Sugar Spells by Lola Dodge – Review

Summary:

For fans of Hex Hall, The Magicians, Practical Magic, and Food Wars!

After her run-in with a jealous warlock, apprentice baker Anise Wise can’t wait to get back the kitchen where she belongs. But thanks to her brush with death, the land of the living isn’t all cupcakes and marshmallows.

Anise’s magical mojo is way out of whack and her evolving powers are stirring up trouble. As the town buzzes with news that Anise can bake deathly spells, unsavory characters start lining up for a taste. They’ll stop at nothing for the chance to use Anise and her witchcraft to further their own plots.

She plans to hole up researching magic recipes until the attention dies down, but then she discovers the horrifying terms of her bodyguard’s contract. Wynn has saved her life so many times, she can’t leave him trapped. But doing the right thing will mean risking death or worse—being cast out of her dream job.

For this witch, justice might not be as sweet as advertised.

Review: 4 1/2 Stars

This book might have been better than the first book in the series. It had the same amazing characters in the amazing world that was built with a whole new plot. Anise’s baking magic wound up entangled with death magic from her near death experience in the previous book. She still makes baked goods, but now with death enchantments. Mannikans also come into play, they are non-human supernaturals, like vampires and werewolves.

I loved the character growth in this novel. We got to know Wynn bettere and also got to see what Gabi’s magic was like. Anise also continued to grow as a witch. I love these characters and I will follow them through the rest of this series because they are so much fun to read about,

What I think made this novel better than the first is the plot. Don’t get me wrong, the first book is amazing, but this one was even better. I was a little scared, because typically sequels suffer from second-book-syndrome, but that wasn’t the case here at all. While in the first book I felt that the climax was diminished by prior big events in the book, in this book the climax was executed perfectly. I also loved the addition of vampires to the world.

I am so glad to have discovered this series. I absolutely love these characters and am so glad to have gotten to read about them in two novels and will continue to follow them through the rest of the series. This world is so unique and the plot was amazing. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and hopefully read other books by Lola Dodge.