The Hex Next Door

Icarus "Rus" Ashthorne, the Crow Witch, returns to Moondale because it seems the safest place to hide. Home has changed less than she expected in some ways and far more in others. She arrives with two little girls in tow.

Eleven years earlier, Rus boarded a bus and left Azure Elwood behind. Az is the only woman Rus has ever loved, and she belongs to the Elwoods, a family the town respects, fears and defers to. Az had always been content as the dutiful witch of that family, until Rus came into her life. Now they are face to face again, with a great deal left unsaid between them.

Rus's return brings trouble. Witch hunters are closing in on Moondale, and the council of magic is making life difficult for everyone involved. Rus has to work out how much magic it will take to keep the people she loves safe, both from the danger that followed her and from herself.

This is an LGBTQ+ cozy urban fantasy with a second-chance romance at its center. The tone is warm and wry, with humor running through the family tangles, a bit of necromancy and small-town politics. The stakes are real, but the mood stays comfortable rather than grim.