I'll start this review by saying that this the 3rd book of a series, but I didn't know that when I requested the ARC. So, I read book 1 and 2 and while this review is mostly about book 3 there are no spoilers and if you like the feel of this book, you can find books 1 and 2 now.
(Sherwood Witches series by Avery Flynn}
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
This is book three of what I assume will be a 5 book series (one for each sister) of the Sherwood Witches Series. Book one Witcha Gonna Do featured the youngest sister Tilda and introduced the reader to the what the author describes as “Witchydom”, or the world in which our characters reside. it’s earth, as we know it, but with all the supernatural elements out there in the open; witches, shifters, gnomes, trolls, pixies, satyrs, centaurs – each book builds on the world, introducing new magical beings as the story progresses. Book two Head Witch in Charge is about the second eldest sister but also the one who will be carrying the family magic on as her legacy. It’s usually the first born who gets to carry this responsibility, but for some reason it skipped the eldest and landed on Leona. The book picks up almost exactly from the end of Tilda’s story and furthers the adventure to the next phase. Leona and her paramour, Erik, are set on a road trip to hide the powerful grimoire of ancient spells that were the key to the plot of the first book. Near the climax of the their journey, they have a run in with Darius Aetos, the head of the Aetos outlaw shifter clan and that’s when we are formally introduced to our main character, Effie Sherwood, the eldest of the Sherwood sisters and the one who was bypassed as the head of the next generation of Sherwoods.
And this is where we start book three, Hexy Beast, the beast in question is obvious Darius. He’s just your typical tatted up motorcycle gang Alpha leader who is all gruff and angry. He’s being threatened by his no 2 for leadership of the pack, his pack is cursed so they can hardly survive without resorting to various criminal endeavors and his aunt is convinced he has a fated mate, who not only a witch but a PARTICULAR witch named Effie that has hitched a ride with him to his pack hideout. Of course, typical romantasy shenanigans occur – we’ve got fated mates, we got grumpy / sunshine, we got shared proximity, and off we go.
I didn’t realize that this was the third book in the series so I had to catch up with the first books. These are not standalone novels as the overall narrative arc carries on from book to book. While Tilda and Leona do not feature in this book, as their story has been told, we do get some more stories and insight about the other two sisters – Bea and Juniper. Juniper’s story will be next in the series and it’s quite obvious that Bea’s story will be the grand finale. I really do like how this series is structured. The story is solid and each book follows a distinct, yet different, path. Each sister’s adventure is completely different just as their personality, magic use and love interest are unique. The author does an excellent job of creating an entire new story for each couple It’s unabashedly following all the tropes, out loud and out front, but sometimes this is exactly what I want to have in a book. I want a good time, I want the romance to follow all the proper steps and I want my happy ending!
Flynn does not shy away from the spicy bits either I am not a fan of yearning and waiting around for the characters to realize their undying love for each other before they act on what is some very hot sexual tension. Look, that’s just how life works. Sometimes you are drawn to someone and you want to connect physically and that’s all right. Lets not slut shame here – these love interests are HOT, our female protagonists are older, late twenties to early thirties, they are not unfamiliar with getting what their body wants, even if they think it is likely a bad decision at the time.
This book is the best of the series so far in terms of character and plot and the overall flow of the books. Not that there is anything off with the first two books, but now that the laws of the world have been established, we know who the bad guys are and what is at stake, the story just really moves along. The stakes are getting higher with each successive book and we keep being introduced to new magic and subplots and characters that are just so fascinating and fun We have the 300 year old witch who is really into grunge, the unicorn shifter who loves lucky charms, the vegan trolls who love a good game, the satyrs and their amazing hospitality. I’m looking forward to seeing what sort of creatures and magical realms will show up in the next books!
I gave this book a 4.5/5 stars in Storygraph, but the series continues to improve and the overall series may end up ranking higher. I highly recommend this as a fun fantasy romance romp.
