Back of Book: 

A desperate witch inheriting a tea shop, a famous bard needing a break, and the fake-dating scheme that could help them both.

After years of getting bitten, scratched, and burned at her father’s magical creature shop, Emma Thorne is ready for a new job. She doesn’t expect to inherit a sentient shop that makes tea—and love matches.

The only problem? The mystical shop refuses to accept Emma as its owner until she shows interest in love, something she doesn’t want, not when it might mean losing her independence. Enter Riven Shiu: famous bard and Emma’s childhood friend. Desperate for a break from the women constantly fawning over him, he strikes a deal with Emma.

They’ll fake a relationship and solve each other’s problems. Emma will earn the tea shop’s trust, and Riven will get some much-needed respite from his more enthusiastic fans.

But between the romantic outings, hot tea, and growing tension, Emma is beginning to wonder if this pretend relationship might be more real than she ever expected.

The coziness and low-stakes fantasy of Legends & Lattes meets the romance of Bridgerton in Magic & Matchmaking, a friends-to-lovers novella featuring a tea shop with an attitude problem, a snarky miniature dragon, and all the cottagecore vibes. 

Book Number: 0.5 (Prequel) 

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A fake dating cozy romance novella featuring a sentient tea shop, a sassy pocket dragon, and a handsome bard. 

Emma Thorne has spent years working as her father's assistant in his magical creature emporium. She is quite frankly fed up with bathing invisible cats, getting clawed by griffins, and scorched by ill-behaving dragons. When out of the blue an eccentric witch that runs the magical tea shop across the street offers Emma the chance to run her shop, Emma desperately takes it. After accepting the offer, Emma finds herself as the new owner of Steeped in Love. Unfortunately, things get more complicated when the sentient tea shop decides its hates how single she is and Emma finds herself forced to fake date her childhood best friend, Riven, who also happens to be a famous bard. As the two start faking a relationship, they both start to realize that it's harder to suppress the feelings from their youth that they have been avoiding for over a decade. . . 

I was hooked by everything in this story. Not only is Harlowe a powerfully emotional writer, but she pens humorous scenes with such ease. I found myself laughing aloud, tearing up, and relating immensely to the experiences that Emma is going through. For such a short read, this one packed a great punch! 

I found Emma quite easy to connect with. She finds herself stuck in a mundane life, helping her father run his business and making sure that he takes care of himself. She used to have dreams to travel with her best friend, Riven, but things have since changed since her father's health has deteriorated. She fears getting out of her comfort zone, pursuing her dreams, and letting her father down, which causes her to remain stuck in the same, unhappy position. 

I am at a point in my life where I have to decide if I want to move in with my longtime boyfriend or stay in my hometown with my family. There is so much doubt and uncertainty that comes with making a decision such as this, but also such freedom and chances to seize new opportunities. Emma's story resonates deeply with me due to the fact that she has to be brave enough to seize her happiness, even if it means facing great change. I find this to be super inspiring, and I admire how she learns to balance her love for her father and for her newfound lover Riven. 

Riven's character isn't nearly as in depth as Emma's, but I still find him pretty neat. He's a famous bard (the medieval equivalent to a rockstar is quite comical to think about), which is an interesting career to follow. He has achieved most anything he could dream up, but he finds his life unfulfilled. Riven still struggles with keeping his longtime crush at bay for his childhood best friend. It is absolutely adorable that he feels so drawn to Emma that he returns to his hometown in the hopes that he will see her again. 

The rest of the cast of characters are quite eccentric in the best way. Herman is a sassy dragon who isn't afraid to speak his mind and insults Emma quite frequently. Draven is the grumpy bar tender who happens to mesh quite well with Riven's optimistic vibes. Monty, the original owner of the tea shop, is a kindly lady who is also a bit nuts. And the tea shop itself? Iconic. It's just casually chucking plates left and right and expecting everyone to love it. 

I am an absolute sucker for the childhood best friends to lovers trope. The history that two friends who have known each other for more than two decades is extremely potent and I can't deny that Emma and Riven's chemistry was instantly recognizable. The way that fake dating was handled in this novella is also my favorite usage of fake dating (i.e. two people who are both crushing on each other agree to fake date for various reasons, but in reality, they just want to kiss each other but are too shy to say so). The usage of these two tropes in tandem made for a very enjoyable romance read. Also, the sex scenes were fire due to the long pent-up energy they had from pining for each other for over a decade. 

Overall, "Magic & Matchmaking" is a splendid introduction to the "Moonflower Witches" series. For a novella, I was quite moved, and I found myself so attached to Emma in just a few pages. The characters are such a fun crew, and I hope that many of them show up in the future installments in this series. This novella is a powerful introduction to Harlowe's work that I can't recommend enough. I'm grateful that I've somehow found myself on her street team and that I will be getting ARC copies of all of the books in this series! 

Back of Book: 

Witch hates warlock.

Warlock hates witch.

Warlock falls for witch.

. . .Things get very, very complicated.

Elspeth Moonflower just wants to cast a spell. Unfortunately, that’s impossible due to a curse her grandmother cast that forces every witch in her family to marry before using magic. As a result, Elspeth and her sisters are outcasts, helping their mother run her traveling apothecary shop—while she complains that her daughters are all magicless spinsters.

When their cart breaks down and strands them in the charming village of Thistlegrove, Elspeth’s older sister meets a handsome warlock who’s smitten. If only the warlock’s best friend wasn’t completely insufferable. Draven Darkstone is broody, arrogant, wealthy—a perfect example of why Elspeth never wants to marry. But for the sake of her sister, she needs to be nice.

Which is hard when all Draven does is glower at her. It’s even harder when the glowering turns to longing glances. It’s downright impossible when he kisses her.

Little does Elspeth know, the line between love and hate just got thinner.

The low-stakes fantasy of Legends and Lattes meets the romance of Bridgerton in Potions & Prejudice, a spicy cozy fantasy romance with a grumpy sentient cottage, an anxious miniature dragon, and all the cottagecore vibes.

Book Number: One 

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A "Pride and Prejudice" inspired fantasy starring a spunky magicless family of witches and a grumpy tavern owner. 

Elspeth Moonflower will do anything to keep her family safe. In a world where living in the Witchlands without magic is illegal, the Moonflower sisters have been on the run ever since their grandmother accidently cursed them on her deathbed. Working as traveling apothecaries, the Moonflowers never stay in one place for long. That is, until their cart breaks down outside the cozy village of Thistlegrove. With no other choice now that their magical wagon is out of commission, Elspeth reluctantly agrees to stay in the town for the time being. She didn't expect that she'd keep running into Draven Darkstone, the broody tavern owner who seems to plague her very existence. When witch meets warlock, vehement hatred forms. . . but sparks also begin to fly. 

I loved the prequel "Magic & Matchmaking," so I was beyond excited to return to Thistlegrove and be reunited with the spunky townspeople. Much like the first book, there is a grouchy sentient cottage that the Moonflowers have to learn to tame, the romance is spicy and sweet, and Morty is once again back to her matchmaking schemes. 

Elspeth and Draven are such an amazing couple. I liked Draven in the prequel, so I was stoked to learn that this story followed his HEA. He's just as grumpy as ever, but we get to see such a sweet and caring side of him when he is with his sister, Georgie, and his lover, Elspeth. I didn't think I'd love Elspeth as much as I do due to her overbearing mannerism and her need to control everything, but she grew on me rather quickly. I don't adore them as much as Riven and Emma, but I still love them immensely. Their chemistry is strong, but not my absolute favorite when it came to the physical scenes. 

Seeing the Moonflower siblings interact with one another was one of my favorite parts of this book. Despite their being four sisters, I never once confused them or questioned why one of them existed. Elspeth, Adelaide, Auggie, and Prue are all iconic in their own right and the sisterly bickering that occurs between them is so realistic but filled with so much care. I can't wait to see all of their happily ever afters play out in the next books in this series. 

Elspeth and Draven have both dealt with their fair share of grief and betrayal. Elspeth's father abandoned her family after they lost their magic, which is so devasting but seems to happen time and time again in fantastical societies. Draven's parents both passed away during a terrible magical accident, which has left him as sole caretaker of his little sister. Draven and Elspeth both fall into the role of protective older siblings, which gave them very powerful common ground. 

This story actually had way more similarities to "Pride and Prejudice" than I expected. There is a ball scene, one of the Moonflowers sisters fall ill forcing Elspeth to go to Draven's manor when a dangerous storm happens, and the Elizabeth vs Darcy vibes are strong. I thought this was going to be very loosely inspired by Jane Austen's work, so I am glad to report that this one is a stronger retelling than I initially thought. 

Before I go, I have to mention Edgar, Herman's scaredy cat brother who is a notorious worrywart. He is a completely different talking dragon than his brother, but he is just as entertaining to read about. Plus, I relate to Edgar way more. I'm excited to see what personalities the rest of their siblings have and what adventures they will all have throughout the remainder of the series.

Overall, "Potions & Prejudice" was a great way to launch the "Moonflower Witches" romance series.  Elspeth and Draven are both stellar main characters, and the residents of Thistlegrove are iconic as ever. I can tell that this series is a spicy cozy romantasy that will bring comfort to many people. I look forward to reading all the future installments in the series and getting to know everyone in Thistlegrove ever more. I love Elspeth, Adelaide, Auggie, and Prue all in turn, so I am so excited to discover each of their happily ever afters over time. 

Back of Book: 

A witch who enters a magical bake off.

The judge who happens to be her ex.

And the forbidden romance heating up more than just the kitchen.

When the famous Enchanted Bake Off comes to Adelaide Moonflower’s village, she’s elated to be chosen as a contestant and prove to her concerned sisters she’s thriving after getting her heart broken.

Until she realizes one of the judges is none other than Elm Kingsley: gorgeous, charming, talented—and the werewolf who broke her heart when he up and disappeared without a word.

There’s a thousand reasons why Adelaide should avoid Elm, including that he’s keeping secrets about why he left. But more importantly, it could jeopardize her place in the competition.

Elm seems just as determined to stay away from her—if only they didn’t have to stay in the same inn... with rooms right next to each other.

All Adelaide has to do is win this competition while ignoring Elm’s piercing gaze, his intoxicating presence, his infectious smile—while not falling for him all over again.

Easy, right?

Sense and Sensibility meets spicy fantasy romance in Sense & Scentability, a cozy, witchy tale with a Paul Hollywood-inspired minotaur, a pocket-sized dragon with no filter, and magical baking.

Book Number: Two

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: ?