When a which foretells a prophecy, it’s rumored that if the witch is “taken care” of, the prophecy will not come to pass. So when Cori has a prophecy that will change all magic she knows that she will have to be on the run until the prophecy comes and goes. The world building was top notch and the relationship between Cori and Adrian is so wholesome. Definitely recommend and can’t wait for Enzo’s story.

As a child, Cori, a celestial witch, foretold that on a winter solstice to come, all witches that practice dark magic would lose their magical abilities. In doing so, Cori put a target on her back. In order to stop a prophecy, a witch must be killed before it is fulfilled.

"There will be a fulfillment of something that has been long anticipated."

The Gray Prophecy was beyond anything I could have hoped for in a witchy fantasy book. As a person who celebrates autumn beginning in August, this was perfect read.

The writing was exquisite, to get that out of the way. 10 pages in and I was already hooked (you can check my Goodreads, I updated it 10 pages in!!) Maria A. Eden weaved together such a beautiful story with so much depth and detail. Even as early as 10 pages in, the setting was so beautifully described, I felt like I was in Farley and a part of this world.

The story as incredible, I loved the fantasy world. I loved the magical world and I appreciated all the depth that we got in regards to this world. But admittedly, I think Maria A. Eden has set this up beautifully in that we could have practically endless stories out of this series (and I can't wait for more from her!)

And of course, I would be remiss not to mention how much I absolutely adore Adrian. The love story here was stunning and wonderful without taking anything away from the main plot line. I loved loved loved it and I will now possibly be dreaming about Adrian too.

"But you can't run from the natural orbit of the Earth, or the convergence of the stars."

Thank you to Maria A. Eden, Victory Editing, and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Everyone and everything, deep inside of them, has darkness and light. Even people", he said slowly and carefully. Do you understand? All of us have the power to choose what we are son. We can choose to be illuminated by the light, or we can choose to be swallowed by the darkness"

This book is so incredibly well written, every character felt fleshed out. I loved how independent Cori was as a main character, but also the fact that she wasn't afraid to lean on her friends.

The Gray Prophecy blends cosy fantasy and romance, with high stakes adventure and historical story telling.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Gray Prophecy will be released August 29 2024

The Gray Prophesy is a cozy witchy story with high stakes. Mostly set in a small town we get an instant love, fated mates romance WITH spice in a very magical and romanticized way. The plot carries on its own so the spice compliments the romance while the romance compliments the plot. A very balanced adult contemporary paranormal romance!

We get glimpses from the past, present and future due to Cori’s unique ability’s, which makes for a puzzling, unique and engaging storytelling technique. I was instantly hooked, loved Cori’s personality and the STEM / smart people rep! The chapters are vividly written and the descriptive surroundings really transported me to Farley, which made for an immersive reading experience.

Although I liked the creative storytelling and the vivid description of the surroundings, I’d have liked a more “show don’t tell” approach to describing character traits. For example; we get repeatedly told how badass Fern is but I’d have loved to discover that for myself by experiencing her actions or things she says instead of people telling us and their conclusions about her. That would have made it a 5 star read for me!

The plot feels complete and well rounded, a deserving concluding after the buildup. Great balance between cozy and suspense. A perfect read if you like books about fate, witches, instant attraction, found family and a smart MFC that does anything for the people she loves.

This book tells a engaging and suspenseful story in a romantic, magical reconception of a present-day coastal town. May be of interest to readers of Lana Harper's Thistlegrove series. A quick but enjoyable read.

This book was a struggle to read from beginning to end. Immediately, I was put off by the writing style, which to me read more like average fanfiction than something professionally published. The dialogue did NOT help—not a single character had a unique or compelling voice, and most conversations felt like forcefully witty banter from a bad WB show. In fact, most of this story, from the characters to the plot to the relationships to the writing, felt more like a spec script for the latest CW show that gets canceled after a season and a half.

One of my biggest gripes with this book is its magic system. Allegedly, there is a large community of witches all over the world, divided in covens based on type of magic. Sure would have loved to see that, rather than be told about it over and over. We only meet a handful of these witches over the course of the novel, and at no point did their community—or, indeed, their magical abilities—feel real and grounded and engaging. The magic that does get used is a magic of convenience—that is, magic does whatever it needs to do to move the plot forward, and magic is limited in whatever way is needed to cause appropriate roadblocks or drama. That's it. It doesn't feel like a real and meaningful part of anyone's lives, except perhaps the Huxley family, but they're so milquetoast and annoying and isolated that it's hard to know or care if they're the norm or not.

Speaking of milquetoast and annoying, I wish I could have opinions about the characters in this story. Unfortunately, all of them, including the two main protagonists, are so immediately unforgettable that even though I finished this book about five minutes before the start of my writing this review, I could only name, like, five people. Not a single person had real depth or interiority, something that suggests to me that they were a real person with wants, flaws, dreams, fears. Everything is so plainly written out for the audience, either in boring narration or cringey dialogue (this is a telling novel, folks, not a showing one), that the characters felt distant from me, the reader, and from each other.

By that token, wow are the relationships bad. And not just the main relationship—the two main characters are soulmates, called "fated" in this world, and this is used as a way to hand-wave away any of the necessary work of having the love interests, you know, actually have to get to know each other and fall in love—but all romantic, platonic, and familial relationships. Every single one feels corporately calculated to exact the ideal emotional response at any moment from a live studio audience. Cori's gay best friend is snarky and full of dated pop culture reference. Adrian's siblings squabble and snap, but really, they all love each other soooo much. Prudence is meant to be the quirky Alice Cullen to Cori's Bella Swan, but she's just annoying and easily forgettable. I did not believe that anyone in this story really knew or cared about each other, which was fine, because I didn't know or care about them either.

As I read, I kept having to double-check if this book was YA or not. This doesn't mean I could forgive it its sins if it were, but every single word out of every character's mouth reeked of high school, and in particular, Cori felt so, so juvenile, especially for someone with *checks notes* a Ph.D. who has also been living on her own for nearly a decade. But no, this is a book about adults, for adults, and I just can't understand what adult can read this and not feel talked down to.

The short list of things that I enjoyed about this book include the physical descriptions of people and places early on in the book and the small town (name already forgotten) that the bulk of the story takes place in. As someone who also lives in the New England area, this tiny town felt familiar and real, even if, on the whole, the world felt empty and shallow. There is also something of a plot twist involving Cori's brother a little over halfway through the novel, and I didn't hate that, though in the end, it was hard to get into it, because I didn't have any emotional attachment to Cori, her brother, or their relationship, just as with everyone else in this story.

It seems as though there will be more books published in this series, and I for one will not be reading them. I think this book had a lot of rewrites it needed to undergo before it was ready for public consumption, and that doesn't make me excited to see what comes next.

3,5🌟
My very first arc and already a good start! So huge thanks to Netgalley and Maria A. Eden.

"Everyone and everything, deep inside of them, has darkness and light. Even people. All of us have the power to choose what we are, son. We can choose to be illuminated by the light, or we can choose to be swallowed by the darkness."

I want to start first by saying that I struggled to continue reading for first 30% of the book, and at some parts the story felt somewhat slow, and at other a bit rushed. BUT, you have to trust the process as it gets you more with every next turn of the page!

I really loved the whole concept of fated mates and the found family trope. And the relationship between main and side characters was so sweet it melted my heart. However, I have to say I didn't feel that much of a chemistry between two MC, and that made Cori's and Adrian's love less believable to me.

But overall, a great read for those who enjoy modern days witches, astrology, prophecies, and fated MC!

Cori was just a child when she delivered a prophecy that foretold all witches practicing dark magic would lose their power on a future winter solstice. Speaking this prophecy put her in danger. She had to go into hiding and suppress her magic at a young age without her family. After years of hiding Cori moved to Farley, Maine for work where she met Adrian Huxley, a local Water Elemental witch. Keeping her magic and who she is becoming harder as they grow closer.


“Your prophecy gave hope to the people in your village. Mine struck fear in the hearts of witches everywhere.”


This is book one of The Elemental Realm Series I will be continuing this series. I loved the references to popular tv shows from the 90’s and 2000’s. The magic system is easy to understand with Charms, Elemental, and Celestial magic. The historical tie-ins make it fun.

What a fabulous, unputdownable read! From the characters, to the settings and descriptions, I adored the book. The genres covered from history to the modern world was well written and referenced throughout.

I received this ARC for free through Netgalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you NetGalley and author Maria Eden for providing me with this wonderful experience!

Things I liked: I liked that the chapters were short and the magic system was easy to understand. The setting takes place in a modern society shortly after the Salem witch trials so it was easy to picture the world with minimal world building. The smut scenes were well written. It felt almost poetic at times. The tropes for this book include: found-family, touch her and die, and fated mates. The characters were likeable and the female and male leads had good chemistry.

At the 60% mark, the plot started to unfold and really come together. I ended up binging until the end once I got this far in the book.

Things I disliked: The characters first appeared by name without further explanation as to what their relationship is to the main characters. For example, when “David” first shows up, I was confused as to who he was. I went back to the previous chapters to see if he was mentioned before. I had to keep reading to find out that David is our male lead’s dad.

The plot progression was a little slow. The first 58% of the book was difficult to get through as it was mostly trying to establish a connection between all the characters. It felt like there was little to no progression in the plot in the first half of the book. Had I started the book without reading the synopsis, I wouldn’t have known what the main story was about until around the 30% mark.

Final thoughts: for those looking for a cozy read this might be the book for you. I am a mood reader so when I picked up this book, I was looking for fantasy adventure that is fast paced. So when the first half of the book was mostly showing the lives of the characters with little mention of the plot, it was a little difficult to get through. This is the main reason for my 2.7/5 star rating.

To summarize, it wasn’t my cup of tea but definitely a cozy read for those who do like reading about the day to day lives of characters and get to know them better before diving into the plot.

From start to finish, the plot, characters, and fated mates aspects were done perfectly. I have no complaints about how the story was done. I really love Cori, and she's one of the best characters. I will say that the fated mates romance aspect didn't overshadow the plot, which happens in so many books like this.

Whether you're a fan of witchy tales or simply enjoy a good story with a touch of magic, this book is a must-read. Prepare to be enchanted!

I can't wait for book two!!

thank you to netgalley and maria eden for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review. this was a quick and enjoyable read! when i read the premise "if you kill a witch who delivers a prophecy, it won't come to be" i instantly wanted to read it, and i'm glad i did. i liked the characters, loved the setting, and thought the magic system was really cool. my main complaint is that the pacing was a bit fast at times. in my opinion, the gray prophecy would benefit from more time being spent on world building and relationship building. i would have happily read a hundred more pages if it helped the pacing!

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. I read it quickly which is usually either a good or a bad thing for me. This feel somewhere in the middle. I do wish there was a little more world building and that the pacing of certain parts didn't feel so off to me. I did love the small town witchy vibe and the characters were cute. Overall, I would probably give it a 3-3.5.

I feel very privileged to have been selected as an ARC reader for this book. This book has everything. Mystery, romance, intrigue, and a magical system I couldn't get enough of.

Small town vibes, autumnal charm, easy banter between characters that flows so naturally, and a love interest that sparks quickly but doesn't feel forced or rushed.

The characters feel realistic and relatable.
And the ending chapters had me on the edge of my seat.
It's one of my favourite reads this year 🖤
Congratulations, Maria. I anticipate amazing things from this series.

I requested this book on a whim because the cover intrigued me and ended up enjoying this story more than I expected. Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for approving my request. I will be recommending this book to fellow readers.

This was a really enjoyable book. I spent part of my childhood growing up in Maine and my mom’s side of the family is from Maine, so right off the bat I was able to connect with the general location of the story. I also lived in California for a decade, so I’m familiar with L.A. and SF too, which made it even easier for me to really picture/step into the story. I really love when books take place in areas I’ve lived or visited, it adds an extra layer to the experience for me. I really did enjoy this book. It reminded me a bit of A Discovery of Witches, Practical Magic, Witches of East End, and Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale. This book has the same vibes as those books/series, not necessarily the same plots. For a relatively short book we get a good amount of world building and backstory to explain why Cori ends up in Maine. Though I would have liked a more thorough look at the prophecy and celestial witches, but I’m a sucker for the backstory/origin story so that’s probably just my personal quirk. I enjoyed the author’s take on witches a lot, but once again, I personally would have liked a deeper look at all the different types of witches that roam the planet along with the Mother, Giver, and Other. Maybe in future books that’ll happen? I can’t tell if this is supposed to be a single, one-off book or if it’s going to be a standalone in an interconnected world. I’m a sucker for fated mates, so we’ve got that covered here. Would I have liked more actual romance throughout the book? Yes, but I know that wasn’t possible with the length. Overall, as I said before, this was a really enjoyable book. I loved the unique take on witches, the found family aspect, the fated mates trope, the betrayal by someone you once thought of as family, the world building, the location (I’ve been craving lobster ever since reading this book), and the overall vibe of the book.

I normally read multi-book series so I’m used to a bit more world building and things being drawn out longer than what I found in this book. That isn’t a bad thing, but it’s definitely a change for someone like me. I hope there are more books set in this world that will expand upon the foundation that was set in this book!

I love cozy fantasy romance novels, especially during monsoon season, so you bet that I devoured this in one sitting. This is a fantasy novel set in our world, where witches coexist among us. Our FMC, Cori (or Cordelia), is a Celestial witch that prophesized the fall of dark witches. Which obviously does not sit right with the dark witches and they want her dead. In this world, if you want a prophecy to not come true, all you have to do is kill the witch responsible for it. Hence, Cori grows up alone and in hiding.
Then she moves to a small town as a marine biologist and meets her fated mate (I ABSOLUTELY GO FERAL FOR FATED MATES TROPE) and finds her found family with Adrian's close knit family. I love how natural all of it seems. The romance, tbh, isn't that great. The focus is more on the prophecy and all that comes with it, instead of Adrian and Cori's relationship. But it is a fun read.
I do wish that the world building and romance was more developed. I liked the flashbacks that Cori kept having, it tied up the story pretty neatly. The story is an easy read and words flow easy. The plot is unique, the writing style vivid, and the setting based in a small town of Farley, Maine makes it a 4 star read.
Thanks to the Author, NetGalley, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op | Maria Eden Books for this ARC.

In the Gray Prophecy, We meet Cori; a witch in her own made up witness protection program because of a prophecy she saw as a young girl. Along the way, we meet Adrien and his family, along with quite the characters from around the town.

This book has nice, fall vibes and is a quick read, it just ended up having a lot of vibes and tropes that fall flat for me. There’s a lot of promise with the premise of this book. There’s a unique magical system for our witches, it’s set in Maine, and the author did a fantastic job at making me feel like I was in this small lobstering town in Maine.

This has all the elements that I normally love in a fall vibes book, and that’s absolutely the mood I was in reading this book…I just was overall uninterested and not invested in our characters and what was going to happen.

This is an urban fantasy for the astrology girlies!
I really enjoyed the little quotes that related to both the story and astrology. I thought that was a nice little touch that also added some ambiance.

It took some time for the story to really feel like it started. And the pacing of Adrian and Cori’s relationship seemed off to me. They were friends (that didn’t seem to have any romantic tension to me) and then, all of a sudden, they’re more. The build up just wasn’t there. I needed to see a reason for that change, a development. And it felt like the same kind of happens with the pacing of the magic and its use. There’s not much talk of it (at all) and then it’s everything that’s talked about. It would’ve flowed a bit better for me if it was more gradually amped up. Or if the suddenness made more sense. Felt a bit stilted.

But a SUPER quick read!

I love the cat! I will forever love a lil cat companion - in ANY book!

The setting being water-side felt really unique to me. You don’t see many urban fantasy books in that type of location and I REALLY enjoyed that. For some reason, that makes me feel like this should be read in the fall. Also the whole witch-hiding-her-identity thing is also probably why I think this would be a fun and easy fall read!

And I always support the obtaining of bagels! If you know, you know.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My review is already up on Goodreads and my TikTok review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly wrap-up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the ARC.
Cori is a witch in hiding with a massive secret and is counting down the days until her fate is decided.
The setting is modern Coastal Maine which plays nicely into the elemental magic other witches in the town use, creating an atmospheric moody vibe.
The romantic arc leans heavily on the concept of fated lovers, with the attraction being instant but the relationship building over time.
I loved the idea of all the magic but specifically celestial witches, and would have liked to see their powers more fleshed out. This would be very difficult to do in a 300 page book, so perhaps a few hundred more pages would have helped for the world-building. I could have done with less minor characters as I felt that some of them did not add much to the story and instead were "telling" the reader what was happening, rather than showing, which is the style I prefer.
I would recommend this book to romantasy readers who want a quick fun read.