Spellstruck

 Spellstruck- Martha Waters

Atria Books

Release Date: September 29, 2026

Rating: 📚📚📚

Synopsis: In an alternate version of 1920s London, vestiges of England’s magical past exist, but the use of magic has been outlawed, leading families still with powers to operate illegal speakeasies for a public still hungry for magic. Vesper Holloway runs her family club, where a dash of spell powder or an enchanted cocktail can add a little extra intrigue to the evening. But one night a man drinking a Flotation Fizz that should allow him to levitate a few inches finds himself bumping his head on the ceiling. Word among the magical elite is that such accidents have been happening more frequently, and the club owners are worried that the danger will spread.

Enter Maxwell Ashbridge, a onetime friend of Vesper’s brother, who has joined the government agency tasked with enforcing the ban, and who has a personal vendetta against the magical elite. But he does not have a vendetta against Vesper; in fact, he finds her rather enticing. He promises her immunity for her club, if she teams up with him to help gain entry to other establishments and find out who is responsible for the contaminated magic threatening her family business. But their investigation does little to quell the chemistry they share. As accidents continue and the fight to repeal the ban gains ground in Parliament, Vesper and Max will have to decide—is the magic between them worth fighting for?

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I haven't read much (possibly any) fiction set in the 1920s and I haven't read many books by Martha Waters, but I could not resist the premise of this book. An alternate 1920s London with magic (though not very powerful). It's been outlawed so people go to essentially speakeasies to enjoy magical drinks or potions in the evenings. One evening Vesper Holloway is running her family's club when a drink goes wrong and what should have a patron floating a foot or so off the floor sends him up to the ceiling. Turns out, this isn't the first time a potion has gone wrong at one of the clubs. It is the first time it happens in front of a government enforcer whose supposed to shut down magical things like this. Vesper convinved Max Ashbrige to work with her to find out what's going on, ignore the past between them, and look at the bigger picture. 

There was a lot trying to go on in Spellstruck and mostly I think it worked The world-building was fun, though a bit heavy-handed at first for me.  Once the info-dumping in the first few chapters was done things smoothed out and were the lighter, more entertaining approach I had hoped for. It's definitely a world the author could come back to if she wanted to explore more.

Ashbridge and Vesper are opposites attract types. She's relaxed, determined to enjoy life, social, and all the things that make a great speakeasy club manager. She's also been hurt a few too many times and is determined to protect her heart. Max seems to be the only one who sees how smart she is and I never quite understood why her family treated her as the flighty, dumb child they should have known she wasn't. Max has a definite chip on his shoulder, hides his sense of humor so well most of his friends call him the 'fun police', and hates magic. They should not work together.

But they do. They see each other's hidden parts. They treat each other as equals. Vesper discovers she enjoys Max's quiet teasing and Max discovers he has a thing for Vesper's utter competence and confidence. It's a slow burn because the chemistry is there, but it surprises them. 

The mystery was a bit of a side story, a reason for them to be together. It was all a bit rushed by the end, which was disappointing because it could have been stronger. 

The more I read, the more I enjoyed Spellstruck. The pacing was slower than I'd expected, but it was a fun world to dive into. I'd go back if Martha Waters wrote another book in this 1920s London.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Well Versed

Well Versed- Jen DeLuca

Berkley

Release Date: September 22, 2026

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Caitlin Parker was a teenager when she fell out of love with the magic of the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire—the site of her first real heartbreak. But now, twenty-four and unemployed, she finds herself in her childhood bedroom and her childhood lady-in-waiting costume, assisting a rotating cast of substitute queens for the season. The very last person she wants to see is Alexander Wright—the sword-fighting, Shakespeare-spouting young man who won and broke her teenage heart. Yet there he is, older, annoyingly hotter, and back on stage at her Faire.

When Alex broke things off with Caitlin five years ago, he thought he was just ending a summer fling. He didn't realize how much he’d fallen for her until he let her go, and he certainly didn't know he’d tarnished her memories of her cherished Faire and worse, shattered her view on love and relationships. His need to right that wrong this summer brings them together again and again, and the four-year age difference that kept them apart years ago isn’t a big deal now. This time, it won’t be so easy to let go of this summer fling.

But as summer winds down, real life is catching up to both of them. Caitlin’s always thought that being an adult with adult responsibilities means leaving whimsy behind. Alex, with a life full of stage combat, songs, and sonnets, doesn’t know how to live any other way. Can they go after their dreams and find a future together where they can still say “huzzah”?

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I've been in love with Jen DeLuca's Ren Faire romance series since the first page of Well Met, so course I enjoyed returning to the world of the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire in the final book of the series, Well Versed. This time, it's Caitlin's turn to need the magic and romance of the Ren Faire. 

We first met Caitlin as a teen in Well Met, dragging her aunt Emily into the world of the Faire. Now Caitlin has had her young heart broken and lost her love for the Faire. She's back in Willow Creek after being laid off at a job and agreed to help with the Faire for the summer- but is sure she won't enjoy it. Her memories are now connected to her first love breaking up with her by text at the end of a Faire summer. But Alex is there too and goes from clueless that he's broken her heart and taken away her love of all things Faire to determined to help her get that back. And Caitlin doesn't really stand a chance.

Caitlin likes plans. Goals. Destinations. Without those things she isn't sure who she is or what she's doing. So being part of a massive layoff and having to move home throws her for a loop. She spends the summer trying to figure out what it is she wants-starting off sure of one thing and slowly coming around to seeing something else. It's a journey that all of DeLuca's characters have had to take: yes, you can work crazy hours in competitive, soulless jobs or you can find smaller jobs that are not what your career counselor taught you to think of and be happy. What is it you want out of life? What makes you happy, not what are you supposed to want?

There are times Caitlin seems very young, trying to find paths and decide on love that maybe she isn't ready for. Then as the book progresses you see that she is ready, she just has to believe in herself. The back and forth with Alex was a little slow at times, but sweet. Alex was so careful on not messing up with his second chance that it seems like he really learned his lesson.  Which makes it all the more emotional when he does mess it up. 

You don't need to have read the rest of the series to enjoy Well Versed, but honestly, you should. The books are great. We get lots of cameos from other characters here and they are fun, checking in on how everyone is doing. A lovely mix of light humor and emotion, heat and the magic of the Renaissance Faire, this was a solid ending to a series that is going to remain a favorite of mine. 

Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel

 Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel - Lucy Foley

HarperCollins

Release Date: September 22, 2026

Rating: 📚📚📚 (2.5)

Some spoilers below

Synopsis: High in the Swiss Alps, accessible only by a single, winding railway, stands the luxurious Grand Alpine Hotel. With glorious mountain views and exclusive access to powdery slopes, it draws guests from far and wide.

The notorious actress.
The high-flying politician.
The society wife.
The reckless friend.
The shrewd doctor.

But not everyone is here for a winter holiday.

Beneath the champagne and furs, dark histories simmer; old grudges emerge like cracks in the ice.

And someone is watching from the shadows. A polite, unassuming woman with an extraordinary mind: Miss Marple.

When a body is found and a blizzard cuts off all escape, only Miss Marple can connect the clues before the killer strikes again. Because it isn’t a question of who has a motive, but who’s next…

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Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel  is being touted as a "new Agatha Christie" book, written by Lucy Foley and starring Miss Marple. 

It isn't. It's a historcal mystery, set in 1950, with a cast of set characters that will be familiar to most readers, with a nominal Miss Marple and Dolly Bantry thrown in there to lure in Agatha Christie fans and a few Marple Easter eggs randomly tossed in.

The plot is basic: an obnoxious politician and his wife go to a luxurious Swiss hotel, his out of place war friend is there, his glamorous Hollywood mistress is there. He's clearly up to no good. No one is sorry when he winds up dead, but it does get in the way of everyone's holiday. Miss Marple, Dolly Bantry and her companion Diana Glass are there on holiday and chip in to help the investigation. More deaths happen. No one is who they say they are.

The story is told from multiple first person POVs that (with the overblown exception of the actress) largely sounded the same to me. None of the characters were especially likable and I kept reading mostly to see if I was right about the guesses I had about everyone's secrets than because I was invested in the book. Miss Marple and Dolly both sounded more like they were just repeating lines from the different movies or tv shows than anything else. The author seemed to spend more time describing the scenery than getting into the characters or developing a good plot. There's a lot of scenery description.

As a historical mystery, it was so-so. As a new Miss Marple story, it doesn't add anything to the character, or the series, and I'm not sure why anyone needs this book. If you're an Agatha Christie fan and are really curious, I'd recommend getting it from the library instead of paying for it outright. Personally, I was disappointed.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review