Short, spicy, cute with a dash of comedy.

Okay so… I went in expecting whimsical fantasy romance (forbidden charms! necromancy!) and got… historical romance with a side of ✨vague magic✨. I was so tempted to DNF this... so many times...

The marketing vs. reality whiplash is REAL. This is 90% spicy historical scheming, 10% "oh right, charms exist." The magic? So thin I could’ve missed it if I blinked. How do Hilde’s charms work? Why combine them? crickets Just vibes, I guess?

And the miscommunication trope? 😅 It’s not a wall—it’s a fortress. Every character avoids simple conversations like they’re allergic to clarity. I spent so much of the book yelling "JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER" at my tablet. It started out funny with the whole, "she wants to sleep with me," ; "bring my husband back from the dead," thing but that got old VERY fast.

Hilde and Elmwood? Couldn’t connect. Their chemistry felt like lust-driven plot devices, not genuine emotion. (Though Rollo the dog? 10/10. Good boy. He’s the real charm here.)

BUT, Caitlyn Paxson writes beautifully, and the last 10%? Genuinely cute. If you want spicy historical romance with a side of "why won’t they just communicate?!"—this is your jam.

Final verdict: Not the fantasy rom-com I craved, but a decent historical palate cleanser. Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

I went into this craving cozy, low-drama vibes, something sweet like macarons (not a five-alarm chili). And this delivered exactly that. No high-stakes chaos, just a motorcycle-riding wolf shifter, a second-chance romance, and a small-town cafe that smelled like cinnamon and second chances.

Rosemary’s career-driven anxiety? Felt that. Their slow-burn reconnection? Like watching embers catch fire—gentle, warm, and oh-so-satisfying.

Was it spicy? Barely a flicker (perfect for slump recovery). Was it cute? So cute I giggled into my tablet at 2am.

Fleur DeVillainy writes comfort like a warm blanket, no unnecessary drama, just two flawed people finding their way back to each other (and some very patient baked goods).

Thank you to the author for providing me with this ARC. All my thoughts are my own.