This book had me hooked right from the start. I really liked the main characters. The FMC wasn’t the typical “badass” heroine, but she felt more real—dealing with anxiety and not fitting in, which made her relatable. I liked seeing her grow as the story went on.

The magic system had me a little confused at times, but I have a feeling there’s more to uncover in the next book.
The romance between Vane and the FMC was great—lots of tension, and I’m a sucker for a good forbidden romance. The ending left me with a lot of questions, and I’m definitely looking forward to the next one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book!

This is hands down one of my top reads in 2024! There are shadows, dragons, witches, bakers, and amazing anxiety/ mental health representation. Saoirse is a witch who has had a rough life facing abuse from her parents for not having powers. She is trying to make a life for herself as the city baker. She is excellent at creating deliciousness, and her bakery is where she meets the tall, dark, and shadowy Zane. Zane is a type of witch that isn’t supposed to exist. Honestly, he’s a bad*ss that can turn into a dragon and destroy your enemies from the inside out. *swoon* He saves her from a vile man who won’t take no for an answer. Zane suffers a life threatening injury and Saoirse and her sister save him. Zane shares that he’s there to find a magical artifact that can save his lands from rot. Saoirse and her sister, Xan the future queen, agree to help him. Zane and Saoirse slowly form a friendship after being forced to share the small bedroom above the bakery and work together daily. They get hired to work at the castle which helps with their mission but unfortunately, this means Saoirse has to go back to the home of her abusers. At least this time she has a shadow daddy who will take down anyone who touches her and a sister who has finally come into her powers. I love Saoirse and Zane! They compliment each other so well and you can tell how much they care for one another. Zane helps her find her worth and doesn’t pressure her in any way for a relationship which is such a green flag! I wish I had a Zane in my life! I am super upset that this ended on the cliffhanger it did! I was pumped to see Umbra and it’s citizens. All I’m saying is the next one better be out soon! I need to know how the rot ends and if Zane and Saoirse get a happily ever after!! I personally don’t think it’s too much to ask. ;)

This is the first book in The Darkwing Duet and with 283 pages a rather quick read.

I found the FMC to be very likable and I was able to connect to her quite well. She has no magical powers, is not a skilled fighter and has been trough hell - but when I think about her, I would still describe her as a strong female lead. I love it!
The MMC is a shadow wielding dragon shifter, so I think I can speak for all of us: yes please, a thousand times yes 🙌

I didn’t knew I had such a soft spot for a „he washes her hair“ scene, but here we are. Also a „who did this to you“ thrown into the mix?! The tension in that scene was off the charts 🔥

There are some darker elements to the story, so please make sure you read the TW before diving in.
I enjoyed this one a lot and will definitely continue with the second book!

Unfortunately disappointing. I was intrigued by the idea of a witch born without her powers, and the dark, shadow dragon MMC also sounded promising. I liked the world as a whole, with all the different kingdoms being connected to different gods. I also thought the author did a good job talking about trauma and anxiety. But everything else really fell short for me. Saoirse was a very boring, kind of lame FMC (I can only take hearing about how good she is at baking so many times). I actually really enjoyed her sister, Xan, and probably would have loved the book from her POV.
There were also some things that didn't quite make sense where a character's words vs. their actions didn't align. Zane being a Darkwing and his mission to get the Heartshard is supposed to be a secret, and yet he (then they once Saoirse finds out) tells SO MANY PEOPLE. I couldn't believe it when they basically just kept telling everyone who asked what was going on. Also, Zane was so concerned about Saoirse not being present during the fighting at the end... but she was still in the room?! It just didn't make sense to me. Saoirse experienced so much trauma by the hand of her father leading to her, unsurprisingly, not liking physical contact with people, but then she has no issues with Vane touching her at every opportunity.
Some plot points didn't make a lot of sense to me, either. Zane took hours to travel to see his mom where he had a short conversation and then left to go back, but I don't understand the point to him going to see her in the first place when their conversation seemed menial. The twist at the end involved a character who wasn't even properly introduced (we didn't actually get any lines from him until the last page, and I think he was maybe mentioned earlier in the book ONCE) which made it unsatisfying. The book was an interesting idea, but the execution fell short for me. Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

I really wanted to enjoy this book as I resonate a lot with the FMC’s experiences. However it seemed to fall short of delivering what was promised.
The interactions between the FMC and her parents felt disingenuous, and some of her motivations felt the same.
I also struggled to stay hooked in the story for the continuity errors that were prevalent, such as characters changing appearances randomly. The settings for the story also seemed underdeveloped, leaving me questioning just where certain scenes were happening.
All in all, this had a great premise, I just struggled to get along with the delivery.

I’m OBSESSED with the duet covers (slide 2 from the author's page). Just look at that shadow dragon! 🖤

The Useless Witch is a dual POV dark fantasy romance with a powerless witch FMC, a dragon shifting shadow daddy MMC, and a whole lot of emotional turmoil to unpack.

Saoirse is the oldest heir to the throne; however, she was born during a solar eclipse with no magic, thus no throne. She must overcome a lot to include evil parents, the shame of having no magic, and being shunned from society. Our FMC battles anxiety and past trauma. We see character growth and I am excited with what book 2 holds in store for her.

Vane was also born under the same solar eclipse but is a very powerful shadow dragon. He comes from a rivalry kingdom. They come together for the sake of trying to cure a plague infecting the kingdoms.

As for side characters, I really like Xan and Len’s characters. I cannot wait to see what they have in store in the next book. An easy, quick read that will have you turning the pages to find out what happens next.

If you like witches, shadow shifters, shadow dragon daddy, anxiety rep., toxic parents, magicless FMC
forbidden romance, Who did this to you?, and parental trauma & abuse then you should give this dark romantasy a read!

Rating this book 3.75 but rounding up to 4. I really enjoyed this book and will be reading the second. The plot was interesting, the main characters were fairly well developed, particularly the FMC. It was interesting and kept you involved. I do wish the younger sister and the MMC were more flashed out. I'm hoping book two gives us way more background and development and character growth with him. I do feel like this story could have been more detailed and drawn out to around 300-350 pages to give us that depth. But, like I said, I definitely had a good time reading this and will be reading the next book in the series.

The Useless Witch follows Saoirse, a princess without powers, who left the castle to attempt to live a normal life in safety, and Vane, a stranger with secrets. 👀 They eventually team up to try and save the realm, but things are never that simple.

When I saw that this book was under 300 pages, I wondered if it would be missing some crucial aspect to make the plot believable and enjoyable. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the answer to that question was "no." The Useless Witch does everything it needs to: you care about the characters, you understand the world, and man, do you get thrown for a loop with the twist at the end! There are some dark themes, so pay attention to the note at the beginning.

Thanks to Wildfire Literary and NetGalley for an eARC of this book for an honest review! I will definitely be waiting for book 2 of the duology to see how this all turns out.

3.5 Stars

Who Did this To you? (My fav Trope) type vibes!
I thought this was a quick romantasy read but thought the book needed more proofreading as I saw a few mistakes that stood out to me while reading. I thought the story was fast paced due to being a shorter book so there was lots of nonstop action.

If you are looking for a quick romantasy that you can sit down and read in one sitting, this would be the book for you.

Fast-paced and fun fantasy romance! Saoirse, a Lightlace witch born without magic, and Vane, a Darkwing shifter with shadow magic, team up to try to save the kingdoms.

I was first drawn in by the beautiful cover with the shadow shifter. It created the perfect mental image to capture our main male character, Vane, and his shadow magic. I appreciated that this was a quick and interesting read. The characters were intriguing and the pace of the story didn't lag.

Given the face-paced nature, I do think there could have been more details given about the world and magic system. The ending was hard to care about since it involved characters and a kingdom we really hadn't learned all that much about. Despite that, I really had a good time reading this. It was a good palate cleanser to more heavy world building books.

Content Warnings: Non-suicidal self-harm behavior, emotional and physical abuse, sexual assault
This book tackles some pretty heavy topics related to the female main character, Saoirse, and her significant history of trauma. The story showcases her resilience but I felt like her character development was lacking. Having someone who believes in her is good first start but I think she still has a lot of work to do in processing the trauma, recognizing her stuck points, and moving forward from it on her own (i.e. NOT depending on Vane to build her up). I would love to see some of that in the next book.

✨The Useless Witch✨

What a fun story this was! Short and feisty, heartbreaking and angsty, supportive and empowering. We get all of those in Savannah’s first release of her Darkwing Duet.

Following the 2 third person POVs of Vane and Saoirse, we enter a kingdom of light/sun that is on the edge of a blight and much darker secrets. Saoirse is a forgotten princess, abandoned, abused, and disowned by her parents for being powerless. Her only reprieves are her sister, Xan, and her bakery. But when a devastating male from a kingdom thought to be nonexistent saves her, Saoirse finds herself no longer in hiding from her family, but having to face them daily in hopes to save not only her kingdom but Vane’s.

This story was strong in poor coping mechanisms from a young woman who never had anyone to help her but herself. Please read the trigger warnings, because this hits HARD but it is also so empowering and emotional and the ending had me cheering for our heroine.

Tropes you may find in TUW are mental health rep, slow burn, low spice, amazing sister bond, hidden identities, plot twists, forbidden love, witches, shadow daddy dragon shifter, takes care of her, who did this to you, burn the world for her, and a cliffhanger leading us into new territory!

Thank you so much, Savannah and netgalley, for allowing me the honor of reading this gifted arc! I am super stoked for book two!!!

Saoirse & Vane
Shadow dragon Daddy
Forbidden Romance
Who did this to you?
Book 1 in the Darkwing duet

Omg I love this book!

I was sucked in from the start and could not put it down!

Even though this book is fairly short, there is SO MUCH happening in it!! It's so good!!

I cannot wait for the next book!

The Useless Witch follows Saoirse, an ex-princess who now lives and works as a baker after it is discovered she has no magic. She is comfortable in her life, happy to stay away from her abusive parents, the King and Queen of Lanthus. Until she meets the dark and mysterious Vane and gets magnetically drawn into his schemes.

As a fellow girl with uncontrollable anxiety, it was refreshing to follow Saoirse's journey.

I can't say I loved this book, I feel like the editing could have used a lot of work. I came across a number of spelling mistakes and words being used incorrectly. One such example was the use of the word "donned" about 55% through the book. I also noticed that the city name, Lanthus, was misspelled as "Lantus" at least three times. I found mistakes like this immersion breaking.

The romantasy market is saturated, and books wanting to succeed in this genre need to stand out. I don't feel like this book stood out for me. Saoirse was a great character, but the rest of the cast were shallow. Characters were too amenable to Vane's plans, no one questioned his motivations at all and it just felt convenient.

I feel like character development and complexity was sacrificed to keep the book short. I would have been happy to read more if the characters were given the opportunity to question and think critically about their situations a bit more. The main letdown of this book for me was the editing though. I love a good romantasy and this ticks all the right boxes. Not mind-blowing or genre-defining, but fun and interesting. I would happily follow Saoirse's story further, and would love to see other characters given the same level of complexity that Saoirse possessed.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read and review! Best of luck to the author in writing the sequel!

What started as another kingdom with magic quickly turned into a burning romance with the darkness of shadows. This book had it all: FANTASTIC character development, strong and thoughtful storylines of growing from abuse, cool magic, enemies to lovers. I NEED the next book released immediately!

Every character was deeply thought out and their backgrounds progressed the climax of the plot. There is honestly nothing negative to say about this book (minor grammatical errors that I’m sure will obviously get fixed).

The Useless Witch centres around Saoirse, a witch Princess who didn’t get her magic when the time came. As a result, she’s cast out by her family and forbidden to return to the castle, something that she’s more than happy to adhere to in order to avoid her abusive father and cold, uncaring mother.

There is, however, one person that Saoirse does miss…her sister, Xan.

Working in a bakery in the city, Saoirse gets on with her very normal life. That is until Vane, a dark and mysterious stranger appears in her shop one day.

To get straight to the point, I enjoyed it but I didn’t love it.

I really liked the artwork on the cover, I thought it suited the book and hooked me in as a reader. I didn’t, however, love the title. But that’s just my opinion.

Everything is there to make this book amazing. The storyline is solid and the characters have enough about them to get you on board, but for me there was just something missing. I was waiting for the book to get going, for the depth of character and story to come, and it just didn’t. Everything seemed to be surface level and skimmed over quite quickly, I didn’t feel like I really got into it at any point.

The story finished with a cliffhanger and from the info given, I can see that there’s a second part to come. Although I’d likely read it to find out what happens next, I can’t say that I’ll be waiting on tenterhooks until it’s out.

All in all, a nice read but didn’t excite me.

I really appreciate the opportunity to read and review, thank you.

Sadly this is another drop in the YA/NA romantasy ocean, and it doesn't stand out.
If you're happy reading another book with the exact same tropes and a plot that I can practically predict from the first chapter, then you'll love it. It's not terribly written, it's just that there are so many of these books in the market right now so they have to really sparkle. This does not.
Secondly, as someone that used to self harm, the most useless thing someone (especially a love interest) can say is 'never do that again'. Stopped reading at this point. Whilst the motivations for our heroine self harming are realistic, the tell-not-show aspect of the past abuse and the way in which the love interest handles it make me shake my head and lose all desire to continue.
I would say this author might be interesting in a few books time, but right now, it's a miss from me.

Useless Witch – A Magical, Fun Ride!

If you’re looking for a light, magical read, Useless Witch is exactly what you need! The story is filled with interesting characters, an intriguing world, and a touch of magic. It’s an easy read that keeps you turning the pages, especially as you get closer to that ending—trust me, it’ll leave you wanting more!

The characters are quirky, relatable and lovable, and the world they live in is full of magical twists and turns. It’s one of those stories that doesn’t take itself too seriously, which makes it such a fun escape. Plus, there’s a good mix of action, humour, and a dash of romance.

Tropes:
✨ Found Family
✨ Who Did This
✨ Touch Her and You Die
✨ Instant Love

If you're into books with magical worlds, fun character dynamics, and a story that’s easy to sink into, Useless Witch is perfect for you!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

4.5 stars. I enjoyed this enough to read in one sitting lol. The pacing was good and I enjoyed the characters. Definitely on the darker side at times. The spice is mild but I liked the relationship between Saoirse and Vane. I'm curious to see where the next one goes!

Loved this from start to finish. I adore the main characters, as well as some of the (still important) side characters. I don't feel like anything was missing from this book, but I'm yearning for more just because of how much I enjoyed it. There's forbidden romance, shadow shifters, who did this to you? an FMC without any magic, and just a splash of spice that will leave you wanting more. Trigger warning for self harm and parental abuse. I can't wait for the next book!

The story was well written and was interesting from the first few chapters. I can’t wait for the conclusion of the story! Yes, there is trauma. There’s also shadow daddy energy, “ touch her and d!e” vibes and forbidden love. It was not super spicy, but there was a storyline to build.