I usually shy away from anthologies, finding that there may be a couple gems, but generally I find them lackluster. I got completely "got" by this author list though... and I am so glad I did. I LOVED this anthology, honestly wishing some of the stories could be full length novel (looking at you "Until December"). As with all anthologies there were some I skimmed over more quickly than others, but there really wasn't a single one I disliked. Some favorites were Kelly Andrew's "Until December", Tasha Suri's "The King's Witch", Kelley Armstrong's "Designated Virgin Sacrifice", Megan Bannen's " The Larkspur", and Katherine Arden's "Rosebud".

Overall, a very enjoyable collection that I see myself revisting.

There were so many great authors in this collection and I felt like they brought heart, heartbreak and magic to this anthology.

A whimsical ride through the world of romantasy told by some of the best authors out there! I didn't personally resonate or super love any of the short stories told but I do love that this book exists. It's perfect for anyone who wants to dive into different worlds of magic that have a romantic angle to them.

Also massive appreciation to the curators of this book, it is truly special to bring such amazing authors together all under the same roof for a collection as special as this one!

The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic is such a fun and captivating collection! The stories brim with imagination and charm, and I really appreciated the strong LGBTQ+ representation throughout. Even at their shortest, they felt well-developed and satisfying. My favorites were Wise’s, Slatter’s, and especially Arden’s — a heartbreakingly beautiful piece that really stuck with me. The only thing that gave me pause was that two of the stories felt a bit too similar in their academic setting when I was hoping for more variety. But that didn’t ruin the experience at all — overall, this is a delightful, dreamy anthology I’d highly recommend to any romantasy lover!

I individually rated each one of the stories that were in this anthology. To be honest, I was impressed by how many I liked, because it tends to be hard for me to connect with short stories. The only one I was completely disappointed in is Olivie Blake's The Fall Guy. She's my favorite author and this was... well, not good.

The Fall Guy - Olivie Blake (2⭐️)
The Dubious Ladies of Mirador - Melissa Marr (3⭐️)
Until December - Kelly Andrew (4⭐️)
The King's Witch - Tasha Suri (4⭐️)
Designated Virgin Sacrifice - Kelley Armstrong (4⭐️)
Second Class Magic - Kamilah Cole (3⭐️)
Bamboo, Ink, Paper, Clay - Eliza Chan (2⭐️)
Slay the Princess, Save the Dragon - A. C. Wise (3⭐️)
San't Marten's Book of Mild Melancholy - A. G. Slatter (3.5⭐️)
Good Deeds and their Magical Punishments - Hannah Nicole Maehrer (3.5⭐️)
The Larkspur - Megan Bannen (3⭐️)
Rosebud - Katherine Arden (3⭐️)

Thank you Netgalley and Titan books for the chance to read an ARC of The secret romantic's book of magic by various authors. I requested this because it included a short story from fav authors Kelley Armstrong, and Melissa Marr. The great thing about anthologies is the pleasure of reading even if you only have a few minutes you can usually finish one of the stories. Your favorite author might write a story that fans have been clamoring for, but hasn't been able to fit it into their series, want to write in a different direction, and is looking for feedback, or just has an idea that has been sitting in their brain. But the best reason to read anthologies is finding new authors. These stories are all romantasy tales. I loved Designated Virgin Sacrifice by Kelley Armstrong, and new author for me, Until December by Kelly Andrew. I really enjoyed The Dubious Ladies of Mirador by Melissa Marr, although it took me a bit to get into the story and Good Deeds and Their Magical Punishments by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (another new author for me). A few of the stories were ok, but I did have 2 stories I DNF.
A mixture of M/F and F/F romances.

A vast mix of reads. Some authors I’d already heard of or read, and some new to me. Some stories I really enjoyed, others were less my kind of thing, but that’s what makes anthologies so great! A great introduction to new authors!

i am, at my core, a big baby. so i had fun with these stories, all of them to some extent. i have my preferences (olivie blake, kamilah cole, eliza chan, ag slatter) but this is a fun one. brava.

As always with anthologies, there will be some stories that click better than others for individual readers. Standouts for me here were the stories by Katherine Arden, Megan Bannen, Kamilah Cole and AG Slatter; I did DNF the story by Olivie Blake, whose writing I've never got on with! Overall, most of these are cute and entertaining mini-romances with some fun concepts.

I loved dipping in and out of this collection. It was so nice knowing I had a plethora of wonderful reads available whenever I wanted, for whatever mood I was feeling!

Okay so I rated every story individually + wrote a little rating for each but figured I’d give a quick summary first. I’ve only read books by a few of these authors before and coincidentally, those were the stories I liked the best.

Overall this was less romantic than I expected, given the premise of this anthology. But each story was unique, and I do appreciate that.

1. The Fall Guy - Olivie Blake
1.5/5 - I didn’t like this at all, nor did I think it was romantic really in any way. I didn’t care for the writing style, the characters, and I found the story to be a bit all over the place. But 1.5 instead of 1 because a couple lines were pretty funny. I know that Olivie Blake is a popular author, but this is the first thing of hers I’ve read and I don’t feel a rush to pick up more currently.

2. The Dubious Ladies of Mirador - Melissa Marr
2/5 - I liked the writing style, but this was the most insta-lust/love book I’ve ever read. I think it was supposed to be more like fated mates but it just came off a little bizarre to me.

3. Until December - Kelly Andrew
2.5/5 - I don’t love how this ended, or the first half-ish of this story. Once the MC’s start working together to get answers, I was curious and quite into this but overall it was just okay since it was very up and down to me.

4. The King's Witch - Tasha Suri
3/5 - This is more what I expected from this anthology. A bit of world building but done in an understandable way, and it actually felt romantic. I thought the story itself was just okay, but I am glad that my rating is improving with each story.

5. Designated Virgin Sacrifice - Kelley Armstrong
4.5/5 - Definitely my favourite story so far! At first I was pulling for a bit of a ‘why choose’ type plot line but this ended up being a really interesting surprise, and the writing style totally worked for me. 4.5 instead of a full 5 because the end got a little cheesy.

6. Second Class Magic - Kamilah Cole
2.5/5 - This was fine. The end got a bit rushed, and I felt like I wanted more from it. But it was just fine so middle of the road eating.

7. Bamboo, Ink, Paper, Clay - Eliza Chan
DNF - Okay I did actually read all of this but I genuinely just did not understand it soo I’m putting my rating as DNF instead of number because it basically feels that way. I just could not connect with this, or wrap my head around it.

8. Slay the Princess, Save the Dragon - A. C. Wise
DNF - Unlike the last story where I said I did read it but still am considering it a DNF, I actually did DNF this one about 1/3 of the way in. This read very young to me. I don’t mind YA, but this felt like YA trying to be adult by throwing in the word ‘fuck’ and Ev came off very immature so I didn’t see a point in continuing a story I knew was just not going to be for me.

9. San't Marten's Book of Mild Melancholy - A. G. Slatter
2/5 - I didn’t get this one. Like the story itself, sure, but it didn’t feel romantic to me at all. They hooked up prior to the story and that was basically just alluded to a few times and then it ended. Okay.

10. Good Deeds and Their Magical Punishments - Hannah Nicole Maehrer
4/5 - Super cute story, but the sex was unnecessary. It seems like it basically came out of no where with the timeline, even just making out could have conveyed basically the same message. But overall I liked this.

11. The Larkspur - Megan Bannen
3.5/5 - I adore the Hart & Mercy series, so I was really excited for this story. I think having read that does help the reader understand the world / backstory a bit, but it really isn’t necessary. I did like this story, but it doesn’t really feel like something that will stick with me.

12. Rosebud - Katherine Arden
3/5 - Interesting story to end this anthology with. I didn’t love the ending really, but overall it did keep me intrigued and was different than anything else in this book, which is fun.

Fantastic collection of short stories, all containing themes of love and/or romance. The selection of authors here is what drew me to request it in the first place as I have a love/hate relationship with short stories - both the good and bad ones are too short for differing reasons. This was a good mix of adding to established worlds from the authors included and new standalone offerings.

A fantastic combination of fantasy short stories, all from familiar names - authors I’ve either enjoyed reading before or have on my tbr. The stories themselves offer a great variety of settings and magic and characters, each with their own hook and every one of them an interesting read. I don’t even think I could pick a favourite.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I don't often read short story collections, as I'm usually left unsatisfied either due to wanting more of a story, or feeling a story isn't well developed. I had a generally good experience with this collection, with half of the stories being a 4 star or higher rating. Overall, I don't feel like all of the stories fit the theme of the collection. They all did have fantasy elements, but there were a few that didn't have, in my opinion, romance or even just a romantic lean at all.

1) "The Fall Guy" by Olivie Blake - 2 stars.
My first time reading Blake, and man, she loves a long run-on sentence, doesn't she? This helped confuse me, which added with trying to do too much in a short story, left me feeling very lost. I also didn't feel any chemistry between the main characters.

2) "The Dubious Ladies of Mirador" by Melissa Marr - 3 stars.
I didn't really understand why it had to change between 1st and 3rd person?? It was fine, but completely insta-love.

3) "Until December" by Kelly Andrew - 5 stars.
I loved this one. It's college rivals-to-lovers with an interesting magic system and fun characters. I thought the world building was done well and explained just enough for the length of the story. I would love a full-length story, but it actually worked super well as a short story.

4) "The King's Witch" by Tahsa Suri - 3.5 stars.
Well written. Perfectly fine.

5) "Designated Virgin Sacrifice" by Kelley Armstrong - 3.5 stars.
Pretty well written, but maybe a bit on the nose with its message/moral. It felt like it was trying to surprise me, but I saw exactly where the story was going the whole time.

6) "Second Class Magic" by Kamilah Cole - 4 stars.
Loved the first line! Pretty good, well written, and a concept which I would love a longer story of.

7) "Bamboo, Ink, Paper, Clay" by Eliza Chan - 4 stars.
My first Eliza Chan, and it really solidified my already existing want to read her full-length books. Beautifully written. I loved the writing style and the concept. It was executed very well.

8) "Slay the Princess, Save the Dragon" by A. C. Wise - 4.5 stars.
This was a well-constructed short story. The world building was small enough to be focused on the short story, but enough context to get a good feel for how this story sits in the greater world. I enjoyed the characters, and it was just really cute.

9) "San't Martens Book of Mild Melancholy" by A. G. Slater - 2.5 stars.
The first two pages were all info dump, which added to this story not really feeling like it worked as a short story. I didn't feel anything for the characters, and it really wasn't a romance at all. The 'climax' of this short story was so rushed and didn't feel impactful at all. I think it would have worked wonderfully as a much longer story (even just novella length).

10) "Good Deeds and Their Magical Punishments" by Hannah Nicole Maehrer - 2 stars.
It was fine, but another one that was a bit on the nose with its moral message.

11) "The Larkspur" by Megan Bannen - 5 stars.
This was the reason I wanted to read this collection. I love Megan Bannen's series, which this story is set in. This was well written and perfectly paced as a short story. I think it would still be good to read even if you haven't read the Hart and Mercy books (which I recommend!), just roll with it and it's still a fun and yes, actually romantic story. Sterling needs a big hug.

12) "Rosebud" by Katherine Arden - 4 stars.
Beautifully written, a magical and engaging setting. Once again, not really a romance. And it did end very abruptly with no explanation (which I for one, do not much like).

Anthologies are akin to a chef's tasting menu.

Both introduce their audience to a bite size portion.
Both introduce their audience to a taste of what they have to offer by way of style and substance.

There were a few authors known to me in this collection, and much more unfamiliar. Standout reads included those from the irrepressible author, Hannah Nicole Maeherer "Good Deeds and Their Magical Punishment" and the whiplash banter in Kelly Andrew's "Until December".

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Titan Books, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

#TheSecretRomanticsBookofMagic #NetGalley

After loving the dark academia anthology Titan published a couple of years ago, and being a fan of romantasy, I was so excited to give this one a go, especially because the author line up is a good mixture of authors i’ve enjoyed and well known/liked fantasy authors. Although there were some stories that I really enjoyed, my favourite being Until December by Kelly Andrew which was a 5⭐️ in its own right (but with special mentions to The Dubious Ladies of Mirador by Melissa Marr, San’t Marten’s Book of Mild Melancholy by A G Slatter, Good Deeds and Their Magical Punishments by Hannah Nicole Maehrer and The Larkspur by Megan Bannen) the collection as a whole was a bit hit and miss for me, with sadly more misses than hits :(

I think the problem is that it is incredibly difficult to write a romance that feels believable (and that you can connect to and root for as a reader) within a fantasy world that feels appropriately fleshed out when writing in the short story medium and this is where a lot of the stories just fell flat for me when there was a lot of potential.

So far I've only finished Tasha Suri's story but I really enjoyed it. Her writing is stellar as ever. It is about a witch forced to marry a king...but not all is as it seems. Reviews on goodreads & storygraph to come.

I have to say it is only of late that I have been reading more romantasy. I have enjoyed some novels with romance subplots but it’s only over the past year or so I’ve been giving this genre more of a chance. I wish I had had this collection when I first stepped into the Romantasy genre. It is a perfect introduction to the different types you can find in numerous brilliant books out there. I will say the first thing that drew me in was the fact it features some of my favourite authors namely A.G. Slater and A.C. Wise. That said I have managed to find several new authors I will be reading their backlog of works thanks to this.
Generally with anthologies you can expect some hits, some misses and some that somewhere in the middle. For me, though, this collection was enjoyable throughout. I did have a few favourites but I have to say each story stood on its own merits and was enjoyable as well as memorable. As I already said this is a the perfect introduction to the genre to someone who may feel a bit overwhelmed on where to start. It also offers a lovely cross section of what is available in the genre.
As always thank you to Titan Books for the advanced copy to review, my reviews are always honest and freely given.

The Secret Romantic's Book of Magic is a beautifully crafted romantasy anthology. Each story puts a unique twist on beloved romantasy tropes, from enemies-to-lovers to second-chance romance to monster slaying. The anthology blends dark whimsy, gothic allure, epic high fantasy, and subtle threads of modern magical realism, creating a reading experience that is both refreshingly original and completely absorbing.

Whether you’re a romantasy lover or new to the genre, The Secret Romantic's Book of Magic offers an enchanting mix of passion, peril, and powerful storytelling. Perfect for cosy nights and readers who believe in both magic and love.

As is the nature of short story collections some of the short stories were good and enjoyable while others fell flat. The collection entices with a stong set of authors, which made me want to read it in the first place. Sadly most of the stories in this one weren't as good as I hoped, 7 out of 12 I rated less than 3 stars. The only 5 stars story for me was "The King's Witch" and while some others were pretty enjoyable too most of the other stories were, tbh, a little boring and foreseeable. Still, what I especially liked was the inclusion of some queer stories (I just love my lesbians)! All in all it was an okayish read, would still recommend it to someone who is a huge romantasy fan.

Thank you NetGalley for providing and eARC of this book! ☆