Hey Bookworm friends, I’m back with a review of an ARC! It’s been a while since I’ve posted a review and I’m glad It’s for A Dark And Secret Magic.
Thanks to Netgalley & Alcove Press for the ARC; I leave my review voluntarily.
About A Dark And Secret Magic
Author: Wallis Kinney
Genre(s): Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Alcove Press
Format Read: E-book, ARC
Pub Date: October 8, 2024
Series: Standalone
Cover Artist: Could Not Find
Synopsis
Hecate Goodwin, or Kate as her friends call her, is a hedge witch. She lives in a cottage by a forest with her black cat Merlin, and she’s happy to spend her days collecting herbs and brewing potions for her apothecary. Her peaceful solitude is suddenly disturbed by a message from her sister: she recruits her to singlehandedly organize and host the yearly coven-wide Halloween gathering.
To make matters even more complicated, a man from Kate’s past shows up at her door seeking sanctuary, which unfortunately is her duty as the hedge witch to provide. Matthew Cypher is handsome but also a practitioner of forbidden magic who’s tricked Kate once before. As she juggles her suspicious guest and party-planning obligations, she is shocked to discover a mysterious tome protected by dark magics among her late mother’s Halloween decorations. Scared and confused, she realizes her best chance to learn more about her mother’s secrets is to turn to Matthew for help but can he be trusted?
Pace: Medium, Mix of Character & Plot Driven
Tone: Adventurous, Mysterious
My Review
As much as I love Halloween, I don’t like to see the decorations in stores in the summertime. I prefer to live in the now and enjoy each season as they naturally progress through the year. That being said, this book made me yearn for crisp autumn days, and making apple cider; it even inspired me to look up crochet patterns for pumpkins. Reading this book felt exactly like watching Hocus Pocus, Practical Magic and all the quintessential Halloween movies. The atmosphere in this book is palpable. By turns enchanting, cheesy, and creepy in all the right parts; with tension, suspense, and a dash of romance! It sucked me into a world I revelled in for the three delightful days it took me to read this (that’s fast for me). It’s set in Ipswitch, Massachusetts and I could visualize the New England autumn perfectly even though I’ve never been there.
The author also paid a lot of attention to the traditional treats of the season and hearty autumnal meals. The descriptions of food were not only delicious-sounding but imbued with magical properties that were whimsical and relevant to the plot. There’s even a list of magical teas and recipes at the end of the book, to add to the fun!
“How could a girl with no choice ever truly belong to her craft?”
The ideas in this book are creative while simultaneously referencing common themes and motifs of the season; you can feel this author’s deep love for Halloween. The two ideas that I was most enamoured with, and I think most book lovers would be too, are the sentient spell books, and the specialized craft of the ‘Book Witch’. Kate’s spell book or ‘Herbal’ was almost a character of its own and I loved it. Additionally, whenever someone asks me what superpower I’d want, my answer is always: “The speed-reading powers the boy from Halloweentown has”. Except the powers of the Book Witch here are so much more than that and now that’s my new answer!
I don’t want to go into more detail because I think uncovering the small details of how things work in this world is half the fun. The other half was the romance. It’s cute and sweet (not spicy)…but lightly threaded with suspicion. We get glimpses of their past as Kate tries to decide if she can truly trust him, which is in question until the end and makes for an entertaining journey. And for readers, like me, who love the trope of tending to each other’s injuries, you’ll find it here. 🥰
“This is what magick is, after all. Turning fortune in our favor.”
The tension between the rival covens and their differing philosophies surrounding how they practice their craft was so enjoyable for me. The clash around who forbids what kind of magic and who is right or wrong was satisfying to me on every level. I never felt like I needed more or less information at any given point. I was just on the ride, happy to enjoy the brain candy moments but curious to engage in the deeper questions because it’s ultimately a book that considers the lengths you’d go to to protect your family. It’s a book about desperation and corruption and it asks you: would you betray your sacred values if it meant protecting those you love?
Final Thoughts on A Dark And Secret Magic & Rating
It may not be the right season for this book yet but it is perfect for the ‘Summerween’ enthusiasts. I tend to give high ratings to books that deliver what they promise. I feel like A Dark And Secret Magic achieves what it set out to do: celebrate “the traditions and media surrounding American Halloween”, as the author’s note claims. While a huge portion of my love of this book stems from the vibes, the plot and the characters were equally engaging; I have no notes. It seems this was just a gush-fest and I’m not sorry about it. 😂
| CAWPILE | Rating (0-10) |
|---|---|
| Characters | 9 |
| Atmosphere | 10 |
| Writing Style | 8 |
| Plot | 9 |
| Intrigue | 9 |
| Logic | 8 |
| Enjoyment | 10 |
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bloodletting, Body horror
Moderate: Death of a Parent, Grief
Minor (Mention): Non-consensual kissing
Note: While I was researching the cover artist (which I didn’t ultimately find), I stumbled upon this fun video by the author where she discusses the creation process of the cover. I thought I’d share it here if you like that sort of stuff 🙂
Let’s chat in the comments!
Would you give this one a chance? What’s your favourite Halloween read?
This sounds like the perfect book to get in the fall/Halloween mood, and I’m glad you put it on my radar😁 I agree with living in the moment, but it’s hard not to wish for the Fall season to arrive, it’s one of my favorites!
It really was such a perfect book for the season, I really hope it gets a lot of attention when it comes out 🙂 !! Oh totally, it is hard to not get lured by the fall season even when summer is my favourite.
This sounds like a lot of fun!
It was such a blast to read! Thanks 🙂
This sounds great! I love it when a book delivers on a promise like that.
I love it too! Too often I feel a book is either mis-marketed or just doesn’t deliver on a tone or vibe. This one though..👏
Aww this sounds so fun and cute. Having just fallen for a cosy fantasy series I could see myself really enjoying this one. I love that as well as capturing those vibes it manages to keep you guessing over whether you can trust the love interest. Plus I love that it has a sentiment spell book. What book lover doesn’t find that intriguing? I also think it’s a really sweet touch that there’s recipes at the end. Such a lovely idea. I’m glad you enjoyed this so much.
As to the whole season thing I definitely get where you’re coming from. It’s the same with every major event, the second ones over they start advertising the next one. I adore Christmas, for instance, but I refuse to think about it until Bonfire Night has passed. Yet in stores it appears before Halloween is even over. Unless I had a lengthy craft project for the season in mind. And I can’t believe that they now start advertising back to school items before they even break up now. I can’t think of anything that would have frustrated me more if I was still in school.
The two movies you mentioned have always been my go to Halloween movies too. I haven’t seen Hocus Pocus in years though so maybe I should try to rewatch it this year. I kind of switched it for Practical Magic when I found it 😂
Anyway wonderful review and I love how charming this sounds.
It really is so fun! Oh, which cozy fantasy did you fall for? 😀 Exactly, right? So many details book lovers would love. She wrote it for her sister so the passion and enthusiasm for books + Halloween stuff is just so evident, which I really appreciate! Thanks 🙂
Yes totally, like I love a bunch of holidays but that doesn’t mean I typically want to celebrate them like half a year early 🤣 Yeah crafting is a good exception because they really do need to be started early but even then I’m so bad at knowing how much time I’ll need and end up needing more time anyways hahaha
haha do they really? That would have bugged me so much too if I was still in school, lol.
Oh they’re both so good. My go-to ones are the Halloweentown ones but I’m hoping to find new ones this year. I made my husband watch Practical Magic with me and he didn’t like it and I’m still sad about that lol
Thanks, Charlotte! 🖤
The Emily Wilde books. I really regret not picking them up sooner. And that’s so sweet, such a lovely think to do. And it’s always lovely when you can feel a writers passion.
I know right, it’s like they want people to be fed up of them before they even come around. When I decorated a wooden advent calendar I was okay time wise. But doing a cushion with a cross stitch on it for a course was a major stress time wise 😂😂 actually I wonder what happened to that, I quite liked the actual cross stich 🤔
Yeah for at least a few years now.
Oh I don’t think I’ve seen those. I’ll have to look them up. And oh that’s such a shame. I have such a soft spot for that movie. Besides the eye scene 😂
Oh my gosh The Emily Wilde books sound amazing! Glad you loved them and it’s making me wish I had picked them up already ! & Right? someone writing a book for you is the ultimate gift! haha
Woah both of those projects you mentioned sound like a lot of fun and aww I hope you find your cross stitch cushion!
Huh, interesting. and annoying, lol.
The Halloweentown ones are Disney, more aimed at children but I grew up on them lol.
haha yes me too and ew agreed, I don’t like anything creepy to do with eyes! haha
They really are. I was hopeful that I’d like them given everything that I’d seem but even so I was blown away. And definitely, it takes so much effort and dedication to do too.
Thank you. I may have thrown it out. I can’t really remember 😂 I’ll check the cupboard that it might be in a bit later today though.
Aww sounds sweet. It’s always nice to have movies & series you grew up with.
Same here. I think i flinch before the scene fully starts 😂
I love that for you, yay :)! It really does, I’m always amazed with people who write books.
Ahaha fair enough, sometimes it’s hard to keep or keep track of every single project we make. lol
Yess I have shivers just thinking about the scene now.
Same here. I’d love to do it but the planning seems completely daunting 😂
I found it where so I must have kept it 😅 but you’re right, it’s impossible to keep everything.
omg yay I am so glad you found it!! That’s awesome 🙌🙌!!!
This sounds like a really fun book! I’ve seen nothing but positivity for it so far
Nothing wrong with a gush fest 🙂 if you enjoyed a thing, why hide the fact? Let it out
Thanks, Aaron 🙂 I’m glad to hear reviewers seem to love it so far too. I always hope my reviews are helpful and give good information regarding less positive aspects, but when I have zero complaints, it feels so good hahah!
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I love that this one reminded you of Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic. Those are some of my favorite Halloween-esque movies. It sounds like this one does the atmosphere of Autumn incredibly well. Love that this one also inspired you to seek out crochet pumpkin patterns. I actually just started my first fall crochet project. Thank you for introducing me to this one!
Those are some of my fav Halloween movies too! haha yes I’m dying to crochet autumn-y things but I’ve told myself I have to finish a cross stitch project I’m working on first! lol My pleasure and I hope you like it if you pick it up!