"Nyssa saw her grandmother's face. Could almost feel her hands stroking her hair as she explained why she'd chosen to settle in Nighthaven after refusing several covens' invitations decades before. Nighthaven isn't just a town, it's a refuge. A place where all magical folk can seek a calmer, more authentic life."
I was thrilled when Random House UK sent me an ARC of this book back in the spring. I started reading it straight away, but I didn't want to blog about it too far in advance of its release date. I'm quite new to cosy witch fantasy novels and I have to say that, so far, I am enjoying the stories from this genre that I have been sent.
Board Games and Broomsticks is a soft escape into a magical world of analogue hobbies and small town vibes. Think Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic and you get the tone of this book. It tells the tale of Nyssa Hawthorn who fled the town of Nighthaven as a rebellious young woman in search of a more exciting life. After a disagreement with her grandmother about the coven path she planned to take, leaving her solitary witch roots behind, Nyssa successfully works her way up to become coven leader. However, her magic begins to go awry and after one too many mistakes in her castings, she is suspended from practice with her coven.
In despair, she mounts her broomstick and flies back home to Nighthaven, taking up residence in her now deceased grandmother's old cottage and setting up a magical board games cafe, where she sells her grandmother's special teas and tisanes. Her coven decide that she must perform three magical tasks to prove that she is worthy of her place with them, but then a wicked warlock from her past hunts her down and that is when Nyssa's troubles really begin.
This is very sweet book that is full of magical characters such as witches, druids, sirens, elves and selkies. The warlock is suitably sinister, but the threat level of this genre is always very mild, so its not a scary book. It has all the cosy content that you could wish for, with lush interior descriptions and an adorable feline familiar called Nyx.
I will also say here that this is a book which conforms to ticking all the boxes on the diversity list that every single publishing house seems to be pushing for these days, from the seemingly obligatory lesbian subplot to the rather clumsy inclusion of they/them background characters who don't add anything to the story arc and who don't move the plot forward in any way, but exist on the page simply to adhere to the publisher's woke agenda. When every new book release is pushing these same minority tropes to the public majority, it gets very annoying, because publishers don't even offer a fair warning in the blub, thereby removing the reader's right to choose whether or not they buy into this kind of diversity narrative by purchasing the book. However, in this novel, I'm pleased to say that the author has kept it mercifully subtle. The woke agenda is still there though.
If such blatant political agendas bother you, you might want to skip this one, but if not, then you will find Board Games and Broomsticks to be a delightfully cosy read and a nice book to pick up on a chilly autumnal day. Enjoy!
Serene Blessings
Marie x
AD: This novel was sent to me by the publisher, Random House UK, prior to its release for the purposes of review. It drops next week on 17th September 2026, in paperback, digital and audio formats.
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