Love Spells and Other Disasters
by Angie Barrett
Publication Date: February 1, 2021
Publisher: Entangled Teen
I didn’t know when I wrote the first love spell that it would actually make things happen. Like, actually make people fall in love with each other…
How could I have known something like that? I mean, magic isn’t real, right?
But here’s the thing—the spell does work and so does the next one and the next one…and suddenly I’m getting a whole lot of attention from everyone at my high school. Me, Blend-into-the-Walls, Please-Let-Me-Introvert-in-Peace Rowan Marshall. And not only that, but I’ve also caught the attention of Luca Russo, a godlike, football-playing hottie who claims he likes me just the way I am. Ummm…
But as I’m about to learn, playing around with things you don’t understand means when things go wrong—like really, very awfully wrong—you don’t know how to fix them.
Purchase Links:
Google Play | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks
Review:
Love Spells and Other Disasters was a cute debut read. Magical realism and good intentions gone very, very wrong combine in a story that starts out lighthearted but veers into darkness fairly quickly as things get out of hand. It’s one of those books where you can see things going to you-know-where in a handbasket and you just want to reach in and shake the main character until she starts to make better choices, but of course you can’t and of course she’s going to keep going on that path until it’s almost too late.
And yikes, it was a pretty darn close thing.
Rowan ultimately does *finally* make the right decision and then decides to redeem herself in a series of good deeds–which was a great idea, but we only get the barest glimpse of her as she goes about it, making it not quite feel like enough. (Also–yes, Rowan wrote the actual spells, but where is her partner-in-crime’s redemption arc? She’s just as guilty as Rowan, especially since she doesn’t show a single twinge of a conscience until it’s all over…)
Still, Rowan is a likeable character and I had a hard time putting this one down once things really got started–everything snowballed so quickly, and I had to see how she’d manage to make it better! I’ll be watching to see what Ms Barrett comes up with next.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
About the author:
Author Angie Barrett lives in a small town in Ontario, Canada in an old century home that is also known as the “cat house” because, well, Angie likes cats. A lot. She also likes shopping for books, or for anything really, and spending time RVing in the summer with her family. She has worked for sixteen years as a high school English teacher and Librarian and is currently a Curriculum Consultant for new teachers. Angie has always dreamed of being a published author and strives to create worlds where there are strong, relatable characters who maybe are not always perfect but who understand the meaning of friendship and loyalty and who will use their collective strengths to overcome adversity.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Book sounds good, and I love the color of the cover.
Sounds so good.
Sounds like a good read.