ARC Review: Books & Bewitchment by Isla Jewell

Books & Bewitchment
Author: Isla Jewell
Series: Arcadia Falls (Book 1)
Publication: Del Rey (February 6, 2026)

Description: In this cozy, witchy romcom, a young woman works to turn a run-down small-town video store into the bookshop of her dreams, only to discover a powerful magic that’s been lying dormant—and a forbidden love she can’t resist.

Dutiful and hard-working, Rhea Wolfe lives a simple, if mundane, life with her pet parrot in small-town Alabama. Sure, she may not love her desk job working for an insurance agency. And her on-again-off-again relationship with the local mechanic may not have the fiery passion she’s read about in her favorite books. Still, things are stable, which is more than she can say about the two hopelessly immature younger sisters who rely on her.

But when Rhea’s estranged grandmother dies, leaving her everything—including a magical heritage Rhea never knew she carried—she finds herself in Arcadia Falls, the quaint mountain town her mother made her swear to avoid at all costs. While the defunct video store she’s also inherited needs a serious upgrade, Rhea’s lucky that resident handyman Hunter Blakely is more than happy to help—and more than easy on the eyes. If only he wasn’t the grandson of her grandmother’s sworn enemy in witchcraft.

Yet as Rhea makes plans for the bookstore of her dreams, she learns that her grandmother made a terrible choice, one that could ruin her own chance at happiness. As she gets ever closer to solving the mystery of what exactly is happening, each clue points to Arcadia Falls’s magic hanging in the balance. To keep her new home safe, Rhea must step into her enchanted birthright and harness her newfound powers . . . before it’s too late.

My Thoughts: This story was a cozy paranormal romance. Rhea Wolfe finds her life changed when she inherits from the grandmother she never met. The inheritance comes at a good time. Rhea has just lost her clerical job. She also wants to get away from her off-again-on-again boyfriend and the small town where she lives. Rhea packs us her belongings including a cockatoo and heads off to a new, hopefully better, life.

Rhea finds herself in Arcadia Falls, Georgia, where her first task as the inheritor of her grandmother's property is to pour her ashes into the local waterfall. Things don't go particularly well. She finds herself covered in her grandmother's cremains and soaking wet with a cockatoo who has apparently been taken over by her grandmother's ghost.

Her grandmother isn't happy about this nor is Rhea. The two try to learn to live with each other but the two butt heads since both are very stubborn. Rhea needs to learn about her family's magic and the secrets her grandmother is keeping. 

There's also a guy who just happens to be the grandson of her grandmother's greatest enemy. Rhea and the guy are attracted and spend a lot of time together since he is the contractor hired to change Rhea's grandmother's failing video store into the bookstore of Rhea's dreams. They need to get rid of a poltergeist first though. 

This was a cute romance with a lot of heart. Rhea is a woman with lots of weight on her shoulders. She has two younger sisters that she loves but who are both conditioned to lean on her for emotional and financial support. 

I enjoyed the hopefulness of this story. It was good to see Rhea grow and change. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.