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I never read the blurb of the books I choose to read.

So what makes me choose a book is usually:

The author’s surname was actually one of the reasons I chose this book first from my NetGalley library.

I live in Eastern Europe, and “Poslední” means “last.”

Girl, you wrote a witchy book, with me… You are not going to be last; you are going to be first.

Sorry for this completely unrequested explanation.

Back to the book. 🌺

The first thing I loved immediately was the fictional excerpts before the chapters.

I loved them to bits!!! 😍

Some of them felt so credible that I wanted to believe they were real books.

So yes, I went and Googled them.

Elise, you better write at least ten of those fictional books now, because I need them.

I also loved the third-person narration.

And now I am going to give you another piece of completely unrequested information.

You know the movie Amélie? You know the narrator’s voice?

Every time I read a book in third person, I hear that kind of voice reading it to me.

I know, I know. But I love it.

Back to the book again…

Until about halfway through, I was just having a wonderful time.

I was cozy.
I was witchy.

I was thinking: okay, this is going to be a cozy magical story about a woman discovering herself, discovering her magic, finding a new family, and maybe falling in love.

Remember, I did not read the blurb, so I was happily living inside my little witchy bubble.

And then my stomach flipped.

I actually had to sit up straight because I was like:

“Wait. What just happened?”

From that moment on, I was completely hooked.

The story changed shape without abandoning the cozy atmosphere that had pulled me in.

The magic remained. The warmth remained. But suddenly there was danger in the room, and the cozy little story revealed that it had teeth.

I also loved that the author made me feel complicated things about the main character.

There was a moment involving her love interest when I thought her reaction was exaggerated.

I became annoyed because I have very little patience for unnecessary drama and overreactions.

But then I stopped and thought:

Elise made me love her, then made me frustrated with her.

And that is actually good writing.

It meant I cared. 💭

And then I fell in love with her again.

Her love for her new family, her courage, and the way she grows through the story made me root for her completely.

She was allowed to be lovable without always being agreeable.

She was allowed to frustrate me, frighten me, make me proud, and then win me back.

Characters who inspire only one emotion are easy to forget. Characters who make you argue with them inside your head tend to stay.

And the ending?

Oh gosh.

The ending.

YES.

When an author makes me feel cozy, then scared, then annoyed with the main character, then makes me love her again, and finally makes me sigh with happiness at the end, that author gets my five stars. 🌟

Now Elise, you are in trouble with me.

First of all, I want Book Two.

I need to know what happens after this.

But not only that.

I want the backstory.

I want to know how her grandfather fell in love with her grandmother.

I want to know about the wars.

I want the family history.

I want the prequel.

I want the fictional books quoted before the chapters.

Basically, I finished one book and immediately assigned the author several years of additional work.

I hope she is already writing.

If you like witches, demons, magical worlds, cozy fantasy, and stories with a proper “OMG” moment—read it. NOW!!! 🌺

Best for readers who love

cozy witchy books with unexpected twists, magical worlds, demons, supernatural danger, found family, complicated heroines, third-person narration, fictional books inside books, family history, slow-building romance, stories that become darker than expected, and endings that make you sigh with happiness

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Tell Me What to Read Next

Have you read A New Witch in the Northwoods?

Leave a comment below and tell me what you thought. Did the story make your stomach flip too? And which fictional book from the chapter excerpts would you most like Elise Poslední to write?

You can also send me books you think I need to read next. Witches, demons, complicated women, strange houses, dangerous families, impossible relationships, emotional damage, and stories with an unexpected “OMG” moment are always welcome.

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I review with honesty, psychological attention, emotional evidence, and full Lupe Farkas reader-chaos mode.

lupe@lupefarkas.com