Happy Publication Day to this quintessential British cosy fantasy!

• Author: Sangu Mandanna
• Series: Standalone
• Genre: Cosy Fantasy
• Star Rating: 4 stars

Plot: Sera Swan was once 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 magical Guild. Now she ( slightly reluctantly and a bit grumpily) helps Aunt Jasmine run an inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guest’s shenanigans, tries to keep the talking fox in check, and longs for the magical future she lost. When she learns about an old spell book that could hold the secret to restoring her power, she finds herself turning to Luke Larsen, a gorgeous and icy historian who might be the only person who can help her unlock the book’s mysteries. The fact that he also happens to be her one-night stand from years ago is totally irrelevant. Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and trying not to fall in love is a lot for anyone, but Sera 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.

Ok so this review is hard to write as this book left me with a lot of thoughts. First I really enjoyed the story overall. The found family dynamics, the whimsical inn and the magical writing style and Sera’s journey of trying to get her magic back were so much fun. I loved all the side characters and I loved how funny and witty the writing was. It was the perfect read for my sunny holiday! I loved the discussions on autism, blood family vs found family, racism in institutions going back centuries. All of these were really interesting topics.

My personal gripes come down to the fact that this book should have been longer. While I loved the side characters, and their individual stories, I felt there were not enough pages for the author to truly give them the plot focus they deserved. We got little snippets of Nicholas’ backstory, Matilda’s etc. but it all started to feel abit all over the place I felt that Mandanna was trying to fit a storyline for each character in a small amount of pages. While I really enjoyed the characters we got and I wanted more from them but the page count meant that the interactions didn’t go deep enough and made the characters feel slightly underdeveloped. Which is shame because the strongest element of the novel is the found family dynamics. Great as a group. Wish we had more time with them all as individuals.

Now I was under the impression as first that this was a romance focused fantasy book. But it’s more of a story about one woman’s journey to self love and self discovery which I LOVED! That being said I was expecting more from the romance. I love a good slow burn but I also felt that the romance wasn’t given enough time to be fleshed out. One minute they are just friends and then the next minute they are something more and I kind of felt I missed the build up. Again I loved the characters and I just feel that everything needed more time to develop of page count to develop.

I really enjoyed Sera’s personal journey. It was super engaging. She is a great, multi-layered character and I found her to be warm and witty. Her kindness shines through and ultimately she is the champion of this story and the reason I still gave this book a high rating. I LOVED her personal storyline with her magic, her fight for identity within a very white institution. I got very emotional in the last 50 pages of the book. That is one main character that deserves a break! She was a shining beacon in this novel!