Books with Magic and Romance
Swish and flick!
It’s spellcasting, magical realism, and supernatural season, folks!
There are a few book tropes that are an automatic “yes” from me, and stories that combine magical elements with heart-pounding romance are at the top of that list. I don’t even need to read the blurb. If the cover screams “romantasy,” that book is going home with me. And I love a cozy kitchen witch tale as much as I love a multi-generational story with tons of volumes and characters to keep an eye on.
There are a lot of great options out there, and it can be overwhelming! If you are interested in giving romantasy a try, use any of these great books as a starting point.
The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck – Kylie Scott
Lilah Goodluck is crossing a busy Los Angeles street when she helps a woman avoid a terrible accident. Turns out that Lilah has just saved the life of the Good Witch Willow, who offers her five predictions as a reward. Lilah did not ASK for the prophecies, but the Good Witch Willow speaks them out loud anyway:
“Be quiet and listen: He is cheating on you. The name of your soulmate is Alistair George Arthur Lennox. You will be passed over for the promotion. The winning numbers are 5-8-12-24-39-43. And I’m very sorry to tell you this, but you will die next Sunday.”
Huh? What in the world are you supposed to do when someone tells you the name of the purported love of your life in the same sentence as a prediction of your impending death? Lilah decides to ignore it. But when the predictions start coming true the next day, she is forced to admit that something magical is in the air!
Enter the illegitimate son of the British king, whose first name just so happens to be – you guessed it! – Alistair. But his entrance into the story is a bit awkward. Lilah’s brain is in so many different places that she nearly runs his car off the road. And when the whole story comes out in the aftermath of the incident, Alistair is intrigued by her situation. And intrigued by Lilah herself.
Lilah has a lightning bolt thought: if she can ignore the obvious attraction sparking between her and the Playboy Prince, the LAST prediction, the one about her DEATH, can’t possibly come true. Right?
Determined to keep Alistair firmly in the “acquaintances” category, and determined to stay alive, Lilah becomes consumed with saving her own life. But between the hostile and intrusive paparazzi, interactions with the disapproving royal family, and the fact that the Sunday prophesized by the Good Willow Witch is coming ever closer, she has to decide if falling in love with Alistair will be worth it if they only have a few days before she dies?
Don’t miss this Amazon Best Romance of the Month! And bonus points to the publisher for featuring a full-figured protagonist AND showing her from head to toe on the cover.
Kylie Scott has sold over 2,000,000 copies of her extensive New York Times-, Wall Street Journal-, and USA Today-best selling sexy, spicy titles.
The Cottage Around the Corner – D.L. Soria
As someone who is currently obsessing over the cottagecore aesthetic, this book checked a lot of my boxes:
✅Cute, cozy setting. The name of the sweet little spell shop where Charlie Sparrow and her moms practice their witchcraft and provide goods and services is Chanterelle Cottage, which as been in the family for ages. I was all in the second I read that.
✅Adorable location. Chanterelle Cottage is located in the small town of Owl’s Hollow. This could not be any cuter.
✅Competition. Business has been slow at Chanterelle Cottage, and the bills are piling up. And a recent burglary has really affected their available inventory. Charlie is smart and has tons of ideas for when her moms finally agree to let her buy into the shop as an equal partner. But there is some new magic moving into Owl’s Hollow, and Fitz, the exceptionally handsome and well-dressed mage who owns the new Maven Enterprises, seems ready to do what he has to do to make sure that his establishment is the only magical game in town.
A slow burn. Charlie is determined to not get involved with Fitz in any capacity that isn’t business related. But strange supernatural occurrences start happening relatively frequently in Owl’s Hollow, things that mean that danger is on the way. The two equally matched magic makers are forced to put aside their business rivalry in order to work together and save the town. She may have drawn lines in the sand regarding their relationship, but it is getting more and more difficult for Charlie to keep her boundaries in place. Is it possible that the tiny town of Owl’s Hollow is big enough for both a witch and a mage after all? And how much of her heart is Charlie really ready to risk?
D.L. Soria’s books are filled with magic, fantastical elements, mobsters, sweet love affairs, and sexy banter! Quick note: a reader seeking Soria’s YA novels, like 2016’s excellent Iron Cast, will find those books under the name “Destiny Soria” online.
The City of Stardust – Georgia Summers
#1: The GORGEOUS cover of this tale of curses, gods, and monsters deserves its own five-star review. I am obsessed with the color palette! Does anyone else frame book covers? This is a winner for sure.
#2: The story is just as gorgeous as the cover! Thank goodness.
#3: We have book lover’s unicorn! A standalone fantasy that is just as robust and lush as its multi-volume counterparts. Sometimes you want to dip a toe, not jump in the lake.
Someone or something cursed the Everlys centuries ago, and the contemporary family members have no knowledge of the whys or hows. Violet’s mother, Marianne, never returned from her quest to break the curse, and Violet has sworn to find her.
Her hunt leads her into a sexy underworld filled with seductive, power-hungry scholars. She’s bent on revenge, and is determined that nothing will distract her from the mission. Then she finds the quiet, gorgeous Aleksander. Violet knows she can’t trust him, but she is inexplicably drawn to him. Why? Surely love can’t be the answer.
Time is running out for Marianne. Violet must travel the outer edges of the world to find both her mother and the cause of the Everly Curse! Can she save her mom and keep her own heart protected at the same time?
Georgia Summers has spent most of her life traveling and living around the world but is somehow still terrible at languages. She’s previously worked as an editor, a bookseller, and a rare books student librarian, so she has seen the whole process from start to finish from the very first blank page! Georgia currently lives in London.
Playing the Witch Card – KJ Dell’Antonia
Flair Hardwicke may have given up on magic, but magic has not given up on her. Although, her husband has. He’s cheating, she’s leaving, and heading to take over her grandmother’s bakery. She won’t be keeping up with Nana’s side hustle, though. No more fortunes will be told at Buttersweet!
A town Halloween celebration turns wonky when Flair bakes an innocent batch of tarot card cookies which turn out to not be so innocent. The power of the family tarot card is unleashed, which in turn lures Flair’s unpredictable mother to town, tempts her seriously magic-obsessed daughter, and somehow returns her FIRST love to her while ensnaring her ex in an unbreakable curse.
Flair needs to control the chaos, and fast. Her efforts only make things worse, and Flair finds herself in the hands of a powerful witch. She has one card left to play, and that is to use the power she has been denying for so long. Can Flair save herself? SHOULD she save her ex-husband? And will having her first love back in her life help her powers? Or deplete them?
KJ Dell’Antonia’s former journalism career provided her with tons of themes to use in her books. Her stories focus on joy, familial connections, and valuing real world experiences over a life lived online. She lives in New Hampshire with her family and an assortment of pets.
Perfectly Wicked – Lindsay Lovise
The Wicked Good Apples orchard has always seemed to have a bit of extra luck. Droughts never seem to affect their trees and other weather phenomena seems to avoid them all together. Only Holly and her family know that the “inexplicable happenings” can be attributed to magic.
Economic concerns cannot be solved by witchcraft, however, and the family business is struggling. Then Connor Grimm, beloved paranormal investigator du jour, requests permission to film an episode of his popular TV show on at Wicked Good Apples. The publicity could be enough to save the orchard. Holly’s family just needs to make sure that Connor doesn’t film any ACTUAL paranormal happenings during his visit.
Holly is determined to dislike Connor, but it’s tough. She starts to fall for him, even signing up as his research assistant as she tries to steer him toward a local legend that is far away from Wicked Good Apples. There is something different about him. He is the only man she’s ever met who made her feel…normal.
But Connor is getting closer to uncovering the real secret of Wicked Good Farms. Soon he has to decide between his commitment to his career and the attraction growing between him and Holly. And she’s sworn to protect her family above anything else. Is there enough magic around them to make their problems go away?
Lindsay Lovise is a dedicated romance reader and writer with degrees in English and teaching. Her books feature strong, quirky heroines and more than a dash of magic! Her favorite trope is “fake dating,” which she tackled in her own writing with Never Tease a Viscount.
Rise and Divine – Lana Harper
The fifth book in Harper’s The Witches of Thistle Grove series is just as charming and spooking as the first four installments. This is a must-read for anyone who loves great world-building in their fiction!
Dasha’s family members think she is weird, which isn’t great since THEY are all weird. She is a very rare necromantic witch, a “devil eater” who can banish demons and travel through the veils between worlds. She’s an outlier among outliers.
Dasha is independent, guarded, and the master of avoiding commitment. This has led directly to the worst regret of her life, which is ending her relationship with the lovely Ivy Thorn. Twice. Things are pretty tense at the Arcane Emporium, the occult megastore where both Ivy and Dasha work as event planners.
The two find themselves thrown together on a project, charged with planning a month-long celebration marking the founding and magical roots of Thistle Grove. Ivy refuses to open herself up to pain again, but Dasha is hoping that the third time will be the charm for the two of them.
In addition to the issues of the lingering pain and passion sparking between them, Dasha and Ivy have an even larger problem than their love lives. They have to stand together to save Thistle Grove from an otherworldly, supernatural threat unlike anything the residents have ever seen!
Lana Harper studied both literature and psychology at Yale University, law at Boston University, and has a master’s from Emerson College. Before she moved to the United States, the Serbian-born Harper lived in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. She now resides in Chicago with her family.
