Witch Please

May 1, 2021

Danica Waterhouse and her cousin Clementine (Clem) own Fix-It Witches, a repair shop in the small town of Normal, IL. Normal has picturesque houses, unique small businesses, quirky residents, and, oh yes...a coven of witches, including Danica and Clem. The cousins have grown up knowing that the Waterhouse line is cursed--if they have a relationship with a mundane human, they'll lose their powers. That hasn't been a problem so far, but now Danica has been called to the local bakery to fix an oven. Sugar Daddy's bakery, owned by Titus Winnaker, is just down the street from Fix-It Witches. Titus is also cursed--every relationship he's ever had has ended abruptly, oddly, or suddenly. When Danica drops by to fix his oven, Titus is hit with the certainty that this woman is the one he'll marry...unless the curse drives her away. Sparks fly and secrets are uncovered when the cursed baker meets the cursed witch, and neither will ever be the same. This magical romantic comedy features likable, well thought-out characters; an emphasis on family relationships; and strong friendships between women. VERDICT There are laugh-out-loud moments, hot sex scenes, and shocking revelations, all of which will keep readers turning pages till the end. Recommended for general purchase.--Heather Miller Cover, Homewood P.L., AL

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 5, 2021
Aguirre (the Ars Numina series) whips up a sweet and spicy love story in this magic-infused rom-com. Technomancer Danica Waterhouse has sworn off serious relationships after a nasty breakup, focusing instead on running her magical repair shop, the Fix-It Witches, with her cousin Clementine. Then Titus Winnaker, the owner of local bakery Sugar Daddy, comes in about a broken oven, and she can’t ignore the spark between them. Titus isn’t looking for love, either, as he’s busy running the bakery left to him and his sister by their late mother. But flirting with Danica makes him think his past bad luck with relationships may have finally run out. There’s just one problem: Titus is a mundane and Danica’s grandmother strictly forbids relationships between witches and non-witches. Still, Danica can’t ignore the sweet tooth she has for the “CinnaMan,” so nicknamed for his delicious pastries, and their red-hot attraction outweighs their mutual wariness. Aguirre tugs on the heartstrings, tackling familial pressure, the struggle to overcome heartbreak, and the strength it takes to choose the uncertainty of love over the stability of loneliness. Readers will be enchanted. Agent: Lucienne Diver, the Knight Agency.

Starred review from August 1, 2021
The start to Aguirre's Fix-It Witches series is a delightful, laugh-out-loud small-town tale. Danica and Clementine Waterhouse--cousins, roommates, and witches--live near Chicago and run a magical fix-it shop. When they take a small appliance to the back room or send a business proprietor to look for the owner's manual, they use their technomancer magic to discreetly repair the machines. The two made a pact to never marry because of family conflicts, and then there's the curse: if a Waterhouse woman marries a mundane (a nonwitch), she will lose her powers. But Danica is smitten when the owner of Sugar Daddy's Bakery, Titus Winnaker, whom her book club has nicknamed CinnaMan, comes in seeking help with an oven. Titus has never been lucky in love, and at 32 he is still a virgin. This tale's mix of humor, family friendship, and romance will please readers who enjoy Not Your Average Hot Guy (2021), by Gwenda Bond; The Lights of Sugarberry Cove (2021), by Heather Webber; and Talk Bookish to Me (2021), by Kate Bromey. And Aguirre's sexy, sweet, funny, and oh-so-fulfilling witchy love story will leave readers hungry for Clementine's story.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2021
The start to Aguirre's Fix-It Witches series is a delightful, laugh-out-loud small-town tale. Danica and Clementine Waterhouse--cousins, roommates, and witches--live near Chicago and run a magical fix-it shop. When they take a small appliance to the back room or send a business proprietor to look for the owner's manual, they use their technomancer magic to discreetly repair the machines. The two made a pact to never marry because of family conflicts, and then there's the curse: if a Waterhouse woman marries a mundane (a nonwitch), she will lose her powers. But Danica is smitten when the owner of Sugar Daddy's Bakery, Titus Winnaker, whom her book club has nicknamed CinnaMan, comes in seeking help with an oven. Titus has never been lucky in love, and at 32 he is still a virgin. This tale's mix of humor, family friendship, and romance will please readers who enjoy Not Your Average Hot Guy (2021), by Gwenda Bond; The Lights of Sugarberry Cove (2021), by Heather Webber; and Talk Bookish to Me (2021), by Kate Bromey. And Aguirre's sexy, sweet, funny, and oh-so-fulfilling witchy love story will leave readers hungry for Clementine's story.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2021
A bisexual pastry chef who's a virgin at 32 finds happily-ever-after with a witch who uses her magical powers to repair toaster ovens and other small appliances. Not all American witches live in Salem, Massachusetts. Four hundred years ago, a pragmatic bunch moved west to Illinois to avoid execution and live polite Midwestern lives among the "mundanes," Aguirre's term for muggles. Danica Waterhouse, a modern-day descendant, co-owns a repair shop called Fix-It Witches, where she and her cousin Clementine use their technomancer powers to repair malfunctioning machines. She and Clem have made a pact to always stick together and never be sidetracked by love; their ultraconservative grandmother has told them that if they ever marry a mundane, they'll lose their magical powers, and the pool of genetically correct male witches (found on Bindr, the witchy version of Tindr) is thin on the ground. Danica and Clem plan to have children with magic sperm from the "witch-only sperm bank" and find family with the wonderful members of their coven (aka their book club). Then into her shop walks Titus Winnaker, owner of Sugar Daddy's bake shop, for help repairing a broken oven. Titus has been unnaturally unlucky in love (hint, hint); his last girlfriend married a biologist studying puffins in Iceland. Danica and Titus are jolted by the strength of their mutual attraction but also fearful: he because he might screw up another relationship and never, ever have sex, she because she's been taught that witch-mundane marriages are forbidden. Aguirre keeps the tone light and fun, punctuated by passionately detailed sex. (After mutual orgasms: " 'I should have told you before, ' he said breathlessly. 'My [STD] test results, I have them.' ") The family, the friends, and even the tough witch hunter (more in the next volume about him) check all the rom-com boxes. Though the resolution of the family issues is predictable and a bit tedious, it's fun to know that witches can handle their birth control magically. Light paranormal fare that takes care to be tolerant and kind.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.