The Magic We Made by Meg Cabot

On By TracyIn Contemporary, Mystery, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

The Magic We Made (Witches of West Harbor, #2)The Magic We Made by Meg Cabot

Tracy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: Witches of West Harbor #2

Release Date: August 11, 2026

Frankie Giovanni is a therapist who relies on logic, science, and research, which makes her resistant to the idea of magic despite living in a town known for witchy tourism. Ash Merit, by contrast, accepts magic as part of his life and uses his ability to find lost people and things. Their relationship begins with misunderstanding and tension, especially because Frankie has formed strong assumptions about Ash before truly knowing him. Emma’s perspective adds another layer to the story, connecting the central romance to the mystery surrounding the missing girls in West Harbor.

This book is a mashup of small-town/witchy romance, and mystery as Frankie and Ash become involved in the search for missing teenage girls. Ash’s work as a finder brings him to West Harbor, while Frankie’s skepticism creates friction as strange events continue to unfold around them. The story moves between the developing connection between Frankie and Ash and the darker mystery tied to Emma and the other missing girls. As the investigation progresses, the book blends magical elements, a coastal town setting, and suspense-driven developments, while also revealing more about West Harbor’s supernatural side.

Overall, I liked the idea of the witchy setting and the missing-girls mystery, but I had a hard time staying connected to the story because I had not read the first book, even though this one is presented as a standalone. I also did not enjoy the multiple first-person POV structure, which made the story feel harder to follow. While there were parts of the premise that interested me, especially the mystery elements, the romance and pacing did not fully work for me, so this ended up being an okay but somewhat frustrating read.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

 

(Mostly) Human Resources by Grace Viall

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, Contemporary, Debut Novel, Horror, Mystery, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Romantasy, Thiller / Suspense, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

(Mostly) Human Resources (Entity Case Files, #1)(Mostly) Human Resources by Grace Viall

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Entity Case Files #1

Release Date: August 4, 2026

Alexys Keane works as a human resources manager for Entity, a company specializing in understanding, classification, conservation and management of cryptids. She is in charge of district 13, which is located primarily in the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia. She manages 4 wardens who investigate cryptid sightings in the field. So, when one of her wardens goes missing, she heads to West Virginia to find him. She arrives at the hotel where her warden Elliot Harman had been staying to learn that he left the previous day. She plans to follow him, when Nic Dyre, the head of Research and Cataloging for Entity and the most annoying (and good looking) man she has had the misfortune of working with shows up to “help”.

Nic Dyre feels a bit guilty, he had spoken to Elliot (unofficially) about rumors of sightings of the Hollow Walker, an ancient monster that has never been cataloged, Nic would love nothing more than to find the monster and be the youngest R&C manager to ever record an unknown monster, but he never intended for Elliot to go looking for the beast alone! When he learns that Elliot is missing and Alexys is going to look for him, he decides to tag along. But Alexys is not having it and tries to ditch him at every turn. Eventually, after a rather terrifying solo expedition into the woods, she agrees to work with him and what they find will be more than they ever could have imagined.

This book was 100% not what I was expecting, I read the blurb and thought it was going to be a sort of monster-infused low-key rom-com. And while there were monsters aplenty, there was nothing funny or romantic about this book. The book was more horror than romance, and I can only assume that Alexys and Nic will team up in future installments and presumably have some sort of romance, but it didn’t happen in this book. Overall, I liked the writing style and would consider reading the next installment.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *