Years ago, after resurrecting her Great Aunt Jasmine from the recent dead, Sera Swan lost the majority of her magic and was exiled from the magical Guild. Now, Sera and Jasmine run an enchanted inn that is occupied by misfit guests, a half-resurrected skeletal rooster named Roo-Roo, and a talking fox named Clemmie (who is actually a cursed witch that is stuck in a fox’s body). Sera’s life is interrupted by the arrival of Luke Larson, a magical historian who is struggling to care for Posy (his younger sister who is autistic), and the discovery of a spell that can supposedly help Sera restore her magical powers. Sera and Luke will have to work together to gather the unusual ingredients for the restoration spell while avoiding the wrath of Albert Grey, the most powerful member of the Guild and Sera’s former mentor.
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping is a cosy fantasy romance that deals with themes and topics like life and death, physical disabilities and ASD, power and corruption, found family, estrangement, loneliness and isolation, mental health, love and loss, and appearance versus reality. The vibe of this book reminded me of Witcha Gonna Do? by Avery Flynn and My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine, and the found family of misfits in this book reminded me of The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. This book also had a ton of delightful references to The Wizard of Oz and Wicked, and Clemmie the fox was reminiscent of Salem in Sabrina the Teenage Witch. So, if you’re a fan of any of these books and films, then I highly recommend picking up A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping.
The book started out a little slow, but once Sera and Luke began their high-stakes quest to gather the ingredients for the restoration spell, it became much more fast-paced, which I appreciated. The cast of characters in A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping were very entertaining, especially Nicholas, a knight at the medieval fair that is always in costume and constantly offers to defend Sera’s honour. My favourite characters in Mandanna’s The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches were the three young witches (Rosetta, Terracotta, and Altamira) so I was very glad that Mandanna decided to include prominent characters who are children (Luke’s sister Posy and Sera’s cousin Theo) again in A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping. I especially appreciated that Posy was a young witch on the autism spectrum as that’s not something I’ve seen before in a fantasy book.
I know that sometimes things happen that are beyond our control, but I have to say that I was quite disappointed that the pub date for this book was delayed multiple times and as a result, my excitement for this book dimmed. I read this book in the summer during a heatwave, but it would have been great to read it during the fall months with a warm cup of tea as it would have better matched the mood of the book. Even though I liked A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping, the plot and characters in Mandanna’s The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches were more enjoyable.
Overall, this cosy witchy romantasy is a great read and would highly recommend adding it to your fall TBR list!
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
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 her aunt 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 might just 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.
