Curses & Candy

Her life depends on keeping magic hidden. His depends on uncovering it. When a mysterious spell binds them together, the distance between them becomes deadly.

RIVER

The ancient spell that keeps our kind hidden is fading. My youngest sister has come into her power without the mark that would tell us what kind of witch she is, and a strange magic is stirring in our small town of Hearthwick, threatening to draw the Assembly’s unwanted attention.

Then Hunter arrives, and the moment I meet him, my magic reacts.

Stranger still is the way Hunter looks at me—like he’s been searching for me. Beneath the unease is something even harder to the impossible feeling that I already know him.

I might have believed it meant something good if Hunter hadn’t come to Hearthwick determined to prove that witches exist.

When a spell I don’t understand binds us together, keeping my distance becomes dangerous. As the weeks pass, I begin to realize how much Hunter is hiding too. The magic may be forcing me to stay close to him, but it can’t explain why I’ve stopped wanting to leave.

HUNTER

My family has been searching for witches for generations, and the moment I touch River Thorne, I feel recognition. I’m close to finally proving that magic exists.

River offering to let me stay with her and her sisters in the apartment above their confectionery makes no sense. We barely know each other. Still, I take the opportunity to get closer to her, to learn her secrets, because my dad is running out of time.

The closer I get to River, the more my reasons for being here start to blur. I find myself watching the way she moves, the way she takes care of everyone before taking care of herself, and the way being near her starts to feel like something I don’t want to lose.

If things were different, I might be able to let myself want her. Instead, the crows are gathering, and the cold, skittering feeling under my skin is getting harder to control. Seven generations of my family couldn’t escape this. Why should I be any different?

Witches, dark magic, and cursesThe ultimate forced proximitySlow burn to open-door spiceFound familyForbidden romanceMagical bondSmall-town romance