An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating by Cecelia Edward

An Ancient Witch's Guide to Modern Dating

An ancient witch explores the thrills—and perils—of online dating with hilarity and heart in a charming rom-com perfect for fans of cozy fantasy and witchy romance.

Meet Thorn Scarhart, a thirty-nine-year-old witch who’s having trouble finding love in the 17th century. Despite the local matchmaker’s efforts and Thorn’s arsenal of powerful love potions, she has yet to fall in love. After the disappearance of her sister and the loss of her mother, Thorn was too caught up in…well, life, to focus on dating. Now, she fears she may have missed her chance.

But, when one of her potion brews backfires spectacularly, Thorn is hurled 350 years into the future, landing in a bustling city where her once-isolated cottage is now a historical museum. While this unexpected leap through time may seem daunting, modern life does have its perks: indoor plumbing, electric kettles, and the world of online dating. At thirty-nine, the odds may not be perfect, but at least they’re not impossible.

With the help of the museum’s new curator—and her charming veterinarian brother—Thorn dives headfirst into the 21st-century dating scene. And as she searches for romance, she might also find herself along the way.

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• An older protagonist looking for love (mostly in the wrong places, if we’re being honest)
• Cozy cottagecore mixed with witchy magic
• Minor time travel, where people from the past have to acquaint themselves with modern life
• Adorable (and sarcastic) fluffer sidekicks
• Coming of age for an older protagonist
• A romcom that still deals with healing past trauma and emotional growth

Overall

The cover of this book just screams cozy, and I absolutely couldn’t resist it. I’ve been reading a lot of darker, heavier books, and this felt like just the sort of light-hearted palette cleanser I needed. I confess that, on its surface, this isn’t the sort of book I generally go for. But I’m doing my best to broaden my horizons and try new things. So here we are!

An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating is a cozy romcom with a sprinkle of magic, an older protagonist looking for love and struggling with modern society after a spell goes wrong, and plenty of adorable fluffy sidekicks.

As far as trying out less familiar genre goes, I am so glad I picked up An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating. It was so perfectly cute, and funny in just the right ways, but also tackled some pretty heavy topics in a thoughtful way. The story combines contemporary romance with magical realism, and while there were some bits that I felt were a little rushed or wrapped up too quickly/easily, I really enjoyed the ride.

My Thoughts

Thorne isn’t your average romance protagonist. Aside from, y’know, being a witch from the 17th century, she also happens to be 39 and sneaking ever close to the dreaded 40. Which means this is her very last chance for love.

Because everyone knows that at 39, she’s already a spinster, but at 40, she’ll be an unmarriable old maid. Her internal clock isn’t just ticking; it’s ringing aaaall the alarm bells. It’s an interesting premise for a cozy romance, especially given Thorne’s desperation. Her mother was also unlucky at love, so I guess you could say it runs in the family. Then again, so does being wholly willing to use magic to find true love. Lucky for Thorne, she may not be good at wooing men, but she’s fantastic at potionry.

The older I get, the more I absolutely love reading romance with older protagonists. They’re usually just as jaded as I am, and there’s less beating around the bush. I mean, heck, when you’re staring death in the eye, there’s really not time to play the same games that teenagers play, am I right? Thorne is delightful in this regard, because she doesn’t hide the fact that she has little experience at dating, and she remains terrible at it. Which is a shame for her, but is an absolute hoot to read!

Despite being a 17th-century recluse witch, Thorne finds herself thrown into the modern age by a potion gone wrong . . . and it goes about as well as you might imagine.

In her defense, Thorne handles the 21st century better than I would handle being sent back to the 17th century, so kudos to her for that. Lucky for her, she lands in her house . . . which has been preserved as a museum. She lands on her feet (figuratively, obviously . . . time travel is bumpy) with her familiar by her side (a fluffy cat named Bandit) and a woman-turned-frog in her pocket. It’s not exactly the kind of baggage you’d expect to bring when you time travel . . . but it’s okay, she’s also got plenty of emotional baggage with her, too, so she’s well prepared!

Obviously, it takes Thorne quite a bit of work to get acclimated to the new time, and while her struggles are obviously exaggerated and over the top, they were hilarious! Thankfully, Thorne is able to stay in her home and play witch for the tourists passing through, which affords her enough money to buy what few things she needs. It also allows her to continue to be the witch she’s always been . . . with maybe a few modern changes, like a cell phone. And dating apps. (Hey, I never said the changes were all positive!)

Thorne sees her impromptu trip to the future for what it is: a new chance to find the love of her life . . . or, y’know, to trick someone into drinking a love potion and spending the rest of their life with her.

Listen, at almost 40, she doesn’t have a whole lot of options, and she’s running out of time. Thorne is thrilled to find that her age doesn’t necessarily make her undatable in the 21st century . . . but that also doesn’t make dating any easier. Especially when she’s also struggling to understand the complexities of modern technology, like dating apps (and all the many interesting scenarios that come with those). But as it turns out, dating in the 21st century isn’t any easier than the 17th. Even with magic on your side.

The scenarios Thorne finds herself in are hilarious and relatable, while also stirring up some deep trauma that she has to work through. After all, Thorne has never particularly felt driven to have a husband. With magic and her familiars, she’s been able to provide everything she needed on her own. Why complicate that by adding a man to the mix? Finding True Love was something her mother was obsessed with, though . . . and that thought comes with its own heavy baggage. Not to mention, society has always told her that she needed a man, because a woman on her own has no worth.

An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating has everything you could want in a cozy romance: an adorable male love interest, cozy but unpredictable magic, silly scenarios, and lovable animal sidekicks.

Let’s start with the animal sidekicks. They’re mostly cats, who are every bit as snarky and sarcastic as you would expect a cat would be. There’s an interesting side plot that involves cats and magic that was cute, but I wish it had been explored a little bit more, because it just felt like a really random, convenient aside. That being said, if you love cats (which I obviously do), it should you will love these adorable sidekicks. There’s also a frog . . . which is less cuddly, less of a sidekick . . . but you’ll just have to read to learn more about that one!

I would’ve liked to had the chance to get to know the male love interest a little better, but he’s charming and easy to root for all the same. A little too perfect, if that makes any sense. I don’t read a ton of cozy romance, so this may be just a me issue, but I like my grey characters with clear flaws they’re working through, and that isn’t this. If you just want a charming bloke you can root for, though, he’s certainly got that covered!

The bottom line: if you want a fun, quick, light read, this one ticks all the boxes! I read it in two sittings and thoroughly enjoyed it the whole time.

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