Could it possibly get any worse than having absolutely no magical abilities when you're a member of the most powerful family of witches ever? It used to be that I'd say no, but then I keep getting set up on dates with Gil Connolly, whose hotness is only matched by his ego. Seriously. I can't stand him. Even if I also can't stop thinking about him (specifically kissing him), but we're going to pretend I never told you that part. So yeah, my life isn't the greatest right now, but then it goes straight to the absolute worst hell when I accidentally make my sister's spell glitch and curse my whole family. And the only person who can help nonmagical me break the spell? You guessed it. Gil, the superhot jerk. Now we have to work together to save my family and outmaneuver some evil-minded forces bent on world domination. Oh yeah, and we have to do all that while fighting against the attraction building between us, because I may not be magical, but what's happening between Gil and I sure feels like it.
While Witcha Gonna Do? was not my favorite read, it is hard to deny the sheer energy in this novel. Flynn capitalizes on the fun concept of witch romances with the first novel in this series, building up a large cast of characters whose romances will be explored down the road. The ones to start it all off are Tilda, who is a witch without powers, and Gil, the double agent whose role is a little shady, even to the reader. But they eventually find their way to one another. If you love forced proximity/must work together romances with a hint of enemies to lovers, then this is one you might enjoy!
Unfortunately, two key areas didn't line up the way I'd hoped. The first is the world building. I love witchy, paranormal romances, but something that I need as a reader is an understanding of how the world works in order to believe in the characters that inhabit it. The world has to make sense and be clearly explained within the first few chapters. I didn't feel that the world was fully built out to capacity here. I have so many questions about the magic system, how modern day things (WitchyGram, this world's version of Instagram) tied into how Witchington was situated in the modern day world, and how Gil and Tilda were able to grow up with the same identity (witch) but have very different understandings of how the political system for their kind was set up (I never truly understood the difference between the Council and the Committee, and I wondered how if WitchyGram existed, how Tilda hadn't suspected anything about the Council). All-in-all, I think if you don't care much about world building, you can very much enjoy this novel. I personally just love to have a full and complete understanding of the world in witchy and paranormal romances, and I did not have that here.
The second key area that I struggled with was the writing itself. It is incredibly energetic and very voice driven. While I do tend to enjoy novels like that, and have in the past, there were other parts of the writing that didn't work as well to me for the story. The overly em-dashed and hyphenated words, fourth-wall breaks, and slang in the narration were particularly jarring. While I agree with the argument that Tilda works in social media and that she might use slang a lot and have the type of voice where it would feel like she was narrating her story to followers, I didn't think that translated very well into a novelized form. It was also tricky at times to tell the difference between Gil's and Tilda's voices (which I think contributed to my confusion about the Committee versus the Council I talk about above). Finally, there were some frustrating inconsistencies with how Tilda's body was described that were disheartening to read. I was never quite sure if this was plus-sized rep because of that.
A super cute over and a super energetic story for sure! I can't wait to include it in Halloween-themed witch romance round-ups. If I do recommend this one, it'll be for people that I'm sure will love the relaxed and energetic vibe to it. For more from Avery Flynn, visit her online at averyflynn.com.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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