An Uncertain Magic - A.M. Kvita - ★★★★.¼

AUTHOR: A.M. Kvita

SERIES: Green Witch Cycle #2

GENRE: Urban Fantasy

PUBLICATION DATE: October 27, 2026

RATING: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A contemporary urban (not cozy!) fantasy featuring witches and vampires and gods and more. The second book in the Green Witch Cycle series and a wonderful sequel in every way. Delivers even better than the first in terms of plot, characters, humour, thrills, and ending. The romance wasn’t my cup of tea (as always), but it will click better with those who enjoy love stories of yearning. Definitely recommended. Must be read in series order.

Plot Preview: (Contains a couple of very minor spoilers from Book One.)

After all that happened in New York, Joan has settled into her job away from her family – the powerful Greenwoods who govern over the NY witches. Things are going decently except for her one-sided crush on Astoria Wardwell, the heir of the California witches who refused her two years ago. Then out of nowhere, Joan’s best friend CZ becomes possessed. Unbeknownst to Joan, Astoria is dealing with similar problems back in California, with her bestie Wren also being captured by an unknown but powerful entity. Sure that this cannot be a coincidence, Astoria and Joan realise that the key to saving their friends is by joining forces in NY. If only they can do so without Joan’s feelings getting in the way!

The story comes to us in the third-person perspectives of Joan and Astoria.

‘An Unlikely Coven’, this author’s debut work, impressed and thrilled me so much that I was waiting eagerly for this sequel. At the same time, I was also a bit apprehensive of encountering ‘Sequel Syndrome’, especially given the author’s relative lack of experience. I shouldn’t have worried at all. This book is, in every way, the perfect in-between novel of a trilogy, forming an excellent bridge from the events of the earlier book and offering a teeny peek at what will come next.

Bookish Yays:

🧙🏻‍♀️ The excellent way the story works as a sequel. Love the seamless continuity. (Also love that there are far fewer F-bombs this time around.)

🧙🏻‍♀️ The returning main characters – Joan, Astoria, and all of their friends. Easy to love a book when you love the characters, each of whom deserves an individual Yay. I was especially happy to see CZ, though his role is somewhat brief for valid reasons.

🧙🏻‍♀️ The found family vibes, even stronger this time as the NY and California friends join hands for a difficult quest. Nice to see the bond grow between the ‘unlikely coven’ members.

🧙🏻‍♀️ The character development. Most of the main characters are in their mid-twenties, and they always act their age, but not the way we often see in fiction. No whiny complaining or selfish decision-making.

🧙🏻‍♀️ The magic. I understood it far better this time around, hehe.

🧙🏻‍♀️ The plot. Hardly any lag between the initial chapter and the start of the action. I was hooked! Also love that there are no unnecessary segues into subplots. The focus is super-streamlined.

🧙🏻‍♀️ The world-building. Much better this time, with several unexplained components from Book One getting clarified without going into an info-dump.

🧙🏻‍♀️ The diversity, not just in terms of LGBTQ+ rep but also in terms of species (witch, vampire, fae, ghost, god, human, and more!) I love that the characters’ sexual preference is not shown as the be-all and end-all of their personality.

🧙🏻‍♀️ The use of New York. The setting as well as the city. (IYKYK.)

🧙🏻‍♀️ The steady dose of humour and banter-filled conversations that keeps things somewhat easy on the head even during darker moments.

🧙🏻‍♀️ The ending. Complete and yet incomplete. There’s a lot of frenetic action but thankfully, the story comes to a (mostly) satisfying close. No cliffhanger as such. A small epilogue offers a little preview of the final book in the series.

Bookish Okays:

🔮 The romance. My issue isn't with the romance itself. I knew a certain duo from Book One would become love interests in this book, and that happens. I also love the question mark on a certain aspect of their relationship. What I didn’t like was the regular appearance of lusty thoughts even in between critical action sequences – they were distracting.

🔮 The dream bits. Interesting, but took me a long time to make sense of what was happening. The whole dream was an important component of the plot but much too complex for my middle-aged head.

🔮 A certain character’s track seems to be cut abruptly. I cannot count it as a negative as Book Three might shed more light on this. But I am a curious cat and wanted to see them get their just deserts.

Bookish If Onlys:

⚔ A brief recap of the events of Book One and/or a list of characters. Though I did remember many of the characters and events, having a ready reckoner would have been helpful.

Overall, I am highly satisfied with the way this sequel went. It met my expectations, and even went beyond. The author’s note contained the surprising reveal that this book was written first, and what we now know as Book One was actually written later as a prequel. The continuity between the two is superb. Needless to say, I am super excited for the final book of the trilogy.

Because of the plot structure, I highly recommend reading this in series order as many components of this book won't make enough sense to you without the background detailing. Do note that despite what the blurb sounds like, this isn't a cozy fantasy but an adult urban fantasy. There is much darkness and cruelty in the book (though everything is presented with sensitivity instead of sensationalism.)

Definitely recommended to fans of the series. To be read after ‘An Unlikely Coven’.

My thanks to the author, Little Brown Book Group UK and Orbit for providing the DRC of “An Uncertain Magic” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.