Enchanted to Meet You by Meg Cabot Also by this author: , The Princess Diaries, Volume VIII: Princess on the Brink, Royal Wedding, Remembrance (The Mediator, #7), Proposal: A Mediator Novella, The Boy Is Back (Boy, #4), From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess (From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess, #1), Royal Wedding Disaster: From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess, No Judgments (Little Bridge Island, #1)
Series: Witches of West Harbor #1
Published by Avon on September 5, 2023
Genres: Paranormal, Romance
Pages: 362 •Format: E-Book •Source: Overdrive
In her teenage years, lovelorn Jessica Gold cast a spell that went disastrously wrong, and brought her all the wrong kind of attention—as well as a lifetime ban from the World Council of Witches.
So no one is more surprised than Jess when, fifteen years later, tall, handsome WCW member Derrick Winters shows up in her quaint little village of West Harbor and claims that Jess is the Chosen One.
She’s the Chosen One
Not chosen by West Harbor’s snobby elite to style them for the town’s tricentennial ball—though Jess owns the chicest clothing boutique in town. And not chosen finally to be on the WCW, either—not that Jess would have said yes, anyway, since she’s done with any organization that tries to dictate what makes a “true” witch.
No, Jess has been chosen to help save West Harbor itself . . .
As Summer Ends, Her Power Grows
But just when Jess is beginning to think that she and Derrick might have a certain magic of their own—and not of the supernatural variety—Jess learns he may not be who she thought he was.
And suddenly Jess finds herself having to make another kind of choice: trust Derrick and work with him to combat the sinister force battling to bring down West Harbor, or use her gift as she always has: to keep herself, and her heart, safe.
Can she work her magic in time?
I have been reading Meg Cabot’s books for over 20 years, and she’s an auto-read author for me at this point. I don’t even bother reading the synopsis most of the time, I just know a new release is going to make it onto my TBR, regardless of the subject matter. Despite the fact that I would have read Enchanted to Meet You no matter what, I was THRILLED to see that Meg was getting in on the witchy rom-com trend. I loooooove witchy stories, movies, aesthetic, etc. and the cover + premise + title (please don’t be in love with someone elseeeeeeeeee IYKYK) screamed CRISTINA READ ME.
While this doesn’t make my list of top Meg Cabot reads, it was still a lot of fun! Set in a coastal New England town, the protagonist is cottage witch Jessica who owns a clothing store and finds herself tasked by a handsome witch stranger with saving her whole town from annihilation. In true Meg Cabot fashion, the story was hilarious, irreverent, and full of her trademark voice with plenty of pop culture references. Meg just has one of those narrative voices that is so distinctly her that you can pinpoint it from a mile away.
One thing that stood out to me about this series was its take on witchcraft and the paranormal. Jessica and her friend Dina are self-proclaimed cottage witches and are self taught. There are also witches who derive their powers through ancestral lines, and powers range anywhere from being a storm witch, a telekenetic, etc. I don’t think I’ve ever read a paranormal story that takes the approach of magic being everywhere and accessible to anyone who’s willing to work to learn it, so that was fun and unique!
Jessica and her crew of friends were a treat. She’s a successful small business owner who’s moved back to her hometown to open a clothing store, and of course drama and rivalries from high school follow her. Yet there’s also a lot of wonderful things from her childhood that she still gets to enjoy, like her family friend’s Italian restaurant, getting to buy and renovate her childhood home, and getting to really know the residents of West Harbor (many of whom are pretty fun and/or badass!) I loved the Trivia Night scene and the “emo dome” at the high school was hilarious. It was nice to see a character who really embraces their hometown, both the good and the bad that comes along with it. Jessica herself is fun, body positive, and refreshingly forward when it comes to the romance between her and Derek.
While I adored so many things about this book, it doesn’t have the same “spark” that some of my favorite Meg Cabot novels have (The Princess Diaries will always be the GOAT, closely followed by the Mediator series!) The romance was not really the main point of the book, so I don’t really agree with it being marketed as a romance, but it was perfectly small-town and I’d love to live in West Harbor! I think this is the start of a really fun series that’s easy to read and full of Meg’s trademark writing style.
Overall: If you’re looking for a fun, fast witchy story that’s not too heavily focused on the romance, this one fits the bill!
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- Goodreads Challenge 2024
Leave a Reply