Review: Bewitched by Laura Thalassa

Bewitched by Laura Thalassa
Published by Bloom Books on 2023-04-18
Length: 464 pages
Reviewing Kindle from Amazon
Rating:

From bestselling indie author and TikTok favorite Laura Thalassa comes a witch fantasy set in the world of the Bargainer series.

At age twenty, Selene Bowers desperately hopes to be accepted into Henbane Coven, an academy for young witches. Since one of the requirements for entry is to connect with her powers via a quest through the wilderness, Selene books a trip to South America. When a nefarious supernatural force tries to drag her plane from the sky, Selene's magic awakens to save her life―at a cost. Using her powers devours her memories, one by one.

Worse, when Selene braves the jungle and discovers the source of the attack, she finds herself awakening an ancient evil, Memnon the Cursed, who mistakes Selene for his long-dead wife. The wife who betrayed him. Selene manages to escape and begin her studies at Henbane, but when Memnon turns up at the coven and witches are found dead across campus, Selene becomes entangled in a dangerous plot. Accused of the murders on the basis of her memory loss, Selene must rely on Memnon's help for answers―and his plans for her will change everything.

Bewitched by Laura Thalassa is the first in a new fantasy romance series about a young witch who awakens an ancient warlock locked in a crypt who mistakes her for his long dead wife. Selene Bowers has worked her adult life trying to be accepted into the Henbane Coven, think college for witches. However, all magic comes with a price, and Selene’s price is her memories. Each time she uses her magic, another memory is gone. Because of this, she is seen as a liability so the coven sets high standards for her to achieve before they will admit her: complete a magical quest and find her familiar. This leads Selene onto a plane over South America and a mysterious voice that calls to her own magic.

I devoured this book! Technically, it is my second read through of it. I didn’t realize that I missed writing a review for it the first time around, and with the second book now out, I figured a reread was in order. I loved everything about this book from the world-building to the steamy romance and the mystery surround Selene’s magic and her link to Memnon the Cursed.

Selene’s character is in an interesting predicament. She’s a powerful witch, more powerful than anyone gives her credit for. However, the price of her magic costs her dearly. Most of her childhood is a fuzzy memory of faces with no details. Even day to day details are lost on her. As a result, she has learned to cope with her disability by keeping meticulous journals and agendas with post-it notes everywhere. With a successful magic quest (shh! don’t tell about the ancient warlock she released) and finding her familiar, a panther, Selene’s life seems to be on the track she had always hoped it would be on.

But Memnon isn’t going away that easily. To him, Selene is his long dead wife who according to the inscriptions in the tomb she found him in is responsible for locking him up. She has no memories of Memnon, but he seems to know her intimately. He can talk to her through their bond, which she denies is there, and visits her dreams. However, the mystery remains. Why was Memnon locked away? And should he have been released? With thoughts of only revenge, Selene is in danger of not only losing her heart to this man but maybe even her life.

Aside from Memnon and Selene’s relationship, witches are turning up dead on campus and near coven land. Unfortunately for Selene, she seems to be involved somehow. With the warlock as her only ally, Selene must uncover what is happening and how to stop it before it is too late.

Overall, I really enjoyed Bewitched. There is so much going on in this story! I loved the building tension and romance between Selene and Memnon. She might hate him, but her body doesn’t 😂 The murders add another layer of tension and urgency to the story. If you are a fan of romantasy, this is for you.

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