Category: Romantasy

Enchanted Village by Lily Starling

On By TracyIn Christmas, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Cozy Fantasy, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Romantasy, Standalone Title, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Enchanted VillageEnchanted Village by Lily Starling

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: October 20, 2026

Silas Birchwood comes to the enchanted village of Hex Hollow to teach non-magical science at Emberwind Academy, where his uncle is the headmaster. Unlike his uncle and the students of the academy, Silas is not magical and is in awe of the magic that most residents take for granted. He is in the village when he meets Miss Margaret Nettle, the owner of the Toasty Owl Pub and he is immediately smitten. He hopes to pursue her, but when he visits her pub and attempts to flirt, he is attacked by her dragon and her pub is damaged, and the timing couldn’t be worse, as a new bar is set to open in a few weeks which could threaten her business and break her heart. Silas tries his best to help repair the damage, but as hard as he tries, she seems intent on keeping him at an arm’s length.

Margaret Nettle owns the Toasty Owl pub and is the last of her line. Despite coming from an impressive magical family, Margaret has no magic of her own. She has kept the pub running by leaving everything her mother and grandmother created unchanged—not only to preserve their magical charms, but also to keep their memories alive. Margaret makes both alcoholic and non-alcoholic magical drinks with ingredients from the enchanted garden planted by her grandmother. She fiercely guards the secrets of both the garden and her recipes. She also seems to have a special gift for interacting with magical creatures, which the villagers readily call upon whenever a problem arises. Although Margaret is always willing to help others, she struggles to accept help herself—even from her best friend, Liza, a very talented witch, or from Silas, the handsome professor. When a new bar threatens to drive the Toasty Owl out of business, however, Margaret must learn to rely on others and perhaps even believe that she has had her own magic all along.

This book was exactly what I was hoping for, it is a well-written, charming and magical cozy fantasy with a dash of slow burn romance. Margaret is a sweet young woman who has long carried the shame of not being magical yet has never given up trying to keep her family’s legacy alive, but it has come with a steep price. And Silas is just about perfect, he is intelligent, caring and never gives up on Margaret, even when she seems to be trying to push him away. The book is filled with magic, found family, good friends, secrets, mythical creatures, dragons, warmish love scenes, a little heartache, betrayal and finally a very sweet and happy ending. This is presented as a standalone title, but I certainly hope that Ms. Starling has plans to return to Hex Hollow!

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

 

Wild Wicked Mate by Laurie Gilmore

On By TracyIn Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Romantasy, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Wild Wicked Mate by Laurie Gilmore

Tracy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Maple Hollow #2

Release Date: October 20, 2026

Pheobe and has been in love with Theo forever, they met ten years ago and have been best friends ever since. That is as far as their relationship has gone, despite their mutual attraction and flirting. The primary problem is Phoebe is a wood nymph, and Theo is a werewolf, but a year ago, when Theo was pitted against his brothers in a fight to be the next alpha of the pack, everything changed. Theo had made certain declarations to Pheobe, making her believe they could have a future together, but when he started to heal from the injuries he sustained in the fight, he broke her heart and left. Now they are reunited and working together to find the missing sister of his brother Rafe’s mate. But any hope of finally getting together is in jeopardy when Pheobe is convinced to keep a secret from Theo.

Theo has loved Pheobe for years, but as a werewolf, he couldn’t claim a wood nymph as his mate as long as his father was the alpha of the pack, so he snuck off to see her, but never let their relationship progress beyond friendship and harmless flirting. But when his father’s health started to fail, he and his brothers were forced to fight each other to be named as the next alpha, a position Theo didn’t want but had no choice in the matter. When he was grievously injured and leaves his pack; he turned to Pheobe in his hour of need. In his delirium, he let his feelings slip and ended up breaking her heart when he left. But now they have been reunited, and Pheobe seemed to have moved on, so they are able to resume their friendship. But it will never be enough for either of them, and just when he thinks they might have a future together, she betrays his trust and shatters his heart.

When I requested this title, I didn’t realize this was the second book in an interconnected series, and I think that not having read the first book might have skewed my opinion of this book as this was a very character driven story with deeply established relationships. And I was intrigued by the relationship between Pheobe and Theo, but I didn’t really understand the friendship they had, even though the author did provide a lot of flashbacks, I didn’t feel a deep friendship, it seemed more like simmering lust that had been denied. The story has a friends-to-lovers trope, combined with found family, fated mates, secrets, long-denied love, forgiveness, forced proximity, spicy love scenes and a happy ever after that segues nicely into the next book. Overall, I was underwhelmed by this story, it seemed to drag and since their relationship was fully established, I didn’t feel like I really got to know or understand them. Maybe if I had read the previous book, I would have felt differently and enjoyed the book better. So, to that end, I would highly recommend reading the series in order for the best reader experience.

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

View all my reviews