Ex-celebrity chef Sirena Caraway has had the wackiest October ever. Her cooking powers are on the fritz, she failed to land a career-saving job, and she embarrassed herself at the town’s Halloween party. Just before midnight, she makes a desperate wish for a second chance to fix her life. The next morning Sirena wakes up and realizes that she’s repeating the entire pumpkin spice-flavored month. Even sweeter, she runs into Gus Dearworth, whose magic leaves her spellbound.
A former reality star, Gus moved to Freya Grove to rebuild his reputation and heal his broken heart, but his restless magic is tempting him to return to the spotlight. And his secret crush on Sirena is making him want to try something dangerous like fall in love again. When Sirena realizes he can help her fix her powers, Gus makes her a deal. If she’ll help decipher a mysterious cookbook in his collection, he'll help get her magical groove back.
Every encounter offers a new adventure—from tasting menus, harvest mazes, and a growing attraction that’s taking on an irresistible enchantment of its own. But as the month winds down and the wish grows stronger, Sirena and Gus have a decision to make. Will their second chance be their happy-ever-after ending or a bittersweet memory?
PJ's Thoughts:
Have you visited Celestine Martin’s Freya Grove, NJ yet? It’s a mystical, magical, slightly wacky place with not your ordinary run of the mill citizens. Well, I guess they’re ordinary if that’s where you live. Running into magicians, witches, gnomes, fairies, merman, and the like at the local coffee shop is par for the course in Freya Grove. The fact that Martin’s writing brings these characters to life in the most natural, normal way is part of the reason I so enjoy her books. She makes me believe this place exists, immerses me into the lives of her characters in such a way that I don’t have to suspend disbelief to actually believe.
Haven’t we all had moments in our lives when we wish we had a do-over? Sirena sure does and what she gets is a complete month to figure out how to get her life - and herself - together. Gus knows something feels off but can’t quite put his finger on what it is. What he knows for sure is that the entrance of Sirena into his life is pushing all his happy buttons and he wants more.
I love these two. Their chemistry is off the charts but it’s more than that. I love the respect they have for one another, the fact that they’ve both been betrayed (though in different ways), the care they show, the family dynamics both are dealing with, the fun they have together, and the deepening feelings for one another that everyone sees but them. I like the personal growth they both experience.
An important part of the story is the ever deepening sense of urgency that builds through the month, the tension of not knowing what the end of October will bring. Will Sirena get her kitchen witch skills back? Will she discover her path, the one that will bring her success but, more importantly, happiness and fulfillment? Will Gus finally come to terms with the baggage battering at his soul? With family expectations, his failed marriage, and the dueling parts of his personality? Can good-time magician Gus peacefully coexist with serious-minded historian Gus? So many questions. Martin takes her characters, and readers, on a deliciously delightful journey to the answers.
If you enjoy witchy romance (Halloween is just around the corner) with an opposites-attract trope, sizzling chemistry, Black love, big-girl body positivity, quirky characters, magical beings, complex family dynamics, humor, heart, and happy endings, give Deja Brew a try. I also recommend books one and two in the series: Witchful Thinking and Kiss and Spell. Click the titles to read my reviews.
