Book Review: Brownies & Broomsticks

Author: Bailey Cates
Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Signet
Series: A Magical Bakery Mystery #1

EASY BAKE COVEN

Katie Lightfoot's tired of loafing around as the assistant manager of an Ohio bakery. So when her Aunt Lucy and Uncle Ben open a bakery in Savannah's quaint downtown district and ask Katie to join them, she enthusiastically agrees.

While working at the Honeybee Bakery—named after Lucy's cat—Katie notices that her aunt is adding mysterious herbs to her recipes. Turns out these herbal enhancements aren't just tasty—Aunt Lucy is a witch and her recipes are actually spells!

When a curmudgeonly customer is murdered outside the Honeybee Bakery, Uncle Ben becomes the prime suspect. With the help of handsome journalist Steve Dawes, charming firefighter Declan McCarthy, and a few spells, Katie and Aunt Lucy stir up some toil and trouble to clear Ben's name and find the real killer..

 

 

I love cozy mystery novels. There is just something about them that puts me in the mood to cuddle up with a cup of coffee and get snuggled under a warm blanket. The characters are usually so light and curious that they always make for an enjoyable read. The cover of this book is so cozy and I love the title. How cute! I knew that I would love this story because I do love to read about witches coming into their powers or discovering that they are in fact witches.

 

 

 

As a Southern Belle myself, it was a pleasure to pick up this book and follow Katie Lightfoot as she travels from Ohio to a quaint little community in Savannah, Georgia. She is moving to help her Aunt and Uncle open up a bakery called the Honeybee Bakery. What made this book the most enjoyable for me is that Katie was unaware that she was a witch before coming to stay with her Aunt and Uncle. Watching Katie open up to the craft and fully accept it was awesome. As the reader I was starting to get hints early on that her Aunt was a witch before her Aunt had let her on to her that she was. Her Aunt was such a quirky and fun character and she was always up to some mischief!

 

I loved the little coven of witches that Katie’s Aunt introduces her to! They claim that they are a book club, how hilarious! And in reality they all get together and practice witchcraft. I was impressed that this was a first in a series and I was really pleased at how much I found myself snickering and smiling as I read. The little old women who made up this “club” constantly kept Katie on her toes. They all wanted a part in teaching her to embrace her new witchy skills. I would love to be surrounded by a group of women like these. It was so nice to be right alongside Katie as she learned how to be a witch and it felt like I was learning with her! Her familiar (animal who helps to guide the witch) is so sweet and cute too! We all know how much I love animals!

 

I am looking so forward to reading more about this magical bakery! Not to mention the potential love triangle that loomed in the air. I cannot wait until the next installment is released and I highly suggest that if my readers have some downtime or a few hours to spare that they pick up a copy of this book and immerse themselves in a mystery that I did not solve until the murderer was revealed!

 

***Thank you to the publishers and Bailey Cates for providing me with a copy of this book in return for my unbiased review***