When it came to the world-building, it was easy to fit in with the town and the flow of the story. Rhodes has a way of making the small town feel real and easy to understand with the cafe that Eva run and the way the coven works together and the teaching of the younger generation. It felt comforting to be in this world and the threat that hangs over their heads with the loss of magic made me want to help them figure out what was going on.
As for the characters, I thought Eva and Sorren were very cute together. I loved the back and forth between them. I also loved the fact that even though he was a demon, Sorren was the sweetest golden retriever of a love interest for Eva. I will say that I wasn't too keen on how quickly the two fell in love although it was funny when it was pointed out in the book itself. As for the other characters, I did enjoy the supportive best friend Riley and the unexpectedly supportive Malachi, Sorren's brother. Both worked as good sounding boards for the leads to bounce their concerns off of and they both were able to offer hard truths when they were needed. It was lovely to see such a great support system around the story.
The plot seemed fairly straightforward. In an attempt to fix the magic fading in the town, Eva performs a spell she finds in a book that showed up on her counter. She ends up summoning a demon who ends up unable to leave the house. Now Eva needs to find a way to send Sorren safely back home and still figure out how to restore the magic. As the story continues, it becomes a lot about Eva figuring out who was best for her. She had a boyfriend who seemed determined to ignore the fact that Eva was a witch but she stuck with him because of how long they had been together. Eva deserved someone better for her and the opportunity came in the form of someone she would never expect, a demon who was a literal sweetheart. As for Sorren, the story turned in to exploration of figuring out how to honor the company his father left behind but also trying to understand what was best for him, what would make him happy in the long run. There was also the way that Eva seemed to take in the fact of the magic fading as something personal and how her attempts to fix it were to almost rid herself of the guilt she felt. All of it together made for a heart-warming story about a couple finding the happiness they both deserved and trying to keep all of their loved ones safe and happy.
In the end, I thought this was a very sweet story. I do wish we'd gotten to spend a longer amount of time with the leads, allowing them to fall in love gradually as opposed to the instant connection they had. If Rhodes decides to continue on with stories in this universe, I would be willing to read more about this world. I'll raise my hand up now to say I would love to read a story about Riley or Malachi in the future, so you know, just putting that out into the universe.
Rating on my Scale: 8.5 Stars. I wanted a little more but overall this was a very sweet story. This is a definite feel-good, cozy read for any time of the year.
My thanks to Rattle the Stars PR and Kennedy Rhodes for the eARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.
