2.5 Stars

One Liner: Underbaked and raw on the inside

Belladonna Blackthorn is burnt out. Between saving Lunar Books and concealing her witchcraft, she has no time or inclination to perfect her magic. However, she gets summoned by the coven on her 30th birthday to prove her worth as a witch.

With little time to work, Belle needs all the help from her family, mentor, and a handsome watchman sworn to protect her. She has to prove herself somehow.

The story comes in Belle’s third-person POV.

My Thoughts:

Imagine my delight when a friend (Rosh) said Berkeley made one of their books, Read Now. Though this was released last year, getting an ARC from the publisher is a big deal (for us from non-Western regions). Now, I wonder if I should have been less excited. This rating isn’t going to help my chances! *sniffle*

Right! So, about the book…

Cozy fantasy is one of my favorite genres, and if it has witches, even better! The premise is terrific, too. There are hints of danger, romance with a brooding hero, and a thirty-year-old book-loving witch learning to use her powers correctly.

What we get is a walking contradiction in the FMC. The only saving grace is that the POV is her third-person instead of first. That would have been a disaster.

Belle starts as a literal pushover, a doormat with confidence issues. Okay, fine. Her growth will be the arc. Nope. She has no issues being snarky and rude with random strangers and just about every other witch she meets. Think about it. You’re told you have to clear a test to keep your magic. You go there and act like a bratty celeb, all because you didn’t bother to prepare for the test.

Also, she has no reason not to ask for help. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t understand why she is such a meek mouse when someone treats her like dirt, but swipes at others who are just there. What weird wiring is this?

She is told she is good at magic and is worthy of it. Nope, I don’t see it. Heck, take it from her and give it to me. I’ve been hoping for years that someone would tell me I have magic and it’s time to activate it.

What we are told and what we see are almost always the opposite with the FMC. She has no reason to be the way she is. It would have made sense if her backstory supported this. But there’s nothing there. Maybe being a 30-year-old with the maturity of a 13-year-old is a flex (mind you, I know better-behaved teens in real life). Sadly, not my jam.

The uneven pacing didn’t help, but the book got faster in the second half, so I’m willing to let this go. I saved a reading day, thankfully. That said, scenes that need time are over in a blink, and the ones that can be summarized drag on.

There is quite a lot of description. Some of it is good. The rest is just fluff. The book could… should have been trimmed by 50 pages.

The theme selection is good – self-love, self-confidence, family, relationships, believing in magic inside you, etc. However, the presentation is patchy and underwhelming.

And oh, there is no romance. I mean, there are traces of it, but I can’t even call it a slow burn. No real chemistry. Or, maybe I didn’t want to see it since I couldn’t understand why the guy liked her. Nothing endearing about her, if you ask me.

Those extra 0.5 stars are for the mentor. He saved the book in many ways. When I thought it would go downhill, he kept it alive despite the FMC’s attempts to sabotage it often. The mother was good, too. The bestie was a bit OTT, but at least her arc was steady and her heart was in the right place!

To summarize, Rewitched has a good premise and some worthy bare bones, but the execution and the characterization (especially the FMC) are erratic and inconsistent. This needs some depth for the themes to matter.

Thank you, NetGalley and Berkeley (Ace), for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

#NetGalley #Rewitched