Flippin' Pages Book Reviews

Series: Spellshop #3

Release Date: July 28, 2026

Mariner “Marin” is the captain of the supply ship “Silver” and has loved the sea for as long as she can remember. Her parents were sailors and when they retired, they helped her buy her own ship, going into debt to the sorcerer they hired to enchant the hold. Marin was sure she would be successful and could pay back the debt quickly, but when she is betrayed by her fiancé, and learns that her parents are in danger of losing their home, she is driven to save them and to never fall in love again! She sails between the Empire capital of Alyssium and the Crescent Islands with just a sea serpent named Perri for companionship – and she likes it that way. But after two years, she can admit she is a bit lonely and agrees to take on a crew member – a sentient wax myrtle named Ree. They set sail to Alyssium to look for work and are surprised to find the city ablaze! She and her shipmates head for the conservatory to check on their friend Daxicent “Dax” the musician, and against her better judgment agrees to ferry him and his friends to safety.

But when they arrive at the island, Dax asks to stay aboard when his friends disembark, Marin wants to refuse, but then has a thought, she asks him to stay and attend the festival on her parent’s home Island of Flicker, while pretending to be her boyfriend. He readily agrees, his life has been sheltered at the conservatory, and he is delighted to have new experiences and to spend time with Marin. He is working on his opus, to present at the winter solstice and to become a grand master at the conservatory. When the time comes, he plays the part of her boyfriend perfectly and Marin admits she might be falling for him, but bad news about her parents’ debt makes her harden her heart once more. Determined to earn the money she needs, they set out once again, but one trial after another makes any chance of a happy ending seem impossible and she refuses to let Dax give up on his dream, even if hers can never be.

I read the Enchanted Greenhouse and was delighted to discover that this story runs concurrently with that one and actually answers some lingering questions I had after that book. I loved Marin in that book and enjoyed the opportunity to really get to know her in this book. She tries to be a crusty old sailor but truly has a heart of gold and will do anything to help others, even at the cost of her own dreams. She is attracted to Dax, but past experience has made her heart-shy and unwilling to risk being hurt again – understandable, but she held on to that hurt a bit too long in my opinion. Dax is a gentle, kind soul who finds music in everything he sees, he is the perfect contrast to Marin. I was lucky enough to be granted advanced access to the audiobook and felt that the narrator Caitlin Davies did an amazing job of giving each character their own voice, it made an already great story even better. I loved the ending of this story and am looking forward to the next installment. I really don’t think you have to read the previous books to enjoy this story, but I do think reading them in order will enhance your reading experience.

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

Maggie and Arthur’s Magic Moment by Leslie René

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone (?)

Release Date: July 28, 2026

Dr. Magnolia “Maggie” Linden along with her best friend and fellow professor, Dr. Dahlia Hawberry goes to the Beltane Night celebration at nearby Brigs Beach. She had gone to the bonfire every year since she moved to Galloway and began teaching Linguistics & Incantation Translation at Hawthorn College, so she was expecting a night of dancing, drinking and fun – she never imagined she might meet someone while wearing an enchanted mask, but she does and has a magical night that ended with an amazing kiss with a man that thanks to the mask, she won’t remember and who’s name she doesn’t know. She tries to forget him, but can’t and Dahlia is determined to help her find him – but does she want to find him?

Before she can give too much thought about her mystery man, a bigger problem occurs, thanks to the college’s resident celebrity professor – Dr. Arthur Taliesin, the lead alchemist & director of labs at the college. A man she despites for cutting her budget and for being annoyingly handsome. Arthur was demonstrating a complicated spell to his students when he was distracted and the spell went awry, causing a magical pall to open on the third floor of the building. A pall that should have been easy enough to reverse, but for whatever reason is resistant to the dissipation spell. To make matters worse, the professors will now have to share offices, and Maggie learns that she will have to share hers with Arthur! They agree to work together to dissipate the pall, which leads to friendship and then more. But Maggie has been burned before and even though Arthur is nothing like her ex – she can’t risk her heart again.

What a fun read, Maggie and Arthur are such wonderful characters, and I felt their chemistry right away. I also enjoyed the magic system in this book, it was a bit more subtle than some of the books I have been reading lately, but it was definitely easier to understand. I appreciate that the author provided readers with a glossary of magical terms used throughout the book, making understanding the magic even easier. This book has a mashup of tropes – enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, secret identity, and temporary/conditional relationship. Mixing those tropes leads to this book offering readers an interesting magic system, amazing secondary characters, steamyish love scenes, witty banter, a bit of heartache, emotional healing, a pinch of spookiness, and the promise of happily ever after. The only thing that kept this from being a 5-star read for me was that I did feel that Maggie held on to her past a little too long and tended to make unfair assumptions about Arthur, but she does grow as a character and despite her flaws, I loved her! This book is so well written and flows so nicely that I was genuinely surprised to learn that this was a debut novel, and I hope this author has more stories to share!

4.5 stars

*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. *

View all my reviews

Share this:

Share this: