Title: Bewitched
Series: Bewitched #1
Author: Laura Thalassa
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Published: April 18, 2023
Format: eBook ARC (NetGalley)
Pages: 441
Bewitched Review
The moment I saw the cover of Bewitched and the blurb on Laura’s social media, I was salivated to read it. Laura’s always been able to hook me into her fantastical world – with The Four Horsemen and the Bargainer series, and I sure had hyped this one up in my mind.
Did it live up to it? HECK YES.
Get ready for a wild ride in this Dark Paranormal bewitching story following a strong heroine who has a case of amnesia and a man she accidentally releases from a curse who believes she is his wife and has betrayed him.
Read this book already? Check out my review of Book 2: Bespelled by Laura Thalassa
"You were my everything, and you betrayed me..."
Bewitched is the first book in the Bewitched trilogy following Selene Bowers, a 20-year-old witch, who wants to get accepted into Henbane Coven, an academy for the witches. Due to her magic that causes her to lose memories, she has been facing rejection. However, this time, the academy gives her some tasks to fulfill.
The magic quest turns out to be a tumultuous experience for her when her plane crashes on some island and she frees an ancient being called Memnon. He is handsome, dark, and unfortunately for her, believes that she was the one who set the curse on him.
She escapes the island and gets back to her life at the academy, but with Memnon after her, a series of murders happening on the campus, and her memory loss making her the prime suspect, life has taken a dark turn for her.
He’s determined to take every last thing I care about from me—my heart included.
I found Selene to be a really interesting character. The cost of her magic is her memories. This intrigued me because I wondered how that would come into play, especially when dealing with the anti-hero.
She is strong and relatable. I was with her every step of her journey. Despite her vulnerability, she stood up to Memnon every time. She fought back (or tried to) against him. Her fear of Memnon, and at the same time that connection between the two that she struggled a lot with.
“I will make you pay for what you have done for the rest of our days.” He steps in close and presses his mouth to mine.
Memnon’s the classic anti-hero, you’ll love to hate and hate to love. You’ll doubt his motives, fall for him, hate him, and be intrigued by him. He elicits so many emotions.
He believes Selene to be his ex-wife who cursed him to sleep and made the world forget him. He swears to take revenge on her and possess her. He is already obsessed with her and will do everything to get her back.
He is crazy powerful and dark. With the book in the heroine’s POV, you’re riding that rollercoaster of emotions and thrill.
Their relationship is fire. Selene is scared of him, but she can’t deny the connection between the two. And Memnon is all about her – and that’s one of my favorite tropes (boy obsessed). There are many spicy and steamy scenes, when they are together, they are combustible.
“Est amage,” he says, his expression growing fevered, “we will figure it out. Together. I vow to fix all my wrongs. Whatever you want, you shall have. I am yours forever.”
Laura Thalassa’s writing style has a way of pulling you in and keeping you hooked till you reach the end. The story is very unique, The plot and the characters’ storyline are developed so well, it kept me on my toes, questioning every action and motive, and the twist in the story at the end!
This book is a wild ride to the magical dark side. It is captivating, thrilling, addictive, and leaves you wanting more and more.
Looking for book recs by the author? Check out my review for Rhapsodic.
Bewitched blurb:
Come to me, Empress …
At age twenty, Selene Bowers desperately hopes to be accepted into Henbane Coven, an academy for young witches. Since one of the requirements for entry is to connect with her powers via a quest through the wilderness, Selene books a trip to South America. When a nefarious supernatural force tries to drag her plane from the sky, Selene’s magic awakens to save her life―at a cost. Using her powers devours her memories, one by one.
Worse, when Selene braves the jungle and discovers the source of the attack, she finds herself awakening an ancient evil, Memnon the Cursed, who mistakes Selene for his long-dead wife. The wife who betrayed him. Selene manages to escape and begin her studies at Henbane, but when Memnon turns up at the coven and witches are found dead across campus, Selene becomes entangled in a dangerous plot. Accused of the murders on the basis of her memory loss, Selene must rely on Memnon’s help for answers―and his plans for her will change everything.
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About Laura Thalassa
Found in the forest when she was young, Laura Thalassa was raised by fairies, kidnapped by werewolves, and given over to vampires as repayment for a hundred year debt. She’s been brought back to life twice, and, with a single kiss, she woke her true love from eternal sleep. She now lives happily ever after with her undead prince in a castle in the woods.
… or something like that anyway.
When not writing, Laura can be found scarfing down guacamole, hoarding chocolate for the apocalypse, or curled up on the couch with a good book.
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