Verdict: A sweet-and-spicy sapphic paranormal romance novella with cozy roommate charm and real emotional stakes.
Best for: Readers who want grumpy/sunshine, roommates-to-lovers, body positivity, and open-door heat in a quick urban-fantasy package.
Heat level: ★★★★☆ (4/5 — open-door and spicy)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.8–4.2/5 average across platforms)
Tropes: Roommates/flatmates-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, found family, forced proximity, HEA.
If you like your witches broke, bickering, and slowly falling for the person on the other side of the apartment, Two Broke Witches by Kate Starling is a fast, warm, and surprisingly tender read. Set in a modern New York where paranormal beings live openly alongside humans, it pairs a prickly death witch with a sunny green witch and lets the sparks fly.
What Is Two Broke Witches About?
Two Broke Witches follows Delilah Cruz, a self-loathing death witch who refuses to use her magick, and Iris Williams, a nature-bound green witch who doesn’t want to leave the big city she loves. Money is tight, rent is due, and the two very different women end up sharing a cramped apartment out of sheer necessity.
What starts as an uneasy, grumpy-meets-sunshine roommate arrangement gradually thaws into something warmer. As they navigate paranormal New York, financial stress, and their own insecurities, Delilah and Iris discover that the magick they’ve been avoiding — and the feelings they’ve been resisting — might be exactly what they need.
What Makes This Sapphic Paranormal Romance Work
For a short novella, Starling packs in the tropes readers reach for while keeping the emotional core genuine:
- Grumpy/sunshine done right: Delilah’s prickliness and Iris’s warmth play off each other in a way that feels earned rather than forced.
- Roommates-to-lovers proximity: The forced-proximity setup gives the slow burn a cozy, contained stage.
- Body positivity: The book centers self-acceptance and desire without shame, which readers consistently praise.
- Lived-in urban fantasy: A modern NYC where paranormals and humans coexist gives the romance texture without heavy worldbuilding.
- Quick, satisfying payoff: A guaranteed HEA and an easy-to-devour length make it a perfect palate-cleanser read.
Book Synopsis
Delilah Cruz has spent her life running from her power. As a death witch, she’s terrified of what she can do, so she buries it — along with most of her feelings. Between dead-end jobs and mounting bills, she can barely keep the lights on, let alone confront her magick.
Enter Iris Williams, a green witch bursting with warmth and plant magic, equally broke and equally stubborn about staying in the city. Sharing an apartment forces the two into constant contact, and what begins as friction slowly blooms into attraction, trust, and a love neither of them expected to find.
My Review
Two Broke Witches is exactly what it promises: a short, sweet, spicy novella that knows its lane and stays in it. I flew through it in a single sitting, and the grumpy/sunshine dynamic between Delilah and Iris is the clear highlight — their bickering is fun, and the moments where the walls come down land with real tenderness.
The paranormal-NYC setting is more flavor than fully realized world, which fits the length. If you come in wanting deep magic-system lore, you’ll be underserved; if you come in wanting a cozy, low-stakes romance with heat, it delivers. The body-positive framing and the emphasis on self-acceptance give it a warmth that lingers past the last page.
It’s a novella, so some readers wish for more page time — the pacing moves fast and a couple of beats could breathe more. But for what it is, it’s charming, affirming, and genuinely steamy when it counts.
My honest note: This is a comfort read with teeth of spice. Go in for the vibes, the banter, and the HEA, not for sprawling worldbuilding, and you’ll have a lovely time.
| Element | In Two Broke Witches |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Delilah (death witch) & Iris (green witch) |
| Core tropes | Roommates-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract |
| Setting | Modern New York where paranormals live among humans |
| Heat level | 4/5 — open-door, spicy |
| Series | Witchmates #1 |
| Content notes | Self-loathing, financial stress, on-page intimacy |
How Spicy Is Two Broke Witches?
This one earns its “sweet & spicy” tagline. The heat is open-door, with on-page intimate scenes that arrive once the emotional connection is established. I’d put it around a 4/5 — noticeably steamier than a gentle closed-door cozy.
The spice is balanced by genuine tenderness and a body-positive lens, so the intimacy feels affirming rather than gratuitous. If open-door content isn’t for you, this may run warmer than you’d like.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a quick grumpy/sunshine sapphic romance, enjoy roommates-to-lovers and forced proximity, appreciate body-positive spice, and love a guaranteed HEA in a bite-sized package.
You may want to skip it if: you prefer long, intricately plotted fantasy with deep worldbuilding, dislike open-door heat, or find novella pacing too fast for your taste.
In short: a cozy-with-heat palate cleanser that’s perfect between heavier reads.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Two Broke Witches a standalone?
It’s the first book in the Witchmates series but delivers a complete romance with an HEA, so it reads well on its own.
How spicy is it?
Fairly spicy — open-door intimate scenes, roughly a 4/5 on the heat scale.
Is there a happy ending?
Yes. It’s a romance with a guaranteed happily-ever-after.
How long is the book?
It’s a novella — a quick, easy read you can finish in a sitting or two.
Do I need to know the magic system?
No. The urban-fantasy setting is light-touch; the focus is squarely on the romance.
If You Loved Two Broke Witches, Read These Next
Craving more cozy, witchy sapphic romance? Browse our full Sapphic Cozy Fantasy Romance collection for more grumpy/sunshine pairings, found-family magic, and comfort reads with heart.
If you love the roommates-to-lovers heat and body-positive warmth here, look for more contemporary-set paranormal romances that pair opposites-attract dynamics with a guaranteed HEA.
The Bottom Line
Two Broke Witches is a warm, funny, spicy novella that nails its grumpy/sunshine roommate premise and delivers real emotional payoff in a small package. It won’t satisfy readers hungry for epic worldbuilding, but as a cozy sapphic comfort read with genuine heat, it’s a delight. Check Two Broke Witches on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Two Broke Witches lands as a strong, feel-good novella — a confident, affirming romance that overachieves for its length while staying modest in scope.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Charming grumpy/sunshine chemistry
- ✓ Quick, satisfying read
- ✓ Body-positive and affirming
- ✓ Guaranteed HEA
Romance ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Believable slow thaw
- ✓ Strong opposites-attract pull
- ✓ Tender emotional beats
- ✓ Earned connection
Characters ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Delilah’s guarded depth
- ✓ Iris’s infectious warmth
- ✓ Real insecurities
- ✓ Growth through the story
Writing ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ Easy, breezy prose
- ✓ Fun banter
- ✓ Fast pacing
- ✓ Clean, readable style
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Self-acceptance arc
- ✓ Comfort-read warmth
- ✓ Affirming themes
- ✓ Satisfying payoff
Heat Level ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Open-door spice
- ✓ Body-positive intimacy
- ✓ Well-timed scenes
- ✓ Chemistry-driven
Ending ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Guaranteed HEA
- ✓ Emotionally satisfying
- ✓ Ties up the romance
- ✓ Series potential
Re-read Value ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Perfect palate cleanser
- ✓ Quick comfort revisit
- ✓ Feel-good vibes
- ✓ Low time investment
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