I think this is the first romance I’ve read in a bit that, to my knowledge, has not been rabidly hyped up on social media. It’s probably going to be a while until I read another Abby Jimenez book (Abby, I admire your work, but your formula is wearing off), so books like Witch You Would are a great next entry. I mean, it’s hard to go wrong with a fun setup between two pretty cute people enhanced by magical powers.
Penelope and Gil are two people in desperate financial situations. Penelope has just been fired from her magical retail job, and Gil’s grandfather’s charity could use more donors. They both see their chance to fix things when they are paired as contestants on the magical game show Cast Judgment. The catch is that Gil is a “spell-ebrity” contestant, competing as his goofy online persona, Leandro Presto, and Penelope has no idea that Leandro and Gil, the guy she has been emailing with and crushing on for months, are the same person. But further complications arise when the other contestants’ spells go catastrophically wrong, and Penelope senses sabotage…
Penelope and Gil are my kind of romantic pair. They are smart and capable people who don’t fall in lust at first sight. They also know each other first as pen pals without ever having seen each other in person. And then, when they do finally meet, it’s sweet and bubbly, instead of hot and sexy. Neither character is a model of human beauty, and they don’t want to jump each other’s bones at the first encounter. In fact, I believe they regard each other more as cute and funny, instead of just hot. Their chemistry is easygoing and soft, because they are both goofballs that love bad puns and getting creative with their magic, which is unbelievably refreshing.
We also need more romantic heroes like Gil, who are silly and fun-loving and have lots of himbo energy. He is toned, of course, as is required for all romantic heroes, but his personality is silly and joyful. His greatest joy is teaching people about magic, showing them how spells can go hilariously wrong before showing them how to fix it. Granted, he does come with some baggage from his emotionally immature parents, but it is not so prevalent as to drag down the overall happy mood of the book. This is not a book about healing from trauma as much as finding joy in creating something wonderful next to someone who is just as excited as you.
This is a very interesting world where magic is a given in modern life, where anyone can be taught to use it. You can study it in school and create a career in magic. That is a concept that can be explored much more deeply than this book does, but you can suspend your disbelief enough to imagine this world. This book doesn’t explore what happens when someone who wants to use magic cannot do it effectively, or when someone uses magic for more nefarious reasons, or really what rules there are for what magic can and cannot do physically or lawfully. But this isn’t that kind of book where those questions are important. All you need to know is anyone can use magic, but there are lots of theoretical avenues to explore to create different levels of magical results.
I like how the overall vibe of this book is magical fun and creativity. Watching Penelope and Gil put their heads together to create unique spells for the show is cute and also great for exploring this world’s magic. It’s also a gently told story about dealing with childhood wounds that doesn’t hit you over the head with it. Penelope and Gil have their own unresolved issues, but they move through it together with great care for one another. And when one or the other screws something up, they talk about it like adults without too much petty drama, if any at all. They also reveal their love to each other at a tense emotional moment, and it works to great effect, where there is no other moment to confess but this one, and it makes you pump your first that they’re finally so honest.
Honestly, I haven’t rooted for a couple like this since Jacob and Bri in Yours Truly, which is another book with an intense confession of love. I guess that’s the common denominator for what makes a truly great love story.
Surprisingly, the story seems to lead into a sequel, given how abruptly everything ends. Fortunately, I think this book is good enough that if I ever happen upon it, I might actually pick it up.
Is the book predictable? A little. Are the main couple relatable and sweet and fun together? Absolutely. In other words, a pretty good antidote to every sensationalized romance of the last several years.
The Library Key 