Review by Booklist Review
Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling (The Ex Hex, 2022), ups her rom-com mojo with this delightful holiday romp. Tamsyn Bligh, a con artist, makes her living by locating magical objects to sell to witches. She agrees to work exclusively for Bowen Penhallow. When he takes time off to attend a wedding at the urgent behest of his dead best friend who was once in love with the bride, she, contrary to their agreement, moonlights to retrieve a gaudy brooch of emeralds and rubies. Tracking it down takes her to Tywyll, Wales, a castle where a Yule wedding is imminent. Embarassingly, Bowen is there. A mishap sends the two of them back in time to 1957 where another wedding is imminent, and the bridal couple, Bowen's grandparents, have just called off the wedding. Tamsyn and Bowen realize that if they have any chance of getting back to their own time, they will have to "Parent Trap" Bowen's grandparents to keep time from being broken. This thoroughly enjoyable combination of romance and magic is a holiday treat.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Acquiring ancient and magical items for the mysterious warlock Bowen Penhollow can be a dirty and risky job, but Tamsyn Bligh is up to it. When she meets him in the pub, her professional relationship with her new boss is made a bit more complicated by how sweet the grumpy warlock can actually be. Forcing herself to remain professionally distant from Bowen is fairly simple, at least until Tamsyn decides to take one last job to snag a priceless magical heirloom at a country wedding. Having to pose as Bowen's date at the witchy wedding in Wales is not something Tamsyn anticipated--nor is accidentally stumbling into a spell that forces the pair 60 years back in time to fix a problem haunting a much earlier wedding that occurred at Tywyll House. Bowen and Tamsyn have always worked well together and finally have the opportunity to see if they could be more; ghostly noises and mysterious happenings are the least of their worries if they cannot figure out how to get back to the present. VERDICT This third entry in the "Graves Glen" series, after The Kiss Curse, is a charming and sexy grumpy-sunshine-meets-magic romp in the Welsh countryside.--Jenna Harmison
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A wedding-spell mishap transports a magical-artifact hunter and a Welsh witch back in time. Tamsyn Bligh has earned a reputation for procuring magical objects, particularly the type that will earn her an impressive sum. While she's not a witch herself, her line of work allows her to cross paths with many people in that particular community, but none of them have left quite as strong an impression as the stoic, bearded Bowen Penhallow. When the two of them strike a deal in which Tamsyn will procure magical items for Bowen without resorting to less-than-legal means, it seems like the perfect agreement. Never mind the fact that Bowen has been the leading man in most of her filthy fantasies; Tamsyn has been an artifact hunter long enough to recognize that it would be a mistake to blend the professional and personal. Besides, she's got one more job lined up that could ensure she's financially set for the rest of her life; she'll just need to sneak into the witchy wedding of the century at Tywyll House in North Wales to pull it off. Meanwhile, Bowen has been invited to the same wedding, and when the two cross paths, sparks fly--in part because an unexpected spell catapults them back to 1957, to another Yuletide wedding on the same estate. As Tamsyn and Bowen are forced to work together to return to the present, they also have to perform some important matchmaking to ensure that Bowen's grandparents tie the knot--but nothing may be more dangerous than giving in to their own growing feelings. The latest installment in Sterling's bewitching series sets another charming romance against a new seasonal backdrop, with Bowen and Tamsyn proving themselves a couple to cheer for. Navigating time travel and magical mishaps might seem like a lot, but the book mostly succeeds at balancing all of these elements without sacrificing a beat of its main love story. A winsome, witchy rom-com. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
