Such a cosy, fun, and wholesome read!!
Thank you, Jillian and Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this e-ARC!

This was exactly the book I needed with all this rainy weather. It is like tea and a warm hug in book form!

I will admit I didn't realise this was connected to the Compass Points series until I started reading it. However, I still understood and connected with the world and the characters, and I still had a fun time reading this book!
(If anything, it makes me want to read the Compass Points trilogy even more)

Jillian writes cosy fantasy so well 😍
Great world building and magic system (not too complex or overwhelming) and very likable characters!

I loved Luna's character! Her confidence, sassy can-do attitude, and positivity completely won me over, and Vincent was the perfect balance with his grumpy, pessimistic yet lovable, and supportive personality.

I also liked that the narrative was a bit of a journey of self-acceptance and discovery for both the main characters, as well as reconnection to family and what it means to find your true home.

Plus, the slow burn........*chef's kiss*

Nothing particularly soul altering about this book, but it was the perfect palette cleanser after reading some more complex fantasy books, and I was just able to relax and enjoy the experience 🤗

Character development: 4/5
Magic system: 4/5
World building 3.5/5

Aaahhh, what a sweet and cozy book. Fun characters, reminiscent of a good rom-com. Spicier and more adult than I thought it would be, based on the description. The world was built well without requiring me to read 700 pages, and I appreciate that. I really had a good time, highly recommend.

This book so cozy and sweet and lovely and felt like the warmest hug. I loved Luna and Vincent individually and together. Seeing them work together and fell in love among the way was super fun. I would definitely recommend this!

Initial Thoughts & Overall Impression
Bargains with Benefits by Jillian Witt is a cozy, low-stakes fantasy romance that delivers all the warm, comforting vibes of a story you can enjoy curled up with a blanket. While it didn’t immediately blow me away, it grew on me, and I found myself especially impressed by how well the final section brought everything together. The emotional tone can be a bit uneven in places, but overall, this was a sweet, feel-good story with subtle magic and sincere emotional growth.


Main Character: Vincent

Vincent, the male lead, was a breath of fresh air. It’s not often we get a kind, warm, and openly supportive male main character who’s not brooding or morally grey. His connection with his magic is one of the most charming aspects of the story and it really becomes an extension of his inner self. One of my favorite elements was how his wind reacted to Luna, almost with a will of its own. As he puts it:
 “My wind and I are one, but sometimes it does things I lack the courage to.”


Main Character: Luna

Luna didn’t stand out as much initially, but she grew on me. She wasn’t annoying (which is always a win in romance), and I really admired how she encouraged Vincent to fully embrace who he is — especially in relation to his magic. As the story progresses, her arc of self-discovery adds more depth to her character. By the end, I found myself genuinely rooting for her. Her personal growth felt believable, and her confidence developed in a way that tied in nicely with the overall message of the story.


Their Relationship

This isn’t a classic enemies-to-lovers story even though it’s marketed as such — if that’s what you’re looking for, you might feel a bit misled. There’s a light friction at the beginning, but it doesn’t really hit the tension or opposition you’d expect from a classic enemies-to-lovers dynamic. That said, their relationship is refreshingly healthy. I loved how they were honest and open with each other, avoiding unnecessary miscommunication, which is rare and appreciated in romance. Vincent continually supports and reassures Luna, and their connection feels grounded in mutual respect.



Writing Style & Atmosphere

The writing is simple and clean — not particularly lyrical or standout in style, but it flows well and has no distracting issues. The atmosphere is cozy and whimsical, with subtle magical elements that never overpower the character-driven plot. Luna’s magic and the mysterious locked room in the inn were two of my favorite touches, adding just enough intrigue to keep things interesting without complicating the story too much.



Pacing & Plot (Especially the Final Act)

The pacing was one of the weaker points early on — especially when it came to emotional shifts. Sometimes the characters would go from cheerful to irritated and back within a single page, which felt jarring and affected the flow of the scenes. However, the last 30% of the book was genuinely fantastic. The plot thickens, and several twists are introduced — but they feel organic and well-seeded throughout the story, rather than being tossed in for shock value. Everything comes together in a way that’s satisfying and cohesive, tying up the emotional and narrative arcs without feeling rushed or confusing.


Final Thoughts

Overall, Bargains with Benefits was a comforting, magical read with lovable characters and a soft emotional core. I particularly enjoyed the mystery surrounding the inn’s room and Luna’s magic, as well as the character-driven resolutions. If you’re looking for a wholesome, easy-to-read fantasy romance with supportive characters, emotional honesty, and a touch of magical charm, this might be exactly what you need.

Review to come to Goodreads and TikTok!

✨Bargains with Benefits✨

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.75)
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

What a super sweet, cosy read this was, I had a lot of fun with it. I had never read anything from Jillian Witt so I wasn’t totally sure what to expect.

This would be really perfect for someone who is new to fantasy and/or likes a romance with a side of fantasy. The world-building isn’t too heavy or complicated, which keeps the story light and fun. It feels like a small town romance with fae/half-fae. This is an open-door romantasy with explicit scenes, though I didn’t find the spice to be particularly heavy. This worked for the book, because it kept it feeling more sweet than spicy.

Positives:
-Witty banter
-Strong FMC
-A MMC who falls first & hard
-Some surprisingly poignant political themes
-Relatively low stakes
-Dual POV


Critiques:
-It was ever-so-slightly instalovey, which isn’t my favourite
-There was a lot going on, and at times felt a little disjointed as the story moved through different plot machinations
-Slightly underdeveloped side characters

Overall, I really enjoyed this read. If you’re looking for something easy, quick and cosy to read, I’d really recommend this. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author!

A big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for approving me for the eARC!

Reviews to come on Storygraph, Amazon & Instagram

This was the cutest, coziest fantasy read and such a refreshing break from all the intense high fantasy books I've been diving into lately! Jillian Witt is a fantastic author who writes absolutely beautifully, and she captures the essence of this whimsical tale with her words. This book returns us to the world of Compass Points, which I was so excited about. We follow Luna, a half-fae full of love and warmth, and Vincent, a full-blooded fae with Old Fae heritage, an unlikely match who are absolutely adorable together.

Tropes include:
✨Cozy fae romantasy with a bit of steam and spice
✨Fae bargains
✨Elemental magic
✨Complicated families
✨Happily ever after

This was such a sweet read, filled with slow-burn, flirty banter, with some real steam towards the end.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the eARC of this book.

I had so much fun with this book. Luna is chaotic, warm-hearted, and totally relatable—just trying to save her magically weird inn while navigating messy fae family drama. Vincent starts off all snarky and polished, but watching him fall (hard) for Luna’s magic and messiness was extremely satisfying.

The banter is top-tier, the slow-burn tension had me kicking my feet, and the world feels like cozy romantasy comfort food with a little edge. Add in fae politics, mysterious locked doors, and found family vibes, and I was sold.

A great pick if you love opposites attract, fae intrigue, and stories where the bargain turns into something way deeper than either person bargained for. Definitely grabbing the next one in the series.

If you are looking for a cozy Fantasy in a fae world with different Elements you Need to Read this.

I absolutely loved the World Building. Sandrin is a small City where Fae, half-fae and humans come together. There Are different Kinds of fae families with their abilities and obviously some magical establisments.

The male Protagonist Vincent is fae and writes for a Newspaper where he has a Column called „the benefits of magic“ where he recommends all Kinds of (mostly) fae establishments or products.

The FMC is half-fae and strong Willed. She works at a magical bar and dreams of having her own Inn.

This Book surprised me with it’s political Themes and issues and also the Deep Look into the relationsships with both their parents and how they handled that. If you Need a mindless read with a little magic this is definetly it for you.

The Problems I had with this book was that the characters Fell Kind of flat for me, especially the emotions. The characters lacked Emotion for me or rather I didn‘t feel their emotions. Also the Focus shifted a lot in my opinion, because so much was going on and needed to be dealt with so you couldn‘t really Focus on one thing, which led to e.g. the relationship of them just feeling not right for me. The plottwists sadly also didn‘t hit for me the way I wanted them to. Maybe I Read the book at the wrong time in life.

Honestly I loved the idea of the Book and I am deeply impressed with the World Building for such a low starkes Fantasy, I am definetly going to Look at other things from the author. The whole bargain thing added such a cute and interesting touch. I just also really struggled with a few points.

Super cute. Super cozy. Not demure though, decently spicy!! I enjoyed this one but did find it took a while to be invested. By the end though I loved the characters and enjoyed the story.

Thank you so much for this ARC opportunity

Rating: ★★★★☆
Spice: 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️

Bargains with Benefits is the perfect entry point for romance lovers curious about fantasy. Most “romantasy” books I’ve read lean heavily on the fantasy/adventure side, with romance taking a back seat. This one flips the script—it feels more like a young adult romance that just happens to be set in another world… or so I thought! Around the 60–70% mark, the heat really kicks in. Once the characters get their hands on each other, they do not let go. It gets steamy.

The burn is slow, but the tension more than makes up for it. Yes, there’s the classic trope of not talking about feelings for too long, but what stood out here is that both characters were aware of their emotions early on—they just chose to keep them to themselves. That self-awareness made their yearning feel more authentic.

I loved their dynamic: shameless flirting (Vincent’s wind had no chill) mixed with witty banter that managed to be playful yet meaningful. Their connection developed in a way that felt organic and believable. Even during the brief “we’re not into each other” phase (which lasted maybe 10 pages), their chemistry made it obvious they couldn’t stay apart.

My only real issue was that it took a while for me to stop skim-reading and get fully invested. Also, I wasn’t sure how to feel about Vincent’s wind almost having a personality of its own—but once you lean into the vibe, it becomes oddly charming and actually helps carry the romantic tension.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a book where the dead mother isn’t treated like the Virgin Mary, the estranged father gets a believable redemption arc, and the characters don’t need a third-act breakup to realize they mean everything to each other.

Overall, this was a great read, even if it’s a bit outside my usual genre comfort zone. It sets things up nicely for the next book, and I’m excited to see how the hinted-at messy love triangle plays out!

Summary: Bargains with Benefits is a flirty, slow-burn Romantasy where the romance leads and the fantasy adds spice (literally, thanks to Vincent’s sassy wind). It starts cute, ends steamy, and sets up a juicy love triangle for book two. A fun, breezy read with surprising heat

In Bargains with Benefits you will find dual POV, elemental magic, low stakes romantasy with a HEA & a little bit of spice.

You first meet Luna Pierce (FMC) half fae/half human who recently lost her mother & who has not spoken to her father since childhood. Her old fae father comes to offer her a promotion running his failing Inn that she is currently the groundskeeper of, the catch is she has only a few weeks to have no vacancy, or he is selling it. Luna refuses to fail & have Cliff House Inn be sold.

This is where we are introduced to Vincent Andiveron. (MMC & Old Fae) Vincent is a successful columnist who anonymously writes 'The Benefits of Magic' which has helped over 8 businesses become hits within the local community. He wants more out of his columnist career & is given one opportunity to stop writing recommendations, he will do anything to further his career, but he will need some inside help.

Luna & Vicent create a Bargain to help each other reach their goals, Vincent will write a recommendation piece on Luna & the Cliff House Inn if she helps him find proof for his newest report.

"Luna was fae and human. Half of each, and wholly perfect." -Vincent

I truly enjoyed this book so much, the flirting, friendships & coziness of this world has made it on my "read again" list!

Thank you so much to Jillian Witt & NetGalley for the eARC & the opportunity.

I'd like to thank NetGalley, Jillian Witt, and Victory Editing for providing me with an eARC of Bargains with Benefits in exchange for a review.

Bargains with Benefits is a fantastic low stakes romantic fantasy that leaves you wanting to delve deeper into the Compass Points universe that it is set in.

With complicated family dynamics, found family, instant attraction, and even a little bit of fake dating thrown in if that's kind of your thing, this book blew all my expectations out of the water.

However, I do feel that the inclusion of spice in this book actually detracted from the experience for me in what is otherwise a very sweet, soft, and cosy romance.

This is book one in the Fae by the Bae series, which can be read as a standalone, and I'll absolutely return for future instalments.

📖 Bookish Thoughts
This one had a cozy setup and a fun magical premise, but I just couldn’t stay hooked. The pacing felt slow, and I didn’t fully connect with the characters. Still, I think fans of low-stakes romantasy might enjoy the small-town fae vibes.


🗓 Pub Date: June 3, 2025
Thanks to Victory Editing and NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

This follows Luna who has just found out her father (whom shes basically been in no contact with like her whole life because he's rejected her since she has no magic) wants to sell the inn. The inn she works and LIVES to make matters worse a man enters the pub she also works at and says something which reheats her anger. it was a harmless thing really, but somehow she's thrown the drink he ordered at her. Now he's intrigued by her and she by him, but things get messy when she realizes he's the one that writes her favorite recommendations. those very recommendations that can help her save the inn so they strike a bargain. he helps her with a recommendation but only if she helps him get access to her father for an upcoming major piece.

What to Expect:

📖Same World as Compass Points
📖Magic
📖Sprinkling of Spice
📖Instant Attraction
📖His Wind Magic is Obsessed with Her
📖Opposites Attract

Why it wasn't an entirely good fit for me:

📖A lot of the "romance" seemed to take place in their thoughts so my brain really had a hard time believing they had a true connection with each other until closer to the end. My brain try as it might to accept what I was reading as fact felt it was forced and it just wasn't believable to me. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn't. Unfortunately, in this case it didn't.


📖 The "big" reveal of WHY the inn was not succussful considering it had been in the past. with the who/what/when/where of it all I didn't feel a full resolution as to why. especially given the feelings of the fmc toward this particular person I was confused of the reality of it.

📖 The wind aspect in the spicy scenes. I know some people loved this but it was...weird for me. The entirity of the book the winds "personility" equated to more of a child for me. Especially given it's eagerness and excitement....and well the backstory of it.

📖The Bargains. "Fae" bargains. Now I'm not entirely certain of how magic truly works in Compass Points since I have only read this, but the word Fae was so misleading. These bargains can be broken and it seems without much negative fireback. The mmc often wanted to end the bargain but still do her piece.

Just because I didn't love the story like I thought I would does not mean its <b>bad</b>. It's just simply not meant for me and that's okay. Sometimes I can vibe, sometimes I over think throughout the whole story and can't connect. It happens.

Will it be the last time I try this authors books? No. The ending showed me I do enjoy aspects of their writing, and that this book just wasnt for me. I am also curious if I read Compass points if that would change anything for me. Would it make me like this story better or would it show me that maybe this universe just isn't my jam.

Thank you to netgalley for the earc and the oppurtunity to read this book early.

🩷 Book Review 🩷
📚 Bargains with Benefits
✒️ Jillian Witt
💫💫💫💫💫

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a FMC that grows into herself and a MMC that supports them all the way.

This book is a light-hearted, cozy read that leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5 stars

Bargains with benefits was a quick, fun and cozy read and I loved it. The ending was a little rushed for me and I would have liked to stay in the story a little longer to give more time for the drama to play out a bit more but I still loved every second of the story.

What I loved in particular:
- Luna and Vincent were a really cute couple, I really enjoyed their story.
- Semi - sentient magic. Particularly Vincent’s wind magic creating some of the sweetest moments in Luna and Vincent’s interactions.
- The world Jillian Witt has built is really compelling. I’ll definitely read the rest of this series and check out the prequel Compass Points series.

This book is the perfect short and sweet Romantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC.

- Goodreads review live: 19/5/25
-StoryGraph review live: 19/5/25
- Amazon review due: 03/6/25

A super fun, easy read that will have you swept up into the life of Luna as she grapples with her relationship with her father, as well as a budding romance with a local fae.

Luna is a quirky, happy-go-lucky half-fae who is struggling to keep her Inn afloat, and is given the opportunity to really sell the experience with the rest of the world, but that involves becoming reacquainted with her estranged father. As well as closely working with a columnist who she has undeniable chemistry with.

The story didn’t get too deep or complicated, but really thrived on the simplicity of human (or fae) emotions.

I've been deep in my Cozy Fantasy Era, and this book was exactly what I needed. It was utterly adorable and undeniably charming. What initially sold me was the comparisons to Gilmore Girls, and it delivered on that front. The cozy inn, the slow-burn romance, and the heartfelt relationships gave me all the warm, comforting vibes I was hoping for, and it added its own whimsical twist with fae and magic woven throughout.

At a time when I’m craving escapism more than ever, this story offered a soft place to land. And as someone with a complicated relationship with their father, a lot of the emotional beats hit surprisingly hard. Sure, the writing was a little clumsy in places, and some plot twists were wildly convenient or felt unrealistic, but that’s not why you pick up a book like this. You read it for the gentle magic, the swoony romance, and the comforting escape into a world that feels like a warm hug.

ARC received for an honest review from NetGalley

3.75/5 ⭐️ 2 🌶️

Such a fun, sweet, and cozy fae romance. Low stakes fae bargains, some banter and flirtatious wind magic. 💨 I truly enjoyed myself.

Luna Pierce, a half-fae FMC is tasked with bringing customers to her (full fae) father’s inn. Enter Vincent Andiveron, son of an important Old Fae family. They strike a bargain that’s mutually beneficial. They don’t plan on falling for each other but we know how that goes😉

🤍Dual POV
🔥Slow Burn
🌶️18+, spice
🪄Fae, Half-fae, humans
✨Elemental Magic types (air, earth, fire, water)
🌙complicated family dynamics
♥️HEA

Thank you @authorjillianwitt and @NetGalley for this free eARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
If you are looking for a slow burn romance with a little spice, some magic, and mystery, then this is the book for you!
I absolutely adored this cozy romantasy novel- it is perfect for a rainy day.
There were so many facets of this book that I enjoyed- the fierce protectiveness of Luna's friends, the relationship that Vincent had with his sister, and the way that Luna's high fae family surprises us all. If you love stories about faierie this is a fresh, low-stakes and light-hearted read.