Back of Book: 

Recently divorced and struggling with her magic, water witch Juniper comes to town for a family reunion. After a night out, she stumbles upon a fur coat abandoned on the rocks near the beach and takes it home for safekeeping. The next morning, a gorgeous younger man appears on her doorstep, saying he is her new husband.

Caspian never expected a witch to find and take his coat, but the moment he sees Juniper, he knows she’s the other half of his soul, his fated mate. She might be closed off and stubborn, but she doesn’t know selkie lore, and so Caspian convinces her that she has to keep him around at least for a while.

With the approaching family reunion, Juniper is overwhelmed with tasks for her family, and Caspian does everything he can to support her. He plans to win her over with romantic dinners and moonlit swims, but what he didn’t count on was an angry ex-husband who wants Juniper back.

Warning: This sweet and spicy novella contains a walking-green-flag selkie man, a witch rediscovering her power, a reverse age gap, and lots of flirting on the beach.

Book Number: One 

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

A spicy summery romance novella between a cynical sea witch and an outgoing selkie. 

Juniper is returning to Crescent Cove for a dreaded family reunion. Recently divorced and struggling to control her magic, Juniper knows her family is going to tear her apart. After a night on the town with a friend, Juniper stumbles across a beautiful fur coat and drunkenly decides that it is too precious to be left on the beach. Unbeknownst to her, the coat actually belongs to Caspian, a cheerful selkie who happened to be at the same bar she was. Upon first glance, Caspian knows that Juniper is his fated mate. Desperate to not scare her off, Caspian decides to concoct a story that whoever finds his coat becomes his wife. Now, Juniper must figure out how to get rid of Caspian before he inevitably breaks her heart again. 

When I first saw this multi-author series of marine shifter novellas on Instagram, I knew I had to get my hands on them. Aly Hollis was kind enough to send me an ARC of the first book in the series, and I seriously hope I can get my hands on the rest of them! 

I am always hit or miss on fated mates books, but I thought this one was really sweet. Juniper has been through so much pain in her life, and I really was rooting for Caspian to be able to protect and support her. It was a bit annoying that Caspian lied to her for the majority of this book, but I understand not wanting to scare Juniper away by immediately telling her that they are fated mates either. 

The cozy vibes of Crescent Cove are great. It is a seaside small town brimming with magical entities connected to the water. It was so fun meeting Caspian and his brothers, and I look forward to encountering more marine shifters in future installments of this series. 

Juniper's family are actually awful. Her mother, her sister Daphne, and her ex-husband Derek, are some of the worst characters I've come across. They treat Juniper like actual garbage and are the most hypocritical people I've ever seen. They made me so angry (especially because they forced so much unnecessary pain onto Juniper's shoulders), so it made me so happy to see Caspian stand up for her. 

For such a short read, this one is definitely pretty spicy. I think Juniper and Caspian are having shared wet dreams with one another by day two and the entire story happens over a course of like four days, so things certainly escalate fast. Caspian is such a gentleman about everything; he always makes sure to cook breakfast for her, help her with her boring errands, and take care of her when her evil family tries to bring her down. These two have electric chemistry from the get-go and Caspian knows that Juniper is his mate from day one, but he makes sure that Juniper is completely ready for anything that they do before engaging in any intimacy, which is just so sweet. He's a green flag selkie boy, even if he is incredibly horny. 

Overall, "Selkies and Spellcraft" was a short and sweet spicy novella that is perfect for summer beach reading. The vibes of Crescent Cove are so cozy, and I'm really looking forward to meeting more marine shifters in future books. Juniper and Caspian are so cute together, and the hurt/comfort vibes crafted in this one were done beautifully. The fated mates aspect causes the chemistry to be electric immediately, and it's no shock that physical intimacy comes within a few short days. This is my first taste of Hollis's work, and I must say, I'd be down for checking out more of their books. I look forward to reading future installments in the "Crescent Cove" series and absorbing all the cozy summer vibes! 

Back of Book: 

Marlowe Reilly comes from a long line of kelpies... wild, shape-shifting water horses with a taste for human flesh. She's been allowed to live in the magical town of Crescent Cove provisionally, as long as she can keep her bloodthirsty nature in check, which she manages in part thanks to the magical, mood-changing drinks served up at the Toast & Tide, a local diner.

Marlowe owns a riding stable where she provides a safe space for both rescued horses and traumatized humans. But her livelihood and her tenuous place in Crescent Cove are jeopardized when a member of the violent family she left behind comes looking for her. And when a grouchy, scruffily-handsome man takes over the diner, her usual coping mechanisms are disrupted.

Rick Thane considers himself an excellent brewer of emotive potions, and he's not sure why the beautiful owner of the riding stable won't trust his work. He starts trying to win her over, not realizing that the deeper he moves into her life, the more uncertain his fate becomes. Marlowe's human side might claim to hate him, but her kelpie side craves him in the most primal way, and giving in to that hunger even once could prove ruinous for them both.

This beachy paranormal romance novella is for fans of Gilmore Girls, Practical Magic, and Supernatural, all rolled into one, with a side of Celtic mythology.

Book Number: Two 

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: ? 

Back of Book: 

From author Fleur DeVillainy, author of Spellbound Scones and Sky of Thorns comes a new summer romance that will leave you laughing, swooning and flushed.

Welcome to Crescent Cove—where the sun shines, secrets linger, and every tide brings a little magic.

Catherine Prescott doesn’t believe in magic. Not anymore. Once a prodigy witch, now a burnt-out marketing exec, she’s traded spells for spreadsheets—until a sudden layoff leaves her with nothing but severance pay and an invitation to housesit her aunt’s beach cottage in Crescent Cove.

Her summer plans? Sunscreen, solitude, and maybe a little self-discovery.

Reality? A mischievous dog, a house full of enchanted junk, and a maddeningly handsome marine biologist who insists she’s “disrupting leyline energy.”

Elliot Fitzgerald is sunshine in human form—tanned, barefoot, and entirely too charming. He’s also a sea lion shifter sworn to protect the cove’s magic. When Cat accidentally stirs dormant power beneath the waves, he offers to teach her how to control it… if she agrees to stay close.

Now they’re fake-dating to throw off nosy locals, knee-deep in magical chaos, and discovering that the ocean isn’t the only thing with dangerous pull.

Witty, witchy, and warm as a summer sunset—Sunscreen and Spellbooks is a beachy paranormal rom-com about rediscovering your magic, finding where you belong, and falling in love under the tide.

Book Number: Three

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: ? 

Back of Book: 

Welcome to Crescent Cove!

A hidden witchy town by the seaside, where you can find magical creatures of all kinds. Join our authors for eight charming shifter romantic comedies that range from sweet to extra spicy.

Tempest, a storm witch, has never quite fit in anywhere. Her family of green witches can't handle her big emotions and solitary nature. She lives alone in a ramshackle cottage on the beach, spending her days working as a marine life rescuer, where she can use her storm magic to influence nature and help others. She might be alone, but she isn't lonely.

Reed, a young merman trying to help his family adapt to the changing seas. Between global warming, rising sea levels, advancing technology, and over-fishing, it's becoming evident that the merfolk can't continue the way they always have. He must seek help and supplies from the nearby magical town of Crescent Cove. But he never saw Tempest coming.

A swoony romantic comedy about finding love by the ocean in the midst of a storm.

Book Number: Four

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: ? 

Back of Book: 

Kara thought running would be the hard part. Turns out, staying hidden might be worse.

After stealing a magical pearl and escaping the dangerous grip of a man who once controlled her life, Kara finds refuge in Crescent Cove—a hidden seaside town where magic isn’t just real, it’s required. Selkies, sea witches, and shapeshifters fill its streets, and somehow, she’s managed to slip among them with nothing but a carefully crafted lie, a borrowed charm, and a poker face strong enough to keep anyone from looking too closely.

Now she has a crumbling cliffside cottage, a tenuous cover story, and fear that still lingers just beneath the surface. But for the first time in years, she has something else, too.

Freedom.

When whispers lead her to an octopus shifter known for his ability to take stress away with a single touch, Kara finds herself standing at the door of Crescent Cove’s infamous Suction and Serenity Spa. Maybe this is where she can finally start over, where she can learn to let go of everything she’s been carrying for far too long.

But the longer she stays, the harder it becomes to keep up the lie. And the closer she comes to letting someone see who she really is, the more dangerous the truth becomes.

Octavius doesn’t just take away stress with his tentacles, he feels it. Every emotion, every hidden piece people try to bury. And from the moment Kara walks through his door, he knows she’s hiding something. What starts as curiosity quickly becomes something deeper, a need to understand her and uncover what or who she’s running from.

But somewhere along the way, that need begins to change. The more Octavius learns about Kara, the less her past matters as his focus shifts to her present and to the future he can’t stop imagining with her. A creature who has always preferred solitude now finds himself craving her presence.

As secrets begin to unravel and lies give way to trust, something else begins to shift the tide: a feeling Octavius never thought he could feel—love.

Tentacles and Tides tells a whimsical tale of seaside magic, second chances, and a love as deep and untamed as the ocean itself.

Book Number: Five

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: ? 

Back of Book: 

I bought a cursed seashell and now it won't stop telling the hot bartender my deepest secrets.

My name is Freddie, and I write love stories for a living.

Not that you'd know it lately. I haven't published in a year, my agent sends me smiley-face texts that feel like threats, and the only thing I've written recently is a grocery list that made me cry. So, of course, I ran away to a beach for inspiration.

The plan did not include a cursed seashell.

It definitely did not include the broody, silver-haired bartender who hasn't felt a single emotion in six years—because his ex (a sea witch, as he so casually mentions) literally ripped his heart out and sealed it in a shell.

A shell that I bought. From a shop. For six dollars.

Now it won't leave my pocket. I've tried everything. Setting it down? Back in my pocket. Throwing it in the ocean? Back in my pocket. Wearing a dress with no pockets? The beautiful, damned thing appeared in my hand.

And it screams my thoughts out loud. Every unfiltered, mortifying, wildly inappropriate thought I have is broadcast at full volume. Even to the bartender that the shell informs I like the tattoos on his delicious forearms.

My name is Freddie. I write love stories for a living. I just never expected to find one inside a seashell.

A romantic comedy with swoony, beach vibes that explores learning to love after suffering a broken heart.

This summer, escape to the magical coastal town of Crescent Cove. This multi-author collection of beachy interconnected novellas is full of sun-soaked supernatural romance and sassy characters.

Book Number: Six

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: ? 

Back of Book: 

Selena Torres could have gone pro. Should have, according to everyone who's ever watched her dominate a beach volleyball court. Instead, she stayed in Crescent Cove, running her beachside snack shack, casting small spells to heal injured seagulls, and organizing the annual volleyball tournament that keeps the town’s sea turtle sanctuary afloat. She tells herself she’s exactly where she needs to be. Usually, she even believes it.

Then Chase “El Tiburon” Perez crashes into her life—literally stumbling through her midnight beach ritual.

A Pro surfer and tiger shark shifter, he's living the dream she walked away from. He's everything Selena resents: famous, arrogant…and free. Worse, his massive RipTide Energy drink-sponsored surf competition just claimed HER beach on the same weekend as her tournament. The tournament she's organized for five years. The one perfectly aligned with the moon and the tides to help protect their magical town and its precious wildlife. The tournament that proves she made the right choice staying home.

But Chase isn't the carefree celebrity she expected. He's hiding from sponsors who want him to be something he's not, drawn to this quirky beach town by instincts he can't explain, and oddly fascinated by the local woman who keeps accidentally making tiny sand tornadoes when she's annoyed. Also, he's pretty sure she's somehow convincing the seagulls to steal his protein bars, though that sounds insane even to a guy who turns into a shark.

As their beach battle escalates, Selena realizes Chase sees right through her—including the parts that wonders what life would've been like if she’d followed her volleyball dreams. Meanwhile, every one of Chase’s dolphin shifter teammates seems obsessed with pushing them together, and even Selena’s most ornery seagulls are growing attached to her bleached blonde foe.

When corporate greed threatens the very waters they both love, Selena and Chase must decide what's worth saving—and whether a beach witch who chose to stay and a shark shifter who's never stopped swimming might actually be exactly what each other needs.

A paranormal romantic comedy about second chances, first loves, and finding home where you least expect it.

Book Number: Seven

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: ? 

Back of Book: 

From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the House of Night and Towerfall series comes a sun-soaked, high-heat summer romance full of fake flirting, small-town rivalry, and an ordinary woman who never meant to fall for the fox shifter she’s pretending to seduce.

Lila Hart has one goal this festival season: win.

Win the Frosting Queen title, beat her lifelong rival, Candi, once and for all, and finally prove she belongs in a town where everyone else seems a little more magickal. The plan is simple—bake and decorate the perfect cupcakes, charm the judges, and keep her focus. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Until the tie-breaking judge turns out to be tall, highly sought after, and shifter-god-level gorgeous.

Max Lark is new to town and determined to make it his home. He signs up for everything—beach volleyball, pier cleanup days, even judging the annual Frosting Queen contest—and quickly becomes the man everyone wants on their team. The last thing he expects is a gorgeously curvy, frosting-smudged woman who talks too fast and tries too hard to end up on his doorstep.

Lila wants his vote—no matter what it takes to get it.

Candi is determined to outshine her.

And Max is trying very hard to remember he’s supposed to stay impartial.

Between hand-delivered goodie baskets and late-night taste tests, Lila’s carefully planned seduction strategy starts to feel a little too real. The more she plays her own game, the more she risks her heart on the fox shifter with every reason to choose someone more magickal.

One fox. One human. And one summer that proves magick isn’t the only thing that makes sparks fly.

Book Number: Eight (Last Book) 

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: ?