This Spells Disaster

By: Tori Anne Martin

Narrated by: Jeremy Carlisle Parker

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

“With classic rom-com hijinx and herbalist witchy vibes, this novel will have you happily spellbound.”—The Boston Globe

Fake dating gets a magical twist in this enchanting queer romantic comedy where a witch worries that the real feelings brewing between her and her crush were sparked by an accidental love potion, and the only way out of the disastrous spell is a healthy dose of the truth—drink up, witches.

Potion maker and self-proclaimed “messy witch” Morgan Greenwood is sure she was hexed at birth. Not only did she drunkenly offer to fake date the woman of her dreams during the biennial New England Witches’ festival, but Rory Sandler, spellcasting champion and brilliant elemental witch—for reasons known only to the Goddess—accepted. It’s like every good luck spell Morgan ever cast came through at once, and it doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict this charade will end with a broken heart.

Or is the magic between them real? As Morgan and Rory prepare to fool everyone at the festival, their relationship starts to feel a whole lot less fake—right until Morgan realizes she might have screwed up the common relaxation potion she made for Rory and given her a love potion instead, breaking one of the most sacred Witch Council Laws.

To fulfill her promise to Rory, Morgan must somehow keep playing pretend while under the watchful eyes of Rory’s family and legion of fans. But to break the love potion, she’ll also have to prove how incompatible she and Rory really are. For a screwup like her, ruining their relationship should be easy—except every day, Morgan is becoming more bewitched by Rory herself.

©2023 Tori Anne Martin (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“A charming tale to escape to: a light-hearted and uplifting romp populated by a cozy, gossipy but well-meaning coven (think curious elder witches and grandmas who just know things) in a warm, spell-filled world, complete with a self-care shop and enchanted drinks that taste like fall…With classic rom-com hijinx and herbalist witchy vibes, this novel will have you happily spellbound.”—The Boston Globe

“This Spell Disaster is the queer witchy romcom of my heart! I loved the small town setting, the magic system, the feel-good humor of the story, but above all I loved Rory and Morgan's transition from friends into lovers, and the way they constantly made each better! Teen Witch meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in this delightfully heartwarming, enchanted romance.”—Ali Hazelwood, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"There's a special kind of magic to falling in love, and in This Spells Disaster, Rory and Morgan have to figure out what's real and what's an illusion. The Witch Council, the festival, the cleverly named potion shop—I lost myself in this world and found myself wishing it were real! This sapphic witchy romance from Tori Anne Martin totally had me under its spell."—Alicia Thompson, national bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers

So cute!

I am such a lover of queer witchy books, and this did not disappoint! I love how realistic the personal thoughts were.

Heavy on Self - Loathing Not Heavy Enough on Romance

here's the thing, I was real excited about this book. I unfortunately would not recommend this book. This is my first October read and I was itching to get my fingers on my phone and start this book. as very similar to other people who have reviewed it, it was very heavy on main character self-loathing and not heavy enough on the romance. I understand that due to this being not a real story, that we should not expect a completely realistic story. however, we are talking about full-grown adults and the female lead was giving preteen / teenage vibes. I did not want to read about teenagers, I wanted to read about adults, and it doesn't feel like I got that. honestly I would have appreciated the book more, if we would have witnessed self-growth from the female lead, instead of the majority of the book being her freaking out because of the potion. Even though the book was well written and it felt like we were dealing with real characters, for me, the book was less enjoyable because of how unrealistic the female leads theory about the potion and her way of going about handling the situation was handled.

Sapphic Witch Romance!?! I’m in!

Adorable and good cheesy in the best way possible. I love a good rom com where people hardly know each other and then set them selves up for chaos and then fall in love. It’s the best. I loved the ride of this witchy romance with two main characters that absolutely were like-able and you rooted for them the whole book.

Definitely worth a credit!

Looking for a super cute story perfect for a cozy weekend?! Check this one out!! You’ll get friendly side characters, family drama, miscommunication, and two imperfectly perfect MCs that have you rooting for their happy ending! Narrator did an awesome job too!!!

irritating self loathing main character

I really liked this book up until the spell. Morgan is pathetic and emotionally immature. couldn't finish. caused me to be extremely crabby and irritated.

Agitating & Frustrating

I finished it. I was hoping it would get better. It did not. The main character has the worst self-esteem and lacks communication skills. A lot of the story involves them referring to the love interest as perfect. No one is.
If they could stop with the self-loathing spiral for just a moment, they would see that what they believe to be true just isn't.

Also, can we be done with fake dating? Please.

Cute but irritating

Overall the book is cute but it was so frustrating at parts! It’s silly to think that a grown adult person would not just tell the person they are dating that they made a mistake and fix it instead of trying to self sabotage.