I received an electronic ARC through Gay Romance Reviews.

CD Rachels introduces readers to the world of Agents of SPELL with book one, Hexes and Foes. Readers follow former academic rivals, Luther and Taz, now that they are all grown up working professionals. Luther is an Agent of SPELL and Taz is a hexbreaker consultant. Together they must resolve the instances of mysterious dark magic that have been popping up internationally. But working together instead of competing brings far more in common than they would have initially expected, including a distracting mutual attraction.

This urban fantasy is precisely what it purports to be. There are segments where the reader experiences flashbacks to Luther and Taz competing at school in addition to the current conundrum they are working on together. The characters are perfectly reasonable as is the running plotline. However, whenever there is a genre-typical plotline, it becomes more and more likely that I am going to compare to my favorite books which share common themes and plotlines. This story certainly is perfectly fine, but I am unsure that it stands out amongst its peers for me. I do not feel the tension between the characters that I tend to look for with rivals-to-lovers or enemies-to-lovers tropes. I do find the characters likeable, despite the lack of compulsion surrounding their relationship or propulsion of the plot.

I would happily recommend this book for entertainment value with the understanding that it may not be a new favorite.

Precisely as much a PWP as you would expect. Needed a short historical fiction for a challenge. Not opposed to reading longer works from this author.

I was surprised to enjoy this as much as I did. This is very, very light fantasy to the extent of being primarily contemporary. And it deals with two women finding their paths in a small, southern town. Typically a story I wouldn't have any interest in at all, this was featured by Owlcrate in their Advent Calendar for 2025. Figured I would give it a shot and the narrators really sold me on this one. Particularly the southern accent on Tallulah's narrator, which reminded me a lot of being with family. It's giving Hallmark movie, but was shockingly pleasant.

I have mixed feelings about this story. It doesn't necessarily stand out amongst its peers, but it certainly isn't bad. Feels quite YA despite being included in FairyLoot's Adult box. I wouldn't be upset to continue, but I'm also sort of over some of the main tropes here. Writing is fine. I do like the incorporation of mythological inspiration here. Not sure if this is the story for me at this point of my reading journey.