ARC Review: "Uncharmed" by Lucy Jane Wood (Rewitched #2) ★★★★★
Lucy Jane Wood has cooked up a cosy fantasy just as cute as its cover! With a mixture of witches, magic, and romance, a dash of tropes like grumpy meets sunshine and found family, and a plot that’s whisked up with delightful surprises, this story will utterly charm you. The most perfect read for the fall! 🩷🎀🐈🐾
And as laughter here always seemed to be, it was catching. The sight of Annie’s charred black marshmallow smoking pathetically on the ground had Maeve snorting, then cackling so loudly and freely that it enveloped the whole of Arden Place in an echo. A moment later, Hal was bent double, too, a deep and hearty sound that made his eyes crinkle with fine lines. Soon, Annie was laughing so hard that tears began to pool. Happy ones. Real, happy ones. It was a moment that seemed to wrap warm arms around her. A twinkle, a glimmer, a memory that she would miss before it had even come to an end.
[Contains some spoilers]
PLOT SUMMARY
32-year-old Andromeda “Annie” Wildwood is essentially your Mary Poppins of the wicche realm (witching world). She has run her London bakery Celestial Bakehouse for 5 years, keeps a white cat called Karma as her familiar (an animal who shares a powerful bond with a magic user), and has an obsession with the colour pink. Above all, she is a perfectionist who each night uses a necromancing spell called Splendidus Infernum. This gives her not only a flawless look and charming appeal whilst knowing all the right things to do and say but also the ability to sense issues and find solutions.
She keeps her magic a secret at the bakery, but it is welcome in the Selcouth coven and its more secret exclusive Sorciety club with members of the elite. This includes Annie’s best friend Romily Whitlock, whose mother Glory is the leader of the Sorciety and not to be crossed. Annie’s family the Wildwood had a scandal years ago, and she is eager to earn her position in society and the Crescent status that protects her. Everyone relies on Annie and she is all too eager to help. Until now, Annie has been a “super sleuth sorceress”, reporting activities of new members to the Sorciety.
Annie is therefore tasked with mentoring an orphan teenage witch, Maeve Cadmus who has problematic magic, and reporting to the coven if she shows any anomalies. If she succeeds, she may get her Crescent at the Samhain Ball on Halloween. Annie and her new protégée are teleported to a cottage in the middle of the woods, Arden Place, owned by grumpy warlock and explorer Hal Bancroft. Over time, despite the chaos and differing personalities, the three of them become very close.
But Maeve can sense the Splendidus Infernum, and the coven believes Maeve to have more to her than meets the eye. Yet not all is as it seems in the Sorciety, as dark secrets are revealed. Will Annie give up the spell and everything perfect to both reveal and navigate her true self? And will she give up her people-pleasing ways when she must pick sides?
One corner of the triangle was sugary sweet, the second all eye-rolls and curtains of dark hair, the third a perpetually dishevelled grumbler. But each of them had to admit to finding that their triple combination of Annie’s optimism and positivity, Maeve’s straight-talking determination and Hal’s calming presence seemed to balance their counterparts surprisingly well. Like all marvellous potions, each ingredient was understated alone, but made something unexpectedly magical when combined.
This is told from the third-person past-tense POV of Annie.
OVERALL OPINIONS
ㅤ🏡🧁🧹a well-timed treat🧹🧁🏡
With September rolling in, I was drawn to this story for its cosy vibes and promise of magic. Its beautiful cover was what first caught my eye, and I hoped it would be as charming as the story within, and equally full of humour and heart. This did not disappoint – and the story starts in September, too. Take a look at the stunning descriptions she uses to describe it:
September’s young autumn had delivered a crackle of orange-peel leaves across the pavement outside and, as the door swung open and stirred them in a gust, they rustled in the background against the chatter of the packed cafe.
While I have yet to read the first book in this Rewitched series, I have been completely captivated and will be sure to check it out! It would seem I picked well, as I have seen a lot of people complimenting and preferring this story to its predecessor. From my understanding, this is meant to be on a tandem timeline (an interesting idea I don’t think I’ve seen for a while), set a few years before the events in Rewitched, with some familiar people like Morena and Bronwyn making an appearance.
ㅤ🏡🧁🧹perfection on the page🧹🧁🏡
I knew this would be a touching read when I read its dedication:
To the daughters who fix it all for everyone. You deserve the same magic that you give to others.
As the daughter who is the Annie of my family, this touched me. And if that doesn’t do it for you, the entire introductory paragraph starting “The promise and power of a little treat is perhaps the most magical concept that a mind can manifest” will captivate you as Wood takes us on spellbinding descriptions that I could not help highlighting – though the descriptions of food sure made me hungry haha.
Indeed, this story is really something, arguably more than a cosy story. It has a strikingly unique balance of plot and worldbuilding of the wicche realm, as well as characterisation and romance. Achieving this, along with keeping the tone light and cheerful and only dark where necessary, is certainly not the easiest of things to do.
ㅤ🏡🧁🧹magical setting🧹🧁🏡
The worldbuilding is excellent and clearly well considered, down to the last detail. From the name of the shop Celeste meaning “heavenly” to the pun in Sorciety, I was hanging onto every piece of information given about this environment! I love the description of Hecate House’s atrium with twelve doors, each of which has giant bronze zodiac figures above it. It is really cool that the correspondence letters glow whenever read by whicchefolk.
I like several aspects of the spells as well, the main one of which is their being in Latin, but I’ll give a few other examples. These spells include:
• connecting the dots of stars in the sky to create something
• capturing colours from the world to use for paints
• adding finishing personalised touches to the order
• ensuring that the bakery will always have the last of a customer’s favourites at the right time
• a sprinkle on cakes where each bite will bring up or keep a memory
• removing makeup instantly (now wouldn’t that be a handy one IRL?)
I loved the concept that Annie uses magic to make herself bright and breezy to hide away all her insecurities, something that I’m sure a lot of us wish we could do (if we can’t do it already).
ㅤ🏡🧁🧹characterisation: the icing on the cake🧹🧁🏡
But the characterisation is really what makes this story. Annie’s struggle with going from a perfectionist to finding and embracing her true self is an incredible story arc. I think this quote here cleverly sums up how she doesn’t merely see the world as perfect but uses magic to make it seem perfect:
Rose-coloured glasses were all very well and good, but Annie’s rose-coloured magic was even more effective.
Her motivation for this stems from her care for two people: Hal and Maeve. She stops using her perfection spell because it affects Maeve negatively, and despite her hilarious slipups, Hal prefers the person she is without her magic. When Hal reprimands her for being so helpful to those undeserving of it, I felt that:
A lot of people are relying on me and I can’t just abandon them. I can’t let them down.’
‘Right, of course,’ he nodded calmly. ‘And what kind of happiness are you getting in return for that?’
It is so beautiful to see her standing up for herself against her so-called friends too (and it was such poetic justice having her say ‘Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic, darling?’ back at them). Heartbreaking that she is forced to see how different her childhood friend Romily has become.
Maeve’s journey from being an outsider with uncontrollable magic to harnessing her powers provides a striking contrast with Annie: she is the order to Maeve’s chaos and Maeve is the reminder that it is okay not to be perfect, that being messy can be liberating. Not only that, this serves as an excellent source of conflict as the Sorciety want her powers for themselves. I love the inner healing Annie gets from being the one who protects Maeve:
In Annie’s world, no one had protected her younger self. No one had ever cared enough to step in and sweep her up, to promise her that everything would be okay or that she could leave it to them to safely solve. But she would step up to protect Maeve. She would be the witch that her younger self had needed so desperately.
Realistic touches, such as people-pleasing issues and animals comforting humans when they spiral, made this book more than just a comfort read. Even side characters had purpose, like Ruby who is a true friend who understood Annie’s family situation, and Hal serves as the perfect love interest. The moment he stepped on the scene, saying ‘What in the hell and high waters have you done to my living room? Everything’s bloody pink’, I knew he would be a favourite haha.
ㅤ🏡🧁🧹to conclude🧹🧁🏡
Overall, I absolutely adored this and will not stop talking about it now. I would have loved more Annie and Hal, and a Latin typo got to me but I am happy with the book for what it is. If you are still here, go and give it a read!
<< Positives >>
🠚 Charming story meets cute cover.
🠚 Standalone story that can be read outwith series sequence.
🠚 Unique mix of genres and tones.
🠚 Excellent world-building and magic system.
🠚 Relatable characters and emotional depth.
🠚 Strong themes of self-love and found family.
🠚 Adorable leaf chapter header image.
🠚 The coven cloak’s description makes me want one now. Merch drop when, Lucy?
🠚 Snow White-esque vibes of the cottage in the middle of the woods and the animals adds to the cosiness.
🠚 Great plot twists about 80% of the way in. Especially when Vivienne mentions Maeve and Annie says ‘I don’t think I mentioned her name.’ – I adore books that do this, I always go “ohhh”!
🠚 The puns.
<< Negatives >>
🠚 Tandem timeline could be considered confusing, as most readers would expect a linear/chronological timeline.
🠚 Romance felt more of a secondary element and I personally would have loved more moments and development between Annie and Hal. Considering the limitations via the length of the book and its different elements, I can understand why this wasn’t fleshed out as much as it could have been.
🠚 Incorrect Latin for Hecate House: there is “Tonitru, Fulgar, Pluvia” (Thunder, Lightning, Rain) – Tonitru should be Tonitus. This is because it is the name for thunder, whereas Tonitru describes something happening by or with thunder.
🠚 The concept of time manipulation (albeit a forbidden coven rule) came up quite early on and I had hoped it would come into play.
🠚 It is too obvious that Annie’s friends were not real friends who would be there for her. I would have preferred something more subtle.
🠚 We don’t ever get the mystery solved about where Annie’s parents are “The place where everything is perfect”. I thought this would have been covered.
🠚 I wish Annie had a moment where she tells herself her feelings are valid, as a direct mirror to the times she tells herself she is overreacting.
🠚 I would have included a description of Hal’s reaction to seeing Annie back at the house, since all we get is the door flying open.
🠚 I’d love to learn more about Hal and his adventures and his crossings of realms, as I feel it is not covered enough. Novella?
🠚 A glossary with a list of spells and their translations would be really cool. For example, “Iter Rectio” means “Journey Guidance” and its function is literally to show the way.
🠚 How *did* Vivienne know Maeve’s name?
🠚 Minor but “hey?” is said quite a lot and I think “eh?” would sound better.
CHARACTERS
-ˋˏ ꒰ Annie꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ She loves things being organised, so do I. She loves to help people, so do I. She doesn’t like sharing things that feel burdensome, so do I sometimes. She takes the time to remember details about people and picks up on behaviour. I can relate to needing a routine to feel tethered.
-ˋˏ ꒰ Hal꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ The “resident lumberjack pirate cowboy” aka Mr-Perfection-without-needing-magic-to-be-perfect. Okay but this man is the sweetest most considerate grump I’ve ever met! He really sees Annie for who she is. May we all find a man like this (even if he doesn’t own a Stetson hat or have a stallion). Him showing up with an army of coven and animals. And let’s not forget his “don’t touch her” moment where he says ‘I would think very, very carefully about your next move.’ with “a fire behind his eyes that felt foreign to his usual unshakeable calm”.
-ˋˏ ꒰ Maeve꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ The description of Maeve, upon watching Annie and Hal together, rolling her eyes “so hard that she almost toppled backwards off her hay bale” made me cackle like a true witch. It is adorable how much she understands the two of them and their unspoken love. I love her love of books, fierce determination and her embrace of messiness.
FAV QUOTES
• Word had spread in a matter of days, that Celeste and its charming proprietor were something special. Bewitching, even. The small fact that Annie was indeed a witch was almost by the by.
• Her voice dripped with so much white-hot pity that it felt like spots of acid rain that Annie should have thrown up an umbrella to.
• ‘Blood is thicker than water,’ Vivienne said smugly. ‘And magic is thicker again.’ | ‘Always hated that phrase – usually tossed around by people who’ve never been let down by someone who’s supposed to put them above all else,’
• Even as someone with a terrible habit of landing herself in unwanted situations to keep others happy, this one had to take the biscuit. And the cake. And the cinnamon bun, too. What had she gotten herself into?
• Just as the door was about to close, Annie couldn’t help but blurt out a final thought. ‘Maeve?’ She cringed, adjusted her volume a little. ‘You are never, ever a burden, okay? Not with anybody, but especially not with me. I’m so pleased to be here with you.’ At that, Maeve peered back around the door and frowned for a moment, as though confused by how to respond. She only gave a tiny nod, then shut the door behind her with a click.
• Being here with Maeve meant that Annie’s real self was going to be more on display than she had allowed in forever. She wasn’t even sure she knew what – or who – that was any more.
• Their gentle bickering and laughter caught and carried along on the wind. The sound, a soft and distinctly precious one, something new and special to Arden Place, whipped into a swirl of crackling leaves like caramel through cake and folded itself around the witches’ ring to mingle with the rest of the whispers that wound through the woods.
• ‘Consider it the Bancroft Compromise. My dad always used to say that for when my mum got her way and it involved absolutely no compromise in the slightest.’
• Annie was most surprised to find that she felt, perhaps not entirely relaxed, but at least 10 per cent more so around Hal’s calming presence. Almost every man she encountered in her normal life made her feel the exact opposite: uncomfortable and rigid, overly self-aware. But she found herself relieved and excited to see him come back safely to the cottage, just as he promised each morning.
• She may not have been perfect any more, but it would still always, always be pink.
• Annie breathed an empty laugh. ‘You already think I’m the worst.’ | ‘Sometimes,’ Hal nodded, leaning back and rubbing a hand roughly through his beard. ‘Other times . . .’ He paused, catching her eyes under lock and key. ‘Other times, I think you might just be perfect.’
• His voice was a thick, hoarse whisper. ‘I know it’s crazy for me to ask you to stay. I know you’re too good and bright and brilliant for a small kind of life like mine. But I have to be selfish and unreasonable and ask it anyway. Stay, just for now, and we can figure it out a day at a time.’ Their eyes felt magnetized as he leaned over her, his arm above her pressed against the wall. Annie knew she should look away and break it, but there was a sincerity in his face. There was no sarcasm, no gruffness, nothing but a confident honesty and an inch of vulnerability that felt like a mile coming from him.
• Hooves galloped by, thudding at speed into the soft meadow before pulling up at the cottage porch. The horse rallied onto his hind legs as two boots landed on the ground in a desperate hurry. The front door swung open, honest words ready to be spilled and insisted, but they tumbled out into an empty home. There was nobody to hear them, only the lingering scent of vanilla sugar that settled to the floor in a scattering of rosypink snowlike sparks.
• In the flurry of thoughts of Hal and home and heart, Annie wondered how she’d ever move on from that feeling. Maybe she never would. It would hold her for ever. Intoxicating in its equal parts of comfort and passion combined. How lucky they were to have found one another, to care so deeply and safely and to feel it returned in a way that set magic alight.
• All Annie could register was the desperate need to get to her own girl, to Maeve – an overwhelming feeling that she would give anything for it. Her own life, if needed. She supposed that was what a pure soul connection with someone other than her familiar was meant to feel like – true friendship or true love or the true feeling of family – and it had risen up so unexpectedly in her life, like a forgotten spring bud desperately determined to survive through any winter frost, through anything, all-consuming in its aim to carry on. A kind of love that was incomparable. Annie had no intention of letting that love leave this realm or any other.
• She had so much to say to them, to paint the picture of why this moment meant so much to her. But it wasn’t the time to tell them how it felt. It was the time to let this moment be, to feel it trickle by like the stream that surrounded them and adjust to this beautiful, calm quiet being her real, authentic life – at least for now.
══════════ ⋆★⋆ ══════════
I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank Lucy Jane Wood, Pan Macmillan, and NetGalley for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.
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