Between Spells and Shadows: A Cozy Cauldron Romance

by R.N. Barbosa

The witches of the Mystic Alley Cauldron take their magic very seriously. And when it comes to rivalries, sometimes you gotta outsource payback. Thea’s arch nemesis has done it again, taken another thing that wasn’t hers, and Thea has had enough. When presented with the opportunity for retribution, she doesn’t care that it might cost her soul. A little infernal help is exactly what she needs, and she’s never been more thankful to be ace than when that infernal help sets its sights on her first.

Genres: Romance, LGBT, Witches, Asexual, Novella, Cozy, Queer

90 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 7, 2024

About the author

I love fantasy in nearly all its forms, and multidimensional characters, with complicated, dynamic relationships, and questionable morals.

I'm a queer, Brazilian-American Author, who writes diverse, queer characters in settings where that's the norm, and the drama lies elsewhere!

Reviews

[BookishKB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sapphic Novella

This was a cute fake dating witchy novella. It was a short and easy read! I wish it had been a bit longer.

[K.C. Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

That escalated quickly. 😅

Love the ace rep, love the snark, love that I forgot that it wasn’t a cozy romance until the end rolled around to remind me. It’s quite short, but it follows the usual romance novel beats enough that I didn’t necessarily want it to be longer, although I would enjoy seeing more of this world. It’s like if Heart Haunt Havoc and Legends & Lattes had an adorable but deeply cursed baby. 💕 Cozy horroromantasy. That’s a thing now. We’re making it a thing.

[Crimson Petals 🥀 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written, sweet and cozy little novella.

I love the asexual representation, that was very well done. I think the characters were amazing, the relationship between the two main characters was very sweet.

I wish there was a bit more world building, but overall this was a nice little pick me up.

[Ane Ellasdatter · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. Well-written, funny and sweet. Nice ace-rep. I wish the end was a bit more elaborate.

[aspeccharactersoftheday]

Thea from Between Spells and Shadows is asexual!

https://www.tumblr.com/aspeccharacter...

[Linz Jogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. Cute and quick read that surprised me with how much sway it had over my emotions.

[Emily Sowulewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Hidden Gem

I love finding well-written, engaging, sweet books through Kindle Unlimited. They're rare, but they're out there!

As someone who loves and lives with an asexual partner, I appreciated the positive, realistic representation of someone who doesn't really have a libido. (The kissing scenes are wonderful though.)

[Hayley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like the world and the covern system. But there wasn't enough of it. Something could definitely have been built from that. Instead, the story went down the forbidden lust route, and it kind of felt like I was reading something on Ao3.

A few things that bothered me:
Firstly; the reason for summoning Maggie to murder Emma was way OTT. Especially as Thea's mum was just going to sort the problem out anyway.

Secondly; Thea tells Maggie she doesn't want to do more than kissing, which Maggie is fine with because she is experiencing the top world and enjoying herself and her company. Then, at the end of the book, Thea just performs a ritual to bond Maggie to her and summon her whenever she wants! Like, did anyone ask Maggie if she wanted that?! She's a Succubus, she's going to want to Succu something!

Lastly; the bitching, whining, sassy, mean girlness of the characters just wore thin.

Some things I liked:
Firstly; a very short and to the point explanation of asexuality. I didn't know this and feel it was a well written scene.

Secondly; the world and community sounded amazing, I want more of that!

Lastly; it was short.

[Martina Weiß · Rating 3 out of 5]

CW: Murder, Death


3.5 / 5 Stars

I didn't really hate this book, but I didn't really like it very much either. I think if this book didn't feature AMAZING ace rep (and plus-size rep) I might rate it lower, but it has done such a beautiful job that I can't. Like really. Love it. I'm loki a sucker for succubus/incubus x ace ships. There's just something really charming about that trope and I will eat it up every time. Especially when it's combined with "Consent is Sexy" stuff. I eat that shit up. Gimme more. ♥

That being said, the romance was just ... not doing it for me. They spend a very short while together and fell so deeply in love with the other that it kind of lost the realm of "believable". I think if this book had more time to cook as in, if it were longer, I could have easily seen myself giving it 4 solid stars, but since it's not I have to judge it based on what we got and what we got was a romance that did not quite hit. The revenge plot was also barely relevant and handled like more of an afterthought as in "Oh yeah, I guess she needs a reason WHY she wants to summon this sex-demon, lol". Which results in the villain being one dimensional and boring. WHICH IS SUCH A SHAME because they were (best) friends at some point so I would assume that there would have been enough emotional SOMETHING involved.
Like I said, I liked it fine enough. Wasn't anything reality breaking or earthshattering but I also don't regret reading it.

Final Thoughts
Was okay.

[✟⛥☠︎︎~ Kelli ~☠︎︎⛥✟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this Cozy little witchy novella.

Loved the writing and the characters, I was picking it up in small doses rather than blitzing it. It was my carry around book on my Kindle.

Reading a cozy sapphic witch novella whilst in the beer garden, beside the river and in the Drs waiting room was just the cozy pick me up I needed.

Got quite excited when things started getting spicy 🥵 🌶️
But the main character is Asexual so that flattened that. It was actually nice to read from her perspective and listen to her explain how she feels. Gave me great insight which I’m grateful for thank you 🙏🏻

Awesome book

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Littlebookterror · Rating 4 out of 5]

[I read this originally as part of the Love, Ace & Monsters anthology and I'm working under the assumption that the content has not changed.]

An excellent start to this anthology - fun chapter titles and great banter included. The setup is great and the two main characters bring the story alive.
I loved reading about how Thea experiences asexuality and then how she communicates those feelings to Maggie. Delightful.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this little novella about an asexual witch who summons a succubus to help her with a revenge plot. The relationship that developed was sweet and the tension of an ace witch dating a sex demon was palpable but handled well.

My only complaints were that I thought the revenge was a little on the extreme side for my taste, and I would have liked to know more about the world and maybe have some scenes from the demon’s POV.

[hea booktubes · Rating 2 out of 5]

My bad. I thought this was fantasy and it was more so urban fantasy/paranormal “romance”. But I didn’t love the book as a whole, and then the ending was kind of annoying. They break up, she’s going to summon her back, (once again making all the decisions without consulting her significant other) and that’s where the epilogue ends.

[K G · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story itself was great but some of the worldbuilding wasn’t explored enough. This would have been 5/5 if not for the fact that the ending was disappointing. It wasn’t HFN enough to be considered romance imo.

[C.A. Chaplin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to live in this vibrant, cozy, magical world. The characterization is so strong it feels like I’m right there with them. I love morally grey characters, and there are plenty to love here! Dyyyying for more of Maggie and Thea! Their chemistry is so powerful.

[Katie Flournoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written, cozy, sapphic romance, with ace rep, a succubus, and witty humor, this quick read has my heart. Barbosa's ability to create a well-rounded, fast-paced tale without sacrificing plot or depth of characters is fantastic! I loved this short story!

[Emry Mango · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the ace reputation and how their relationship with a Succubus was handled. But the ending should’ve been longer. Good read otherwise

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun cozy fantasy romance.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful cozy witchy romance novella with excellent asexual representation.

[Alexis Kimble · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. The mean girl, catty characters and plot don’t do it for me. This isn’t cozy fantasy , whatever it is.