The Magic We Made by Meg Cabot

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. *

 

Eclipse of the Crown by A.K. Caggiano

Eclipse of the Crown (Villains & Virtues, #3)Eclipse of the Crown by A.K. Caggiano

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Villains & Virtues #3

Release Date: July 28, 2026

Blood Mage and evildoer, Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne is on a quest to release his father from his crystal prison, but his journey has been plagued with pitfall after pitfall, mostly thanks to his captive Lady Ammalie “Amma” Avington, a sweet and kind woman who carries a talisman he needs to free his father in her body and who is a bad (rather good) influence on him and someone he is definitely falling hard for. His latest detour is caused when he is summoned to YVLCoN (Yearly Villainous Ledgeration & Convergence of Nafariosity) which is basically a evil doer convention. He refuses to leave Amma alone, so brings her and is forced to pay a price to GOoD (Grand Order of Dread) to save her. He agrees to their demands and plans to leave the next day. But as usual, nothing will go as planned…

Amma is in love with Damien and while she originally wanted nothing more than to return home to Faebarrow, now she knows her home is where Damien is. She wants to help him free his father and hopefully be able to forge a life with him. But as usual, nothing goes right, but this time, Amma is not the one who needs saving, it is Damien who is abducted and Amma will do anything to save him. She will need help and her magic to finally end this quest, preferably with both of them surviving.

This book picks up where the second book ends and takes off immediately. The chemistry between Damien and Amma is even stronger in this book and they both begin to acknowledge their feelings, but there is much they need to accomplish before they can finally give in to those feelings. Their quest will reunite them with Xander, the Righteous Sentries, the Priestess Pippa as well as Damien’s former lover Delphine Delacroix. Their journey will be filled with prophecies, magic, abductions, mini goblins, dragons, secrets, revelations, laugh out loud moments, lots of sexual tension, an oracle, choices, death, reunions, imps, and finally an ending that is incredibly satisfying. This was by far my favorite book in the series, and I can’t wait to read the spinoff series! This is the third book in this series, and I would strongly recommend reading the books in order for the best reader experience.

*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. *