Dark, Witch & Creamy (Bewitched by Chocolate #1)
by H.Y. Hanna
Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Blurb:
A witch, a kitty and dark chocolate magic…Caitlyn is used to being the ugly duckling in her glamorous showbiz family… until the day she learns that she was adopted as an abandoned baby. Now, her search for answers takes her to the tiny English village of Tillyhenge where a man has been murdered by witchcraft – and where a mysterious shop selling enchanted chocolates is home to the “local witch”…
Soon Caitlyn finds herself fending off a toothless old vampire, rescuing an adorable kitten and meeting handsome aristocrat Lord James Fitzroy… not to mention discovering that she herself might have magical blood in her veins!
When she’s dragged into the murder investigation and realises that dark magic is involved, Caitlyn is forced to choose. Can she embrace her witchy powers in time to solve the mystery and save those she loves?
WARNING: May contain traces of “Hahaha!”
This book follows British English spelling and usage.
Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language.
Genre: humorous paranormal cozy mysteries / cat cozy mystery series / women amateur sleuth / British cozy mystery
My Review:
This book was a great read! I love HY Hanna her Oxford Tearoom series and it’s easily one of my favorite cozy mystery series, so when I heard she was starting a new series I was really excited. I haven’t read a lot of cozies with a paranormal touch so far, but I really liked how that aspect was handled here. Dark, Witch & Creamy is a solid start to a new series. We get to meet some fun characters, visit this nice small english town, there’s a mystery to solve and chocolate! It’s just as good as her other series and I see this one quickly joining the list of my favorite cozies series. I couldn’t get enough of this book and had this urge to keep reading.
This book really reads like a first book in a series, we get introduced to the characters, get a feel for the town and the people who live there and there’s a lot of focus on Caitlyn finding her way there and meeting people. t’s very introductory in a sense, but I did enjoy that part. And even with all that going on, it still has a solid mystery going on as well. I didn’t figure out the murderer until Caitlyn did, although I did cross off some people I was pretty sure wouldn’t be the murderer and did got those correct, lol. The mystery was a fun one and I liked the touch of magic interwoven in everything. There were some great red herrings and I kept wondering if this was a red herring or a real hint, it’s almost easy to miss the real hints with everything going on.
I would classify this book as a paranormal cozy mystery as the magic and paranormal aspect is a big and important part of the plot. It doesn’t overtake the plot, but it is an important part of it and is nicely interwoven into the story. I am impressed with how HY Hanna handled the magic aspect. While I like reading paranormal books, witches aren’t my favorite and I wasn’t sure how well paranormal and cozy mystery would go together. But I really liked how the author wrote the paranormal aspect and the magic. I like how Caityn slowly got to believe in magic, instead of all at once. I found her response very believable and realistic. And while I wasn’t sure if I would like the paranormal aspect added to a cozy mystery I found that in this book the magic really added to the story.
I quickly warmed up to Caitlyn the main character, she’s fun to read about. She is curious about her past and goes to investigate. I liked how she was proactive and curious, but also friendly and open minded. She was fun to read about and I can’t wait to read more of her adventures and figure out who her real family is. And besides Caitlyn we meet a great cast of side characters as well, like Widow Mags, the Kitten, James, his dog, Victor and more. And there even is a small cameo appearance of the Old Biddies from the Oxford Tearoom series at the start, which was a nice touch.
Lastly I want to mention the setting and the chocolate. Like the Oxford Tearoom mystery series this one is set in a small english village as well, but while at first I feared they might be too similar, but that wasn’t the case at all. I quickly formed a vivid image of this small town and it has a completely different feel than the village in her other series. I also liked the touches of magic that were interwoven into the history of the town. Then there is the focus topic of this series namely the chocolate. Gah this book made me crave chocolate. There are description of the most delicious chocolate and I enjoyed reading about the chocolate store.
To summarize: this was a great and solid start of a new series and I already am looking forward to more books in this series! Dark, Witch and Creamy is a paranormal cozy mystery book and it’s so much fun to read! I liked meeting Caitlyn and all the side characters. The mystery kept me guessing and I only figured it out when Caitlyn did. The paranormal aspect was very well written, it was an important part of the plot and nicely interwoven into the story. It was a great addition! The setting was well done and I was able to visualize the town very well. I also loved reading about the chocolate shop and all the delicious chocolates. This book sure made me crave chocolates! I can’t wait to read more in this series!
You can also read my review on Goodreads and Amazon.
The title and cover showcasing chocolate has me craving it. I like what you say about the set up for this one with her discovering her real heritage at the same time helping to solve a mystery. The small village setting will make for some other fun books in the series I’m sure.
I listened to my first paranormal cozy mystery just last week and loved it. Deader Homes and Gardens by Angie Fox. The focus was ghost hunting and a really spooky haunted house. I’ll be going back for the rest of the series.
Sophia Rose recently posted…Inconceivable by Tegan Wren #TGPUL #Giveaway
I really liked how it wasn’t only about the mystery, but also about her discovering her heritage and magic. I already have read the second book in this series as well and it’s a great one so far.
That sounds like a good read! Mystery and paranormal does seem like a good combination.
I always love stories with witches in them, I have tons in my TBR but unfortunately I haven’t read one of them. Hopefully this month or hopefully this week I’ll finally read one. And speaking of witches, H.Y. Hanna has been in my to-follow authors, and this one really sounds like a great one. Another series to be added in my list once again haha.
And isn’t those cover just yummy?
Awesome review Lola 🙂
Vanessa @ Blushing Geek recently posted…Book Review – Random Acts of Hope by Julia Kent
I actually don’t read as often about witches, they aren’t my favorite paranormal to read about. But this series has been awesome so far. If you’re looking for a god cozy mystery series I would definitely recommend this author! And yes the covers are great for this series!
I don’t THINK I’ve read a paranormal cozy mystery, but it sounds like a nice added touch. I’m glad you enjoyed this foray into a new series!
-Lauren
Let’s Get Beyond Tolerance recently posted…As I Am by A.M. Arthur
The combination of genres really worked for this book 🙂
I really like first books in a series precisely because you learn so much, especially about the world. Kuddos to the H.Y Hanna for achieving that balance of doing all introduction that and still keep the mystery going on. I like that has paranormal elements! They are a nice spice to any story for me 🙂 OMG THAT COVER!!! I want to go get chocolate right now!
Dragonfly @ Our Familiarium recently posted…Book Review: And I Darken – 5-star adoption story
It is nice that book where you first get to know the setting and the characters and while it can feel introductory, that is also one of the things that I do like about them. I was really impressed how the author handled the multiple plot lines and a good mystery.
I can’t say I’ve read a cozy mystery recently if at all in the recent past. I do like bakery and chocolate shops to be added to romance reads that I’m reading so this sounds fun.
Mary Kirkland recently posted…Happy Raturday!
Yes shops are always fun to read about, no matter the genre. It was neat this one featured a chocolate shop.
Oh I’ve seen this author around, really been wanting to give it a shot. I love when there is magic and witches, or paranormal in mysteries. It can make it so exciting.
Lily B recently posted…Happy Valentines Day, Love is in the Air
This is one of the first paranormal mysteries I read, but it worked really well. I would definitely recommend this author, her books are so good!
It sounds great fun, but as chocolate gives me migraines, I’ll be avoiding it. No point in pointlessly taunting myself:). Thank you for sharing, however.
sjhigbee recently posted…While the Morning Stars Sing
I am sorry to hear chocolate gives you migraines, that would be difficult 🙁
I’m really going to have to give cozies a try, Lola, and I love the title of this one! 😉 I’m happy that despite it being an introductory novel in the series it still was well done, with interesting characters and a quaint setting, as well as the paranormal element added into the mystery. Maybe I’ll give this one a try! 🙂
Bookworm Brandee recently posted…Review ~ Kaleidoscope ~ Kristen Ashley
I really hope you give this genre a try! I really love cozies, they are a lot of fun and the blend of paranormal and mystery in this one worked out great. And the setting is so pretty too. HY Hanna is one of my favorite authors when it comes to cozy mystery and this series would be a great start for those new to the genre I think 🙂
Lola recently posted…Sunday Post #218
I love the title!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Braine recently posted…Loved It: A Study in Scarlet by Sherry Thomas
The titles and covers for this series are great so far!
Since you like both urban fantasy and cozies, this seems like the perfect combo for you! I’m glad the paranormal aspect was blended well with the mystery and that you enjoyed the book. Sounds like it will end up being another great series if you like it already.
And lol about the chocolate. I’m not that big of a chocolate person, especially not milk chocolate (which seems to be the most popular) so the dark chocolate covered bananas I buy at the store satisfy any sort of chocolate craving I might ever have. I did read a book once though that had lots of gingerbread in it, and it seriously made me crave gingerbread cookies!
Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Book Review: The Key to Erebus (Les Corbeaux: The French Vampire Legend Book 1) by Emma V. Leech & Roisin O’Connor
I just read book 2 this week and it was just as good. Now I am eagerly waiting for book 3 to release. The blend of paranormal and cozy mystery was done very well. This is actually one of the first paranormal cozy mysteries I read as I haven’t seen a lot that appealed to me so far.
Milk chocolate is my favorite as dark chocolate often tastes too strongly for me. They had all kinds of chocolates in this book, white, milk and dark chocolate. I had just made some coconut balls covered with chocolate this week, so that was nice timing while reading book 2. I often use two bars or milk and 1 bar of dark chocolate when I melt it as then it has the right level or darkness for me.
It is nice when books feature food and it can really make me crave that if I like the food in question.
HY Hanna is such a great author and person. I have her first cozy in audiobook and I can’t wait to listen to it. I’ve not read any of the paranormal cozies yet, and I’m glad to hear you liked this one!
S. J. Pajonas recently posted…Sunday Update – February 12, 2017
I hope you enjoy her books! I listened to a sample of her audiobook of book one and it sounded fun! HY Hanna is one of my favorite cozy mystery authors, she writes them so well! And yes she’s a great person as well!
I think this series is only the second paranormal cozy mystery i tried and so far I like them. This series has the right balance between the mystery and the paranormal part.