I enjoyed every moment of reading this book!
I love witchy romances
Really good characters and storyline
This book has a gorgeous cover

Thanks Netgalley for letting me read this book for an honest review

I loved this book! The witty banter, lovable characters, and themes of family, identity, and second chances make this an enjoyable read for fans of romantic fantasy. Overall, it is a delightful and heartwarming story filled with humor, magic, and romance.

Absolutely magical. Loved that Ngan infused Malaysian Chinese folklore and culture into a cosy fantasy romcom! Full review to come.

What an absolutely delightful read this was! I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This was so comforting, uplifting and heartwarming but still maintaining a really strong core of a story and without ever feeling saccharine. This is a story about reconciling all the different parts of your life whilst still finding space to be yourself. We follow Laila, she’s off to her seaside hometown to housesit for her parents while they are visiting family in Malaysia. She is responsible for looking after their tortoise Elvis, and their ancestral magical potion that they’ve kept brewing for 888 years. However when things very quickly go wrong, she has to ask for help from someone she find extremely irritating.

I don’t often like enemies to lovers, as I find a lot of the time, it’s just too mean and I can’t understand how the people end up liking each other. Not the case here at all. It’s done beautifully. Laila and Anthony have a long history between their families and there is some animosity. However rather than meanness, this leads to top notch banter and something that lights a fire in each other. Their bickering helps them both in difficult times through distraction. There’s always a level of respect too. I was really rooting for these two because you could see how they made each other’s lives better.

There’s some lovely supporting characters too. With Elvis the tortoise of course, but also the room mates, sister and members of another family. And you can’t forget the dad or the ancestors! The people in this book are complex, sometimes grumpy, but they are human and relatable and so easy to like!

This was my first book from this author but I will certainly be seeking out more from her now! I absolutely loved this. It got the balance of magic, romance and depth just right.

Well, this book was absolutely magical! 🪄💕 Such Familiar Magic was such a joyful, funny and wonderfully romantic read, and I completely fell in love with its mix of magic, family, friendship, banter and romance.

Set in the cosy English seaside town of Silverwood Cove, Laila Chu comes from one of three magical Chinese families living in the town. When her parents leave for Malaysia, Laila is trusted with an incredibly important family responsibility… and naturally, she manages to ruin it almost immediately! 😂🪄

Enter Anthony Lim — successful nature witch, skincare entrepreneur, childhood rival and Laila's not-so-secret teenage crush. The fact that he's also ridiculously attractive certainly doesn't make things any easier! 👀🔥

I absolutely loved the dynamic between Laila and Anthony. Their childhood rivalry gives them such a brilliant foundation, and the banter between them was one of my favourite things about the book. They know exactly how to get under each other's skin, but underneath all that teasing and irritation is a connection that becomes impossible to ignore. 💕✨

The forced proximity was so much fun too. When Laila accidentally causes a magical disaster and Anthony is the only person who can help her fix it, the two are thrown together on a magical quest to find the ingredients they need. And watching them navigate that adventure together was such a joy.

I loved how much personality the magical world had. This isn't your typical serious fantasy filled with chosen ones and epic battles. The magic is woven into everyday family life, complete with ancestors who have opinions, family expectations and the wonderfully chaotic reality of being part of a magical family. 😂🪄

The family dynamics were another highlight for me. Beneath all the humour and romance, there are some really lovely themes around family pressure, expectations, belonging and figuring out who you actually want to be rather than simply becoming who everyone else expects you to be.

Laila's journey really resonated with me. She's trying to work out where she belongs and how to balance her own wants with the expectations placed upon her, and I loved seeing her grow throughout the story. ❤️

And Anthony! 🥰 I loved getting to know the person behind the successful businessman and nature witch. His relationship with Laila develops in such a lovely way, and there were plenty of moments where I was absolutely rooting for these two.

There is also SO much humour throughout the story. The writing is witty, playful and wonderfully self-aware, and I genuinely found myself smiling while reading.

And we absolutely need to talk about the disco-ball tortoise. 🐢🪩😂

I mean… I don't think I need to say anything else.

Overall, Such Familiar Magic was everything I wanted from a cosy magical romance. It was funny, warm, romantic, charming and full of heart, with just the right amount of magical chaos.

If you love enemies-to-lovers, childhood rivals, forced proximity, cosy small towns, found family, magical quests, witty banter and romance with a little bit of sparkle, this absolutely belongs on your TBR. 🪄📚💕

It's the kind of book that leaves you smiling and wishing you could move straight into Silverwood Cove — preferably somewhere near the magical family shrine and that disco-ball tortoise! 😂🐢🪩

This is a delightful love story with a sprinkling of magic. A great enemies to lovers which hits all the right buttons.