What do you think?
Rate this book
Bondwitch: Hybrid
Annamaria Lyons is finally with her grandma, but Libby holds unyielding control of her coven and granddaughters. Betrothed to a male witch, Annamaria’s heart secretly belongs to her vampire boyfriend. When Libby threatens deadly consequences if she refuses the arranged marriage, Annamaria faces an impossible choice: obey or risk everything to follow her heart?
Marianna Lyons is a big disappointment. Stripped of her magic when she was forcefully turned into a vampire, she is now an outcast, desperate for Libby’s approval. When Marianna is tricked into breaking coven rules, she faces a difficult decision: endure brutal rehabilitation, or leave her new home. As Marianna struggles to rediscover herself, will she accept her new identity, or conform to Libby’s impossible demands?
Marianna Lyons is a big disappointment. Stripped of her magic when she was forcefully turned into a vampire, she is now an outcast, desperate for Libby’s approval. When Marianna is tricked into breaking coven rules, she faces a difficult decision: endure brutal rehabilitation, or leave her new home. As Marianna struggles to rediscover herself, will she accept her new identity, or conform to Libby’s impossible demands?
400 pages, Paperback
Published May 11, 2026
About the author
Chelsey M. Ortega
3 books9 followersChelsey M. Ortega is a teacher by day and award-winning author by night. History is her first love, and any story involving magic and romance, her second love. She especially loves witches and is still awaiting her acceptance letter to a well-known school. Chelsey received her Bachelor's in History Teaching from Brigham Young University. In addition to writing, Chelsey teaches high school U.S. History and ELD. She lives in Utah with her husband, three children, and two cats. Follow Chelsey at www.chelseymortega.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
Review of advance copy received from Author
Hybrid, book two in Chelsey M. Ortega's Bondwitch series, is a paranormal fantasy romance about two sisters, Marianna and Annamaria Lyons, trying to find safety, family, and a place in a magical world that keeps redefining them. The book brings together witches, vampires, shifters, familiars, coven politics, arranged betrothals, old grief, and new romance, all while centering the sisters’ bond as they arrive in Concordia and face the consequences of Marianna’s transformation into a vampire and Annamaria’s role in the Lyons succession.
I liked how Ortega cares about the emotional cost of belonging. Marianna’s story, especially, has that ache of wanting to be accepted while knowing the room has already decided what you are. The early scenes in Concordia make that clear right away. She is welcomed, inspected, pitied, and judged almost in the same breath. I also liked how the book uses its genre elements without letting them sit there as decoration. Vampirism isn't just cool teeth and night air. Witch politics are not just pretty spells. Shifters are not just muscle and mystery. The supernatural pieces carry real social weight, and that gives the paranormal fantasy side of the novel a stronger pulse.
There is a lot happening: family secrets, romantic tension, coven leadership, vampire ethics, magical law, trauma recovery, and threats still waiting in the shadows. Sometimes that abundance is fun, like opening a drawer full of strange, glittering objects. Still, Ortega’s choices kept me curious. I appreciated that Annamaria is allowed to be angry, messy, and blunt, while Marianna often moves through the story with a softer kind of fear and hope. Their differences make the sister relationship feel lived-in. I also found Libby frustrating in a productive way. She isn't simply a villain, but she is absolutely someone whose love comes wrapped in control, tradition, and prejudice. That tension gives the book some of its best bite.
Bondwitch: Hybrid will work best for readers who enjoy character-driven paranormal fantasy romance with family drama at its center. I would recommend it to someone who likes witches, vampires, shifters, complicated sister bonds, magical communities, and romance threaded through larger questions about choice and identity. It's dramatic, emotional, and busy in a way that suits its world. Readers who enjoy supernatural stories with heart, tension, and a strong “found and fought-for belonging” theme will probably have the best time with it.
I liked how Ortega cares about the emotional cost of belonging. Marianna’s story, especially, has that ache of wanting to be accepted while knowing the room has already decided what you are. The early scenes in Concordia make that clear right away. She is welcomed, inspected, pitied, and judged almost in the same breath. I also liked how the book uses its genre elements without letting them sit there as decoration. Vampirism isn't just cool teeth and night air. Witch politics are not just pretty spells. Shifters are not just muscle and mystery. The supernatural pieces carry real social weight, and that gives the paranormal fantasy side of the novel a stronger pulse.
There is a lot happening: family secrets, romantic tension, coven leadership, vampire ethics, magical law, trauma recovery, and threats still waiting in the shadows. Sometimes that abundance is fun, like opening a drawer full of strange, glittering objects. Still, Ortega’s choices kept me curious. I appreciated that Annamaria is allowed to be angry, messy, and blunt, while Marianna often moves through the story with a softer kind of fear and hope. Their differences make the sister relationship feel lived-in. I also found Libby frustrating in a productive way. She isn't simply a villain, but she is absolutely someone whose love comes wrapped in control, tradition, and prejudice. That tension gives the book some of its best bite.
Bondwitch: Hybrid will work best for readers who enjoy character-driven paranormal fantasy romance with family drama at its center. I would recommend it to someone who likes witches, vampires, shifters, complicated sister bonds, magical communities, and romance threaded through larger questions about choice and identity. It's dramatic, emotional, and busy in a way that suits its world. Readers who enjoy supernatural stories with heart, tension, and a strong “found and fought-for belonging” theme will probably have the best time with it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review