witchbuns

Isabelle Engel, 2026

3.5 Stars

In the beginning, this book was delicious. It was chardonnay with an ice cube, starburst red and pink candies, and freshly laundered Roots sweatpants. For this, I recommend fans of dating shows read Most Eligible and have themselves a pj party watching her try to take down the reality relationship mafia. I was so excited to pick this book up and up and keep seeing the secrets and espionage build up (plus, everything with Olie). You can tell that Isabelle Engel is having fun writing this, poking at the fandom, and creating hijinks. 

Towards the last half, the plot had some buildup that felt heavier and I was doubtful that it would turn into champagne and roses, because Georgia is balancing a lot of duplicity and I wanted to see her learn more from the experience. I think overall the premise that George and Rhett had a one-night stand that meant *so* much to each of them wasn’t as strong a foundation as I needed for them to be endgame, worth risking so much publicly. Had we seen more of Georgia’s relationship with music and her core foundation as a writer layered with Rhett’s songwriting process, I think we’d have the swoons needed to root harder. Overall, this was still quite fun, and I found Georgia’s relationships with the girls in the house to be an important detail of how others perceived her (as a kind and trusted friend) which balanced the espionage and the love drama. I am all in for Isabelle Engel’s next novel and want to see her play in other sandboxes. 

Thank you to Isabelle Engel, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.