Publication: 15th January 2026 – Simon & Schuster Children’s UK
For the Kingdom. For the magic. And for love . . .
Aurelia Wycherley has found someone to tether her magic to – her enigmatic former enemy, Jules Nightly. Now, they are heading off to coven college to learn advanced magic. But they are also on a secret mission: to discover the Lost Quarter of the college, create their own coven of twelve and try to discover a way to bring back the Old Magic.
When malevolent magic interrupts their first night at college, Aurelia and Jules discover that Jonathan and his coven of untethered witches has escaped and now they are after her magic, curse and all…
Can they save the magic and the world – or will Aurelia lose her magic for good?
Prepare for balls, late‑night study groups, hidden mysteries, a heist, the return of old foes, and a lot more kissing!
Last year, I fell in love with The Wycherley, the first book in a YA series set in a Regency world filled with magic, and I am super excited to return to this world and its wonderful cast of characters.
Love and Other Curses starts a bit after the events of the first book. Aurelia and her brother Vaughn are back in England after a few months of Grand Tour in Europe and they are heading to college, but studying won’t be their top priority. Aurelia and Jules reunite after a few months apart and their love is stronger than ever, even if there are secrets kept hidden. They form a new coven with new and old friends as they try to find the Old Magic. Old enemies resurface, new dangers are near, and we discover more about the magic. There is also romance, adventures, and lots of balls and spells.
Like the first book in the series, Love and Other Curses was a fantastic and addictive read from start to finish. The plot is intriguing, well-developed, and with quite a few moments of suspense. The romance between Aurelia and Jules is swoony and adorable and I also enjoyed reading more about the relationship between Aurelia’s brother, Vaughan, and her feisty best friend, Constance, who may be my favourite character. Love and Other Curses ends with a shocking revelation that makes me happy that we won’t be waiting long for the third novel (out in September).
The Wycherleys is a well-written, captivating, and charming series full of magic, romance, and incredible adventures and I read Love and Other Curses in a few days, turning page after page.
A huge thank you to Simon & Schuster Children’s and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.
Annaliese has always loved stories. As a child, she would regularly rollerskate to her local library to stock up on new books to read. She was nearly always in trouble with the librarians for having not returned her books on time. Annaliese would go on to become a librarian herself one day and use her position as library manager to be more understanding to the young readers at her library who returned books late.
Annaliese has always felt the power of good stories but equally enjoys being lost in the wonder of books with facts/non-fiction. As a child, Annaliese read her way through all 20 volumes of THE NEW CAXTON ENCYCLOPEDIA. She also collected a magazine series called Quest, and its exploration of science helped trigger a love of physics and astronomy.
In 2013 Annaliese founded an astronomical society, DASH Astro.
One of her ambitions in life is to have her own observing dome.
Book After Book 