Review of Rewitched
I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood because of the covers (the US and UK versions are equally adorable, but as usual, I prefer the UK cover). I’m not always fortunate with enjoying new releases of which I don’t know much about but with Rewitched, I was fortunate.
As I seem to gravitate toward cozy fantasy more and more, I loved this adorable book. The stakes were actually bit higher than I expected but the inclusion of an older, grandfather-type character and a cozy bookshop setting helped balance out the intensity.
In Rewitched, we follow Belladonna Blackthorn, a young lady with magical powers who is on the precipice of her thirtieth birthday. Since coming into her magical talent when she turned 15, Belladonna hasn’t done anything extraordinary and hasn’t even really joined the witch community. Instead she has spent the last few years sharing a flat in London with her best friend (who has no idea the Beladonna is a witch), working at a beloved book store called Lunar Books, and visiting her hippie witchy mother frequently. Around her birthday, things seem to be going a bit awry: Lunar Books is being managed by the self-absorbed son of the owner and Belladonna receives a letter from her local coven stating the she needs to account for the last fifteen years of her life to determine whether she can keep her magic. Belladonna is shocked by this revelation but not enough to miss noticing the handsome man who delivers the magic letter to her.
I so enjoyed the slice of life descriptions of how Belladonna uses little spells in her apartment to make tea and at her bookshop to dust corners. And I also enjoyed the addition of the magical cemetery entrance to the coven’s base Hecate House, as well as the magic system in general. There are few minor plot holes and convenient plot devices, but overall the heart-warming coziness far outweighs any of them.
I can’t ever remember purchasing a debut novel that I’ve requested as an arc before Rewitched but I am eagerly anticipating its arrival to take a coveted spot on my shelves after it releases tomorrow.
