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Have you ever thought about how weird modern courtship rituals – Tinder, texting, all of it – would look to someone from a different time? I’ll admit I hadn’t given it much thought, until I read An Ancient Witch’s Guide To Modern Dating on audiobook, via the Libro.fm ALC program.
The title sounds a little woo-woo self-help-y, but it’s actually a fun time travel rom-com with a twist. The story starts in 1690, with 39-year-old potion maker Thorn seeking a suitor with the help of a matchmaker. She struggles in her “advanced years” to find someone suitable, so she resorts to love potion concoctions – as her mother did before her – to try and snag a man.
Then, one of the potions goes awry, and Thorn is catapulted forward into the 21st century. She’s not ready to give up on the idea of finding a husband, so she continues her search in the present day. Unfortunately, An Ancient Witch’s Guide To Modern Dating skips over Thorn’s education in various aspects of contemporary courtship (I would’ve loved her take on situationships), but she still gets a crash course in ghosting and catfishing on the page.
The romantic hero is a veterinarian. That alone is very sexy, but he also saves Thorn’s feline familiar, which is even sexier. He is very respectful, kind, and thoughtful – in other words, he has big man-written-by-a-woman energy.
An Ancient Witch’s Guide To Modern Dating doesn’t feel like it’s on the front foot of feminism, with all the allusions to Thorn’s advanced years as an impediment to finding love and the primary motivation being marriage – but the ending is a good one that rescues it somewhat from the jaws of archaic tropes. There’s no steam or spice – just good, silly fun and a few talking cats.
Read An Ancient Witch’s Guide To Modern Dating on audiobook via Libro.fm here. (affiliate link)
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