Lucinda and Benedict have been rivals for years and they couldn’t be more opposite. Lucinda wielding water magic while Benedict wields fire. When the counsel of their magical small town nominate them both for the honor of high priestess, they are given an ultimatum. Either both leave or they agree to be bound (magically) forever. In an attempt to save Lucinda from this arrangement, her grandmother spells both her and Benedict to find their true soulmates before the binding on All Hallows Eve. Unfortunately there’s a wrong ingredient in the potion and these two find that their powers have swapped. Determined to keep this mishap a secret and save Lucinda’s family from punishment, they embark on a challenge to break their spell, return their own powers, and try not to kill each other in the process. Seems easy enough, that is, until Lucinda and Benedict find that they might not mind being bonded after all. But is it their true feelings acting out, or are they just under an odd side effect from a spell gone wrong.

This was a great Halloween read. The small town vibes gave the coziest and spookiest of ambiance. There’s vampires, werewolves, witches and the non-mag (non magic folk), each living within their own community rules with the occasional crossover. An arranged marriage between enemies to lovers trope. Open door spice that was heart tingling suspenseful. The pace was a little slow start for me but once it picked up, it made no pauses. Told from dual POV, I will say that for such a high position within their coven, I didn’t like that Lucinda seemed to rely on her mother and grandmother often. She slowly comes into her own towards the end but such an important emphasis on her taking the high priestess role, I expected her to be more secure in herself. However, I loved the overall feel and world built in this story and I will absolutely keep my eye out for the second book in this series.

This is a captivating read for fans of magical romance, witches, and slow-burning, enemies-to-lovers tales, who will be swept away by the enchanting world of Foxford and the tantalizing dance between Lucinda and Benedict's forbidden attraction.

This is a Halloween hallmark movie in book form.
It was such a cosy read, well written and the plot was fun.

Lucinda and Bennett love to hate each other, and unfortunately, their pranks end up with the town forcing them to be bound.

I loved the light banter and constant mishaps the two ended up in, even when they were trying to do the right thing.
Bennett was such a secret sweet person, reminding me of Luke from Gilmore Girls.

I can't wait for Peter's book.

The book was a bit slow at times but I will be looking out for more from this author

Cute, and cozy and addictive.

This was quite possibly one of the best books I read this fall. Lucinda and Benedict had such a great chemistry! I always do like when the fmc is more feisty. blushing, giggling and kicking my feet at how cute these two are. The setting and the side characters have their own magic, and GOD do I want more of them. Kudos to you, Kate.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to review this book.

Potions and Proposals is a light and fluffy paranormal romance. Two childhood enemies are given an ultimatum regarding coven leadership and . romantic comedy ensues. There is a small bit of adventure and big bit of bumbling as the two figure out how to move forward together. The story is minimal on character development and plot - not much happens during the 400+ page tale. Read this if you’re into cozy, autumn, small-town vibes with a chaste romance. Thank you to NetGalley and Kate Callaghan for this digital ARC.

Set in a magical small town, Potion & Proposals by Kate Callaghan is about two people who cannot stand each other but are forced to get married or risk either getting expelled from the town.

Summary: Lucinda "Lucy" Hawthorne and Benedict "Ben" Matherson cannot stand each other. They are water and fire... literally – those are their elements. Well, that is until they are forced to get married or risk either getting expelled from the town, and her mother and grandmother's potion somehow switching their elements. Now, the two need to work together to fix things.

Tropes/Genres:
• enemies to lovers
• small town
• fantasy
• paranormal
• forced proximity
• arranged marriage
• romance

Review: This book was okay. It has an interesting worldbuilding, but there is also a lot of flawed logic. A lot of plot points didn't make sense – they felt forced out for the sake of having the story progress that way. The characters don't make sense at times as well.

Lucinda and Benedict had more chemistry when they were constantly butting heads than when they finally weren't. I also found their pranks painfully immature. I appreciate the way they try to help each other, but it's just not that impressive. It's just not as impactful as it's supposed to be. The random sex scene in the book also stuck out like a sore thumb, especially considering it came out of nowhere; it probably would've been better if there was no smut at all.

There was a lot of flawed logic in this book. The arranged marriage is one of them (as if binding two people will magically make them stop fighting), the possibility of expulsion from the town is another), and so are the cause and resolution to their problem. Plenty of things just don't make sense in the plot. It feels like a lazy attempt to put the characters in a certain position to push the story forward.

Despite its flaws, I found the worldbuilding of this book very cool! I like the idea of it all. I just wish the author handled the plot and characters better. The writing could've been more concise, and many plot points could either have been tweaked a little or explained better. That would certainly improve the story a lot.

Overall, this is an interesting Halloween story with cool worldbuilding. If you fancy the idea of a small town with magical beings, this is a book for you!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the read.

Great romance book by a great author. Loved the story and plot line. The cover is beautiful and will definitely read from this author again

What a delightful read, a cosy book to cuddle up with, a great cat of characters and so much fun to read. The setting of Foxford is charming and Benedict and Lucy as well as Chaos make this book come to life. It is fun, entertaining, enjoyable and so much more.

A well written dn easy to read book that will have you entranced and wanting to be in Foxford with the quirky characters and the whimsical world on the pages of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and CallaghanWriter for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Lucinda and Benedict's story is one that made me smile, and with this quirky town filled with e me work me people they truly stood out. There was such a fun growth between these two characters as the story progresses which brought me such happiness. Written in a clear and visual style, Kate Callaghan gave me the all the warm fuzzy feels that I look for in a witchy read and a great dynamic between characters that reminded me in many ways of Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe. There was always a spark between them that made them the best rivals but as they grew that blossomed into something more and special.

This is an enchanting, heartwarming romance that blends magic, humor, and a dash of suspense. We get wonderful tropes such as Arranged Marriage and Enemies to Lovers which I loved.

I thought that the characters were really quirky and we got to see parts of the community developing throughout the story. I found this to be a delightful read with a great amount of humor that remained cute and fun throughout!

Absolutely worth reading!

Lucinda Hawthorne and Benedict Matherson would rather anything to working together, but as the classic twist in a small town goes they end up being bound together in a ritual to save their coven.

Through mischief and plots, these two definitely start to feel the magic of their desire - in equal measure for themselves and to the coven.

This is a adult paranormal romance with spicy scenes set in a magical small town which makes it a lovely autumn read.

Thank you to the author, Kate Callaghan and MetGalley for a free copy in exchange for a review.

Such a cute cozy lil romance! I loved seeing our two main characters find their feelings for each other even if it came from the little help of a magic potion! The village of Foxford was such an amazing place and I loved being absorbed in it with the townspeople!

*I received a free ARC from NetGalley*

This book features the enemies-to-lovers troupe mixed with witchy cuteness. The romance is slow burn. I'm pretty sure it's the beginning of a series, but it has a HEA ending. It took me a few days to read it because I just couldn't connect to the main characters. It may just be me and my mood at the time of reading, but a light read like this only takes me a few hours to read. All in all, it was OK to pass the time with.
I received this as an ARC from Netgalley, but these opinions are my own.

i really enjoyed this book. i rated it 4 starts. i love a good enemies to lovers, he falls first. forced proxicimity book. The tension between the caracters was great and there were a lot of good lines. Wil definatly read more of kate callaghan books.

This book was the perfect mix of cozy and captivating that I needed to get out of my reading slump. I don’t normally like the rival-to-lovers trope, but I loved the chemistry between Lucinda and Benedict.

What a fun little witchy read! Loved the tension between Luci and Ben, and the small town vibes. Had a lot of fun reading!

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC.

I loved this romantic, comfort read. Despite the very silly feuding between the FMC and MMC, I enjoyed how their relationship unfolded.

This book is well written, well paced and has that satisfying HEA that you need when the real world is getting too gloomy.

Title: Potions & Proposals
Author: Kate Callaghan
Release Date: 24 Aug 2024
Genre: Romance (Paranormal/Fantasy/Magic Realism)

Spoilers in review!!

With a dual POV we follow a 3rd person lovestory of witches Lucinda & Benedict, with side characters such as werewolves and vampires that may be explored closer in upcoming books. Refreshingly the FMC was not a damsel in distress, and though the MMC may have seemed morally grey he wasn't. The MCs are forced into a political engagement that unravels subconscious inner feelings and magical issues to be overcome resulting in several side quests. Well-paced plot, slow-burn with added light spice without the standard 3rd act breakup. We got the ending we were rooting for, though it could have benefitted from a more detailed Hallow's eve scene.

This whimsical and cosy, witchy story offered very easy-to-follow worldbuilding, magicsystem and storytelling. Potions and Proposals enjoyably invited me into a cutesy dreamworld of a magical smalltown Foxford, convincing me to care for the characters.

Stars: 4,5 of 5, definitely one of the better romances I have read this year.

Thankyou to Kate Callaghan and NetGalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

The town of Foxford is warm, cozy and inviting. Lucinda/Lucy and Benedict relationship is an adventure that you can see coming but brings so much emotions and joy. The other characters in Foxford add so much to the story. Definitely looking forward to the next book in the series (I’ve already pre-ordered).

Super cute witchy read. I liked the enemies to lovers with a bit of arranged marriage tropes. I felt the characters had a natural progression to getting together. This is a great read if your looking for some cute witchy fun for Halloween.