Love, Magic, and the Cost of Control

Read Time:4 Minute, 51 Second

BOOK REVIEW
Witch's Brew

Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Year Released: 2025
Pages: 406
Writer(s): Ella M. Hayes
Where To Read: available September 2, 2025; pre-order your copy here: www.amazon.com

RAVING REVIEW: Ella M. Hayes doesn’t shy away from the messier parts of life. In WITCH'S BREW, she gives us a heroine who isn’t perfect, polished, or particularly patient—but she’s magnetic, independent, and human in all the best and worst ways. Set in upstate New York, the story leans into its witchy aesthetic while grounding its magic in real emotion: power, validation, escape, connection.

Nyx, the story’s unapologetically complicated protagonist, runs a metaphysical shop called Witch’s Brew. She reads tarot, brews custom teas, and offers a touch of spellcraft—for a price. She’s sharp, tired, sexy, and entirely self-aware, juggling a toxic on-again/off-again boyfriend, Damien, a town full of tourists who treat witchcraft like cosplay, and an undercurrent of something far more intimate: the desire to be seen for who she is.

What makes the writing stand out isn’t the supernatural, though there’s plenty of charm in that—it’s how Hayes captures emotional contradictions in her characters. Nyx is a woman who commands attention but hides away when someone sees too much. She claims to thrive alone, but lights up at the possibility of training someone like Zoe, who steps into her store as a skeptic and walks out as a potential apprentice.

Hayes avoids flashy fantasy tropes in favor of spells rooted in herbalism, intention, and ritual, which require patience and vulnerability. That restraint adds authenticity to the story. The spells Nyx casts aren’t world-altering; they’re affirmations dressed in candlelight and smoke, self-made manifestations with a heavy price tag and clear boundaries. It’s a commentary on the commodification of spirituality and the need to protect your energy in a world eager to take it.

This isn’t some heavy-handed diatribe. Instead, it’s fun, sexy, self-aware, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. Hayes’ style is brisk and alive. Nyx often feels like she’s narrating directly to the reader, cutting through any pretense. One minute, she’s helping a customer feel empowered by a crystal; the next, she’s having mediocre sex with Damien and thinking more about what she needs to do tomorrow than what’s happening in the moment.

The novel also excels at building its supporting characters, even when they only appear briefly. Maria, a chatty customer who thinks her apartment is haunted, initially reads like a comic relief character but becomes something more—someone sincerely trying to find meaning in a world that often doesn’t give her the tools to do so. And then there’s Zoe, whose skepticism evolves into something deeper. Her transformation is one of the book’s most satisfying arcs, especially when you realize how closely her journey mirrors Nyx’s.

If there’s one element that could have been pushed further, it’s the tension between mundane and magical. While the book straddles both worlds, it sometimes leaves you wanting more high-stakes fallout from Nyx’s choices, especially about her love life, her ethics as a business owner, and the consequences of inducting someone like Zoe into a world they barely understand.

The feminist undercurrent of the story is subtle but undeniable. Nyx is a woman who has built her identity from scratch, refuses to be claimed by a man or a coven, and teaches others to listen to the voice inside rather than the ones around them. That’s not always presented as empowerment, though. It’s lonely, exhausting, and sometimes isolating. But it's real.

As WITCH’S BREW draws to a close, it walks the line between satire and sincerity, weaving together themes of desire, detachment, control, and release. There’s a playful wink in how it embraces the aesthetics of modern witchcraft while subtly nudging at its commercialization, but beneath the surface, this story is grounded in self-definition. It’s about claiming your name, setting boundaries, and deciding who deserves access to your inner world. Whether you're drawn to its enchanting atmosphere, emotional honesty, or sly sense of humor, WITCH’S BREW delivers a memorable mix. It's a novel that understands exactly what it's doing—and encourages you to do the same.

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[photo courtesy of VALENZA PUBLISHING, ELLA M. HAYES, MATTHEW GUNTHER]

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