A forgotten summer, a hungry garden, and a winged legend with a soft spot for small kindnesses. Our creature-feature month kicks off with two romances that trade jump scares for emotional stakes.
We start in Yarrow, Kentucky, where three generations of Haywood witches tend a shadow garden that grows on sorrow and fuels a rival distillery’s enchanted bourbon. When the town collectively erases the summer of 1997 from their minds; old feuds flare, magic falters, and a tangle of mysteries — Addison’s messy gifts, Kaden’s fractured past, a garden on the brink — pushes everyone toward truth. Think Practical Magic energy with tea leaf readings, bourbon and love that builds slowly behind closed doors.
Then we head to Point Pleasant, West Virginia for a Beauty-and-the-Beast twist with real heart. A burned-out influencer seeks offline quiet in a remote cabin and collides (literally) with Mothman. He's grumpy, misunderstood and unexpectedly tender. Their forced proximity becomes a lesson in alternative intimacy: gluten-free menus shared on purpose, a hand remembering the morning pill case, a bath and a braid that say “I see you” louder than any grand gesture. It’s cozy monster romance with jalapeño spice, crisp humor, and a surprisingly grounded look at how public narratives can dehumanize both people and myths.
Along the way, we swap drink pairings (bourbon cocktail meets adult Shirley Temple), laugh at craft quirks (big schlongs, smirk overload, the eternal bridge-of-the-nose pinch), and parse what makes memory-erasure plots so propulsive. If you’re into witch romance, small-town secrets, Mothman lore, and love languages that look like care, this one’s for you. Hit play and share with a fellow bookish biddie. And, if our "creature feature" picks made your TBR grow wings, leave us a quick review and tell us: team witch or team mothman?
Meghan's Cocktail & Book: Dirty Shirley + I'm in Love with Mothman by Paige Lavoie
Nicole's Cocktail & Book: I Put a Spell on You (Hocus Pocus Inspired Cocktail) with Bardstown Bourbon + In the Shadow Garden by Liz Parker
Other Episodes Mentioned: Season 2 Episode 18: Hot Swap
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Credits:
Theme Music Created by Adam Wroblewski
Main Art by PersonalisePortrait
