Bewitched by Laura Thalassa
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Bewitched
Bewitched is the first book in this romantasy read. This one is a world full of witches and magic. The author did a good job writing this one and all of the characters in this were interesting. I look forward to reading another book from this author. Overall, I enjoyed this one and would recommend it to any reader who likes fantasy or romantasy.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
MEMNON THE MAN THAT YOU ARE.
Bewitched follows Selene, a young witch whose powers cost a high price- her memories. She awakens an ancient king who is convinced she is the love of his life, Roxilana. Unfortunately for Selene, Roxilana betrayed the King and he is set on exacting his revenge. The witchy, dark academia vibes set the atmosphere perfectly. The slow burn between our FMC and MMC was done exceedingly well, and instead of finding it irritating (which is my own problem) it sucked me in even more and I was hooked. It was an easy to follow, enjoyable story with a unique magic system, and it completely consumed my life during the time it took me to read. Laura Thalassa, you continue to keep me in a chokehold. Read this book if you like: Enemies to lovers A possessive, morally grey MMC Second chances Sorcerers, witches & werewolves Touch her and die **Thank you to Sourcebook, Bloom Books, Laura Thalassa and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review**
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Memnon's Deviousness Deserves Some Groveling!
🐈⬛I was excited to read Bewitched, especially because I love Laura's Bargainer and the Four Horsemen series. I fleshed out my original IG review below to help you decide if it's for you – 🗡️Does Memnon deserve any k!cks? Me: One for every second he blackm@ils Selene. 🗡️Bewitched's best part is... Me: Nero, 🐈⬛ panther – he's devoted to Selene and has a love-hate relationship with Memnon. Also, the enemies-to-lovers, coupled with Selene resurrecting Memnon is 🔥. 🗡️My Extended Review: 🐈⬛Plotline – Selene awakens Memnon from an over thousand-year-old sleep as she aims to join Henbane Coven. Too bad, Memnon imagines up nefarious plans for her. 🐈⬛(Pacing) – What I loved about Bewitched is the numerous actions taking place. You have Selene and Memnon h@te-loving each other; witches dying; Selene losing memories; and alleged to be involved in m^rder. I loved that this wasn't the typical romance-only story, where everything done is to make the female character look amazing. *big side-eye to Twilight* 🐈⬛(Historical Relevance) – The connection that Selene and Memnon have, which goes into the Roman empire, unfolds as Memnon's blue magic infiltrates Selene's spaces. It makes you wonder if he is the real k!ller and if he's out to remove Selene next. This reference to the Roman aspects was both a winning and confusing part for me. I have had to study bits and pieces of the Roman empire for research, and I had questions about how it filtered into the story. The good news is that Laura does explain and flesh it out incredibly well in Book 2. The bad news is that you need to stay and wait for it. Also, I do wish that the concept of emperor-ship had been explained. A lot of reviews complain about Memnon's behavior, but he is true to the "Roman emperor" form...If you don't like it, I'm sorry, but that was how behavior was construed back then. 🐈⬛This is why I think Nero saved the day in this novel. He is the cutest familiar and has a personality more multidimensional than most of the witches around Selene. He also isn't "just" a familiar, but points Selene to major clues and helps her come out of her shell. Also, what a fierce MAJESTIC BLACK CAT. *laughs at Merlin, our black cat, because he wishes he was Nero* 🐈⬛(Character & Romance) – I seem to have exhibited some level of disdain for Memnon, but I will note that he is not as monstrous as he seems. He brings a breath of fresh air to Selene's seriousness. Where Selene is scribbling in her notebooks to preserve her memory of that event, Memnon tells her she can remember it only if she chooses to accept him. 🐈⬛Again, many people didn't like Memnon's methods but they are relatively calm, in reference to what emperors were doing back at the height of the Roman empire. This is why I think it is brilliant and dangerous to bring in history because you also need to "contemporize" it somewhat. Memnon adapts pretty quickly to our modern day standard but his behavior, conveniently, does not. Of course, he is still considered incredibly sexy, but again, would have been nice to have seen the explanation. 🐈⬛I will note, however that he is the ice to Selene's fire, and they, together with Nero, balance out one another. You are wondering how I came to this conclusion? Well, I do think that their past and present interweave to create a bewitching love story. This is the first book in the series so I'm giving it leeway to improve (and it does, given I have read Book 2 now). 🐈⬛Selene and Memnon's bl0od sizzles for one another as the m^rders rise – and the dreams intensify. This is one of my favorite series. But, please, bear in mind – you may be disappointed if you are bringing modern-day feminism standards to Memnon without realizing what masculinity was at the height of the Roman empire.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Intriguing witchy fantasy
Looking for a thrilling book that you won't want to put down? Look no further than this must-read novel! With a fast-paced plot and unexpected twists, you'll be left guessing until the very end. And the best news? The sequel, Bespelled, is set to release on May 24, 2024 - so you won't have to wait long to continue the story. Follow Selene, a determined witch on a magical quest and to find her familiar, a panther, in South America. Along the way, she uncovers a tomb and awakens the cursed Memnon - who also happens to be her soulmate. But Selene has a problem: whenever she uses magic, she loses her memories. Once she's accepted into the Henbane Coven, strange things start happening - murder, memory loss, and dark magic abound. This fast-paced novel will leave you on the edge of your seat. Selene is a strong and resourceful character who always stands up for the innocent. I was particularly impressed by her system of recording her memories so that she can access them later, even when she's lost them due to magic. And the final chapters leave you with tantalizing questions that I can't wait to see answered in the next book. Don't miss out on this spellbinding read! Thank you to NetGalley, Bloom Books and the author for the gifted e-book.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Stockholm Syndrome
I bought this about a week ago and went through it pretty quickly. The book had a decent start and a building middle that had a proper touch of romance, but everything was slightly ‘off’ about this type of romance. The male lead, Memnon, is absolutely insane— which would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that this was labeled as a romance. He’s manipulative, angry, vengeful, and straight out abusive. The addition of the soul mate bond screams Stockholm syndrome and is used in a very twisted and corrupt way. It also leads to the vibes of everything happening between the characters to be dubious consent and borders on non-consensual. Overall, if you’re looking for a romance book or series that doesn’t have themes of dubious consent or abuse, skip this. The writing itself was good, but I definitely returned my copy after I finished it.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Bewitching like its namesake!
“Bewitched” is told from the perspective of Selene Bowers, a witch whose dream is to be accepted into Henbane Coven. To gain admittance, she arranges to go on a quest in South America. Only, before she gets there her plane is torn from the sky by ancient magic. Sacrificing her memories to awaken her powers, Selene survives the crash and seeks out the source of the attack. In the process, she sets free Memnon the Cursed, an evil sorcerer who believes that Selene is his wife and worse, that she was the one who betrayed him. Like her other works, Thalassa takes her time crafting her world. “Bewitched” mainly takes place in Northern California. Though the region is populated by humans, lycanthropes, mages, and sorcerers, we specifically learn how about witches enrolled at Henbane Coven. Through Selene, Thalassa beautifully captures identifying markers to witch magic on the page by describing unique color hues. She also incorporates rhyme and a language of her own creation to demonstrate how words add to the potency of a spell. The ancient language Selene draws power from throughout the novel is Sarmatian, the language of Memnon’s people and interestingly enough, a real nomadic tribe. I appreciated how Thalassa made efforts to preserve bits of Sarmatian culture through Memnon’s character. Selene’s power being at her strongest whenever she speaks Memnon’s native tongue speaks volumes about their connection. The longer Selene spent in the Sarmatian warrior’s presence, the harder it was to resist his charm. I too was won over by his persistence until his need to settle the score put Selene’s well-being at risk at the novel’s end. I look forward to seeing how he plans to make amends in the sequel!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great Read!
Great Book! It had many wiring roads that I wasted really expecting the o le thing was the ending was a big cliffhanger so a need book 2 out now!!! My mind is racing and I almost wish I already finished it. :’(
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Amazing, I could not get enough!
This book is now one of my new favorite paranormal witch romance series. I thought it was so good, not a dull moment with action, mysteries, missing memories, and an ancient hot sorcerer. This story follows the perspective of Selene, who is a witch, but her magic has a unique cost… her memories. In her desperate attempt to join a coven of witches, she goes on a spiritual journey, but what she does find is a lot worse. The setting of this book was great. I loved how this witch's coven was like a college campus and not just a small group. The classes, students and their powers were so cool, and it was immersed in the story, especially Selene and her’s came at such an unbelievable cost. It was such a unique and hard element to overcome, it was just another great aspect that really kept me so engaged in the story. Selene was so badass; she never gave up and took every step to make her dreams come true by joining the coven. Not to mention that this book has some major emotion inducing moments and I was right there with the characters, and I could not believe what was happening, so shocked. The romance is an enemy to lovers, but it's really back and forth on whether they are enemies or lovers. At times I really wanted them to get together and am all for their relationship developing but then other times I am like hell no girl, don’t do it. I can’t wait for the next one, I am super excited to see where this series goes especially how it left off. I need more! The very beginning of this story I did feel it was rushed to get everything set up and at times a little cheesy, but it was like the first twenty or so pages. After that the story really leveled out with the pacing and plot and I really ended up loving it. I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com