Book Review :: Bespoke and Bespelled by Karen Healey

Bespoke & Bespelled by Karen Healey
ISBN: 1961795167
Series: Movie Magic #1
Genres: Adult, Romance
Goodreads

Stitch-witch and costume designer Marnie Taylor knew she was taking a risk when she left her solid studio job in L.A and returned to New Zealand for a job on the film adaptation of her favourite fantasy book series.

But she didn’t expect supernatural sabotage on set – or her inconvenient but pressing attraction to the leading man.

A-lister Rider Adams was excited for something new – the lead in an adaptation of an iconic series. Instead, he’s trapped with a terrible script and a cursed production plagued by mysterious problems from flat tires to costumes that seem to almost magically resize overnight. And for some reason, he can’t stop making an idiot of himself in front of the gorgeous costume supervisor…

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Last updated on 25 February 2025

What is Bespoke and Bespelled by Karen Healey about?

Bespoke and Bespelled by Karen Healey is about a witchy costume designer. A broody leading man. A film set plagued by mysterious mishaps.

Marnie Taylor knew moving back to New Zealand for her dream job (designing costumes for the film adaptation of her all-time favourite fantasy series) was a gamble. But she wasn’t expecting full-blown supernatural sabotage.

Strange accidents, cursed props, and costumes that seem to alter themselves overnight? Definitely not in the job description. Neither was the infuriating (and annoyingly attractive) leading man who keeps throwing her off her game.

Rider Adams was ready for a challenge when he agreed to take up the lead role in a legendary book-to-film adaptation was supposed to be it. Instead, he’s stuck with a disastrous script, a production plagued by bad luck, and an undeniable pull toward the sharp-tongued costume designer who clearly wants nothing to do with him.

But as chaos on set escalates, Marnie and Rider will have to work together to unravel the mystery before this movie magic turns into a real-life curse.

My thoughts on Bespoke & Bespelled

I’m going to be honest and say I didn’t realise this was a magic book. As in, I needed a shortish audiobook to get me through the work day, and this came up on my Libby app as available and it looked, at a very brief glance, to be cute, and it was set in New Zealand in the film industry (which, while I don’t have personal experience with, have a few friends in so am decently familiar). What wasn’t to like?

And then Marnie started doing magic and I said ‘hold everything! What is happening’.

But once that initial shock wore off (rather quickly, tbh), I was back into the story like I had known about it all along. I just needed to readjust my expectations of what I thought was just a wee rom-com.

I actually really enjoyed this book even though I hadn’t heard about it before.

Marnie was a feisty character who was a joy to listen to (even if the Kiwi accent in the audiobook threw me a little at first! Even as a Kiwi myself, I’m not used to hearing our accents in books), and Rider as a leading man was equally as entertaining. There’s some great chemistry between the characters, and they do get themselves into some awkward situations.

The magical mystery was also threading its way through the story, though it wasn’t until maybe a third of the way through that we encountered that first magical element (unless I just completely missed it earlier – which is entirely possible!). When things start to go wrong around the film set, Marnie and another witch try to figure out who might be causing the kerfuffle. Such fun!

I also really enjoyed the costume design element of Bespoke & Bespelled. As a sewer myself, Marnie’s job as a consumer designer/creator/supervisor was right up my alley and it seems like it would be a really fun (if not stressful!) career to have.

The book, while short, clips along at a nice rate and I never found myself getting bored of the storyline (see? Books don’t need to be ginormous to be good!). If you’re looking for a quick cosy fantasy with fun characters in a New Zealand film industry setting, with a little magic and mystery thrown into the mix, give this one a go!

Have you read Bespoke & Bespelled by Karen Healey? What did you think?