex-fiance. Out of a job and not wanting to be a burden on her retired parents, she takes her uncle’s job offer to once again work at AZRIO where she will monitor relations and activity between the different supernatural communities. Dessa quickly falls back in to her old job but what she doesn’t expect is Jamison Kane to be her new coworker. Jamison is still handsome and charming as ever except now he’s also cursed. They must work together to solve a strange disappearance all while trying to avoid danger and their growing attraction.

The banter between Dessa and Jamison is delightful. I found myself constantly smiling and laughing at their interactions. The way their relationship grows is so sweet. I absolutely need more of them!

While I was able to guess who was behind the evil doings, the investigation into the mystery still kept me hooked. I loved how the different supernatural communities were involved. There are some very interesting side characters with a greater mystery still at large. If the next book delivers the same way this first one did, I can easily see this becoming a series that I continue to revisit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the advanced copy.

[Veronica Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

This was a cute, cozy paranormal mystery with a light romance element that feels geared toward young adult readers. After catching her fiancé cheating, Dessa Blue returns to Florida from New York and is offered her old job at AzRIO, an agency ran by her uncle that investigates paranormal disputes. She’s paired with Jamison Kane—the former high school golden boy from a powerful family who clearly has secrets of his own. As paranormals begin disappearing, the two must learn to trust and rely on each other while trying to stop a conflict from escalating.

The characters were well written and felt genuine, and I especially appreciated how vulnerable the main characters were. The side characters also added a lot of charm to the story.

The reason I didn’t rate it higher was the pacing. It was a bit slow for me in the first half, which focused heavily on setup. I also found the reveal of the “bad guy” fairly predictable.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and the characters, and it seems like this is just the beginning of a larger series with more mysteries still left to be solved. I will be looking out for the next book.

[Galatée · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cosy, yet suspenseful paranormal office romance and mystery for young adults and older adults who want to have a good time.
This book is checking all the boxes : good banter, swooning romance, top-notch world building seamlessly included in the story.
I loved the structure of the story, which gives us a tour of the paranormal community and sets a good base for the start of a good series.
Concerning the mystery, I figured it out a few chapters before the revelation and I thought the clues were given with a pretty good timing. I felt quickly invested.

This is an easy-to-read book that I would recommend gladly. I’m looking forward to reading the next book !

Thank you NetGalley, the author and everyone involved for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[E.P. Stavs · Rating 5 out of 5]

An office romance with quirky, paranormal characters and serious Veronica Mars vibes? Yes, please. I had the privilege of reading an early edition of this fantastic book, and I absolutely devoured it. Dessa Blue returns to her southern hometown in the wake of a romantic betrayal, and finds herself back in the AzRIO office—where the ghost of her past isn’t the only specter haunting the old building. Enter Jameson Kane (the Logan to Dessa’s Veronica 😜), a rich boy best known for screwing things up. Only this rich boy has a shiny new curse to deal with, and who better than former high school crush Dessa Blue to help him? Squeeee.

Such a fun story! Highly recommend.

[Micheline Ryckman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sooooo this is marketed as The Office + Supernatural + Veronica Mars, two of which I tried to watch and could not do, and one of which I’d never even heard of! Ha!

AND YET…

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING!!! (If it was prudent to type a thousand exclamation marks here, I would, but I’ll just give you three more instead > !!!!) Okay that was four but who’s counting?

This book: vampires, werewolves, witches, gossiping ghosts, magic coffee, a budgie that’s not quite normal, and a mystery (or two, or three) to be solved by a woman sleuth and a handsome golden boy with a not so shiny past. Oh and donuts, lots of donuts!

So yeah, you’d be mad to miss this one!

[Ashley Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives just enough drama, romance, and excitement to keep you entertained.

Leaving her start up and cheating fiancé to go back to her hometown where she said she would never return. Her hometown is shrouded in mystery and paranormal activity. This opens with a disappearance that may be connected to her past and why she left her hometown in the first place. Will she find a connection and solve both mysteries in the process?

So many questions left unanswered as the book ends and I can't wait to see what is next.

Tropes:
Slow burns
Blast from the past
Mystery

3.75 stars
Bell pepper

[Marie A · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is technically a teen/young adult paranormal book, don’t write it off if you aren’t in the ‘target audience’. It’s also a really fun amateur sleuth book with gossiping ghosts, curses, magicked baked goods and coffee and a budgie who I am convinced is no ordinary bird.

This is perfect for teens and young adults because it isn’t super scary or spicy but they still get the payoff of the paranormal community and a slow burn romance. I definitely recommend it.

I would like to thank Whimsical Publishing and NetGalley for a copy. All opinions are my own and my review is voluntarily given. As always, happy reading!

[Megs: Glitter in the Pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much fun! I loved the vibes. It had everything that you love about the Office, Supernatural and Veronica Mars wrapped into one pretty little paranormal mystery package.

I loved seeing Dessa and Jamison's relationship grow throughout the book. His protectiveness made me swoon!

I can't wait to read more in this series. I can only imagine the adventures that Dessa and Jamison get up too in the future.

Highly recommend!

[Erika Hensel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book more than I expected! I will definitely be reading the next one and already can't wait. It starts off slow (and slightly repetitive) but its so worth it to get through the first couple chapters. This is the perfect cozy, lighthearted, fun book to read on a chilly October day with a warm coffee. The main characters are lovable and the story engaging with twists and turns. I feel like I am already missing this found family and looking forward to the next case.

[Makinzie Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

thank you to netgalley + whimsical publishing + the author for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Fangs, Fate, & Mondays is the perfect example of The Office meets Supernatural. as someone who works in an office, this captures that piece of life perfectly. the mystery aspect was very well written and kept me hooked from the beginning. will 100% be picking up her other works!

[C Redfern · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly really enjoyed this book as a debut for a series (hopefully)! It had a good amount of character development, and I look forward to exploring more books with these characters in the future. I liked the characters' relationship with each other; there was a strong trust between the male and female protagonists that you don't often see in books. Without giving any spoilers, I'll just say I liked this book. It kept me turning the pages, and I finished it in two days.

[Kait · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampires, werewolves, and ghosts, oh my (sorry, the joke wrote itself). Such an utterly entertaining book!!! I liked all of the characters and the plot twists, *and* the slowwwww burn between the FMC and MMC. And I certainly can’t wait for more AzRIO stories!!! Received an ARC from the publisher. All opinions are my own. Book comes out this May!

[Chesney Infalt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hayley Reese Chow weaves humorous banter, twists and turns, and fun paranormal worldbuilding into an intriguing story that you’ll want to sink your teeth into.

Thank you to Whimsical Publishing for an ARC copy!