If you're looking for a small town, return home to a life you left behind story. This is it.

Flair returns to her childhood small town with her daughter Lucie, after a break up with her ex.

Flair was apprehensive about this return as not only is it going back to old wounds, it's opening the door to her families magical legacy or Tarot reading that she tried so hard to leave behind.

But the past never stays buried for long whe old feuds, and loves, are around.

Great wee story with Practial Magic vibes, absolutely perfect for this time of year especially.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for the chance to read and review this early... I'm off to recommend to friends who I know will eat this up this spooky season

What made me want to read this book is Gilmore Girls x Practical Magic! Ahh, just that combination was enticing enough without having to need any other reason and receiving it as fall is about to start? Double perfect!

“Playing the Witch Card” is a book about Flair who has sworn off magic, tarot cards & love as she has seen how it has wrecked her mother & was ditched by her ex. However, her life falls apart and she goes back to her hometown called Rattleboro, Kansas to her grandmother’s home and bakery. Flair gets sucked into Halloween preparations and ends up decorating her cookies as Tarot cards, which lures her mother into town, tempts her daughter, curses her ex and brings up her one & true love. The story goes on as Flair attempts to control her life, magic, the tarot cards and everyone around her.

Reading the synopsis after hearing the combination of Gilmore girls x practical magic just made me want to devour this book as soon as I got it! As I read the book, I liked the plot but Flair went between being a character I like/HEAVILY relate to and annoying me ALOT. This is because Flair attempts to control everything & everyone around her. I know, this is easily said than done in real life as it is to Flair in the book.

What I liked about this is that it is a cozy and comfort read that is light (for the most part, there is a lot of serious topics discussed but in a light way). Keep in mind that there is a trigger of domestic abuse in the book. I liked how it delved into Flair’s thought on everything happening around her.

However, despite a lot of good things in this book, I rated it 3 stars as it lacked in having proper plot development. The book picks up halfway through. I also did not feel as if the relationship between Flair & her daughter Lucie resembled Gilmore girls in terms of development and interaction between them as you do not see many conflict resolving as you do in the show.

I would recommend this book to people who love a light read about magic and halloween centred books to enjoy this fall!

Favourite Quote • "Because it (Magic) ruins everything. Whenever anything magic appears in my life, it's like the cautionary part of a fairy tale. Everything's great, and then I make a wish and bam -- there's a sucker punch hidden behind the rainbows and unicorns."

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Flair finally decided enough was enough. Her hubby has cheated on her for the last time. Now is the perfect time to move back to the town that she loved as a child. Her daughter is not quite so keen on the idea - but how can she give her mother support when Flair is hiding the reason they are moving from her!

A house, a bakery and reconnecting with her bestie should be settling for Flair. But her frenemy is back to bullying her and the boy she once loved is now all grown up and back in town. And as the brother of said frenemy, Jude is doubly in the dog house.

This was a bit of a slow starter for me. There was a lot of establishing back story, Flair's reluctance to use the Tarot, her disaster area of a mother and the teenage trials of her daughter. But once the actual story got going I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed learning more about tarot, how cards are interpreted, etc. I would have enjoyed learning more about her bestie and some of the other secondary characters. I thought the hubby got away rather lightly in the comeuppance department!

Very much more about witchy vibes, family strife and magical problems. The romance I felt was most definitely secondary to those storylines.

A cute and cosy Autumn vibes read full of magic and warmth.

I enjoyed this book. Always keen to read a book about magic and witches I was excited to have the opportunity to read this.

It was parts funny, sweet and endearing as we see Flair and her teen age daughter return to the small town she grew up in following a separation.

I enjoyed seeing the very typical mother / daughter struggles made more complex by the facts that Flair is a witch and has a set of magical tarot cards.

It was sweet seeing her reconnect with her boyfriend as a teenager Jude and a few sniggers as her ex found himself cursed!

What started out as a cute read, picked up towards the end as a few magical twists were added to the plot.

Overall a perfect book to snuggle up with.

The perfect witchy, Tarot-reading riposte to all those Littlest Cupcake Bakery books I hoovered up as escapism back! Fans of Practical Magic or Cackle (though it's lighter than both) will find so much to love here.

This book was a cute, quick and easy read. I enjoyed learning about the tarot cards, and the bakery/Jude’s chocolate shop, I did find it frustrating that so much of the book was dedicated to Flair’s daughters teenage angst. And personally, I’d have rather we got some more actual action with the main love interest - but that’s just me! A cute read, and very grateful to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a lovely read! I am a big fan of the cosy fantasy genre as a much needed break between the angst and emotional rollercoasters of high fantasy, which can be a little deep for this working woman's brain after the end of the long day. That said this book has brilliantly walked the line between a cosy read and a book that is too light for you to have an emotional connection to the characters. As a contemporary fantasy set in our world the author has managed to create a magic system and belief in it that seems very real to the reader like it could be lurking under every small town. Flair is a great character who manages to be frustrating to the reader in a very realistic way with issues with her pre-teen daughter Lucie that are all too authentic. Without spoiling too much of the plot this book has some real angst in its cosy setting and the twists and turns are both magical and human. This book easily works as a standalone but I hope the author returns to this town and world again.

I DNF’d this book around a third of the way in; I loved the premise of the story, but the writing style just wasn’t for me.

I'm a little bit divided by this one. What I enjoyed was the vibes, the Halloween/autumn theme, the witches, the Tarots and how thoroughly all of these elements were used and the writing style itself. It really pulled me in. I really liked the complicated relationship between several generations of mothers and daughters.

However, the miscommunication trope was a little bit too much for me. Whilst I understand Flair tried to protect her daughter from everything, it was grating how she treated a 13 years old who would have deserved to be treated more as a partner. Flair imagined they were a team but it wasn't true because she never trusted her daughter with anything. (view spoiler)

And really, Flair and her need to blame everyone else for her own mistakes was just... No for me.

But in spite of all this was still a fun read, especially with autumn coming up.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for sending me a copy in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were really interesting, especially our main character Flair.
There were a couple of things I thought could do with some work; the pacing at the start was very slow, which I didn't mind but then FLair's mum turns up and the pacing became quite quick which was a little off putting for me.
Also, the love interest Jude - I felt like there could have been more chemistry between them rather than relying on the fact that they were teen sweethearts to fill in that void.

overall though I really liked this; it had some serious Practical Magic vibes and if you love that kind of witchy book, you'll enjoy this one.

Book Review 📚
Playing The Witch Card by KJ Dell'Antonia - 4.5/5 ⭐

Practical Magic crossed with Gilmore Girls? No, I'm sold. If that doesn't take me back to my younger years when I revelled in both Movie and Series, nothing will.

It was definitely a slow burn book, but that makes it so much more enjoyable for me. The first half (give or take) is establishing the backgrounds and people. It gives so much description into the people and their lives, so I really can't fault that. I wasn't left wondering and there wasn't an unanswered question.

The MC, Flair, is strong willed, firey and completely relatable. I felt like I had so much in common with her (barring the magic of course) that she just made sense. Her determination to be the best person she can made her so much stronger then she appeared to be. There are a lot of characters who are all fantastic in their own right, whether good or bad, Dell'Antonia describes them perfectly.

It was such a spectacular read which included magic, romance and some family drama! It's a great choice if you want a HEA with some trouble along the way.

I don't really do romance, but I love witchy books and this one sounded fun. And I was right - It was an easy read and I enjoyed it.

It's a cosy witchy book that is a great palate cleanser. It made me feel warm inside.

This is plugged as practical magic meets chocolat which of course I had to read!
This was fun, chaotic and cosy with magical elements and realistic characters. I had a lot of fun reading this and it would be a great witchy Halloween read

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc