Season of Magic — Christine Pope

The consort ritual demands a spark. She found a flame.Rosa Sandoval is the prima-in-waiting of an old Arizona witch clan...and she's suffocating. Bound by a centuries-old ritual that forces her to kiss strangers until a consort spark ignites, Rosa flees to Jerome, desperate to claim one afternoon of real choice. The last thing she expected was to end up breaking into a stranger's pink house and falling asleep on his couch. Shane McAllister is a gruff chef who owns his craft and hides his magic in the rhythms of a busy kitchen. When he discovers Rosa — a duty-bound witch with a rare gift — he knows he should turn her in. Instead, he offers her safety and, eventually, a job. Their partnership becomes something messier and more real than either of them planned...mentorship at the stove, evenings of soulful conversation, and a slow, stubborn love neither saw coming.But the consort clock is ruthless, and a nameless darkness is testing the town's defenses. Rosa must decide whether to follow the path carved for her — or risk everything to choose Shane on her own terms. When one desperate kiss finally wakes magic neither of them expected, their love becomes the ultimate defiance: honor duty...or rewrite destiny.