Ready, Set, Go: Best Witch Romance!

The Rec League - heart shaped chocolate resting on the edge of a very old bookCue the menacing cackles and the ominous music! It’s time for the most evil recommendation feature we have: READY, SET, GO!

Here are the rules:

We pick a specific sub-genre, trope, or type of romance, and we have to make ONE recommendation for that type.

ONE.

ONLY ONE.

And no more than two sentences as to why.

Yes, just one.  Which one book do you pick to fill that rec? You ready?

What is the best witch romance you’d recommend? 

Any genre, but just one rec.

Ready, set, GO!

Lara: Only one?

The Winter Witch
A | BN | K | AB
OH MY! Then I’m going to go with the first one that sprung to mind: The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston. Eerie, beautiful setting + strong women = happy Lara

Sarah:  I reserve Sarah Addison Allen recs for Amanda.

Amanda: LOL. Surprisingly my mind did not go to Addison Allen!

Sarah: Well, then you are released from this reservation!

Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night
A | BN | K | AB
Amanda:  Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night by Kresley Cole (3rd book in IAD). This one was my favorite of the series until book 14.

Werewolf hero & witch heroine, enemies to lovers, lots of brooding – chef’s kiss.

Sarah: I’m debating re-reading that one, in fact!

Amanda: I don’t have many scenes in books that stick with me, but their first “meeting” in a tunnel is one I always remember.

Carrie: Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman – a very different animal from the movie and more focused on sisterhood than romance, but so good, and there is some great romance in it.

Aarya: Can I pick a romantic graphic novel?

Amanda: I don’t see why not.

Mooncakes
A | BN
Aarya: Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu. I read it last month for my summer bingo and it’s ADORABLE. Non-binary werewolf, Chinese-American witches, friends-to-lovers, and spooky/witchy feels in the autumn. It ends happily re: the romantic arc.

Carrie: OMG I love Mooncakes

Shana:  Does it have to be a paranormal? Because if not I’m going to say Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon. Witchcraft isn’t the focus on the book at all, though, just sweet cinnamon roll lovin.

Aarya:  Dani Brown also has a witch heroine in a contemporary! I think they count

Maya: I was totes gonna recommend that one!!

Elyse: The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox

It’s a spookier read but has a very strong romance subplot

Take a Hint, Dani Brown
A | BN | K | AB
Maya: Dani in Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert is a modern witchy witch!!!! (know that I had many more exclamation marks at the end of that sentence.)

Shana: I second all your exclamation points.

Catherine: Oh, drat, Maya, I was reading down the list gleefully rubbing my hands because Dani Brown wasn’t taken! Now I will have to think of something else…

So I have a Laura Florand book for every occasion, and The Chocolate Kiss has La Maison des Sorcières (The Witches’ House), which the heroine and her aunts own, and there is a lot of magical hot chocolate and tea and the aunts, at least, consider themselves to be witches. Though all the food in this book has slightly magical effects.

Aarya: That Florand is one of my favorite books ever.

Catherine: I am so sad that chocolate shop doesn’t exist…

Elyse: There is also the Granny Weatherwax series by the late Terry Pratchett and while not a romance is delightful.

Ellen: Ooh ooh ooh might be hard for me to pick one let me have a good think about it.

Spell of Desire, Volume 1
A | BN | K | AB
Okay so having self imposed the limitation that the word witch has to be used explicitly and it can’t be sorcerers or mages or wizards or enchanters with Witchy Vibes…I still want to pick a bunch but I am going with Spell of Desire by Tomu Ohmi.

It’s a josei manga by the same mangaka who did Midnight Secretary but there’s more of an emphasis on magical lore AND it somehow packs even more bonkers plot twists into fewer volumes.

Susan: I was going to recommend Mooncakes as well, it’s fantastic!

I’m currently flicking through my Goodreads going “Has witches but not a romance… Has witches and is a romance, but the witches are secondary characters… I wonder if magical girls count as witches?” so I may be Some Time.

If we ARE counting magical girls, then Kaiju’s Mahou Josei Chimaka is pretty great!

Chimaka was doing the proper magical girl thing: reincarnated lover, magic talking pet, final confrontation with the big bad… Which she lost. And now she’s grown up to be a cranky geologist whose best friend/coworker has decided to help her find magic again before the big bad comes back! It’s a friends-to-lovers f/f graphic novel and it’s very sweet!

OK, your turn! What about you? Give us your one (ONE) recommendation for the Best Witch Romance. 

Ready, Set, Go!

Comments are Closed

  1. Viktória says:

    I’m so here for this thread!!
    Going down the mainstream witch romance path here with the second book of Deborah Harkness’ All Souls trilogy, Shadow of Night. 2015 Viktória would have died for that book, although to be honest I’m kind of afraid to reread it because back then it was a no. 1 fave of mine.

  2. Zyva says:

    Wise Child by Monica Furlong.

    NB: it’s my all-round witch fave, but, from memory, very ‘not a romance’; I was deep into it as an anti-romantic child.
    (From the looks of it, you’ll cover the properly romantic books that’ve impressed me via yourselves and others, so I’ll leave that in your collective hands.)

  3. HL says:

    Paige Winterbourne and Lucas Cortez from Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series. Her first appearance is in Dime Store Magic,

  4. Sandra L says:

    Has anyone read the Paula Brackston witch books? They are on my shelf, but I haven’t read them yet.

  5. Holly says:

    Lauren Dane – Bound by Magic series and Diablo Lake

  6. SB Sarah says:

    @Holly: OH, YES, you’re so right. The Diablo Lake series especially has really interesting types of witches. Good one!

  7. Kareni says:

    Grace Andreas is both a witch and the Oracle in Thea Harrison’s Oracle’s Moon, a book I’ve reread numerous times. She is a raising her nephew and niece, recovering from injuries from the car accident that killed her sister, and trying to decide whether her food stamps will cover that extra can of tuna; she and Khalil, a djinn, are at odds when the book begins.

  8. Kate says:

    Totally not a romance, but The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett, is wise and wonderful. The audio is fantastic too.

    Oh! The Changeover, by Margaret Mahy. It *is* a romance, and it’s SO GOOD. It blew me away when I was a tween, and when I reread it a few years ago, it really held up.

  9. Vicki B. says:

    Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels series. The romance isn’t the primary plot but it’s one of the strong subplots. And when I read ‘witch’ my mind instantly went ‘Witch.’

    Also, to this day this is one of the best world building series I have ever read with minimal info dumps, which is one of the reasons I love it so much.

  10. Carrie G says:

    This might be skirting the requirements just a little, but I love the Guild Codex books by Annette Marie, starting With Three Mages and a Margarita. Tori is eventually classified as a witch, but I’ll say no more due to spoilers. These books are great urban fantasy with humor and angst, with lots of action and a romantic thread. My sci-fi/fantasy loving husband is equally a fan of this series and the connected series.

  11. Nancy Collins says:

    Sorcery & Cecelia: Or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede is a charming and delightful Regency romance!

  12. Ursula says:

    The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker

  13. Kate K.F. says:

    Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones, technically they’re magids but magic and one of my favorite Diana Wynne Jones’ romances. They bond over books at a sci-fi con after both having the wrong impression of the other.

    And seconding the Sorcery and Cecilia books, they’re such comfort reads for me.

  14. MaryK says:

    Do the Guild Codex books by Annette Marie have a romantic thread? I’ve read the first couple and there was a romantic quadrangle at best. Does she end up choosing one/actually having a romance with one of them?

  15. EC Spurlock says:

    All of Juliette Marillier’s Sevenwaters series does it for me, but if I had to pick one it would be Child of the Prophecy, mainly for how totally devoted the hero is despite that the heroine is being forced to do terrible magic things by her grandmother. They do really need to be read in order though, so start with Daughter of the Forest if you decide to dive in.

  16. TinaNoir says:

    I always enjoy a revisit with The Wolf, The Witch, and Her Lack of Wardrobe novella by Shelly Laurenston in the Belong to the Night Anthology.

  17. KB says:

    @EC Spurlock I love Juliette Marillier but just in case anyone is diving in for the first time I have to give a huge, enormous trigger warning for Daughter of the Forest. I freaking love that book but it does not shy away from a graphic on-page description of rape and the ensuing trauma.

  18. Carrie G says:

    I second Deep Secret By Diana Wynn Jones. I love her books. The Hob’s Bargain is so good! I love Sorcery and Cecelia,too.

    As for romance in the Guild Codex: Spellbound books, the quick answer is, yes, Tori chooses one of the mages. The long answer is long. If your reading mainly for romance then this might not be for you. These books are a lot about friendships and loyalty, but the her love for one of the mages becomes Tori’s driving force in the last few books. The connected series, Guild Codex: Demonica also has interesting romantic/sexual tension undercurrents. But these are not strictly romances, and the development of the romance is not the focus.

  19. LM says:

    “Love Spells for the End of the World” had a really great group of witches. I think they were witches? One of them might have been a demon or something. It’s a Halloween romance, too.

  20. Reetta R says:

    The Hollows urban fantasy series by Kim Harrison. Rachel is a PI witch who cooks potions and makes charms and over 14 books she dates at least 4 different guys. So there is a plenty of romance and the eventual One. Plus an awesome UF setting with vampires, faeries, elves and demons and supernatural out in the open.

    Also Nora Roberts’ Three Sisters Island trilogy with three witchy friends. I really love Mia. Such a proud and sensual lady.

  21. -m- says:

    Slouch Witch by Helen Harper about a super lazy but very able witch. It is part of The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Magic Series, but you can read it as a stand alone.

  22. Scifigirl1986 says:

    I am currently rereading the Three Sisters Island trilogy by Nora Roberts, so I feel I need to recommend it. The magic is more present as the books progress, so Face the Fire has the most magical presence, especially since both Mia and Sam are magical.

    I also need to mention that when I read The Chocolate Kiss a few years back, I found the hero to be problematic. He’s your typical entitled rich man who doesn’t understand the effect his actions have on the heroine and her aunts. I DNF’ed it with about 20 pages left when he was going through the heroine’s underwear drawer without her permission. In fact, if I remember correctly, he was in her apartment without her permission, so he could change her locks—again without her permission.

  23. DonnaMarie says:

    @Carrie, I have to agree: not a romance, but Practical Magic/i> is my favorite witch book, also my favorite Alice Hoffman book, and just generally one of my favorite books. I read it to my mother when she was in the end stage of her cancer. And that movie was like being stabbed through the heart.

    Everyone else has covered my list: Thea Harrison, Kresley Cole, Deborah Harkness, Lauren Dane.

    Does Mary Robinette Kowal’s Shades of Milk and Honey fit the bill? They are “Glamorists”, rather than witches, but the magic aspects of the story are original and the romance is lovely.

  24. MaryK says:

    @Carrie G – Thanks, that helps. The main reason I haven’t continued with the books is because I didn’t want to play the “who will she pick” game all through the series. I can deal with it if it’s temporary.

  25. Jeannette says:

    This is hard! There are so many good witch books out there. My addition:

    A London Werewolf in America by Pat Cunningham. She’s smart, resourceful, and practical , and he’s got a lovely British accent. Also it’s set in Philadelphia and has a good sense of place.

    Some Practical Magic by Laurie Kuna. It’s a romantic comedy/suspense set on a book tour between an author of the “Kitchen Witch” ( who’s really a witch) and a thriller author who’s devoted fan is a little too devoted.

  26. Carrie G says:

    If anyone here enjoys juvenile fiction, Patricia C Wrede, one of the authors of Sorcery and Cecelia, has a delightful series called The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. The main character of the first book is a princess who decides to run away to seek a dragon to live with. It’s titled Calling On Dragons. In the series is a wonderful witch with lots of cats,and two books feature her prominently. The last book features a fire witch who is having difficulty with her control of her powers. There is romance in the books, which is very sweet. I read these to my kids and they still talk about the books to this day.

  27. Anything by JORDAN HAWK! They write m/m witches. WIDDERSHINS is first in the Griffin and Whybourne series: “A reclusive scholar. A private detective. And a book of spells that could destroy the world.” Soooo good. In an alternate Victorian-type setting.

  28. Cassandra says:

    The Gale women in Tanya Huff’s Enchantment Emporium are seriously powerful. And not particularly nice. There is a romance and dragons too! Some find the power dynamics problematic, but I’ve always enjoyed the series. YMMV.

  29. Ferdzy says:

    I see Diana Wynne Jones mentioned here, but not Howl’s Moving Castle, which is plainly the platonic ideal of witch romances.

  30. Laura says:

    An older book, Bewitching by Jill Barnett. Young somewhat inept Scottish witch and a cranky lord embarrassed by her spells, but very attracted to her.

  31. Dejadrew says:

    Hustle Cat! A visual novel game from Date Nighto. A new employee at a cat cafe discovers that everyone who works at the cafe is under a witch curse. Adorable, comfy, heartwarming blend of coffee shop tropes and paranormal romance tropes. With kitties! Kittieeeees.

  32. Annie Kate says:

    Seconding the rec for Oracle’s Moon, which is one of my favorite paranormals ever. The way Harrison’s worldbuilding takes class inequality into account in a world that is like-ours-but-different is one of the things that makes the Elder Races series so great, and Grace is awesome–and never narratively punished for being initially unfriendly and suspicious of Khalil.

    I recently tore through all of Isabella August’s Faerie Lords series, which included a really interesting system of witchcraft based around astrology that wasn’t quite like anything I’d seen before. All of the heroines are various types of witches; my favorite book is the fourth, Crown of Salt (snarky, cynical cursed witch + the cinnamon roll vampire who loves her), but they do benefit from being read in order.

  33. Maeve says:

    CE Murphy’s Roses in Amber. It’s based on very early Beauty & the Beast source material and I LOVE the changes she makes.

  34. Kathi says:

    Aleksandr Voinov has a series of m/m romances called The Witches of London that revolve around one coven. Really good.

  35. Kareni says:

    @Annie Kate, Isabella August’s Faerie Lords series sounds intriguing. I see the first in the series is currently free for Kindle readers.

    Crown of Frost by Isabella August

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XLB29LX?storeType=ebooks

  36. Erica says:

    @Carrie G, I clicked through to the comments to recommend the Enchanted Forest Chronicles (also Howl’s Moving Castle)! Morwen is the best and I want to be her when I grow up. Only eight cats and some magic learning to go.

  37. Carrie G says:

    @Erica, the Enchanted Forest Chronicles’ book where the reader is privy to the cat’s conversations is the BEST! We named two cats after them, Jasper Darlington Higgins IV and Fiddlesticks. We read the books after we got our first cat, but he definitely would have been Trouble, if we’d but known!

  38. Heather says:

    The Vine Witch, Luanne G Smith
    Melissa F Olson’s Boundary Magic series (more PN than PNR but there is some romance)
    Changeling/Fledgling, Molly Harper (a very slowly emerging romance)
    The Simon Snow series, Rainbow Rowell
    And of course, the Harry Potter series

  39. Ellen says:

    Very excited to see many of the books I agonized about potentially choosing in these comments!! lol

  40. Christina says:

    In the Company of Witches by Joey W. Hill

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