I received a copy from Bonnie Doon Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Emma is a witch living in a small town full of all types of paranormal folks. In hopes of becoming an official member of the coven, she’s putting her coven membership on the line by nominating herself to plan the annual Beltane Ball. Now she just needs to get Alaric, a local vampire and duke, to let her host the ball at his estate…
One of my favorite tropes is fake dating, so of course I was all over this book. We follow Emma and Alaric through their rotating perspectives as they allow their fake relationship to lead the way. Emma is planning the Beltane Ball, and the location alone should help her pull off one hell of an event. Meanwhile, Alaric is willing to fake date Emma if it means his possibly dying grandma will think he’s on his way to getting married. It’s a really cute premise.
Unfortunately, Emma and Alaric don’t have any chemistry, and much of the book is spent on planning the Beltane Ball. Alaric’s grandma had more chemistry with a male suitor she briefly interacted with than they did. It’s sad because I really liked both Emma and Alaric! They’re such kind, thoughtful, and sweet characters that I really wanted to root for them. They just didn’t have an ounce of chemistry, and some of their interactions were very procedural when they were supposed to be falling for each other. They both came to life around other characters, though, so that was enough for me!
Actually, I loved almost all of the characters in the book. I particularly loved Penelope, Emma’s familiar, who was an absolute delight. However, most of the characters are wonderful in different ways. I even looked forward to seeing Emma’s competition, who wasn’t exactly nice most of the time. That said, I’m a little sad about how vampires appeared in the book. The vampire characters were delightful, and I loved Alaric’s grandma to pieces, but there was hardly anything vampiric about them. The only thing that really made them different was their longer lifespans and the need to drink a few drops of blood here and there. Other than that, I honestly forgot they were supposed to be vampires.
All in all, it’s a cute book. The characters are cute and fun, and the overall premise is great. However, Alaric and Emma lack chemistry, and I’m still confused about this version of vampires. I had a great time reading it, but I wish there was more romance in the story and less ball planning. I will check out the first book in the series, though. It sounds fun and I didn’t realize this was the second in a series when I started it. I can confirm that this works well as a stand alone.
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