Book Review: Walking In A Witchy Wonderland by Juliette Cross
Walking in a Witchy Wonderland by Juliette Cross
Well, if you love steamy fantasy romances, paranormal elements, and all the LOL moments, you need to pick up this series by Juliette Cross! It’s called Stay A Spell and it follows a coven of sister witches in New Orleans as they find their meant-to-be, happily ever after beaus. In the New Orleans they live in, there are supernaturals divided into factions of witches, werewolves, vampires, and reapers. It’s SO much fun. 3 books are currently out and I’ll recap them below before we completely jump into all things Witchy Wonderland. Walking in a Witchy Wonderland, book 3.5 in the series, is an anthology of all the couples we’ve met to date plus a few still to come! It gives us a holiday glimpse into each of their lives as well as introduces us to a few new characters. I just loved it SO much! It was just absolute perfection 🙌🏻✨ I love how easy it is to get lost in this series... Whenever I've picked up one of the books, it truly has never *felt* like I was reading and that's just the best kind of story, right?? But, before we dive in, let’s recap the current books in the series.
The Stay A Spell Series So Far
First, we have Wolf Gone Wild, book 1, which follows Mateo (a werewolf and artist) and Evie (one of our sister witches and curse breaker). It’s spunky and fresh and oh, have I mentioned?! This is 100% a steamy, steamy romance series.
Next is Don’t Hex and Drive and you guessed it, book 2. It follows Isadora (another of the Savoie sister witches and a witch with healing powers), and Devraj (a vampire and Strygon, a legendary vampire warrior). This book is charming and sweet and has a compelling underlying mystery (as book 1 does).
After that is Witches Get Stitches and yes, book 3. It follows Violet (one of the sister twins and powerful seer) and Nicos (a werewolf and singer/songwriter) as they expertly avoid their feelings for each other, open a tattoo shop together, and try to find a way to permanently help the werewolf community. Nico is actually Mateo’s cousin, too!
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There are 3 more books slated in the series with the next book coming in 2022. If you want to check out the series further, hop over to Goodreads here. But for now, let’s get back to Walking In A Witchy Wonderland!
“This was my safe place. My heaven on earth. My Christmas wish come true.”
About The Book
Walking in a Witchy Wonderland is a swoony and magical holiday glimpse into the lives of our favorite couples (and couples to be)! We get 5 short stories that happen alongside and within the confines of the first 3 novels with the cleverest titles and the most bewitching moments.
Book Details
Title: Walk In A Witchy Wonderland
Author: Juliette Cross
Publication Date: October 5th, 2021
Genres: Adult, Christmas Novella, Paranormal, Steamy Romance
Purchase a copy: Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Bookshop.org | Barnes & Noble
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Synopsis
Getting hexy for the holidays!
Mischief and mayhem dominate the holiday season for the Savoie sisters of New Orleans. Five sexy stories set in the STAY A SPELL world you don’t want to miss.
Bewitch You A Merry Christmas: Always the peacemaker, Evie conjures Christmas magic between a hexed hottie and his witchy neighbor, while Mateo and Alpha plan to do whatever it takes to get some alone time with their girl.
Rockin’ Around The Hexmas Tree: A Dirty Santa gift with a very special hex boosts Devraj and Isadora’s sex life from sizzling hot to scorching.
Jingle Bell Jock: On New Year’s Eve, a new man puts the moves on Charlie. Tired of pining for his best friend, he’s ready to move on. Fortunately, JJ’s jealousy is just the right ingredient to move them well out of the friend zone.
You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grim: Her first glimpse of grim reaper Gareth Blackwater evokes a major case of insta-hate in Lavinia. In that same moment, Gareth is hit with insta-lust. Fate is playing with them both, and neither one is happy about it.
Jingle Spells: Nico and Violet laugh their way through their first babysitting adventure. But laughter turns to lust when Nico’s “dad” vibes tug on Violet’s maternal heartstrings.
“As long as we were together, that humming sensation of rightness, of contentment and satisfaction wove between us both.”
The Story
spoiler-free
So this novella is an anthology! Walking in a Witchy Wonderland is a swoony and magical holiday glimpse into the lives of our favorite couples (and couples to be)! We get 5 short stories that happen alongside and within the confines of the first 3 novels with the cleverest titles and the most bewitching moments. If you love this series, do not skip this anthology!!
The Characters
the men
Alpha aka Mateo, is one of the werewolves in our beloved tale. He's so snarky and dramatic and makes me LOL a lot. He’s Evie’s beau!
Devraj is still so swoony! He’s one of the vampires in the series and adores Isadora! They are still my absolute favorite couple (I identify with Issy's personality so much).
JJ & Charlie are THE CUTEST (I loved getting a glimpse into their beginning and budding romance).
Gareth is one of the reapers, the most mysterious of the supernatural factions in New Orleans. There’s not much known about their powers. But OH MY. He’s got his eyes set on Livvy.
Daddy Nico, Mateo’s cousin and also a werewolf, is our stoic and more serious male companion to Violet!
the women
Evie, our curse breaker of the sister bunch, she’s such a relatable character with her fears of failure and going after her dreams… love her so much! Mateo helps to instill a confidence within her.
Issy, a plant mama, animal lover, and introvert, has healing powers and lives by her organized routine and simple world until Dev shows up.
Violet is driven, determined, silly stubborn, badass, and just all-around awesome. Her and Nico are perfect together.
Livvy, we’ve only met through the eyes of her sisters, Evie, Issy, and Violet so far, but she’s got this undeniable attraction to Gareth that I can’t wait to see unfold!
And then there's the itty bitty sneak peek we get of Henry (a reaper) and Clara (Violet’s twin) - eeeek!
Steamometer
🌋 - my whole body is on fire and I’m melting
I will repeat - this is a steamy, steamy series and Walking In A Witchy Wonderland is no different!
For those who are unfamiliar with my Steamometer, check it out below (it’s ever-evolving lol)!
❤️ NICE AND SWEET
💃🏼 SASSY SPICE
🔥 STEAMYYYY GOODNESS
🥵 MY OVARIES ARE BURSTING
🌋 my whole body is on fire and I’m melting
🖤 SMUTASTIC
Overall Thoughts
I LOVED IT. SO much! This anthology was just absolute perfection 🙌🏻✨ From the laugh-out-loud moments to the underlying storylines, and chemistry between the couples… this is such an easy series and novella to fall in love with! I’m very excited about the next book.
“He kissed me with long, soft, teasing brushes of his lips. The kind of kisses that melt you down to your bones. The kind that prove to your heart that it is loved and cherished.”
About The Author
About Juliette Cross:
Juliette lives in moss-laden Cajun country in Louisiana where she lives with her husband, four kids, and black lab, Kona. She is a multi-published author of paranormal and fantasy romance with confident, persevering heroines and dark, sexy heroes. While she enjoys reading and writing the dark, broody types, she also appreciates the fun, levity of humor in a good love story, so she tries to give her characters both on their way to their HEA.
She also co-hosts the romance podcast Smart Women Read Romance with her niece, Jessen, where they love to fangirl about their favorite books, authors, and characters and are challenging people to think of romance novels as more than just "mommy porn" -- though there's nothing wrong with a copious amount of sexy times.
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I’m Leah. Cozy connoisseur and bountiful book buyer. I have a minor obsession with getting lost in the pages of a good book, guzzling coffee, and thriving at home. Yoga pants, wine, and essential oils are also my jam. I'm truly just a homebody at heart with a knack for content creation, flatlays & cozy shots. This is my creative space.
I love this feeling when I’m reading a book. Nothing compares! This sense of being completely immersed and lost inside the pages of the story — like you could live there endlessly, never get enough of the plot and characters and yearn to get more of the story once you’re finished. Here are the last 3 books that made me forget I was reading.