PRACTICALLY MAGIC

A secret curse sends teen witch Kat Hadley hurtling toward magical catastrophe and unexpected romance.

Every Samhain, or Halloween, the Hadley family is responsible for casting a protective spell over their small New England town of Mystic Hollow. The ritual needs to be performed by a couple whose “hearts that beat as one,” and, this year, with her parents heading to Florida to help her ailing grandfather and her older sister, Harriet, away at college Kat is responsible for carrying it out. But Kat’s magic rarely goes to plan, and she’s spent her life feeling invisible to boys. Her crushes generally end in heartbreak, and the only boy who seems to notice her is Zach Powell, her academic rival. When Kat learns that Harriet cast a well-intentioned curse years ago—preventing her from having a boyfriend until she meets her soulmate—the rift between the siblings destabilizes the town’s magic. As Halloween approaches, spells begin backfiring, supernatural creatures come to visit, and Kat gets tangled in chaos—both magical and very real. Calonita combines cozy fantasy, family drama, and rom-com hijinks in this story where Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic. The novel, which follows popular romance beats, is enhanced by humor, and the sibling conflict adds emotional texture to an otherwise lighthearted storyline. Redheaded Kat and other central cast members are cued white.

A flirty, witchy escapade that delivers on its promise of cozy autumnal charm.