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A review by solaceinprose
Black Witch Magic by Mila Nicks
4.0
First, I'd like to thank Netgalley for the ARC for an honest review.
This is my first novel by Mila Nicks, so I can't compare it to anything else of hers, but I have to say that I really enjoyed this. It had a mystery within the novel as well, so it wasn't just a contemporary romance. I thought the book blended both elements together, and I'll be honest the twist towards the climax of the book actually surprised me.
In Black Witch Magic, we have Selene Blackstone, granddaughter to the infamous Luna Blackstone who the whole time despises. We don't ever actually know why, just that there is a curse on the Blackstone family made back back in the late 70s by either a jealous or jilted lover. I couldn't quite figure that part out. I wasn't sure if it was some white hag of a witch who was beyond delusional, or if her fiancé was having a legitimate affair with Luna. I do think that could have been fleshed out a little more, but perhaps that was the point, that there is never just two sides to a story, but the truth somewhere in the middle. Anywho, due to said curse, Selene is destined to live her life in Brimrock, a fictional small town in New England. Everyone hates her or thinks she's weird. They don't know that she's a lunar witch except her best friend and sister from another mister, Noelle who is a green witch. She's just trying to live her life with the crappy people of this town, and honestly, the fact that she hadn't decimated them all by this point was a miracle in itself.
In comes Aiden O'Hare, paranormal investigator part of a duo with his best friend, Eddie. Eddie's aunt and her family live in Brimrock, so they decide to go there for the holidays before investigating into Luna Blackstone's history as they said the town is haunted by her ghost. All these strange happenings are occurring, mainly to the male sex, so this would be prime footage for their 50th episode of their little YouTV channel. Aiden doesn't particularly like Christmas, and he finds Eddie's family, especially his Aunt Priscilla overwhelming. He wasn't far off because they are a lot, especially the aunt. She's a Hallmark Christmas movie made flesh, and even I hated her by halfway through the book.
Due to a rideshare mishap, our two lovebirds meet and eventually keep meeting until they decide to go on a date. Aiden lies about who he is, Selene doesn't completely tell the truth, but this all comes to a head pretty early on in the book. Soon enough, our Hardy Boy and Nancy Drew are doing their own investigation into the unfortunate happenings to two men in town. The whole town believes Selene is responsible, and Aiden just isn't having that.
I really enjoyed Selene and Aiden together. I felt that they complimented each other well despite the fact that they were both awkward turtles when it came to dating or people in general. They had some snafus throughout the book, but they actually sat down and discussed them like healthy adults, especially after their first go around in the bedroom left Selene very dissatisfied. I loved that Mila went there. She made the first sexual experience a total dud, complete abolishing the trope of a wonderful, orgasmic first time. It was embarrassing, mortifying, hilarious, and real. Yet, our lover boy Aiden was not going to go down without showing her that he knew how to take care of a woman, and boy did he ever. There isn't a lot of steaminess in the book, but that makes the sexy times even better.
The story itself is nicely paced. I don’t think there were any particular moments that dragged on. I don’t think there was any insta-love, just a very deep connection based on mutual respect, admiration, and fondness for each other. There were no “I love you” tossed around after knowing each other for less than a month. I also really really loved Selene’s friendship with Noelle. These two were ride or die, and they meant it. I could have read a whole book of just them being best witch friends together and breaking the curse themselves.
I will say that if you are going in thinking this is set during Halloween, it isn't. It's set during Christmas, but the mystery of the book does provide a certain spookiness to it. I think this is start of a very cute series with these two, and I can't wait to read more about them.
This is my first novel by Mila Nicks, so I can't compare it to anything else of hers, but I have to say that I really enjoyed this. It had a mystery within the novel as well, so it wasn't just a contemporary romance. I thought the book blended both elements together, and I'll be honest the twist towards the climax of the book actually surprised me.
In Black Witch Magic, we have Selene Blackstone, granddaughter to the infamous Luna Blackstone who the whole time despises. We don't ever actually know why, just that there is a curse on the Blackstone family made back back in the late 70s by either a jealous or jilted lover. I couldn't quite figure that part out. I wasn't sure if it was some white hag of a witch who was beyond delusional, or if her fiancé was having a legitimate affair with Luna. I do think that could have been fleshed out a little more, but perhaps that was the point, that there is never just two sides to a story, but the truth somewhere in the middle. Anywho, due to said curse, Selene is destined to live her life in Brimrock, a fictional small town in New England. Everyone hates her or thinks she's weird. They don't know that she's a lunar witch except her best friend and sister from another mister, Noelle who is a green witch. She's just trying to live her life with the crappy people of this town, and honestly, the fact that she hadn't decimated them all by this point was a miracle in itself.
In comes Aiden O'Hare, paranormal investigator part of a duo with his best friend, Eddie. Eddie's aunt and her family live in Brimrock, so they decide to go there for the holidays before investigating into Luna Blackstone's history as they said the town is haunted by her ghost. All these strange happenings are occurring, mainly to the male sex, so this would be prime footage for their 50th episode of their little YouTV channel. Aiden doesn't particularly like Christmas, and he finds Eddie's family, especially his Aunt Priscilla overwhelming. He wasn't far off because they are a lot, especially the aunt. She's a Hallmark Christmas movie made flesh, and even I hated her by halfway through the book.
Due to a rideshare mishap, our two lovebirds meet and eventually keep meeting until they decide to go on a date. Aiden lies about who he is, Selene doesn't completely tell the truth, but this all comes to a head pretty early on in the book. Soon enough, our Hardy Boy and Nancy Drew are doing their own investigation into the unfortunate happenings to two men in town. The whole town believes Selene is responsible, and Aiden just isn't having that.
I really enjoyed Selene and Aiden together. I felt that they complimented each other well despite the fact that they were both awkward turtles when it came to dating or people in general. They had some snafus throughout the book, but they actually sat down and discussed them like healthy adults, especially after their first go around in the bedroom left Selene very dissatisfied. I loved that Mila went there. She made the first sexual experience a total dud, complete abolishing the trope of a wonderful, orgasmic first time. It was embarrassing, mortifying, hilarious, and real. Yet, our lover boy Aiden was not going to go down without showing her that he knew how to take care of a woman, and boy did he ever. There isn't a lot of steaminess in the book, but that makes the sexy times even better.
The story itself is nicely paced. I don’t think there were any particular moments that dragged on. I don’t think there was any insta-love, just a very deep connection based on mutual respect, admiration, and fondness for each other. There were no “I love you” tossed around after knowing each other for less than a month. I also really really loved Selene’s friendship with Noelle. These two were ride or die, and they meant it. I could have read a whole book of just them being best witch friends together and breaking the curse themselves.
I will say that if you are going in thinking this is set during Halloween, it isn't. It's set during Christmas, but the mystery of the book does provide a certain spookiness to it. I think this is start of a very cute series with these two, and I can't wait to read more about them.