October 10, 2023 by Feiwel and Friends
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Winifred Mosley lives in the small town of Honeycrisp Hill, Rhode Island, that is a sort of sanctuary for people with magical abilities. Her adoptive father and aunt run the Wayward Sentiments Cafe and Sweetery, a business her grandmother started but which has fallen on hard times. Winifred's mother, Coraline, put a curse on the town that resulted in many of the residents being unable to leave, which has not endeared her to most of the population. When Kaliope Clarke moves to town with her father Lachlan and grandfather Ian, they plan to reopen a local bookstore. The Clarkes specialize in word magic, and have lived in Boston up to this point, where they have had to hide their magic. Kal's mother was never around much. Since the Mosley's cafe is in dire financial straits, Winifred uses her magic to try a spell that will allow her to gather a much needed magical ingredient, but she suspects that something went wrong, and that the Enchantment Agency will eventually come after her. She and Kal end up in magical Saturday school together, they realize that Kal's magic doesn't seem to be limited to words, and she seems to be able to enchant food as well. She has another secret as well; one of the books from her father's shop has a character in it named Violet who has been speaking with her and guiding her study of magic. To make things even more complicated, Winifred and Kal are trying to get their fathers to date each other. With the magic in Honeycrisp Hill going awry, will the girls be able to harness their powers enough to keep everyone safe and acchieve their goals?
Strengths: It certainly would not be easy if your mother had cursed an entire town and then left, and dealing with the fall out of this makes for an interesting background story similar to Puckett's The Glass Witch. Honeycrisp Hill is an interesting town, and I'm apparently a sucker for small businesses; I found myself rooting for both the cafe and the book store, and wanted to know more about both. Of course, the curse, the voices speaking to the girls, and the fact that Winifred might have let an evil force loose of the town is more important, as is fixing up their fathers. This took a few unespected twists and turns, but was great fun. Even has some recipes that look intriguing. (Although I've vowed not to make any more chocolate chip cookies from middle grade books!)
Weaknesses: I found it hard to believe that Winifred found a vintage 1950s in a clearance bin of a thrift store. I admire her fashion sense, but seventy year old dresses rarely show up anywhere! Also, Kal's anxiety is mentioned in passing, but we never really see her dealing with the ramifications of it.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like their magic with a cup of cocoa and an enchanted pastry and who enjoyed Callaghan's Just Add Magic, Villanueva' Sugar and Spite, Meriano's A Dash of Trouble, or Littlewood's fantastic Bliss series.
Strengths: It certainly would not be easy if your mother had cursed an entire town and then left, and dealing with the fall out of this makes for an interesting background story similar to Puckett's The Glass Witch. Honeycrisp Hill is an interesting town, and I'm apparently a sucker for small businesses; I found myself rooting for both the cafe and the book store, and wanted to know more about both. Of course, the curse, the voices speaking to the girls, and the fact that Winifred might have let an evil force loose of the town is more important, as is fixing up their fathers. This took a few unespected twists and turns, but was great fun. Even has some recipes that look intriguing. (Although I've vowed not to make any more chocolate chip cookies from middle grade books!)
Weaknesses: I found it hard to believe that Winifred found a vintage 1950s in a clearance bin of a thrift store. I admire her fashion sense, but seventy year old dresses rarely show up anywhere! Also, Kal's anxiety is mentioned in passing, but we never really see her dealing with the ramifications of it.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like their magic with a cup of cocoa and an enchanted pastry and who enjoyed Callaghan's Just Add Magic, Villanueva' Sugar and Spite, Meriano's A Dash of Trouble, or Littlewood's fantastic Bliss series.
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