Agatha Harkness: Fall of the Coven

Okay, let’s be real: I picked this up expecting *Sabrina* meets *Clueless*, and *Fall of the Coven* delivers—that is, if *Clueless* had a witch who could turn her bullies into toads (but won’t, because *rules*). Kristen DiMercurio’s narration is the secret ingredient here. She nails Agatha’s mix of exhausted superiority and teen-girl vulnerability, especially in scenes where our heroine deadpans her way through a pep rally like it’s a war council. The production’s clean, with no jarring volume shifts, though I’ll admit the sound effects for spells (yes, there are *whoosh* noises) teeter on cheesy—then again, so does the plot, so it fits. Shepard’s strength has always been twisty, soapy drama, and this book leans into it. The coven politics are *just* shallow enough to stay fun, and the love interest—bless him—is a himbo with a heart of gold, which Agatha treats like a fascinating lab specimen. My two gripes? The villain’s motives feel phoned in (ancient grudge, yawn), and the high school scenes sometimes drag when the magic takes a backseat. But when Agatha’s snark collides with DiMercurio’s timing? Pure alchemy. If you’re here for witchy escapism with a side of laugh-out-loud one-liners, this’ll cast a spell on you. If you want *The Name of the Wind* with pom-poms, keep scrolling.