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Witchlore #1
Small Town, Big Magic
A witchy rom-com in which a bookstore owner who is fighting to revitalize a small midwestern town clashes with her rival, the mayor, and uncovers not only a clandestine group that wields a dark magic to control the idyllic river hamlet, but hidden powers she never knew she possessed.
Witches aren't real. Right?
No one has civic pride quite like Emerson Wilde. As a local indie bookstore owner and youngest-ever Chamber of Commerce president, she’d do anything for her hometown of St. Cyprian, Missouri. After all, Midwest is best! She may be descended from a witch who was hanged in 1692 during the Salem Witch Trials, but there’s no sorcery in doing your best for the town you love.
Or is there?
As she preps Main Street for an annual festival, Emerson notices strange things happening around St. Cyprian. Strange things that culminate in a showdown with her lifelong arch-rival, Mayor Skip Simon. He seems to have sent impossible, paranormal creatures after her. Creatures that Emerson dispatches with ease, though she has no idea how she’s done it. Is Skip Simon…a witch? Is Emerson?
It turns out witches are real, and Emerson is one of them. She failed a coming-of-age test at age eighteen—the only test she’s ever failed!—and now, as an adult, her powers have come roaring back.
But she has little time to explore those powers, or her blossoming relationship with her childhood friend, cranky-yet-gorgeous local farmer Jacob North: an ancient evil has awakened in St. Cyprian, and it’s up to Emerson and her friends—maybe even Emerson herself—to save everything she loves.
Witches aren't real. Right?
No one has civic pride quite like Emerson Wilde. As a local indie bookstore owner and youngest-ever Chamber of Commerce president, she’d do anything for her hometown of St. Cyprian, Missouri. After all, Midwest is best! She may be descended from a witch who was hanged in 1692 during the Salem Witch Trials, but there’s no sorcery in doing your best for the town you love.
Or is there?
As she preps Main Street for an annual festival, Emerson notices strange things happening around St. Cyprian. Strange things that culminate in a showdown with her lifelong arch-rival, Mayor Skip Simon. He seems to have sent impossible, paranormal creatures after her. Creatures that Emerson dispatches with ease, though she has no idea how she’s done it. Is Skip Simon…a witch? Is Emerson?
It turns out witches are real, and Emerson is one of them. She failed a coming-of-age test at age eighteen—the only test she’s ever failed!—and now, as an adult, her powers have come roaring back.
But she has little time to explore those powers, or her blossoming relationship with her childhood friend, cranky-yet-gorgeous local farmer Jacob North: an ancient evil has awakened in St. Cyprian, and it’s up to Emerson and her friends—maybe even Emerson herself—to save everything she loves.
411 pages, Paperback
First published August 23, 2022
1824 people are currently reading
36480 people want to read
About the author
Hazel Beck
5 books636 followersHazel Beck is the magical partnership of a river witch and an earth witch. Together they have collected two husbands, three familiars, two children, five degrees, and written around 200 books. As one, their books will delight with breathtaking magic, emotional romance, and stories of witches you won’t soon forget.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,476 reviews
August 23, 2022
For all its potential and good ideas this book had a lot of flaws.
*The protagonist is the worst I have ever read. Her self confidence quickly morphed into raging narcissism, and I have no clue how her friends put up with it.
*The love interest had all the personality of a damp towel. And the romance felt awkwardly forced.
*The book was clearly trying to have lots of feminist hot takes (which I normally love), but it came off as really just hating men. And the nonstop references to the patriarchy were so annoying they did more damage than good I think. This is all from the protagonist's POV, so maybe it's just a one-off tangent.
That being said, the magic system, small town vibes, secondary characters, and witch lore were all good enough that I couldn't help but binge read this one and I'll still read the next book when it comes out. Maybe this is just a bumpy start to what will (hopefully) be a great series.
*The protagonist is the worst I have ever read. Her self confidence quickly morphed into raging narcissism, and I have no clue how her friends put up with it.
*The love interest had all the personality of a damp towel. And the romance felt awkwardly forced.
*The book was clearly trying to have lots of feminist hot takes (which I normally love), but it came off as really just hating men. And the nonstop references to the patriarchy were so annoying they did more damage than good I think. This is all from the protagonist's POV, so maybe it's just a one-off tangent.
That being said, the magic system, small town vibes, secondary characters, and witch lore were all good enough that I couldn't help but binge read this one and I'll still read the next book when it comes out. Maybe this is just a bumpy start to what will (hopefully) be a great series.
abandoned
October 20, 2022you either die a girl boss or live long enough to become the most insufferable protagonist i’ve ever read
September 17, 2022
I’m not going to mince words with this one because it was that bad and people deserve to know what they’re getting into. Typically I try to be a bit diplomatic and not crush anyones “book baby” but this is a $12 (ebook!!!!) traditionally published book and it’s just so shocking that this got published as it is. It feels like some pretentious teen girls version of her creative writing final.
This is not in no way or no how a rom-com. There’s no romance, the authors have squashed all that with their “I am woman, hear me roar” rhetoric. We don’t even get a sex scene where we can settle into their intimacy and really connect with their connection. Instead we get a PSA about “….the glorification of sensuality…” and objectification. In their first sex scene!!! Where she’s a virgin!! And it’s been ten years coming!! 😳😳😳 This should have been the most touching, affectionate, heart eyed, swoony scene ever and then bam right in the middle we get feminist BS shoved down our throats, for like 100th time mind you. I am not eloquent enough to get across just how much my little romantic heart shriveled up during this scene.
I’m not sure that the authors love love or even understand love and romance after reading this one. They certainly did not understand the genre that they’ve been placed in. Maybe this is satire?!?
So yeah, that was that. Now the characters, who I am convinced that the authors hated, were absolutely awful. In the beginning I was trying to give the h the benefit of the doubt, you know maybe it’s going to be one of those books with epic character development. I don’t mind a flawed character but they still have to be likable!! This h was truly god awful. Which was fucking weird because here were being told how she’s supposed to be this badass boss lady and screw anyone who holds us down but then they made her so unlikable!!!! Wtf!! You’ve ruined your whole agenda.
The plot was draggy. There were many parts that were just told through info dumps. There were too many side characters and hands all up in this plot that it became muddled and dodgy. Getting to the end of this one was like walking through quickly drying cement. It’s not even long and it took me four days!!! You know when you close a book and you feel rejuvenated? Not here. I feel so drug down and honestly depressed. If this is what is passing for modern traditionally published rom com now I’ll just be sticking with my fantasy and pnr books. Fucking yikes.
Oh and I didn’t laugh once. 😬
I am so so so grateful that I was able to get this one from overdrive through my library. Holy cow. Praise be! The only positive feeling that I have after reading this book was that I did not buy this book. How is that for a mindfuck?!?
I won’t be continuing on with this series or this duo. You could not pay me to read book two. You could not pay me to even read the fucking blurb!!
This is not in no way or no how a rom-com. There’s no romance, the authors have squashed all that with their “I am woman, hear me roar” rhetoric. We don’t even get a sex scene where we can settle into their intimacy and really connect with their connection. Instead we get a PSA about “….the glorification of sensuality…” and objectification. In their first sex scene!!! Where she’s a virgin!! And it’s been ten years coming!! 😳😳😳 This should have been the most touching, affectionate, heart eyed, swoony scene ever and then bam right in the middle we get feminist BS shoved down our throats, for like 100th time mind you. I am not eloquent enough to get across just how much my little romantic heart shriveled up during this scene.
I’m not sure that the authors love love or even understand love and romance after reading this one. They certainly did not understand the genre that they’ve been placed in. Maybe this is satire?!?
So yeah, that was that. Now the characters, who I am convinced that the authors hated, were absolutely awful. In the beginning I was trying to give the h the benefit of the doubt, you know maybe it’s going to be one of those books with epic character development. I don’t mind a flawed character but they still have to be likable!! This h was truly god awful. Which was fucking weird because here were being told how she’s supposed to be this badass boss lady and screw anyone who holds us down but then they made her so unlikable!!!! Wtf!! You’ve ruined your whole agenda.
The plot was draggy. There were many parts that were just told through info dumps. There were too many side characters and hands all up in this plot that it became muddled and dodgy. Getting to the end of this one was like walking through quickly drying cement. It’s not even long and it took me four days!!! You know when you close a book and you feel rejuvenated? Not here. I feel so drug down and honestly depressed. If this is what is passing for modern traditionally published rom com now I’ll just be sticking with my fantasy and pnr books. Fucking yikes.
Oh and I didn’t laugh once. 😬
I am so so so grateful that I was able to get this one from overdrive through my library. Holy cow. Praise be! The only positive feeling that I have after reading this book was that I did not buy this book. How is that for a mindfuck?!?
I won’t be continuing on with this series or this duo. You could not pay me to read book two. You could not pay me to even read the fucking blurb!!
September 23, 2022
Settle in this is gonna be a long one because holy crap this was bad.
Firstly I guess let's address the fact that this book is labelled a rom-com....I think that's more than a bit of a stretch. There was not a single part of this book that was funny and the romance was lacklustre at best.
My biggest issue with this book is the main character because omg I've never been so irritated by a MC in my entire life. She's built on the lady boss, feminist, don't need no man ideal but it was so overdone that she just seemed incredibly arrogant, childish, narcissistic and annoying. Her arrogance was honestly next level - she had known about magic for one day and was already ignoring all her friends warnings and thinking she knows best. She makes several comments about how of course she'll be able to save everyone because its obvious she would be the best at it and it was grating as hell. She really did get on every last one of my nerves.
Then we get to the anti-patriarchy...WTF was that???? Within the first few pages of this book the character makes a comment about squashing the patriarchy which at that point in the book was fine - we now know her stance on the issue and should be able to move on...NOPE! I would love to have the ebook of this so I could actually search how many times the word "patriarchy" was used in this book because I'm sure it was a ridiculous number. Every time a man did ANYTHING in this book she was blaming the patriarchy. She does a number of stupid things in this book and whenever a man tells her not to she starts ranting about the patriarchy... girl was being an idiot, the comments had nothing to do with patriarchy. If a man told her she was doing something wrong then he was automatically the wrong one because he was a man. You were being beaten over the head with all the anti-patriarchy feminist shit in this book to the point that it lost any impact it may have had and was just coming across like the authors have some serious issues with men existing.
Which brings me to my next point...the romance. This book reads like it was written as general fiction and someone told the authors to add some romance to increase sales. The blurb compares this to "The Ex Hex" which I have read and loved and "Payback's a Witch" which I haven't read but have heard great things about so I'm pretty confident in saying this book is nothing like those two. Once again this is not a rom-com. I have no clue who decided to label it that but it's not. I found the relationship between Emerson and Jacob cringey at best. He seemed like an okay guy but with Emerson's constant anti-men rants combined with the fact she treats most of her friends like crap I actually felt sorry for him for ending up with her. He could've done better.
And we'll finish this off with the part that I still can not believe they actually put in this book. We get one almost sex scene in this "romance" book. One chapter where Jacob and Emerson are finally talking about their relationship and getting a little deeper into their romance. Now, I have no problem with a closed door book but this was something else entirely. All of the buildup to them hooking up is written and then you get this delightful quote:
"and I could tell you more, I could share every detail, I almost want to, but you know who I am by now. I'm not here for the objectification of women or men or the glorification of sensuality for consumer commodification"
Like I said I have no issue with closed door but WHAT IS THIS?!?!?! Do not label your book a rom-com and then throw shit like this in it. I actually just spent 40 minutes trying to find this quote in the audiobook because it needed to be included just to show what an absolute nightmare this book was.
When I started writing this review I was rating this 2 stars but honestly looking at that quote makes me so angry I'm lowering it to 1. Needless to say, I will not be continuing on with this series.
Video review - https://youtu.be/h4_wzqjEHxg
Firstly I guess let's address the fact that this book is labelled a rom-com....I think that's more than a bit of a stretch. There was not a single part of this book that was funny and the romance was lacklustre at best.
My biggest issue with this book is the main character because omg I've never been so irritated by a MC in my entire life. She's built on the lady boss, feminist, don't need no man ideal but it was so overdone that she just seemed incredibly arrogant, childish, narcissistic and annoying. Her arrogance was honestly next level - she had known about magic for one day and was already ignoring all her friends warnings and thinking she knows best. She makes several comments about how of course she'll be able to save everyone because its obvious she would be the best at it and it was grating as hell. She really did get on every last one of my nerves.
Then we get to the anti-patriarchy...WTF was that???? Within the first few pages of this book the character makes a comment about squashing the patriarchy which at that point in the book was fine - we now know her stance on the issue and should be able to move on...NOPE! I would love to have the ebook of this so I could actually search how many times the word "patriarchy" was used in this book because I'm sure it was a ridiculous number. Every time a man did ANYTHING in this book she was blaming the patriarchy. She does a number of stupid things in this book and whenever a man tells her not to she starts ranting about the patriarchy... girl was being an idiot, the comments had nothing to do with patriarchy. If a man told her she was doing something wrong then he was automatically the wrong one because he was a man. You were being beaten over the head with all the anti-patriarchy feminist shit in this book to the point that it lost any impact it may have had and was just coming across like the authors have some serious issues with men existing.
Which brings me to my next point...the romance. This book reads like it was written as general fiction and someone told the authors to add some romance to increase sales. The blurb compares this to "The Ex Hex" which I have read and loved and "Payback's a Witch" which I haven't read but have heard great things about so I'm pretty confident in saying this book is nothing like those two. Once again this is not a rom-com. I have no clue who decided to label it that but it's not. I found the relationship between Emerson and Jacob cringey at best. He seemed like an okay guy but with Emerson's constant anti-men rants combined with the fact she treats most of her friends like crap I actually felt sorry for him for ending up with her. He could've done better.
And we'll finish this off with the part that I still can not believe they actually put in this book. We get one almost sex scene in this "romance" book. One chapter where Jacob and Emerson are finally talking about their relationship and getting a little deeper into their romance. Now, I have no problem with a closed door book but this was something else entirely. All of the buildup to them hooking up is written and then you get this delightful quote:
"and I could tell you more, I could share every detail, I almost want to, but you know who I am by now. I'm not here for the objectification of women or men or the glorification of sensuality for consumer commodification"
Like I said I have no issue with closed door but WHAT IS THIS?!?!?! Do not label your book a rom-com and then throw shit like this in it. I actually just spent 40 minutes trying to find this quote in the audiobook because it needed to be included just to show what an absolute nightmare this book was.
When I started writing this review I was rating this 2 stars but honestly looking at that quote makes me so angry I'm lowering it to 1. Needless to say, I will not be continuing on with this series.
Video review - https://youtu.be/h4_wzqjEHxg
October 7, 2022
Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck is the first book in the new romantic fantasy Witchlore series. Now with this series involving romance it seems to follow a romance pattern of switching the main characters in the next book but I’d suggest still reading the series in order as this first book does a lot of introducing the magic on the fantasy side of the tale.
The small town of this series is St. Cyprian, Missouri which happens to be a place that holds magic but town Chamber of Commerce president, Emerson Wilde, thinks of her home as normal as could be. If you asked Emerson about magic she would tell you she is descended from a witch that was hanged during the witch trials but her herself didn’t have a magical bone in her body.
Well, that would be what Emerson thought was true until dark magic comes to St. Cyprian and Emerson regains her memory of just who she really is. Emerson soon finds herself in a much more dangerous battle and with the help of her friend, Jacob North, Emerson must fight the ancient evil that has awakened in St. Cyprian.
Small Town, Big Magic really was a truly fitting title for this opener of the Witchlore series. The story has that small town vibe you will find in a lot of romance series but it sure did make a big jump into the magical world and I was right there for it. I love series that blend genres and found this to be a fun read that drew me into the town right along with the characters quickly and kept the pages turning when the dark side of magic made it’s appearance. Definitely an interesting series that I’ll have to find my way back to for book two.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
The small town of this series is St. Cyprian, Missouri which happens to be a place that holds magic but town Chamber of Commerce president, Emerson Wilde, thinks of her home as normal as could be. If you asked Emerson about magic she would tell you she is descended from a witch that was hanged during the witch trials but her herself didn’t have a magical bone in her body.
Well, that would be what Emerson thought was true until dark magic comes to St. Cyprian and Emerson regains her memory of just who she really is. Emerson soon finds herself in a much more dangerous battle and with the help of her friend, Jacob North, Emerson must fight the ancient evil that has awakened in St. Cyprian.
Small Town, Big Magic really was a truly fitting title for this opener of the Witchlore series. The story has that small town vibe you will find in a lot of romance series but it sure did make a big jump into the magical world and I was right there for it. I love series that blend genres and found this to be a fun read that drew me into the town right along with the characters quickly and kept the pages turning when the dark side of magic made it’s appearance. Definitely an interesting series that I’ll have to find my way back to for book two.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
July 25, 2022
One star is generous. It should be in the negative. It's giving pink pussy hat in book form. A mess of white feminist girl boss classism. Save your time and money.
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August 5, 2023DNF @ 14%. Wowowowowowowow, this was not good. I felt it from page one but read one a little bit. I got to page 54 and couldn’t take it anymore. I read reviews and they echoed my thoughts.
I hadn’t heard of this book, I saw the cover, and was intrigued. I read the synopsis and it sounded so good! Small town, she didn’t didn’t know she was a witch, she owns an indie bookstore, and romance… like this should’ve been a solid 4 star at least!! But my god, from page one you get I AM FEMINIST HEAR ME ROAR EMERSON. One of the most insufferable main characters I’ve read in a while. The first person POV was the wrong move because I couldn’t stand the short amount of time I spent in Emerson’s head.
The writing isn’t great and I was getting to the magic part and I just kept rereading lines because I was confused but also it just was dull? Like what should’ve been an epic moment was snooze city.
I caution you to read reviews for this before picking it up because seems like it gets so much worse 🫠
I hadn’t heard of this book, I saw the cover, and was intrigued. I read the synopsis and it sounded so good! Small town, she didn’t didn’t know she was a witch, she owns an indie bookstore, and romance… like this should’ve been a solid 4 star at least!! But my god, from page one you get I AM FEMINIST HEAR ME ROAR EMERSON. One of the most insufferable main characters I’ve read in a while. The first person POV was the wrong move because I couldn’t stand the short amount of time I spent in Emerson’s head.
The writing isn’t great and I was getting to the magic part and I just kept rereading lines because I was confused but also it just was dull? Like what should’ve been an epic moment was snooze city.
I caution you to read reviews for this before picking it up because seems like it gets so much worse 🫠
October 7, 2022
This could have been a really good book, but I HATE the main character. I am all for a strong female lead- but show don’t tell. And please stop “telling” in every paragraph how badass she is supposed to be. All you have shown is that she thinks she is some amazing super woman, but she does things without thinking and puts herself and all her friends in danger by assuming she can do everything herself. Guess what, you are a weak ass witch that NEEDED your friends to protect you the entire time you were mind wiped and after when you kept doing stupid crap thinking you were a warrior. Ugh, sorry, this really annoyed me.
August 25, 2022
The main character Emerson is a loathsome, steamrolling asshole and I only want horribleness to befall her. Another review called it white feminist classist bs and I can’t agree more. If I could give less than one star on this platform, I would.
August 31, 2022
“Witches aren’t excitable humans,” Ellowyn says. “We don’t ban books. We do put curses on them and smite our enemies out of existence, along with their books, but banning? That’s for the magicless. And dull.”
Emerson Wilde built the perfect life in the perfect town But when she’s attacked by creatures no one’s ever seen before she realizes her whole life has been a lie. St. Cyprian is a town full of witches and ten years ago, Emerson failed a test and was deemed “spell dim.” Then her memories were stripped. Now, Emerson must struggle to regain what she’s lost and fight a power that intends to destroy St. Cyprian.
What I’m about to type shouldn’t be construed to be about the above quote which is one of my favorite paragraphs in the book and, incidentally, not said by the main character (which is telling).
Girl, get off your soapbox! I consider myself a feminist and I’m fine at having a shout-out to feminism in my fiction, but Hazel-Beck took it a bit too far in this novel that I really, really wanted to love. What started out as cute and quirky became obnoxious several hundred pages in (or maybe sooner). I loved the idea of a magical town with witchy history but…Emerson got on my last nerve. Everything was all about her, to the extent that the other characters fell flat…even the enemy. I’m sad but will continue to search for a good, witchy book.
Emerson Wilde built the perfect life in the perfect town But when she’s attacked by creatures no one’s ever seen before she realizes her whole life has been a lie. St. Cyprian is a town full of witches and ten years ago, Emerson failed a test and was deemed “spell dim.” Then her memories were stripped. Now, Emerson must struggle to regain what she’s lost and fight a power that intends to destroy St. Cyprian.
What I’m about to type shouldn’t be construed to be about the above quote which is one of my favorite paragraphs in the book and, incidentally, not said by the main character (which is telling).
Girl, get off your soapbox! I consider myself a feminist and I’m fine at having a shout-out to feminism in my fiction, but Hazel-Beck took it a bit too far in this novel that I really, really wanted to love. What started out as cute and quirky became obnoxious several hundred pages in (or maybe sooner). I loved the idea of a magical town with witchy history but…Emerson got on my last nerve. Everything was all about her, to the extent that the other characters fell flat…even the enemy. I’m sad but will continue to search for a good, witchy book.
October 12, 2023
the synopsis promotes the book as a enemies to lovers romance between a bookstore owner and the mayor but really it’s just a friends to lovers between the bookstore owner and her high school friend/crush. that’s kinda annoying cus their romance sucked. also a lot of people say the main character sucked but actually i thought she was ok, it does have a lot of white feminism but i kinda thought it was whatever. the “big thing” they had to fight off was lame like the author couldn’t have came up with better? i liked the book though i thought the magic was fun and the friendships were so good. it had perfect fall vibes but it was also boring plot wise? like i think if it was shorter it would’ve been fine.
April 21, 2022
3.5 stars for me. I really liked a lot of things about this book - there’s a bit of Stars Hollow, CT (a la Gilmore Girls) but make it secretly magic with witches. I love a small town setting, and I really liked the very strong friend group/found family vibe in this.
My quibbles are - this seems to be a magic witch town with only white straight people, which is an odd move. Also, the amnesia plot is tricky; without spoiling, I just feel like there were some choices of convenience without realistic consequences taken by the author, which took me out of the story a little.
If you like a real-life contemporary setting but make it magic, this is a cute paranormal with a dash of romance (extremely off the page, 0% spicy if that matters to you). It is clearly set up for the next book - in fact, the ending is very “we’ve won this battle, but here comes more conflict right this second” - not a cliffhanger, but still definitely mid-action.
This would have a wide appeal to patrons in any public library setting.
My quibbles are - this seems to be a magic witch town with only white straight people, which is an odd move. Also, the amnesia plot is tricky; without spoiling, I just feel like there were some choices of convenience without realistic consequences taken by the author, which took me out of the story a little.
If you like a real-life contemporary setting but make it magic, this is a cute paranormal with a dash of romance (extremely off the page, 0% spicy if that matters to you). It is clearly set up for the next book - in fact, the ending is very “we’ve won this battle, but here comes more conflict right this second” - not a cliffhanger, but still definitely mid-action.
This would have a wide appeal to patrons in any public library setting.
September 4, 2022
I wanted to like this because it was witchy and magical…. But it was written like a tween drama and the main character Emerson was SO unbelievably unlikeable for me I almost made it a DNF. Then add that it was so obnoxiously over feminist to the point I wanted to scream “Jesus Christ we get it!!” constantly.
Definitely would not recommend. Probably one of the more annoying books I’ve come across in a long time
Definitely would not recommend. Probably one of the more annoying books I’ve come across in a long time
September 5, 2022
Leslie Knope in Stars Hollow, but make it witchy
October 21, 2022
this would have been 4 stars but then it went and shamed books with sex scenes so here we are
October 13, 2023
DNF: 60%
I wanted to like this one. I really did. A found family of diverse witches? Sign me up!
Let’s start with the pros.
The magic system was interesting, and I always love a hidden world.
I really enjoyed Ellowyn, one of the friends. She was snarky and blunt in a way the authors tried to make Emerson come across but failed. Plus being literally cursed was an interesting angle! I wish we’d gotten more of her, honestly.
Let’s start with our heroine. Emerson was a Girl Boss™ in the worst way. Top that off with obnoxious misandry and you’ve got what may just be the worse POV character I’ve read in awhile.
The love interest was bland, and the rest of the friend group felt incredibly one dimensional.
The final nail in the coffin was the first big intimate scene. It was a fade to black, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily. But acting like not going into detail was a girl power move? It felt very holier than thou when this book is advertised as a romance.
I honestly wish the authors had gone for just a straight forward fantasy novel. They clearly know a great deal about witchcraft, and I would have loved to see more. I just know if I have to read anymore of this my brain will melt.
I wanted to like this one. I really did. A found family of diverse witches? Sign me up!
Let’s start with the pros.
The magic system was interesting, and I always love a hidden world.
I really enjoyed Ellowyn, one of the friends. She was snarky and blunt in a way the authors tried to make Emerson come across but failed. Plus being literally cursed was an interesting angle! I wish we’d gotten more of her, honestly.
Let’s start with our heroine. Emerson was a Girl Boss™ in the worst way. Top that off with obnoxious misandry and you’ve got what may just be the worse POV character I’ve read in awhile.
The love interest was bland, and the rest of the friend group felt incredibly one dimensional.
The final nail in the coffin was the first big intimate scene. It was a fade to black, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily. But acting like not going into detail was a girl power move? It felt very holier than thou when this book is advertised as a romance.
I honestly wish the authors had gone for just a straight forward fantasy novel. They clearly know a great deal about witchcraft, and I would have loved to see more. I just know if I have to read anymore of this my brain will melt.
March 20, 2024
2/5
the girlboss from hell
the girlboss from hell
dnf
August 19, 2022I cannot finish. It reads like an early draft that hasn’t been polished yet. On top of that, it reads very YA as far as petty drama and giggling friends go. Pass.
January 9, 2023
TL;DR
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11/04/22 Update--
ebook reservation came in! It's more than 20 times that she talks about herself as a Warrior. Such as this gem:
That means she talks about herself being a Warrior [sic] more than once every 19 pages!! And that's not even considering all the times other characters talk about it too... Kill me.
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11/02/22 Update--
I have occasionally been coming back to this page to see the average rating drop. It was already down to 3.42 the day I read it, it's now 3.37.
Listen to the people, y'all. This book is NOT good.
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So I really like witchy books and small towns, especially at this time of year. I'm enough of a sucker for that tropethat I'll almost definitely read the sequel if I have the time. But this book was not good, sorry to say.
(That said, in all likeliness it'll come out and I'll decide it's too exhausting and I'm no longer interested.) The more I think about it, honestly the more I hate it.
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The Writing:
The writing is so juvenile that even though the main character is >30 years old, this is firmly on the low-end of YA. There's so little nuance or depth that the MC will repeat the exact same sentences/phrases/mantras over and over and over ad nauseum-- it's as if she either a) has so few thoughts that it's all she can think about, or b) the authors don't trust their audience. Whatever the case, it was fairly insufferable.
The... Good?:
The book at least starts at the right moment in the story and gets right into that storyline, so that was good. And there's a tight-knit group of friends at the center, also good (if fairly 2D and under-developed). They eventually get into some animal familiars, but they're so unimpactful (one of my fav tropes, too!!) that I can't even remember their species.
The Really Not Great:
Villain/s are poorly developed, romance is actually okay sometimes but nothing spectacular, plot meanders for a long time. This book takes heavy advantage of having a clueless MC who can ask lots of questions all the time so that other characters can just exposit all the world-building, backstory, relationships, etc. In defter hands the world-building would be fine and potentially even interesting.
Biggest Pet Peeve:
You're not allowed to forget for a second that the MC is a feminist. But in the most ra-ra! way imaginable. She's insufferable, and apparently notorious for going on mini feminism rants to her friends on a regular basis. It's entirely surface-level and triggered at the oddest moments, as if a child just learned about something and they're eager to talk about it and see it in everything.
Plea:
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease edit any sequels sooooo much harder. (Or better yet, just don't publish them.)
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11/04/22 Update--
ebook reservation came in! It's more than 20 times that she talks about herself as a Warrior. Such as this gem:
"More evidence that I'm a badass Warrior, I think smugly."Or this one:
Ch 9, pg 169 of 552 in the ebook
"And I might be a grown-ass woman. And a Warrior."Based on the search tool (which definitely didn't pick up all references since it missed one on 167) the first time she calls herself a Warrior is on page 163.
Ch 25, pg 465 of 552 in the ebook
That means she talks about herself being a Warrior [sic] more than once every 19 pages!! And that's not even considering all the times other characters talk about it too... Kill me.
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11/02/22 Update--
I have occasionally been coming back to this page to see the average rating drop. It was already down to 3.42 the day I read it, it's now 3.37.
Listen to the people, y'all. This book is NOT good.
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So I really like witchy books and small towns, especially at this time of year. I'm enough of a sucker for that trope
(That said, in all likeliness it'll come out and I'll decide it's too exhausting and I'm no longer interested.) The more I think about it, honestly the more I hate it.
--------------------------------------
The Writing:
The writing is so juvenile that even though the main character is >30 years old, this is firmly on the low-end of YA. There's so little nuance or depth that the MC will repeat the exact same sentences/phrases/mantras over and over and over ad nauseum-- it's as if she either a) has so few thoughts that it's all she can think about, or b) the authors don't trust their audience. Whatever the case, it was fairly insufferable.
The... Good?:
The book at least starts at the right moment in the story and gets right into that storyline, so that was good. And there's a tight-knit group of friends at the center, also good (if fairly 2D and under-developed). They eventually get into some animal familiars, but they're so unimpactful (one of my fav tropes, too!!) that I can't even remember their species.
The Really Not Great:
Villain/s are poorly developed, romance is actually okay sometimes but nothing spectacular, plot meanders for a long time. This book takes heavy advantage of having a clueless MC who can ask lots of questions all the time so that other characters can just exposit all the world-building, backstory, relationships, etc. In defter hands the world-building would be fine and potentially even interesting.
Biggest Pet Peeve:
You're not allowed to forget for a second that the MC is a feminist. But in the most ra-ra! way imaginable. She's insufferable, and apparently notorious for going on mini feminism rants to her friends on a regular basis. It's entirely surface-level and triggered at the oddest moments, as if a child just learned about something and they're eager to talk about it and see it in everything.
Plea:
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease edit any sequels sooooo much harder. (Or better yet, just don't publish them.)
November 7, 2022
Oh my gosh, this is one of the least likeable characters I've ever read. I normally quit books that bother me, but I felt compelled to finish it out. I was kind of hate-reading it, but also wondering if it would ever redeem itself. It's a decent magical premise, but I couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to buy that the main character had any friends at all, let alone good ones who stuck by her for ten years. She was like a right-wing caricature of a feminist, but she was really just a narcissist. The sex scenes seemed like they were written by someone who had never had sex. (They were off-page sex scenes, but they STILL managed to seem virginal.) The whole thing was repetitive and annoying and needed to be edited down by about 35%.
I truly don't know why I kept reading this instead of just quitting! But reading other people's awful reviews of the book has been pretty entertaining, so I guess it wasn't totally wasted time.
I truly don't know why I kept reading this instead of just quitting! But reading other people's awful reviews of the book has been pretty entertaining, so I guess it wasn't totally wasted time.
September 7, 2022
Dreadful. Not to be a bully but I don't think there's hope for these authors.
May 31, 2022
This new series by Hazel Beck sparkles with snark and wit. Emerson Wilde is confident, organized and a small town businesswoman with big plans--that is until they all unravel as she discovers her town isn't quite what it appears to be, and for that matter, neither is she. A fun opening into the Witchlore series, Hazel Beck gives us a cast of characters to cheer and love and enough magic and suspense to keep the pages turning. Looking forward to Book Two!
September 9, 2022
I wanted to like this one so much more than I did. The overall storyline was pretty good, but the main character was soooooo annoying and full of herself (and not at all in a badass woman kind of way, but in a petulant overgrown child way). I would have liked the story so much better if it was told from any of the other character's point of view instead. Also the author loved using italics, like way too much; was really distracting and unnecessary.
August 14, 2023
Oh boy. Where do I start?
Sorry, I know I shouldn't use the word boy or any words even remotely masculine while talking about this book because men are the absolute worse. Even the men that show up for us time and time again. They're just the worstttt.
And that is what you will read over and over again in this book.
I liked the premise of this book, a lot. An evil coven, a small town with a cozy book store, memory wipes, and strong brooding famers, all set in a romcom? All of that sounds interesting and right up my alley. I don't even mind the way the book was written, in a very informal conversational sort of way. Basically, the book reads like I talk. If you hate the way I write my reviews you will not like this book.
Back to the story. So there is all of the things that drew me into the book, but you have to slog through the thoughts of the FMC to get to the good stuff. And it is rough.
Emerson is like the "adult" Marnie Piper or even Monica Geller if she had magic. She finds out she has magic and rushes head first into it and the acceptance of it, even though she talks mad smack about "new age woo woo" and her roommate for using crystals. But its fine that she was judgmental in the past because now she knows better. Except she's judgmental about everything and everyone. At some point my highlights went from quotes that I thought were kinda cute and relatable, like yes I am a midwest girl that loves thunderstorms, to all of my highlights being "Wtf, this is awful."
There are gems like "It looks like a little charm, the kind fluffier women than I've ever been put on bracelets while wearing lots of pastels."
I mean, are you joking? Fat shaming in a book that wants to read like it's feminist.
Then there are all of the really great thoughts she has about her friends, like the friend that can't lie and how she can use her to her advantage. Or how all of her friends are too slow on the uptake, like usual, but with her guiding wisdom she will clearly be the leader they all need. Because she's the best at everything, of course.
Or, how her bf of barely a week is a huge pig because he dared tried to protect her when she asked for help, but don't worry y'all she will give him a stern talking to like he is a toddler and show him the error of his awfulness.
And then there's the way that she talks about romance readers, and yes this grinds my gears. "And I could tell you more. I could share every detail. I almost want to-but you know who I am by now. I'm not here for the objectification of women or men or the glorification of sensuality for consumer commodification." Idk. It comes off like they really want to shame the very audience that would pick up this book. I mean there are thousands of books that don't mention sex at all, it doesn't have to be added at all. But to add it and then shame the very genre that it's a part of?
I would have DNF this book but I paid real money for it so about halfway through I was just spite reading it, hoping it would get better. It got worse. If you truly hate men and romance, this would be the book for you. Just keep in mind there is both men and romance though.
Sorry, I know I shouldn't use the word boy or any words even remotely masculine while talking about this book because men are the absolute worse. Even the men that show up for us time and time again. They're just the worstttt.
And that is what you will read over and over again in this book.
I liked the premise of this book, a lot. An evil coven, a small town with a cozy book store, memory wipes, and strong brooding famers, all set in a romcom? All of that sounds interesting and right up my alley. I don't even mind the way the book was written, in a very informal conversational sort of way. Basically, the book reads like I talk. If you hate the way I write my reviews you will not like this book.
Back to the story. So there is all of the things that drew me into the book, but you have to slog through the thoughts of the FMC to get to the good stuff. And it is rough.
Emerson is like the "adult" Marnie Piper or even Monica Geller if she had magic. She finds out she has magic and rushes head first into it and the acceptance of it, even though she talks mad smack about "new age woo woo" and her roommate for using crystals. But its fine that she was judgmental in the past because now she knows better. Except she's judgmental about everything and everyone. At some point my highlights went from quotes that I thought were kinda cute and relatable, like yes I am a midwest girl that loves thunderstorms, to all of my highlights being "Wtf, this is awful."
There are gems like "It looks like a little charm, the kind fluffier women than I've ever been put on bracelets while wearing lots of pastels."
I mean, are you joking? Fat shaming in a book that wants to read like it's feminist.
Then there are all of the really great thoughts she has about her friends, like the friend that can't lie and how she can use her to her advantage. Or how all of her friends are too slow on the uptake, like usual, but with her guiding wisdom she will clearly be the leader they all need. Because she's the best at everything, of course.
Or, how her bf of barely a week is a huge pig because he dared tried to protect her when she asked for help, but don't worry y'all she will give him a stern talking to like he is a toddler and show him the error of his awfulness.
And then there's the way that she talks about romance readers, and yes this grinds my gears. "And I could tell you more. I could share every detail. I almost want to-but you know who I am by now. I'm not here for the objectification of women or men or the glorification of sensuality for consumer commodification." Idk. It comes off like they really want to shame the very audience that would pick up this book. I mean there are thousands of books that don't mention sex at all, it doesn't have to be added at all. But to add it and then shame the very genre that it's a part of?
I would have DNF this book but I paid real money for it so about halfway through I was just spite reading it, hoping it would get better. It got worse. If you truly hate men and romance, this would be the book for you. Just keep in mind there is both men and romance though.
September 11, 2022
Gilmore Girls townies meets The Good Witch meets Halloweentown II meets ???? This was too much and read very YA. The main character Emerson was so unlikeable, obnoxious, arrogant, irritating, "woke", anti-men, and very immature. She's 28 but sounds and acts very much 14 thinking she's grown. The petty drama was ridiculous to see.
The romance in this made little to no sense and could have saved a lot of time by being removed. It had next to nothing to do with the story, at all. Very closed door for those into that, but not written sweetly either. It just happens (also Emerson's first time) and it's simply just whatever. No connection felt between the characters in that moment to the reader. The only perk I saw in this scene was the fact that she was 28 and it was her first time, the TINY bit of rep for those in a similar situation, but it was ruined by the dialogue from Emerson!
Maybe if the ages were as reflected in their behavior and the romance was dialed down a tad and this was sold as a YA or older middle grade, it would be higher ranking.
Also someone gets turned into a weasel and its barely mentioned ever again, and the witches fly in a human town and no one notices???? I just...no.
The romance in this made little to no sense and could have saved a lot of time by being removed. It had next to nothing to do with the story, at all. Very closed door for those into that, but not written sweetly either. It just happens (also Emerson's first time) and it's simply just whatever. No connection felt between the characters in that moment to the reader. The only perk I saw in this scene was the fact that she was 28 and it was her first time, the TINY bit of rep for those in a similar situation, but it was ruined by the dialogue from Emerson!
Maybe if the ages were as reflected in their behavior and the romance was dialed down a tad and this was sold as a YA or older middle grade, it would be higher ranking.
Also someone gets turned into a weasel and its barely mentioned ever again, and the witches fly in a human town and no one notices???? I just...no.
December 7, 2022
I didn't really care for the MC Emerson, this kind of ruined the book for me.
The plot was decent, but I likely won't read the next book in the series.
The plot was decent, but I likely won't read the next book in the series.
October 26, 2022
This is more like a 2.5. The main character is absolutely atrocious and probably one of the most arrogant, self-centered, crazy feminist characters I’ve ever read. I mean I’m fine for feminism, but she was WAY too over the top and really just liked buzzwords and hating ALL men….. She gets a ~smidge~ better as it goes, but not really. The story itself was fine.
I had really high hopes but was mostly just disappointed by the insufferable main character.
I had really high hopes but was mostly just disappointed by the insufferable main character.
September 18, 2022
A humorous, small town, witchy rom-com with a cozy mystery feel--which for me is a plus. A very fun read!
September 11, 2022
I have…opinions.
The lore, world building, magic, the town, etc was well done and it had a lot of potential, but I could not stand Emerson.
If I have to read “I’m a Confluence Warrior” again I will yeet myself out the window.
Everything felt extremely cliche. The whole, “you’re the only one that can do it, you are part of this major prophecy, you have this EXTREMELY RARE power that you are all of a sudden very good at using” was really bugging me. Also what’s with the, nothing works for anyone EXCEPT the main protagonist trope?? Didn’t she just learn she was a witch? What made it worse, was Emerson being extremely self-righteous and holier than thou throughout the ENTIRE BOOK and I am very surprised her friends put up with her.
I usually love it when authors write about feminism through their main character(s) but Emerson made it much worse and MUCH more annoying. Like if any guy spoke with her or just said “hi” she’d respond with “I am an independent woman and your views are societal constructs” and take big offense to anything they say…UGH.
I’m not sure if it was me, but I was getting strong Hallmark channel vibes from this book; like one of those cheesy romance movies.
And I was not feeling the romance at all in this one. Jacob was just…there… He was sulky quiet guy that never opened up and was there for the show. I didn’t feel the emotions at all!
Overall, I appreciate the work the author put in this book (hell I couldn’t write a book if I tried) but this one was not for me.
The lore, world building, magic, the town, etc was well done and it had a lot of potential, but I could not stand Emerson.
If I have to read “I’m a Confluence Warrior” again I will yeet myself out the window.
Everything felt extremely cliche. The whole, “you’re the only one that can do it, you are part of this major prophecy, you have this EXTREMELY RARE power that you are all of a sudden very good at using” was really bugging me. Also what’s with the, nothing works for anyone EXCEPT the main protagonist trope?? Didn’t she just learn she was a witch? What made it worse, was Emerson being extremely self-righteous and holier than thou throughout the ENTIRE BOOK and I am very surprised her friends put up with her.
I usually love it when authors write about feminism through their main character(s) but Emerson made it much worse and MUCH more annoying. Like if any guy spoke with her or just said “hi” she’d respond with “I am an independent woman and your views are societal constructs” and take big offense to anything they say…UGH.
I’m not sure if it was me, but I was getting strong Hallmark channel vibes from this book; like one of those cheesy romance movies.
And I was not feeling the romance at all in this one. Jacob was just…there… He was sulky quiet guy that never opened up and was there for the show. I didn’t feel the emotions at all!
Overall, I appreciate the work the author put in this book (hell I couldn’t write a book if I tried) but this one was not for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2022
This was such a great debut!! Found family, small midwestern town charm, a spunky, independent FMC and lots of witchy vibes for spooky season!! Fans of books like The ex hex, In the shadow garden or The Fix-it witches series will fall in love with Emerson Wilde as she discovers the last ten years of her life have been a lie and she and her friends are in fact witches. Her town of St. Cyprian is actually a haven for witches but there's an evil lurking that Emerson will have to fight with the help her friends. Lots of action plus a great second chance romance, I can't wait to see where this series goes! Also what a STUNNING cover! I was immediately attracted for the cover alone and the book did not disappoint! Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! (This was also good on audio although I listened at 2x and found myself wishing I could speed it up a bit.)
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