Wayward Witch

The Cursed Coven of Spells Hollow #9

by Zoey Indiana

Cursed with perpetual dishonesty, librarian witch Selene, is haunted by vivid dreams of a mysterious, desolate place. Trying to find a place without asking questions is next to impossible, especially when the name is unknown. Seeking a cure, she visits a magic shop for a potion that could enable her to speak honestly.

Although the shopkeeper doesn't have the exact potion she seeks, he offers a "fix anything" alternative. Despite her reservations, she finds herself unable to decline and takes the potion, sparking a chain of unsettling events, punctuated by the shopkeeper's ominous laughter. Determined to uncover the mysterious locale from her dreams and lift her curse, she risks using the potion, requesting what she most needs. What happens next could either be the answer to her problems or the start of something far more complicated.

Along her journey, Selene encounters a slew of captivating Azar, the tempting Djinn eager to grant her three wishes; Thorn, the alluring demon open to making dark bargains for her soul; Orion, the Pegasus shifter committed to guiding her toward the path of good; and Veri, the goddess of truth focused on ensuring Selene's honesty.

As she navigates these complicated relationships, Selene's quest grows increasingly complex. Will she find what she's searching for, or will she get lost in the entanglement of desires and dangers?

Wayward Witch is a standalone novel as part of The Cursed Coven of Spells Hollow shared universe series. This is a why choose novel, meaning the main character has more than one love interest and doesn't choose between them. Please note this book contains FF & MM scenes and is intended for audiences 18+.

180 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 9, 2024

About the author

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Zoey Indiana was inspired by the idea that everyone deserves love and their own happily ever after, she loves to write about heroic heroines who go on amazing adventures while finding the love they deserve. After creating her first fictional planet where amazing creatures roamed at age ten, she was determined to prove love could be found in the stars. In addition to writing, she listens to eclectic music, practices Krav Maga, and takes on home improvement projects just for the fun of it.

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Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of all the Spells Hollow curses, I think Selene's is up there. I never put much thought into how being unable to tell the truth might affect someone until this book. Selene leads a hard life, unable to express her most basic wants and needs or make any real connections. However, for someone so limited, Selene didn't become bitter, she's actually a pretty decent person. I'm glad she's finally decided to take charge of her life and fight back.


Through a strange series of events, she finds herself entangled with a djinn, a demon, and a shifter who somehow manages to bring more chaos to Selene's life. Azar has a very appealing personality. I liked Thorne's take-charge nature and mischievous nature, and Orion was a bit of a surprise in more ways than one. The bonds develop pretty quickly.


Selene's journey to Spells Hollow to break the curse was not an easy one, with wayward spells, mates that bring the chaos, and a meddling goddess, but Selene's determination has never been stronger. I enjoyed the twist, it made things very interesting and caused a lot of drama. Unfortunately, I felt like the details that made it a Spells Hollow book were kind of an afterthought, nevertheless, I still enjoyed the plot.


Wayward Witch was a quick read with loads of steam and adventure. While Selene had to deal with a horrible curse, the plot was light-hearted and had interesting characters. Wayward is the final Spells Hollow book. I'm going to miss this quirky little series.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

fabulous

Wow such a spicy book! I enjoyed it thoroughly. I loved all the characters in this book. Especially this lovely witch who would lie at every turn. Her curse was super funny and the reactions of other characters were the best. The Mates she accrued on the way to break her curse were very peculiar. The steamy scenes were fun and just all in all the book was great!

[Angela Denny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final book in the Spells Hollow series. It features Selene who is cursed to never tell the truth. This book mainly focuses on her journey to get to Spells Hollow. The town itself kinds feels like an afterthought in the book. I like each of her mates and the unique ways she meets them. There was a lot of laughs and some nice spicy scences. The relationships feel a bit rushed since this was a shorter story but it seem to work out in the end.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how the main character of this book was a librarian. Poor Selene is cursed with not being able to tell the truth. This effects her life a lot. She can't help patrons at the library because she winds up seeming rude because of her curse. She goes to Spells Hallow to try and figure out her curse.

[Lene Blackthorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Selene is suffering from a terrible curse, inherited through her bloodline - inability to speak the truth. Regardless how much she tries, words come out twisted, even in written form, either as outright lie or a complete nonsense. At least her magic isn't misbehaving this way, but it does not make Selene's life easier, and she is becoming more and more desperate to break the curse and stop suffering from loneliness and the injustice of her fate. Yet her curse makes the quest of curse breaking almost impossible...
I am a little bit conflicted about this book. I truly enjoyed the characters, could definitely feel Selene's suffering and realized how hard it must be for her to live with that curse. I enjoyed the chaos that accompanied her collecting her mates - by pure luck sometimes. And it is definitely a standalone which could be read completely independently from the rest of the series. But here I have a little issue. For the book being part of the shared world of Spells Hollow, it had almost nothing to do with the erst, except for curse and a vision of blood moon and Spells Hollow. But Selene did not break her curse there, did not even reach the place before her curse got broken. No sign of Morfran in the book aside from the one vision - and if this is the last book in the series and the sorcerer has been defeated in previous one, why was it said the place is still cursed and there is a long way to go still to defeat the evil? And if it isn't the last one, why did Selene's part do nothing in defeating or weakening the man? It simply felt as if this one does not even belong to the series. Also, there were some jumps and for me unexplained parts in the story which made it feel incomplete. Also the whole part how she broke the curse or first reactions to the curse being lifted... it was strange. While the book made me laugh a lot and I enjoyed it in total, I cannot shake the feeling it also left me a bit dissatisfied.

[Ines · Rating 4 out of 5]

This final book in the “Cursed Coven of Spells Hollow” series revolves around one of the most fascinating curses in the series. I can’t imagine how complicated someone’s life would be if it would be absolutely impossible to communicate the truth. In this book, it creates some scenes that provide an interesting mix of emotions. I felt sad for Selene at times, but I could also see the humor in some of the things happening to her. Especially the meet-ups with her mates held a few fascinating conversations and misunderstandings.

Overall, I liked this story and how the trip to Spells Hollow leads to Selene meeting her mates and finding a way to resolve her curse. The interactions with her mates are mostly cute and a bit spicy, and the storyline was entertaining until the end. The downside to this being a short standalone though, is that the relationship development feels a bit rushed, and the connection to Spells Hollow feels more like an afterthought instead of a crucial part of the story.

Still, I enjoyed this final book, and I loved discovering so many new authors all with their personal style and interpretation of this shared world.

[jennifer morton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wayward witch is the last story in this nine book series. Which was so funny and very imaginative as Selene goes on a journey to break her curse. She can't lie, so it makes things very tricky for her, especially with her job that she loves. So she gose to this shop called Charles's charms and curiosities where she gets a potion to fix her curse but it's not straight forward and things get very bonkers with Azar the Djinn who wants to grant her 3 wishes while being naked all the time and totaly funny at the same time. And things definitely heat up, especially when Thorne, the demon who's cheeky and likes to make Selene blush, comes along. Then we literally have a werlwind where we meet orion a pegasus shifter who claims to be another one of Selene mates and a goddess threatening her with an added twist to the story. And of cause, there's the bad guy who's out to stop Selene from breaking her curse. Which was pretty Erie and had a sinister vibe towards the end and a bit sad but luckily she has her mates on her side to help her and finally get to speels hallow and have a heart warming ending that I just loved.

[Katelyn Livezey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Final book in the series
Standalone
Why Choose
Paranormal
FMC POV Only
Cursed FMC
Mixed Supes
Building Harem (FFMMM)

Our final book in the series follows our FMC,Selene, a librarian witch cursed with perpetual dishonesty. Unable to speak the truth, Selene's life is a constant struggle of misunderstandings and broken relationships. It’s hard to have kind of healthy relationship when you can do nothing but spew lies.

Desperate for a cure, Selena decides to pay a visit to a magical potion shop in hopes of finding something that will allow her to speak honestly.
The way Selena meets her mates definitely shows she has some good luck and karma on her side, maybe evening the playing field since she is cursed with dishonesty.
Love Interests/Mates:
Azar the Djinn
Thorn the Demon
Orion the Peaguses
Veri the Goddess of Truth

Their journey to breaking the curse and putting an end to the series was very magical. The story was quick, fun, hilarious, suspenseful, complicated emotions, and so forth. I highly enjoyed it and definitely recommend giving it a read!

[Helen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although a standalone story within a linked series I think this one stood alone more than the others. Apart from the beginning with the blood moon reference and the ending where they did actually make it to Spells Hollow there wasn't really anything to tie it into the series aspect of the book. Nevertheless I still found this story very enjoyable.

Not being able to tell the truth is the curse that Selene has to bear. Finding herself in more and more trouble at work even though she has an understanding boss and resigned to not having relationships because of the effects of her curse, she is guided to Spells Hollow to see if she can eventually find a cure to set her free.

I liked the mates in this one particularly Azar and Thorne. I don't think we got to know Orion that well as he joined well into the story and Veritas was a bit of a problem till the mate bond clicked in so I found it difficult to warm to her. All in all though it is a good and different story and it is well worth a read

[Samantha Silensky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn’t help but laugh at how she gathered her group of men. It was so funny watching her accidentally stumble upon them by sheer dumb luck, seemingly generating good luck/karma, from living with a terrible curse. Despite nothing going right for Selene thanks to her curse to only tell lies, it seems like her life tried to counteract that by making things that were bad, have a good aspect to them. What’s a mysterious potion, without a Djinn in his birthday suit crashing the party? Or even what’s a wing of their journey without crashing into a Pegasus? I think my favorite was a deal with a demon to make her curse even worse.
I was a little sad that there really wasn’t any of the usual things involved with breaking the curses, and essentially very little involvement from/by Morfran. Spells Hollow wasn’t a main part of the story, more like an end goal, but without a more elaborate reason why.

[Paula Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wayward Witch, part of the Cursed Coven of Spells Hollow series, follows Selene, a librarian witch cursed with perpetual dishonesty. Unable to speak the truth, Selene's life is a constant struggle of misunderstandings and fractured relationships. Desperate for a cure, she visits a magical potion shop in hopes of finding a remedy that will allow her to speak honestly.

Selene’s journey takes her through complicated dynamics with her love interests—Azar, Thorn, and Orion—each of whom challenges her in different ways. Additionally, her interactions with Veri, the goddess of truth, add another layer of complexity to her emotional and magical dilemmas.

This why choose novel skillfully blends romance, magic, and mystery, with good writing and a strong storyline that keeps readers hooked. The evolving relationships and Selene’s internal growth create a compelling narrative, making Wayward Witch a must-read for fans of magical romance and complex characters.

[Kendra Klapheke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, the lies we weave!

Pulled in from the beginning. Hilarious, like a spicy magical opposite to the movie Liar Liar. Her curse prevented her from telling the truth, which led to some funny moments. Like with Azar and his clothing. Her curse twisted her words, sometimes opposite but sometimes her words didn’t make sense. Favorite was when Selene said, “Bananas wear pajamas.”

Selene and her journey to break her curse with her mates Azar, Thorn, Orion, and Veritas. Loved her cat Luna, whom she carried around in a backpack. A roller coaster of emotions. One minute you are laughing, the next angry or crying. A story filled with twists and turns that will keep you coming back for more. Not usually a fan of FF but does not bother me. Just doesn’t get my blood pumping. The ninth book and the ninth witch family, now just need to find out what happens with the curse on the town.

[Naurarwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last book of The Cursed Coven of Spells Hollow is out now and I have to say, I'm so intrigued by Selene's curse. She doesn't have the ability to tell the truth, everything she says is pretty much the opposite of what she actually wants to say. This makes life hard, and she prefers to not answer people at all where she can.

After drinking a potion from a shop her friend suggests to her she finds herself partly bound to a Djinn. One she can't finish the binding too because she's too worried about what her curse will make her say. We also get Orion, Thorn, and even the goddess of truth, Veri. The last one is definitely an interesting one being the goddess of truth, when Selene can't tell a single truth.

The book covers more the journey to Spells Hollow and breaking her curse than actually defeating Morfran, but either way I still found it to be an enjoyable read.

[Chey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Selene is cursed with always being dishonest, no matter how much she wants to tell the truth. She tries taking a potion to help, but things start going a little crazy and soon she finds herself on a journey to get rid of the curse once and for all.


This was a different twist to the Spells Hallow series and Selene and her partners added some extra layers to the story that were much needed. I loved seeing her relationships form and the spice was pretty good (although a little mild).

I didn't care for the plot as much with this addition. It was a little lackluster in action, and it didn't exactly pull me in to start. I would've loved to see Selene have more action in her story, because perpetual dishonesty should come with some chaos, and we just didn't get much of that.

Overall rating
3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2.5 🌶🌶

[Book Life With Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zoey Indiana brings it home with the final book in the cursed Coven of Spells Halloween series, Wayward Witch. If you love paranormal why choose urban fantasy romances this is the series for you!

When out feisty unlucky librarian witch Selene is cursed with only ever telling lies it definitely makes life hard! However when a dream leads her to the magical town of Spells Hollow she soon finds herself one step closer to breaking the curse. However, as will all our previous fmcs, lucky for her her dream also lead her straight to her destined mates—mates who are once again willing to do whatever’s necessary to help her break the curse. But of course it can’t be too easy for our crew right? So let the hijinks and mayhem occur!

If you love a quick fun super funny read, this is the one for you.

[Kristen Lewendon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This felt like a very different approach compared to most of the previous books about Spells Hollow. It was largely about Selene’s journey to Spells Hollow and discovering what would release her from her curse. And what a doozy that curse was. I can’t even begin to imagine all the hassle and havoc it would be to have virtually all your communication turn into the opposite of what you mean for it to be. I thought that they came up with some very clever ways to get the point across in spite of the curse preventing it. It was also quite the intriguing little family group Selene gathers around her. I had been hoping for a conclusion to the curse on Spells Hollow, itself, but this was a very stand-alone book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author.

[Kira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wayward Witch is another fantastic addition to The Cursed Coven of Spells Hollow shared universe series! While it is a standalone, I highly recommend checking out all the reads in the series as each are a hoot! Much like the other reads in the series, the FMC Selene has a curse that she is fed up with and desperate to get rid of. After all, having uncontrollable dishonesty gets her into many sticky situations. Her journey leads her to a bit more misfortune while also introducing her to some love interests: Djinn Azar, demon Thorn, pegasus shifter Orion and goddess Veri. All become exactly what Selene needs with lots of steamy moments and twists and turns throughout. Another fun read in this ever expanding universe!

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not quite what I was expecting. It's a really good book with lots of heat and hilarious moments. After reading the rest of the Spells Hollow books, this one doesn't have much about it. It's about Selena's journey to Spells Hollow. It's about her trying to break her own curse on herself. I really enjoyed the book, but I felt like it needed more on the Spells Hollow aspect. It was supposed to be the last book in the series, and I don't feel like it closed up that point. The book itself was really, really good. I just think it may be earlier in the series instead of the last book. My favorite part of this book is how Selena can't tell the truth. So she is always saying crazy things. It was so much fun waiting to see what she would say next. Such a fun read.

[The_Book_Brat · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Why Choose
*Paranormal
*FMC-PoV only
*Cursed FMC
*Mixed Supes
*Building Harem
*inc FF
*Mid-Burn
*Standalone
Needs strengthening!
For me this book needs a strong developmental edit, things happen randomly with no build up, it appears to randomly occur with little linkage to an overall storyline in the book. The characters are different in that some of them are not your usual supes so that bought a bit of variety, but again for me they felt very 2-D and a bit flat. I completely acknowledge this is a short standalone (around 150 pages I think) so there is not going to be a lot of depth but it felt short of the mark, especially as there was very little relation to Spells Hollow and the overall threat of Morfan and what role her family actually played…
Some fair spicy scenes, although a bit random in placement. Could work but does need further development.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, this is the only story I have read in this series so I was confused about some things that others probably won't be. I was fascinated by the concept of a person who literally couldn't tell the truth. No matter what Selene tried to say, it was either the opposite of what she meant to say, or gibberish. But somehow, she manages to end up with three hot men and one woman as her mates. Leave some for the rest of us, why don't you? Lol. The story got a bit weird toward the end, but that could be my lack of knowledge about the other books. Plenty of hot, sexy times, though. I was given an advanced copy of this book by the author. My review is voluntary.

[Tasha Goulet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read

Another witch's story in this why choose series. It was an interesting curse, one where she couldn't tell the truth. She couldn't even write the truth. But she'll have some help from a genie, a demon, a pegasus, and a goddess.

I'm pleased that this whole series was filled with quick read stories from different authors. I enjoyed that each has a new and different curse. And I enjoyed how each witch came back to Spells Hallow.

This really was more of a ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2 read for me. Spells Hallow really felt like it was an after thought in this book and that was disappointing.

[MandyViolete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Premise

I really enjoyed the beginning of the story and learning about Selene’s predicament- I really connected with the character and couldn’t wait to see what happened. There is an odd transition though that makes a turn where I had trouble following what was going on and from there this no longer felt like a story set in the same universe as the other witch books of this set, although the story was very interesting and intriguing. The feel of missing information randomly through the story is the only thing that brought this down to a four star for me, and casual readers who want an intriguing story with a fascinating FMC will still devour this!

[Rhonda Boone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this paranormal twist on why chose...Selene, a cursed witch, unable to speak the truth, decides to embark on a mission to find Spells Hollow after a frightening dream...between the action, drama, bickering of her traveling " companions/mates??" witty dialogue, chaos and funny mishaps as well as disasters..I found myself unable to put this book down...I mean you have a Djinn, a Demon, Roman Goddess, a Pegasus..add in a summoning circle WHAT could possibly go wrong...I am still laughing at some antics...I am telling you have to read this book!! Loved it!!

I received this as an ARC for free and voluntarily leaving my review.

[Sue MacKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cursed never to speak the truth, only the opposite of what she thinks will come out of her mouth.
She spends her life trying to find a way to break her curse.
She is led to her mate's, who manage to find their way around her words to understand her thoughts and work with her on breaking it.
But she gets tricked, so many times, because of what comes out of her mouth, that it's amazing she makes it through life at all.
But she's one very determined witch, with some very interesting mates on her side.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twisted words

Selene is cursed to speak and write the opposite of what she wants. Forced to speak lies, it's hard for her to make friends or even explain what's going on. An unexpected potion leads her on a wild ride where she gathers her ingredients to break her curse. The Spells Hollow part is every limited at the end and while her personal curse is broken the town as a whole is not.

If this is the last book to the series, I would have expected a final showdown. As a standalone book, it holds up as an interesting story quest.

[Joy Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zoey gives us the final book in the Cursed Coven of Spells Hollow series, this is the last but definitely not the least! Selene has been cursed her whole life to never tell the truth even when writing. She begins a quest to get to Spells Hollow and meets her mates along the way as she also tries to break the curse. To find out everything that happens along the way, dive into this delightfully written book with complex characters and plot twists that keep you turning pages throughout. I loved reading this story and highly recommend the series! Don't miss out on this book!!

[Suzanne McNeill Taviner · Rating 4 out of 5]

So in this story Selene cannot tell the truth due to an old family curse, but she has no idea where it came from and she want to try to lift it. After a mysterious dream she tries a potion to help her tell the truth but all that happens is she finds her mate, then another and another, until she has 4 mates!
I did find the relationship development between herself and her mates to be very short and she ended up in all sorts of trouble due to this.
They did get to Spells Hollow in the end but they didn't seem to do anything, when they got there, except to christen their new home!

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last one in the series and a nice closure for sure. This story is about Selene and she's cursed. So she tries everything in her power to get a cure. It is an interesting curse, never to be able to tell the truth. A potion to help solve the issue perhaps? The only downside on this story? I wish it was twice as long but this is a nice evening read for sure. Overal good story and love getting to know new authors as this one was new to me. Hoping more will come but if not I'll be re-reading the series.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this final book we meet Selene, a beautiful witch who was cursed with the inability to tell the truth. After learning of a potion that could help her, Selene sets off to Spells Hollow to find it and meets her mates along the way. With the help of her 4 hot mates Selene figures out a way to talk to them so they understand that what she is saying isn't what she means. It's funny to read at first before her mates learn of her curse to see how she does talk to them. A good ending to a good series.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wayward witch is the final book in the Spells Hollow series. I really enjoyed this story. It was a little different than the other stories. Selene is trapped by the curse with the inability to tell the truth. No matter what she does her words are twisted into lies. Then the blood moon hits and everything changes. We follow her on her journey to the truth. Twists, fated mates, prisoner & finally the truth. This was a fun quick read. I highly recommend this series for anyone looking for fun, quirky witches on a journey to free themselves from the curses of a madman.