A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping
written by Sangu Mandanna
narrated by Samara MacLaren
My Rating: 5 stars
Genre: Cozy Fantasy Romance
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f
Blurb:
A whimsical and heartwarming novel about a witch who has a second chance to get her magical powers—and her life—back on track, from the national bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild. Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps Jasmine run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests’ shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her. But then she finds out about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power…
Enter Luke Larsen, handsome and icy magical historian, who arrives on a dark winter evening and just might know how to unlock the spell’s secrets. Luke has absolutely no interest in getting involved in the madcap goings-on of the inn and is definitely not about to let a certain bewitching innkeeper past his walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he agrees to help Sera with her spell. Worse, he might actually be thawing.
Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera Swan is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone…and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.
My Review
I really enjoyed The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna that I listened to last year and I decided to get this one in audio as well when I saw it had the same narrator. I was a bit worried I might not enjoy this one as much as Irregular Witches, but I ended up loving this book just as much. I loved the cozy fantasy vibes, the found family theme, the inn, the romance and the likable interesting characters. It also has some great autistic representation and I found myself able to relate to both autistic characters.
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping follows the story of Sera who was once one of the most powerful witches in Britain until she cast a resurrection spell to bring her beloved aunt back to life, since then she lost almost all of her magic. She’s been cast out of the guild and now spends her days tending to a magical inn.
While this plot is magical in origin I could easily see the parallels with how burnout, injury and illness can change your life and your capabilities. Having been through burnout myself and often struggling with my energy levels due to being neurodivergent I could relate to Sera’s struggles with how to deal with not having what she once had. In fact I had expected the book to deal with this even more, with how Sera had to deal with her life being so differently and having to accept her new reality, instead the focus is on a spell she heard of that might be able to bring her magic back and the search for the spell and then the ingredients to cast it. I did actually quite like this plot and the way the ingredients for the spell worked. I also thought the way the plot got resolved and the evil guy dealt with was well done and I thought the ending was quite impactful with how Sera deal with it all. I just wish there was more toward the end to see the aftermath of it all.
This book had so many things I enjoy like the cozy fantasy vibes as well and the strong found family theme. There are also messages of being different and accepting people who are different. I liked reading about the magical inn and the colorful group of character who make their home at the inn. I liked learning more about the characters and how the inn is for eahc of them a place they can be really themselves.
And while I could relate to Sera, I think I related even more to Luke. Luke and his autistic sister Posy come to visit the inn at the start of the book and I loved seeing how the inn was a place for Posy to be herself and really flourish. I liked the way her being autistic was depicted. And even more so I liked the similarities and differences between her and Luke. While it is never outright stated I am pretty sure Luke is autistic too, but were Posy is fully unmasked, Luke learned to mask at a young age. He learned he had to hide who is as people won’t accept him if he doesn’t and that resonated so much with me. I really felt for him and seeing him eventually realize he has found his home and he can relax and be himself was just wonderful. And seeing Posy not have to hide or learn how to mask as Luke was there for her and brought her to a safe place was just so heartwarming and touching to read about.
I liked the romance between Luke and Sera, seeing them slowly grow closer. And the scenes with them just spending time together in the same place each doing their own thing were wonderful to see. I liked seeing them grow closer. I thought the conflict was realistic and Sera’s words reflected what I felt about Luke having one foot out of the door and I liked how they resolved it. I thought they were great together and I enjoyed reading about them.
I really liked the narrator for this book as I knew I would as I already listened to her narrating Irregular Witches. I like the calm voice of the narrator and the way she does all the different voices. the narration really helped bring the book to life for me.
To summarize: I really loved this book. It has so many things I love in a book like the cozy fantasy vibes, the found family theme and interesting and likable characters. I loved the themes of acceptance, being yourself and finding home. The autistic representation in both Luke and Posy was so well done and I could relate to Luke. I also thought Sera’s struggles with her lack of magic felt relatable despite her problem being magical in original, it is easy to see the parallels with how burnout, injury or illness can change your life. I really liked reading about all these characters and the way they found their home in this magical inn. I also liked reading about the magical inn. And the plot with the spell Sera wanted to cast and find the ingredients for was interesting. I liked seeing how it all played out and while I was less invested in the plot line with the evil guy I liked how it all got resolved. I liked the romance between Sera and Luke and seeing them grow closer. The conflict felt realistic too and I liked how that got resolved. This book just was such a cozy and comforting read and I really enjoyed listening to it. The narrator was great and really helped bring the book to life for me with the way she did all the different voices.
Leave a Reply