#bespelled

Book Aesthetic

↳ Bespelled by Laura Thalassa

Rating: 3/5

Book Blurb:

From bestselling indie author and TikTok favorite Laura Thalassa comes the next installment of a witch fantasy set in the world of the Bargainer series. Only the dangerously handsome Memnon the Cursed can help Selene find the answers she seeks...if she doesn't lose her heart first.

No one told witch Selene Bowers having a soul mate would be so difficult. Nor did they warn her that he might be a vengeful, ancient sorcerer who would frame her for murder, force her to remember a past life he swears she lived, and then coerce her into an unbreakable marriage pact. But that's exactly what happens the night of the Samhain Ball, when Selene finds herself in a jail cell.

After waking from enchanted sleep, Memnon swore to discover why Selene betrayed him long ago. But when his soul mate's memories return, the truth reveals something else entirely. Horrified by his own actions and desperate to make amends, Memnon offers Selene the unthinkable: a magic bond that will give her full control over his will. And Selene is desperate enough to accept it.

But other enemies still haunt Henbane Coven, Selene's magical academy, and they've taken a keen interest in her. If she wants to stop them, she'll need Memnon's help. But partnering with the sorcerer is a tricky business, especially when he's dead set on winning her heart. And that can't happen…because the bond controlling him will break the moment she falls in love with him.

Review:

The sequel to the witchy fantasy featuring a witch who is the soul mate of a 200 year old cursed Memnon... who is determined to wake her past life memories and take her as his wife again, even if it means coercing her into an unbreakable marriage pact. Selene Bowers is a witch, she is also the soul mate of Memnon the Cursed, and was his wife in their previous life together. Picking up from the first book, Memnon has now forcefully awoken Selene's past memories and entered into a unbreakable marriage bond with her. Selene hates that she has to feel her old memories... but with these old memories she can finally show Memnon why she did what she did to him... and now that he knows, he'll do anything to earn her forgiveness. Memnon thought she betrayed him all those years ago but when the truth comes to light he is horrified by his own actions and desperate to win back her love. He gives her a gift: full control over his will in another magical bond... and Selene needs to accept it since she is desperate to find the witch who is killing other witches and after her. Yet the more time she spends with this newly remorseful Memnon the more she finds herself caving into her feelings... and maybe just maybe they can get back what they lost. I will say this book was so weird, like the plot doesn't actually pick up until the 70% mark of the book and nothing actually happened until that last part of the book. Also I will have to say, Selene is the most annoying, naive, girl there ever was. Like please, come on now, we are grown women, please I BEG GIRL GIVE ME SOMETHING. She really doesn't change until that last 30% mark but ooohhhhh no we have to once again end on a cliffhanger with the implication that she'll hate Memnon again and that their relationship will once again face another road block. Please Laura, I'm begging you, HELP ME OUT HERE. I JUST WANT SELENE AND MEMNON TO BE HAPPY. I am interested in seeing where the next book goes and how it wraps up.

*Spoiler: Selene and Memnon make up, they kill one of the fortuna family,( who were responsible for creating bonds on witches and killing them, they were after Selene). Selene and Memnon pronounce their love for each other (in turn dissolving the bond of control over will Selene had over Memnon). They are going to get married (but like minutes before the wedding, Kane, werewolf who was interested in Selene tells her that Memnon is named the sole heir to the Fortuna family fortune, implying that he killed all of the fortuna heirs and took control over them. Selene is literally always so "oh no we can't hurt people" "Oh nooooo we can't do this" like girl YOU KNOW WHO YOUR MAN IS JUST ACCEPT IT AT THIS POINT. The relationship was just finally getting good and now we end on a cliffhanger that is going to lead to her either calling off the wedding or FINALLY accepting Memnon for who he is. He literally has told her over and over and over that he'd give her the world. Babe he spelled it out for you, why do you constantly act surprised??? *

Release Date: May 28,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

But Memnon said to Selene

“My queen, since I woke, I have desperately dreamed you might say such a thing. That you might feel a shadow of what I feel for you. But you need not to worry I’d sooner burn every last remnant of Fortuna’s dynasty then let something come between us. You’ll never lose me. I swear it to you. “

i feel like that’s just unfair to men and women everywhere. he needs to stop being so intimidating. :P

Here’s an opportunity to get a personalized drabble about your time at Ilvermorny!

What you’ll need to do:

Follow this blog and reblog this post

Submit an ask containing your Ilvermorny House (if you don’t know for sure, put your best guess!), 3 character traits, 3 hobbies or interests, and your favorite spell/potion

Include any extra info you think might be helpful!

Then we’ll write a drabble about a time you used that spell or potion at Ilvermorny. Anon asks are accepted. Bespelled will be open for a limited time, so get your asks in quickly!

-

The first time you used it, actually outside of a class, was to set free a scared first-year who’d fallen asleep in class and gotten left behind, unnoticed. You heard them banging on the locked door, and with a quick alohomora they’d been free.

The second time, it was to let yourself out of a locked classroom when you’d fallen asleep and gotten inadvertently locked into the library. When you got yourself locked in the library again a week later, your friends found it doubly funny. You still hadn’t lived the two incidents down.

This particular evening, you used alohomora to let yourself into your dorm room after a long and quite frankly disappointing day. You had loads of homework, your friends had mysteriously abandoned you at supper, and you couldn’t remember where you’d left your charms textbook. To add to that, it was your birthday, but you hadn’t had time to do anything to celebrate.

“Lumos.” The tip of your wand lights up, dimly illuminating the room, and you make your way over to your bed. Halfway across the dark room, your shin bangs into something heavy and you stumble to the ground.

“SURPRISE!” The room explodes with light and sound as your friends scramble out from under the beds. Balloons dangle from every inch of the ceiling, flashing green and navy, changing colors at a dizzying pace.

“Sorry about the box, you weren’t supposed to trip over it,” your friend apologizes. “But now, allow me to present it to you. Happy birthday!” Your friend heaves the box up and plunks it on your bed.

You stare at the box, eyes narrowed. It’s solid and wooden, the metal hasp held shut with a heavy padlock. “How am I supposed to open this?”

Your friend grins. “Why, your favorite spell, of course.”

-

The rain drips down the windowpanes. You and your friend Julian are sitting on the floor of the Thunderbird map room, an ideal place to read a book instead of writing dull essays. You drop your quill and reach across the table for the novel you’ve been dying to read. Julian slams his hand down on top of it.

“Did you finish your Potions essay?” he asks.

You roll your eyes. “Yes. Accio.” You summon the book and it flies out of Julian’s grasp.

“Accio!” He summons the book back, and snatches up your essay. “You missed one of the uses of a Lionfish spine.” He hands back the parchment, and watches while you correct your mistake.

“Now give me my book! Accio!”

“Accio!” The book flies out of your hands. “Did you read chapter thirty-two for History of Magic?”

“YES. Accio!”

“Accio!”

“Accio!”

“Accio!” Julian grins, holding up the book. “And did you memorize the possible consequences of jiggery-pokery curses?”

“Yes,” you say, exasperated, “I… wait, you just made that up!”

Julian laughs. “Ten points to Thunderbird. Depulso!” The banished book smacks you in the face.

-

~ Prefect Laurelinn