Fixing Sophie Rue

I went into *Fixing Sophie Rue* expecting another witchy romance with a brooding love interest and a neat resolution, but Ashley delivers something grittier: a story where the magic is as broken as the protagonist. Sophie isn’t the plucky, self-sacrificing heroine of typical paranormal romances—she’s prickly, secretive, and her magic reflects that instability, manifesting in glitches and half-formed spells that feel more like self-sabotage than power. The slow reveal of her past, tied to the town that shunned her, is the best part of the book, and Cross-Battle sells it with a performance that oscillates between brittle humor and exhausted vulnerability. That said, the love interest’s emotional arc feels undercooked compared to Sophie’s. Their chemistry is palpable, but the resolution hinges on a trope (fated mates? Really?) that undermines Sophie’s otherwise nuanced characterization. The production is clean, but the pacing drags in the middle act when Sophie’s internal debates stall the momentum. Still, Cross-Battle’s narration elevates the material, especially in her portrayal of Sophie’s dry, self-deprecating humor. If you want a witchy romance that’s more about the weight of regret than grand gestures, this is your audiobook.