The Modern Girl’s Guide to Magic by Linsey Hall is a contemporary paranormal fantasy romance, and the first book in the Charming Cove series (3.5/5 stars)

The Modern Girl’s Guide to Magic by Linsey Hall is a contemporary paranormal fantasy romance, and the first book in the Charming Cove series. We follow our two main characters with alternating points-of-view.

Aria is from a magical family, but her magic has never worked like everyone else’s. She’s been away from her hometown of Charming Cove for seven years after everyone there assumed she was a magical dud. After being fired from yet another mundane job, her grandmother asks her to return home to enter into a competition to help save their family shop. Of course, as soon as she returns, she runs into Callan–the wealthy mage she’s held a grudge against for years.

For starters, Charming Cove lives up to its name and it seems like a really cute place! I adore Aria’s grandmother and her friends. Her best friend Tabitha is also great. Aria feels a bit immature for her age, but overall I did like her.

I really enjoyed the magic system here. I’m a bit of a plant person, so magic + plants is a big draw for me. Boris the badger familiar is a phenomenal character and I love him.

The “miscommunication” that is the impetus of the sort-of-enemies to lovers trope didn’t really land for me. The pacing also felt a bit off, especially with how quickly their romance goes from 0 to 100. I would have appreciated a bit more depth throughout the whole book.

If you’re looking for a cozy fantasy romance, or something that’s pretty light-hearted, this is a great option to pick up. It’s a really quick and cute read.

Tropes in this book include: enemies to lovers (light), rom com, competition, forced proximity

I received a copy of this book to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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