A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping

Why did I wait so long to finally turn to this humorous, witchy and yet cosy read? It has everything a witchy romcom needs: a spell gone wrong, a talking animal companion, the funny (side-)characters, a magical inn with sidequests and the big evil that needs to just go away! Honestly had so much fun reading this, the story has the perfect pacing, feels like a 90s tv show in the best way possible. And the ending? Felt perfect. An amazing fantasy standalone!

I loved the concept and the start. I also liked the romance but I found Matilda extremely annoying and the story was a bit too convinient even though this was supposed to be a cozy read. The ending fell flat to me.

"100% delightful" steht am Cover und das ist es wirklich! Unglaublich witzig, unglaublich herzerwärmend und cosy, unglaublich liebenswerte Charaktere. Ja, es ist kitschig und bedient einige Klischees, aber why not? Mir gefallen auch die woken Elemente, die unaufdringlich ihren Platz gefunden haben. Mein absolutes Fantasy-Highlight in diesem Jahr!

Ich war bereits von dem Buch „The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches“ restlos begeistert und das neue Werk „A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping“ von Autorin Sangu Mandanna, auf 352 Seiten im Verlag Hodder & Stoughton erschienen, konnte da nahtlos anschließen! Die Bücher können völlig unabhängig voneinander gelesen werden, spielen aber im selben Kosmos. Zu Beginn der Lektüre war ich fast schon ein wenig überrumpelt, weil man quasi direkt mitten im Geschehen startet, an einem wahren Wendepunkt der Protagonistin Sera Swan. Sie mag insgesamt die Hauptfigur des Buches sein, die Geschichte lebt aber tatsächlich wieder vom Zusammenspiel einer ganzen Reihe bunter Charaktere, die gemeinsam in der magischen Pension leben. Jeder ist etwas ganz Besonderes und macht im Verlauf der Geschichte seine ganz eigene emotionale Entwicklung durch. Mir sind sie alle so sehr ans Herz gewachsen, dass ich beim Lesen sogar die eine oder andere Träne vergossen habe. Am Anfang dachte ich noch, dass das Buch insgesamt nicht mit der ersten Geschichte aus dieser Welt mithalten können wird, aber ich habe mich geirrt. Es war wieder eine Geschichte über Liebe in allen Facetten und Formen, über die Kraft von Zusammenhalt und Freundschaft, über emotionale Entwicklungen und darüber, dass Familie nicht immer etwas mit Blut zu tun haben muss. Die Lektüre war herzerwärmend, magisch, mitreißend und einfach nur zauberhaft - trotz aller emotionaler Höhen und Tiefen ein absolutes Herzensbuch, das weitaus mehr als „nur“ fünf Sterne verdient hat!

First of all, I would like to say thank you for the review copy, which was provided to me by the publisher. This fact does not in any way affect my personal opinion of this book. This post contains advertising and the rights for the book belong to the publisher. Of course, this is only my personal opinion of the book, and just because I give this rating to the book doesn’t mean, that everyone will have that opinion. If you are in need of a witchy cozy romantic fantasy, then let me introduce you to Sangu Mandanna! I read (and loved) “The very secret society of irregular witches,” so obviously I was excited about her latest book. To be honest, I don’t consider myself a cozy fantasy reader. Maybe it’s because I did not like the hyped up “Legends and Lattes” this much, but Mandanna’s two witchy books are the perfect blend for me personally. The writing style is really easy to follow, and even tho there is a time jump at the beginning, I had no problems getting into the story. The FMC is a gem. I liked her so much. She is a bit grumpy, but her heart is in the right place, and she cares deeply for the people around her (mayyyybe even a bit too much). Speaking of other people: The side characters are so fun. Everyone had their little backstory, and I would love to read more about them in a novella one day. Because it’s a romantic fantasy, we should also talk about the romance. I enjoyed it! Our MMC is also a grump, and the pairing grumpyXgrumpy was something new for me. I also loved his little sister!!! Sadly, I have to take 0,5 stars off my initial 5-star rating that I made up in my mind while reading. There is one side character that I do not like at all, and sadly, she played a big role in the book. @clemmie: when I catch you, it’s on sight, my dear! Also, the ending did not totally sit right with me. I won’t say anything more because I do not want to spoil something here, but it’s a common trope that I hate in fantasy novels! Conclusion If the author writes another cozy fantasy romance, I will read it!