A perfect story to slip into Autumn/Halloween that is full of charm, chemistry and necromancy, what's not to love?!
Annie seemingly has it all just perfectly so in her life running her bakery Celeste, but behind the too good to be true front, Annie hides secrets behind her magic. When her coven task her with taking a teenager under her wing who has just come in to her magic, the pressure is on for Annie to find out what are the coats of perfection and decide what really matters.
A fantastic follow up to Rewitched, but don't worry it completely stands alone as a book with just a few cameos of familiar characters and references but it isn't crucial to have read the first to enjoy this book. This is a completely charming and wonderful story that came into its own and was a joy to read.

Utterly joyously and charming! Such a lovely cosy world to escape into, full of beautifully imagined magic and colourful detail. I loved Annie (and yes, I am one of those somewhat exhausted daughter who aims to fix it all for everyone), and teenager Maeve was scarily relatable too. Just the right amount of gentle, and not so gentle, twists and turns and a little sprinkle of friendship and romance. It all makes for the most delicious treat to savour as the nights draw in.

Rating: 4.25 stars

Round of applause for Lucy Jane Wood please. This book was everything I needed. Such a cozy, but still filled with important points and action, fantasy. As an interconnected standalone series, both Rewitched and Uncharmed give of the autumnal vibes I crave for. With a dash of baking and a hint of found family, Uncharmed felt like a warm hug.

Annie felt so incredibly realistic. Her struggles trying to keep up with her friend group and always help everyone while also juggling daily stuff, it was so real.

I cannot wait to see what Lucy Jane Wood comes up with next, and you can bet I will be reading that!

Firstly thank you to the publisher Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for allowing me to read this amazing book.

I’m not unfamiliar with Lucy Jane Wood’s work as I have previously read and highly enjoyed Rewitched so I was looking forward to reading Uncharmed and it did not disappoint. It is a beautiful, comforting, cosy book infused with wit and charm. It’s a book about found family, fake friendships and discovering you don’t need to be perfect for everyone else to be happy. The characters are beautifully developed and I found I enjoyed just learning about them. Annie’s emotional arc is beautifully done.

This is a perfect read for anyone that needs a reminder that it’s okay to not have everything figured out. It’s okay to not be perfect, you don’t have to please others to be yourself. That there is beauty in imperfection.

What can I say? I was thoroughly charmed by Uncharmed. I requested this one because the cover gave me cozy witchy vibes and I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, it gave me a lot more than I thought I’d get and it’s officially another cozy fantasy favorite for me this year!

I loved the growth and pride I felt while reading about Annie. She needs the biggest hug ever and I’m glad in the end she has her people, her home, and her magic. Following her from the start where she was ready to push herself until the end to follow the perfection and people pleasing tendencies to be accepted by people, some quite undeserving of her, simply broke my heart for her.

And the way she took care of Maeve, our troubled teenager witch, and how they both helped each other was such a wonderful experience to read about. And when Hal showed up, the found family found each other and they worked so well together.

Ah, I want to write more about this book, but at the same time, I want to let the people experience it for themselves as well without spoilers. This being said the cozy witch vibes would be perfect the chilly days around Halloween as well!

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the arc! I appreciate it!

I don’t know what spell Lucy Jane Wood has cast upon this book, but it’s like having a magical hug from the start.

Annie Wildwood’s life is perfect. Well, that’s what she’s aiming for at least. And with a secret spell helping her - she can surely do no wrong.

That is until her world gets turned upside in a very imperfect way by a teenage witch in need of some guidance.

Filled with teenage angst, mid-life angst, furry familiars, found family and a lot of personal growth, this is the perfect book to cosy on down with on the autumn months. Best read with a mug of hot chocolate and a slice of cake.

Thank you NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for the ARC.

Uncharmed has all the cosy vibes from the sickly sweet perfect nature of Annie to the almost Disney element of the Mary Poppins meets Snow White in the woodland cottage with ingredients flying through the air and magic redecoration. I liked Annie's character and her emotional struggle to always be perfect because she sees her worth as dictated by how well she acts or appeases those around her. Annie's night-time routine was clever and gave a lot of depth that while perfection is surface level, underneath there is always something deeper that causes a person to act in a certain way. I particularly liked how Annie coped when she embraced imperfection and stood up for herself against her 'friends' at The Sorciety. I think Annie and the book will resonate with readers and has a really strong message.

I did struggle with the pacing of this book. Wood is very good at creating setting and atmosphere with detailed description but at times I felt that over description was unnecessary and made passages very dense. There was a lot of describing but not a lot of doing, I noticed this at the end with the big showdown with the villains. It was a lot of describing but not enough action. The first 30% was well written and set the scene, but I did find it hard to stay engaged. The pace did pick up once Annie and Maeve settled in at Arden Place and I enjoyed their interactions. As much as I liked Hal, I thought the romance between him and Annie could have been developed slightly more. I didn't quite understand how they went from being strangers to trusting each other completely. This is a story that mainly focuses on Annie's internal struggles of not being good enough instead of action or Maeve as the centre. The storyline with Maeve and her magic is more a tool to help Annie grow and I wanted to see more of Maeve. I understand that this book takes place in the same world and before the events of Rewitched, but I think it is unclear to readers what the timeline is, especially as Morena and Bronwyn make an appearance.

Overall, a slow burn, cosy read with relatable characters and a strong message. I just wanted more action and pace that helped tie all the plot points together.

Another really well written, highly enjoyable read! The vibes this book gives off makes you all fuzzy Inside. I love how the characters really stand out and I expected it to be good because the previous book was amazing, and I was not dissaounted at all! Ordered myself a special edition from waterstones at around 30% of the way through!
Detailed review to come but had to just say how much I enjoyed this!

Uncharmed follows Annie, a witch with impossibly high standards, and also the proud owner of Celestial Bakehouse, a bustling London bakery. Annie devotes her powers to pleasing others, and while perfection exacts a magical toll, it’s a price she is more than willing to pay. When Annie is tasked by her coven with mentoring a trouble teenage witch, her charmed existence is thrown into chaos. She couldn’t be more different from fiery, stubborn Maeve, or Hal, the gruff but handsome owner of their temporary lodgings. As the unlikely trio slowly bond, outside forces begin to take an interest in Maeve’s extraordinary powers. Will Annie risk everything to protect the true magic she’s finally found?

After really enjoying Rewitched, I have been so excited to read the next cosy, witchy novel by Lucy Jane Wood. Like the first instalment, Uncharmed is a comforting, cosy book infused with Lucy’s hilarious wit and charm. I really enjoyed the secluded woodland cottage setting, as well as the bakery setting. All of the descriptions of baked goods had me drooling!

Annie was a great FMC, who gave me Elle Woods/Barbie vibes with her love of all things pink and girly. She had a lot of depth and great development, and seeing her break free from societal and self-imposed expectations, and find out what she really wanted from life was so satisfying to read. Maeve was the opposite of Annie, and seeing them form a close bond after initially clashing was so sweet. I also enjoyed Hal, the MMC, and the found family bond the trio created. However, I found Hal to have less depth than Annie and Maeve, and the romance in this book is definitely a more of a subplot.

The plot is fairly low stakes and slower paced until the end, but I really didn’t mind this. I enjoyed the cosy vibes, the dynamics between the characters and the fluffy magic so much that I was content just reading about the characters daily lives. There was some action at the end, and the ending was super sweet and exactly what I wanted for the characters.

I was a little confused with the timeline of this book in comparison to Rewitched, as there is a character in Uncharmed that turns out to be a villain in Rewitched. This felt a little bit disconcerting, as I assumed that Uncharmed, being the second book in this world, took place after Rewitched.

I’d recommend this book to anyone wanting a cosy, witchy fantasy with relatable characters, emotional depth, sugary sweet magic, and a hint of romance. This book comes out in September and it will make the perfect autumnal read! I really hope Lucy continues writing in this world, and I’m excited to read whatever she releases next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me with an eARC. All opinions are my own.

This wasn’t a groundbreaking read, but it had just enough warmth and charm to make it a pleasant experience. The protagonist, Andromeda "Annie" Wildwood, is a witch who runs a bakery and has a soft spot for the color pink. Everything in her life is perfect on the surface, but beneath that, she’s a classic people-pleaser who struggles to rise above the high expectations she sets for herself. What’s worse, she’s surrounded by a toxic circle that, under the guise of friendship, keeps her feeling small.

Things begin to shift when Annie is unexpectedly tasked with mentoring Maeve, a teenage girl who has just discovered her magical powers and needs guidance. Along the way, Annie also meets Hal – a brooding yet undeniably charming wizard –whose house she and Maeve end up occupying. Both Maeve and Hal help Annie realize that she doesn’t need to live up to anyone’s expectations but her own.

This book, while fitting neatly into the cozy fantasy genre, tries to explore also more serious and relatable themes. The central thread is Annie’s journey toward self-acceptance and breaking free from societal and self-imposed pressures – something many readers, especially young women, may connect with. That said, I think the story will resonate most with readers who personally identify with Annie’s internal struggles. For me, it didn’t quite land on a deeper emotional level, but I can absolutely see how it might for others.

Like most cozy fantasy, the stakes here are pretty low, so it’s more of a comforting, feel-good read than something that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The villains were kind of over the top and felt more cartoonish than threatening, but that wasn’t a huge issue. What l worked for me was the found family element – it came across as genuine and heartwarming.

I really liked Hal, even though he isn't as fully fleshed out as I wish he could have been. While I usually don’t mind romance taking a backseat, I did find myself wishing that part of the story had been developed just a bit more.

My main gripe was the pacing. The first 30% of the book is mostly setup, and not much actually happens during that time. It took a while for the plot to find its rhythm, which made it harder for me to stay engaged early on. That said, once it picked up, it turned out to be a fairly quick and easy read.

Overall, this is a gentle, comforting read that may not have left a lasting impact on me personally, but will likely be a meaningful and cozy escape for the right reader. If you enjoy low-stakes fantasy with themes of self-discovery and a sprinkle of magic, this might be exactly what you're looking for.

I loved Lucy’s first book and I really loved her second uncharmed. The story is a cosy read. The story flowed beautifully and I really enjoyed the characters and connections. It’s a beautifully written book . Such a wonderful read for a cosy day of reading.

This is such a lovely book! I really enjoyed Lucy Wood’s first book, Rewitched, so I had high hopes for this book too, and it didn’t disappoint.

This book is set in the same world as Rewitched, just in an earlier time, and it was lovely to revisit the world with its mix of magic and non-magic. I also enjoyed the few nods to the Rewitched plot and characters too!

I really enjoyed the friendly tone of the writing, as well as the gentle humour all the way through. As a second book, I found it really comforting to return to Wood’s writing style. I love all the descriptions which help to make the book seem cosy and rich without being too flowery, and I particularly enjoyed the commitment to the baking theme.

The main cast of characters is small and quite well developed. The focus is obviously on Annie as the main character, and she is a really interesting character. Something I enjoyed with both this and Rewitched is that even with the magical elements, the main characters both have quite realistic struggles (anxiety, people pleasing, fear of not living up to expectations). I think these traits make the characters quite relatable, and Wood does a really good job of translating those struggles into a magical world.

Overall I really loved this book, it was packed with magic, warmth and delicious baking. A really lovely Autumnal read!

This was a slow start for me when I started to read it but overall I really enjoyed it, much like I did Rewitched and I found it to be an easy read. It's magical and cosy but yet so much more than that. Uncharmed is a really enjoyable heart-warming read, the main characters that were introduced were really interesting and quite quickly you become entwined in a witchy world. I am looking forward to seeing how these characters may be introduced with previous characters in another book as like Rewitched, I found their characters believable and likeable.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was just as delightful as the first book! Uncharmed was actually incredibly charming. Our protagonist in this book, Annie, is a witch wearing herself out in attempt to be impossibly perfect at all times. Incredible props to author, as I think Annie’s archetype is one that I would normally really dislike, but in this book I really enjoyed. In one of her many attempts to please everybody, Annie takes on the role as mentor to a young witch named Maeve. Maeve is a character I did genuinely enjoy and relate to (even though I’m older than Annie). Together with Hal, who is a wonderful man full of green flags, they form an unlikely trio of found family.

This book really seemed to have a little bit of everything I hope for in a book. Found family, main character over 30, green flag MMC, self discovery, true friendship, suspense and a very hefty dose of magic.

I was almost put off in the beginning when the American character was introduced. As an American with a British partner who spent years living in the UK, the hatred towards Americans, which Brits often think is just funny when it is actually incredibly rude, got incredibly old. I was mildly worried with the way the character was treated in the first few lines that this would be the case with this book but it wasn’t at all, so I am genuinely incredibly impressed and happy. I do hope however that Annie managed to magically procure one of incredibly rare and pricey boxes of graham crackers for her s’mores, otherwise digestives are much more suitable than other crackers!

I hope there are more books to come, and what I am guessing by now is a belated congratulations to the Lucy Jane Wood on her wedding!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to have this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lucy Jane Wood’s Uncharmed offers a delightful blend of witty storytelling and modern romance. The characters feel fresh and real, especially the clever dialogue and engaging emotional arcs. While the pacing slows a bit in the middle, the ending tied everything together wonderfully. A delightful, cozy read with enough humour and heart to keep you smiling—and reading another chapter.

This story was just as charming as Lucy's first book, although the themes tackled are quite different. What I love about Lucy's books are the immaculate vibes, the strong nostalgic pull and how heartwarming the characters are. An added plus was the chemistry between Annie and Hal, and all the talk of delicious baked good. I will be reading everything Lucy publishes in the future.

Annie Wildwood is the perfect witch with high standards. The proud owner of Celestial Bakehouse, a bustling London bakery, she devotes her powers to pleasing others, and while perfection exacts a magical toll, it’s a price Annie is more than willing to pay. However, her existence is thrown into chaos when she's tasked by the coven to mentor a troubled teenage witch Maeve, where they temporarily take residence in Hal's woodland cottage, unbeknownst to him.

After loving Rewitched last year, I knew I was gonna love Uncharmed and I was right. I love Lucy's writing and her ability to take you to a magical world, where you can lose yourself in the pages, which is exactly how this book felt to me. It all flowed well and I loved seeing everything come together.

I loved the characters, especially Annie, Maeve and Hal - I related in particular a lot to Annie and Maeve, which I love when I feel connected to the characters. I was so invested in them that some parts had me feeling emotional. I loved their development throughout and it was beautiful to see them come into their power. I love the lessons that Maeve taught Annie about authenticity and not bending over backwards for people who don't deserve your energy, by molding yourself to fit their expectations of perfection and carrying a lot of pressure, instead of existing as an imperfect self.

I really loved the plot and the journey it takes the reader on. It felt like it was easy to visualise everything and had me wishing for one of my favourite seasons to arrive: autumn!

⚠️ CWs: alcohol use, bullying, cursing, fire, injury detail, physical assault; mentions death, blood, cheating, abandonment, death of a parent, derogatory language, ⚠️

Thank you Macmillan and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early, in exchange for an honest review.

3.25 stars

The cozy fantasy genre is new to me, but this book was a pleasant surprise. Compared to the first installment, I found this story to be a clear improvement. The main character resonated with me more, and I was genuinely curious about the reasons behind certain things that kept me reading.

The writing and atmosphere are undeniably cozy; in that sense, the book absolutely delivers. That said, I did find the pacing a bit slow at times. Some events could have moved along a little more quickly, which might have made the overall story even stronger. I also would have liked to see more depth in some of the supporting characters, a bit more insight into their motivations or backgrounds could have added extra richness to the story.

All in all, a warm and enjoyable read that shows clear growth from the first book. I'm curious to see what the author has in store next!

I absolutely loved Rewitched and was excited to be given the opportunity to read the Arc of Uncharted. I loved the world building of the first and the development of the Sorciety.
However I really struggled with this. I liked the idea of Annie's journey and struggles with trying to be the best and people pleasing, and the found family aspects as well as looking at current friendships through a different lens, but I found it so heavy with it's descriptions and use of adverbs, which made it feel incredibly slow to read. It felt cosy but it also felt drawn out.
I read Rewitched as an audiobook and that may have been a better way to read this for me personally.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Uncharmed by Lucy Jane Wood is a warm, cozy, feel-good read — perfect for curling up with on an autumn day, hot chocolate in hand. This is the second book I’ve read by this author, and I really hope she continues writing more!

I absolutely loved Annie’s character and the journey she goes on throughout the story. Her growth felt authentic and heartwarming, and I was genuinely happy to see her, Maeve, and Hal get the happy ending they deserved.

If you’re looking for a comforting, charming read with plenty of heart and fireside vibes, Uncharmed is a great pick.