Title: Spirit of the Witch
Author: Deanna Chase
Series: Witches of Keating Hollow #4
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Magic, Paranormal romance, Witches
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2018
Yvette and Jacob’s meeting in Heart of the Witch and their immediate interpersonal complications definitely made me keen to dive into Spirit of the Witch. And then I got to read their story. And honestly, it just got better! They go from a one-night stand to contentious business partners to lovers in such an organic manner. It made for such a pretty easy and sweet transition between their different states. There is enough drama and bumps in the road to make it almost impossible to put this down, but not enough that I felt too angsty reading it – the perfect balance for the mood that I’ve been in lately.
This is the second book in a while I’ve read with a romance in which the woman has been divorced, because her first husband realises that he’s gay. I really liked how Chase dealt with this (Whynot in Checking You Out also did a great job of this messy dynamic). Isaac kind of came across as a bit of a selfish prick to begin with, which fits as he behaves absolutely ridiculously for the first portion of the book – acting jealous and controlling in a seriously cringey way. But, I love that, eventually, he and Yvette are able to start making movements to reestablishing a friendship. The maturity of the situation, and after a while, both of their actions was really great and I felt so content reading how they are able to start to move forwards with their lives.
Unlike Yvette’s ex, Jacob’s ex is completely insane. That’s fairly obvious from her first interactions and appearances in this story. But, somehow, it gets worse the more you read. It’s a pretty intense way for Jacob to truly move on from the past and reconnect with his ex-best friend. But I kind of loved the wonderfully intense shenanigans. It was the ultimate hurdle, and as soon as I started to realise just what a complication she was going to be, I did the old walk-and-read… into a wall (it happens more than I should really admit).
Not only is this a great romance about moving on from past betrayals for both Yvette and Jacob, it’s also got the secondary storyline of building a thriving bookstore. As a bibliophile and someone who has generally considered owning my own bookstore… because books, I really loved this setting and secondary storyline. Plus, both Yvette and Jacob have to negotiate something that many modern-day business owners have to negotiate – the ability to adapt to an everchanging market. The use of magic and café goods within this just made me drool… over the books, the food and the coffee.
Earth and Skye 
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