Love Spells and Other Disasters by Angie Barrett ARC Review

I didn’t know when I wrote the first love spell that it would actually make things happen. Like, actually make people fall in love with each other…

How could I have known something like that? I mean, magic isn’t real, right?

But here’s the thing—the spell does work and so does the next one and the next one…and suddenly I’m getting a whole lot of attention from everyone at my high school. Me, Blend-into-the-Walls, Please-Let-Me-Introvert-in-Peace Rowan Marshall. And not only that, but I’ve also caught the attention of Luca Russo, a godlike, football-playing hottie who claims he likes me just the way I am. Ummm…

But as I’m about to learn, playing around with things you don’t understand means when things go wrong—like really, very awfully wrong—you don’t know how to fix them.

Release Date: February 1st, 2021

*I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review! Thanks to Entangled: Teen for the opportunity!*

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Love Spells and Other Disasters was a sweet and charming YA rom-com with a hint of magic. When Rowan gets paired with her nemesis, Abby, in a school business project, she gets pressured into selling love spells to her peers, knowing that they are just for entertainment… until they’re not. The spells she writes start working, forcing Rowan to face the consequences and her own abilities. I enjoyed the plot of this a lot. Magic chaos is always a favorite story element of mine, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it happen in an everyday context. Rowan’s life has always revolved around the paranormal with her mother’s career, and I thought the understanding of the unexplained was a good tie in with the reality of the magical elements and Rowan’s blossoming abilities. While I enjoyed the story, everything from the plot to the characters felt a little too surface level to me. I was intrigued by the ideas, but would have liked to get in deeper on every level- It felt like a bit of telling vs. showing. I connected with Rowan and loved her relationship with her mom, but her relationship with her love interest, Luca, was insta-lovey. He was almost too perfect and their romance escalated way too fast for me, even though it was sweet. I did appreciate the maturity and non-toxicness of their relationship though. I had trouble really connecting to any of the other characters, especially Rowan’s best friend, Ethan. He was not a very good friend to her, even when he wasn’t under a spell, and I wish I could have witnessed the strength of their connection instead of just being told that they were best friends. The events of the plot were great, but I wanted more depth to help suck me in and be able experience the story. That being said, this was a quick and fun read that I enjoyed and I finished it with a smile on my face.