Extra Witchy

Aguirre’s third Fix-it Witches paranormal rom-com (after Boss Witch) delightfully defies gender stereotypes while delivering both heat and heart. Career-driven, politically minded witch Leanne Vanderpol is tired of the old boys’ club she’s up against in her job in the mayor’s office, spurring her to run for office herself. But, 37 and twice divorced, she realizes that, to win, her image may need a tiny bit of tweaking in the form of a nice, stable man in her life. Enter Trevor Montgomery. At 33, Trev’s life consists largely of weed and video games in his parents’ basement, and he struggles with low self-esteem, depression, and his bad relationships with his toxic family. His world is turned upside down when Leanne zeros in on him to play her fake husband, in exchange offering to get him out of the basement. The resulting madcap romance gives a blatant middle finger to toxic masculinity as driven Leanne and nurturing Trev work together to trump the patriarchy. While lighter on the supernatural elements than most in its subgenre (the magic is mostly set-dressing), this celebration of healthy relationships offers characters readers will fall in love with and an off-the-charts heat level. The result is an absolute joy. Agent: Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency. (Oct.)