Courting the Witch

The Four Arts #0.5

by M.J. Scott

Desire or duty…which will woo a witch?

Imogene Carvelle has always wanted a glittering career as an Imperial Mage. She wants to travel the empire and has no thought of marriage. But after returning home from a long mission away, she is in the mood for some fun. But sometimes the best plans go awry, and when Imogene meets the oh-so-delicious but oh-so-wrong Jean-Paul at a ball, her plan for just one night gets complicated…

Jean-Paul du Laq knows he has to marry. As the heir to a duq, he has to carry on the family line with the right kind of wife. And a career minded commoner like Imogene is absolutely not the woman he should be considering for anything more than a dalliance. But to him, Imogene shines brighter than the sun and he’s determined to win her heart…

Courting The Witch, a prequel novella (previously published in the Warlords, Witches and Wolves Anthology but now with bonus second epilogue).

Genres: Fantasy, Novella, Romance, Magic, Fantasy Romance

159 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 13, 2021

About the author

M.J Scott is a RITA® Award nominated author. She is an unrepentant bookworm. Luckily she grew up in a family that fed her a properly varied diet of books and these days is surrounded by people who are understanding of her story addiction. When not wrestling one of her own stories to the ground, she can generally be found reading someone else’s. Her other distractions include yarn, cat butlering, dark chocolate and fabric. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.

For free reads and all her news and sneak peeks sign up to her newsletter at https://www.mjscott.net!

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She has also written contemporary romance as Melanie Scott and Emma Douglas.

Reviews

[Katie]

This was nice! It made me want t0 re-read the series. It's definitely a different glimpse at the society since it was a new place for Sophie and Cameron in the series and they didn't trust it (for good reason!).

[Blake]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I completely change my mind on a series, so want to change my scoring down a lot. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)


First time read the author's work?: No

Will you be reading more?: Yes

Would you recommend?: Yes


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[jammaster_mom]

This was a great, quick read and introduction to the Four Arts series and world. Because this is a prequel you can read it without having read the first 4 books in the series. I will say it has been a while and I had to struggle to remember where the characters and the countries fit into the storyline. It is a good read and I very much enjoy this world that Ms. Scott has created. I am looking forward to the next books in the series (which are about a character in this short story) and seeing more of this world.

[Hyperactive]

Great prequel to read post Four Arts Trilogy and pre Daughter of Ravens. It really adds a different view of Illyva not seen from Sophie and Cameron's view (Four Arts) and helps the reader gain a better understanding of typical Illyvan society before Chloe and Lucien's views(Daughter of Ravens), without spoiling anything that was needed to tell Chloe's story as its own work.

[Joann]

Very interesting

I'd like to explore this strange world a little more in depth. It's intriguing and very thought provoking. The romance was a great way to introduce and I loved this strong couple.

[Britney (BookDrunkSloth)]

A bit boring, but had a couple of things that kept me intrigued. The "romance" just felt like insta attraction. I never felt the love grow. I enjoyed the political/fantasy story line over the romance.

[Cait]

LOVED this novella. Imogene and Jean-Paul are delightful characters and I only want good things for them. Such a great read, and will 100% be rereading again and again.

[Jules]

Sweetly Done

I enjoyed this story very much
Romantic and showed the strength of a woman to achieve all her goals as well as her soul mate.
JulesG.

[Sarah Witmer]

This light read is enjoyable for those looking to escape into M.J. Scott's world building for a few hours. It doesn't offer much in terms of plot & action, but it is pleasant. If you're picking up this world for the first time, I would suggest skipping this novella and starting with something else. The romance element felt a little too easy, and the love interest didn't really do enough to earn her regard, nor did he endear me to him. Nonetheless, this story was a nice way to spend an afternoon.