From beloved author Martha Waters, a lightly magical, enemies-to-lovers rom-com about the owner of a speakeasy supplying magical drinks and an enforcer of the ban on magic who must team up when potions begin to go awry, proving that chemistry isn’t just for cocktails.
In an alternate version of 1920s London, vestiges of England’s magical past exist, but the use of magic has been outlawed, leading families still with powers to operate illegal speakeasies for a public still hungry for magic. Vesper Holloway runs her family club, where a dash of spell powder or an enchanted cocktail can add a little extra intrigue to the evening. But one night a man drinking a Flotation Fizz that should allow him to levitate a few inches finds himself bumping his head on the ceiling. Word among the magical elite is that such accidents have been happening more frequently, and the club owners are worried that the danger will spread.
Enter Maxwell Ashbridge, a onetime friend of Vesper’s brother, who has joined the government agency tasked with enforcing the ban, and who has a personal vendetta against the magical elite. But he does not have a vendetta against Vesper; in fact, he finds her rather enticing. He promises her immunity for her club, if she teams up with him to help gain entry to other establishments and find out who is responsible for the contaminated magic threatening her family business. But their investigation does little to quell the chemistry they share. As accidents continue and the fight to repeal the ban gains ground in Parliament, Vesper and Max will have to decide—is the magic between them worth fighting for?
Read: April 24, 2026 – April 25, 2026
Final Rating: 4/5 – I really enjoyed it and would recommend it
Spellstruck is a magical, romantic book that has me wishing that I, too, had a magical speakeasy near me that served fun and flirty mocktails for the sole purpose of a fun night out with my girls.
I adored Vesper Holloway. Truly. I think she might have made her way into one of my favorite female characters of this year. Smart, witty, and ultimately in tune with herself. I thought her character arc was extremely well-written. As the youngest of her siblings, she’s used to her family downplaying her abilities especially because of her past. But in this book we see her take running Holloway’s extremely seriously, as well as becoming more confident in who she is as a person. She recognizes her flaws and though she might brush them off with humor and wit, it was clear in this book that she was working on herself and I loved it.
And Maxwell Ashbridge. Oh, sweet sweet Max. I think he was the perfect complement for Vesper. They bounced off each other perfectly and I never tired of their banter. Never raised his voice, quite frankly didn’t resort to lies or manipulation, and was willing to reconsider his views on magic that had been tainted by his father. I also thought he had a good character arc and didn’t fall flat. Loved their tension and chemistry, and yeah. I would read more about them.
I thought the plot was fine, though predictable at times. I had worked out most of what it took them the entire book to work out so the reveal didn’t feel as surprising; nevertheless, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. This was my introduction to Martha’s writing style and I quite enjoyed it except for the replacement words for “said”, “murmured” being the most common. Lol. It’s okay to write “said” but I understand the desire for variety; unfortunately, it pulled me out of the story each time there was murmuring, whispering, and the like. I also found the pacing a bit weird. A good chunk at the beginning takes place over just a weekend. I personally thought more time had passed. And the entire story over the course of a couple of weeks… I also didn’t realize how short the book was? Before I realized it, we were at 90% of the way through and not a whole lot left to resolve the ending which led to it feeling a little rushed. And though we had been seeing Vesper and Max grow into loving each other, I wish we had more time with their romance on page.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this book and would be open to reading more in this universe. If Martha wants to write about Lucian, Amelia, and their magical family history, I would happily read it. If you’re a fan of witty banter, delicious tension, and building a friendship before any romantic advances, this will be the book for you!
Side note: I wonder if this is fantasy as much as it is magical realism 🙂
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for a complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own!