I absolutely loved this book!!

If you are someone looking to get into dark romance but with a fantasy element, this is the book for you! Definitely read the trigger warnings but I found this book to be the perfect transition for me as someone who loves fantasy!

The FMC in this book was so strong, knows her own mind and genuinely knows how to work our MMC. The MMC is highly possessive and manipulative, with a DIRTY MOUTH but I was so here for it!!

The ending blew my mind and I cannot wait to read book 2!!

I thought this was incredibly well written with a plot that continued to grow, absolutely amazing spice and a great enemies to lovers!

This book was good from the get go! I loved how easy and paced this book was! Highly recommend! I love the dark academia, enemies to lovers and forbidden romance tropes, so this was right up my street!

Dark academia, witches, demons, secrets plots. and a good sprinkle of spice to complete the perfect October read!

Willow is a fiery FMC that gives Bryce Quinlan vibes before the self-importance settled in. Willow and her family have lived in hiding from The Coven, protected by her mother's magic, but her mother is gone, and it's only a matter of time before they come for her and take her Hollow's Grove University.

...and it is here we meet the star of the show; Shadow daddy and Headmaster Laric Grayson Thornea.

I am a huge fan of a slow burn enemies to lovers romance, and this did not disappoint. The story has a consistent pace, and the description of Willow's magic and how she interacts with the world is nothing short of mesmerising. There are parts within this story where I felt utter sadness for her, especially as the story unfolds. Harper weaves twists within twists into her storytelling as we approach the conclusion, and I found myself staying up that little bit later than planned to find out what was in store for Willow.

"The Coven" by Harper L. Woods had some aspects I truly enjoyed, but there were a few things that didn’t quite work for me. First off, if you're looking for a slow-burn romance, this probably isn’t it. The relationship between the main characters develops quickly – it’s much more of an insta-love situation. The rapid pace at which the romantic dynamics evolve felt a bit rushed to me, which took away some of the emotional buildup I usually enjoy.

While "The Coven" is marketed as Romantasy, to me it leaned heavily toward romance. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a personal preference, but I felt like the romantic relationship overshadowed much of the fantasy elements. It ended up feeling more like a fantasy romance than a balanced blend of both. That being said, I can see how others might really enjoy that aspect, especially if you're more invested in the romantic side of Romantasy.

One thing I absolutely loved was the world-building. The setting is grounded in a Christian worldview, which gave it a unique and interesting twist, especially for a fantasy novel. The concept felt cool and familiar in a classic way.

Another highlight was the protagonist's connection to two branches of magic: nature and necromancy. Both of these are personal favorites of mine when it comes to magic systems, so seeing them combined was a real treat. The way they were intertwined in the story was a chef’s kiss moment for me!

All in all, "The Coven" will definitely appeal to readers who are looking for a fast-paced, romance-heavy fantasy. It didn’t quite hit the mark for me in terms of balance between romance and plot, but the magic system and world-building still made it an enjoyable read.

Oh…. Now I have to wait for the second book. Wow, I loved it. Side note - Check trigger warnings. Thanks to the author, NetGalley and publishers for the arc of The coven By Harper L Woods.

Wow I loved this book. Enemy to lovers and a great story that had me gripped until the end. I found it kept me guessing the whole way through which I really enjoyed.

Harper L Woods has done it again, such a captivating plot all intertwined with a unique take on witches. This book has characters with different motives, spice, forced proximity, plot twists and a great pace. This one is on the dark side so read the trigger warnings if they may affect you before reading.

I loved this book. It was so enticing and made me forgot time was even passing.
The tension and and seduction was so on point. I did feel like mid was the actual plot was being out aside for the romance but it all came together in a way that made sense for that shift which was really satisfying. The cliffhanger had me immediately buying the second. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
I cant wait to finish this duology

I seem to be reading more darker romance recently, and this was a decent dark romantasy.

The 4 stars is mostly for the overall vibes, because this wasn't the best in terms of quality of writing. There was minimal world building, very little actual plot, and it was a little repetitive with some things.

But I enjoyed it very much. The Vampire Diaries/witchy vibes were immaculate, I loved the romance, the suspense and intrigue. I liked that it was dual POV too.

Some scenes were amazing, described beautifully, and it just made me wonder if the author created the whole story around them.

It ended on a painful cliffhanger, which definitely makes me want to read the next book.

This was so much fun to read, I adored the spicy scenes and the tension between the characters and the unexpected twists. Still not a massive fan of when this author finishes a book and writes “the end… for now” as I just feel like it diminishes the story down from what it could be.

The writing was really good and I enjoyed the magic system and how each house held a different type of magic. The pacing was perfectly done and the story was highly entertaining and kept me on the edge of my seat. Especially that ending!

My favourite parts of the book was seeing Willow access her powers to bring life to the nature around her. I though it was beautifully done and it provided a metaphorical "light" amongst all the darkness. As an FMC, Willow is a strong, sassy and independent young girl, we know that she's been through something horrifying but we don't discover it until the end of the book. I really enjoyed spending time with her, even though I didn't agree with all her actions.

As someone who doesn't read much dark romantasy, this book was darker than I expected it to be. I can't say I enjoyed the dark elements and some of them made me a little uncomfortable. If you're not into dark fantasy, this may be not for you. I did my best not to focus on those elements and actually really enjoyed the book for the spooky witchy vibes.

I'm already itching to jump into book 2!!!

If you like dark romantasy, this is a book for you. The MMC is dark, super dark. Over-protective, possessive and manipulative and absolute perfection. The spice was well written and not over done.

I thought the use of magic in this universe was really well done and I really enjoyed how it was wielded by the FMC.

Also I've seen many reviews commenting on how predictable the ending was but I didn't see it coming and loved it!

I do think the world building could have been done a little better, especially around the Coven itself as I don't think it was explained well. I also felt we rarely saw the background characters and those relationships. The FMC references being close friends with Della and Iban but we've barely seen them interact.

But overall I would definitely recommend this if you like a spicy dark read

This author never fails to disappoint!! The world building, the characters and plot were all great. The way the story builds leaving you hooked and not wanting to put the book down. A well written book with original story. There’s definitely a darker tone to this book which was a refreshing thing from the author. The wanted tropes were certainly there including enemies to lovers. The last few pages left you speechless. Book 2 will be an exciting read

I'm torn... I think it would be a 3,5 for me, but are a few things that worked and didn't work for me :

What didn't work:
- Please please please check trigger warnings before getting into this book. I must say that even knowing, the dubious consent is not something I enjoy, and it made me take distance.
- The explanations in the book are sometimes not making too much sense to me... What are they supposed to do? To what purpose? Wasn't always clear to me, and it seemed not to the main character either, so that might have been on purpose.

What worked :
- the hate/love feeling they have for eachother
- the dark (and I mean DARK!!) academia feeling
- how sassy Willow is
- and mainly THE ENDING!!! I know many say they saw it coming, but I didn't think it would go this way. Again, for most of the book I didn't really get what the goal behind her task was, so that took me by surprise, but I was ALL IN for it, and now I REALLY want to know what happens in book 2, cause I dont see any good ending possible... And it keeps me guessing.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for access to the ebook against an honest review.*

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
4 stars book from me. Loved the plot and the storytelling in The Coven and relatable, likable characters,. Loved every single second reading it.

Absolutely love everything and anything harper l. woods and this was yet again another banger.
The ending!!! Ahhhhhhh!!!! I’m not sure if it was just be but I did not see that coming!
I would definitely recommended but please make sure to read Tw before reading!!

Thankyou to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Bantam for a free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.

I have seen this book around for a while and wasn't going to pick it up until i knew it was going to be part of a special edition box- I'm really glad i did as this was really fun. I wouldn't say its the absolute best writing iv read but it was extremely engaging and fast paced and kept my attention easily. Very addictive and i really loved the tension and smut. I went straight into the second book after this one!

Many Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the digital review copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Ok, I going to annoy so many people here, But……. I cant tell you how many times I have read about when a female loses her virginity and somehow the male encounters her hymen inside her and just ploughs on through. IT DOESN’T WORK LIKE THAT!!!!!! (and I will bash anyone around the head with this book that thinks it is) Not only is it anatomically incorrect but it's really harmful to anyone who reads it and thinks that’s how we lose our virginity.
Honestly up until I read this point, I was already rolling my eyes at how much like this story is to every other story just like this I have read, that it offered nothing new. However, I will say that in general, I do like Harper Woods's other works, but this book was just too much for me.

I thought this book was interesting and quite different for the most part and I enjoyed it but I found the last 10% very jarring. It kinda came out of nowhere and felt very chaotic. I think I would read the next book just out of curiosity but this felt a bit too stop start for me

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book

I adored this book so much. From the beginning I thought it was interesting but as soon as I got to 15% I knew it was going to be an unputdownable book that I was going to be obsessed with. I was right, everything about this book was chefs kiss.

It’s not quite a 5 star, I think a 4.75 and book 2 will be a 5 star. I’m going to immediately order both books now! I’m so excited about book 2 and wow. Everyone must read this