Sugar Spells is the second in this young adult series featuring Anise Wise, a young witch, who bakes her magic. Anise previously moved to live with her aunt, to help her learn how to control her magic and fulfill her dream of working within a magical bakery. In the first book she had a run in with a warlock. In this second installment, Anise’s magic has been tainted with death magic, the last thing you’d want in your cookies. Anise is banned from baking until she decides to bake her magic out in the form of deadly macaroons. Mix in some chemistry developing between her and her shield, Wynn. She finds she can use the death magic baked goodies to sell to make money to help Wynn out of his contract. Yet nothing is as easy as it seems.
Anise is still a disaster magnet but she is starting to hold her ground now and less the helpless damsel she has started to make her own decisions and fight her own battles. I’m surprised she doesn’t have diabetes the amount of sweet food she consumes! It was good to learn some more of Wynn’s backstory. I liked the idea that the undead would enjoy death magic baked goods that would kill other people. Anise meets her familiar, who just sounds adorable and sassy…it’ll be interesting to see how this character deals with Agatha’s temperamental familiar. It is a well written young adult book that would appeal to 12 years old plus, nothing too explicit but with teen appeal. The series is developing nicely and I genuinely would to see how Anise develops as a character. 3.5/5.
