Book Review: The Wycherleys by Annaliese Avery
Seventeen-year-old Aurelia Wycherley is entering her debutante season as a witch. She should be excited about finding the perfect match to tether her magic to. Instead, she’s suffering the effects of a powerful hereditary curse that’s turned her magic into something dark and dangerous that no other witch wants to be anywhere near, let alone form a tether with. And without a tether, Aurelia will lose her magic completely. Enter Jules Nightly, the aloof and enigmatic descendent of the original witch who cursed the Wycherley line. He’s searching for a way to allow untethered witches to keep their magic and though he’s technically her enemy, he might also be Aurelia’s last and only hope.
Forming a forbidden alliance, Aurelia and Nightly begin investigating the complex history of magic and tethering, as well as a series of witch murders that might have some connection to their quest. As they comb the library for information, dance their way through glamoured balls and fake a courtship to cover up their illicit mission, the lines between their fake and real feelings begin to blur. With the clock counting down to the end of the Magical Season, Aurelia and Nightly’s race to discover the answers and find a cure becomes even more desperate. Because it’s not just Aurelia’s magic and their entwined hearts on the line, but the lives of their families and the magical world they live in too.
My magic will leave me in a few years, and all because of a witch named Nightly.”
The Wycherleys is a YA romantic fantasy that wears its inspirations firmly on its sleeve – and that’s very much a good thing. Borrowing vibes and character dynamics from the likes of Pride and Prejudice, Bridgerton and The Slipper and the Rose, this is an absolute dream of a novel for readers who love stories that blend clever alternate history with swoony romance and an atmospheric magical academia backdrop. Annaliese Avery creates a witchy world that’s easy to fall into and difficult to depart, weaving in covens, unexpected alliances, murder mystery and light-hearted bribery and extortion (because every great fictional romance starts with a threat). Aurelia and Nightly feel like modern successors to Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. Aurelia is intelligent and headstrong, and she doesn’t let the rules of society or her narrow-minded peers put her down. Nightly has a broody exterior but he’s naturally charming when he wants to be, and he’ll do anything to protect the people he loves.
Together they make a formidable magical pair and the sweet evolution of their relationship across the novel – in addition to the mutual respect and adoration they show each other – means that readers are behind them every second of the way. My biggest complaint with YA fantasy often falls down to uneven pacing; there’s nothing worse than sluggish chapters or a romance that is forced and unearned. But nothing about The Wycherleys feels rushed or redundant. Each character has a vital part to play and the pacing allows the darkness to steadily threaten the light as it builds to an exciting finale that scratches the surface of what’s to come next.
Filled with imagination, wit and heart, The Wycherleys is a novel that delivers it all and still leaves readers wanting more. If you’re in the mood for a Regency-esque fantasy with modern attitudes and a genuinely lovable central duo, you’ll find few better than this.
★★★★★
The Wycherleys was published by Simon & Schuster on 6 May 2025
