Review copy was received from Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Series: Stay a Spell #1
Published by Self-Published on January 14, 2020
Genres: Fantasy Romance
Pages: 378
Format: eARC
Source: Author
Goodreads





What's the worst thing that can happen to a werewolf? Unable to shift for three months, Mateo Cruz knows all too well. His wolf has taken up residence in his head, taunting him night and day with vividly violent and carnal thoughts. Convinced he's cursed, he needs the help of a powerful witch before he literally goes insane.
Evie Savoie has always obeyed the house rules of her coven--no werewolves. They're known for being moody and volatile. So, when a distempered, dangerous werewolf strolls into the bar and almost strangles one of her late-night customers, she's ready to bounce him through the door. But the desperation in his eyes when he begs her to help him softens her heart and convinces her to bend the rules.
What Evie doesn't know is that Mateo's wolf has a mind of his own. And now that she's in his sights, he wants only one thing. Her.
Stay A Spell is a new series from Juliette Cross. I’ve read a few of her other series and this one is a bit of a shift in tone and direction. It is much more on the romantic side of PNR and it’s a lot lighter, with more humor and pop culture references than the other series I’ve read by her.
Meet Evie, our Star Wars and comic loving heroine, who also comes from a crazy little family of witches. I mean crazy in the best shenanigans kind of way. Her oldest sister, Jules, is the power force behind the magic scene in New Orleans with all of her other sisters including herself leading some kind of support role too. Jules has always said “stay away from Werewolves they are nothing but trouble” and she is probably right because Mateo is T R O U B L E. Well actually he is in trouble and only Evie and her family might be able to help him.
Mateo has been cursed. He used to have a good balance with the wolf inside of him and they each got body time and didn’t really bother the other. But due to the curse not letting him shift, Alpha is the voice in his head that just won’t shut up and is really only interested in eating, fighting and banging. Not specifically in that order. He needs Evie to help him break this curse since he is starting to feel like the wolf is going to take over and no one in the city needs that to happen.
Wolf Gone Wild is a cute love story with a good introduction to the world and some of the characters in it. Evie is pretty adorable and I loved her geeked out love of all things comic book related and the pop culture references brought out in the story. Her connection to Mateo is cute and I really enjoyed reading their love story. Alpha is the comic relief and it was fun watching him and Mateo try and find a balance sharing the same body in the same space and time.
This series seems like all the books will be romance based and you can read them as stand alone novels. I liked how the magic was presented in the book and look forward to seeing what other kinds of creatures the series has in story for us. Evie and Mateo’s story was witty, flirty and fun. I’m interested in seeing how the rest of the sisters do and who their matches will be.
She took out her wand— yes, you heard me— handcrafted according to her Pottermore-assigned wand as 14.5 inches long, made of vine wood with unicorn hair core. I’d asked her what her craftsman had used instead of unicorn hair, because unicorns weren’t real. She’d just laughed at me like I was silly and naïve. So I left it alone.
“Wait a minute. You watched it once? So you’ve seen one Star Wars movie? And that’s it?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Not really into science fiction movies. Or movies in general, for that matter.”
“I can’t even believe what I’m hearing,” I muttered more to myself than to him. It was like Chewbacca speaking Klingon. Does. Not. Compute. Okay. Don’t freak out on him.
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I love the cover on this one. I’m not sure if this is my style but you make it sound fun. Fantastic review Robin! I do love Star Wars.
Thanks Anne. I had a good time with it.
Sounds fun. I’m gonna grab this one eventually!
It’s a fun romantic read Barb. I like the witch sisters, you could just tell that growing up in that family was full of crazy moments.
This one does sound cute. I hope you enjoy the other books:)
Same. Fun start to a series. I’ll cross my fingers.
I love this cover. I tried a few books by the author that I enjoyed but it’s been a while. I need to try more.
Me too. I did her fairytale retelling series with vampires and the one about Dragons. I enjoyed the stories in both of those.
Great review. I honestly can’t wait to read this one. Juliette Cross has such talent. And I really love the dynamics of Mateo’s character
It was fun Alpha got to be so OTT while Mateo is constantly trying to real him in. It led to some funny times.
This was a sweet cute and light-hearted read. Nice review!
Yes Angela. That is a great way to describe it.
I have heard great things about this author and this book sounds like a lot of fun. I will have to keep my eye out for it!
Thanks Carole, I’ve enjoyed the series that I’ve tried by her. They’ve had some interesting takes on things.
I just commented on another blog how I’m not familiar with this author, but I am seeing this review all over my social media. It sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks for the review.
This is definitely a lot of fun. She has a darker series that I read that was a fairytale retellings with vampires. I enjoyed that series by her too and then she has one with Dragon/man Hybrids which is the first series I read by her.
I think with every book her writing has gotten better.
I have enjoyed other books by Cross and am definitely interested in this one. I hadn’t heard about this one of hers before, but it’s definitely one I need to try! Thank you for your great review, Anne.
Its her shot at something a little lighter with more humor. I think she nailed it. If you liked her other works I could see this one working for you too.