Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates

Brownies and Broomsticks (Magical Bakery Mystery, #1)

by Bailey Cates

Katie Lightfoot's tired of loafing around as the assistant manager of an Ohio bakery. So when her aunt Lucy and uncle Ben open a bakery in Savannah's quaint downtown district and ask Katie to join them, she enthusiastically agrees.

While working at the Honeybee Bakery—named after Lucy's cat—Katie notices that her aunt is adding mysterious herbs to her recipes. Turns out these herbal enhancements aren't just tasty—Aunt Lucy is a witch and her recipes are actually spells!

When a curmudgeonly customer is murdered outside the Honeybee Bakery, Uncle Ben becomes the prime suspect. With the help of handsome journalist Steve Dawes, charming firefighter Declan McCarthy, and a few spells, Katie and Aunt Lucy stir up some toil and trouble to clear Ben's name and find the real killer.

Reviewed by MurderByDeath on

4 of 5 stars

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I'm always a little apprehensive when I pick up a first book in a new series, not sure if the book will live up to expectations. But Brownies and Broomsticks was everything I'd hoped it would be: great characters, fantastic setting (I love Savannah), and the plot was solid and unpredictable. The main players in the book were all likeable and interesting, with lots of possibilities for future development. This is especially true about Katie - lots of hints about her abilities as a witch and I'm looking forward to seeing where it all goes. About the only thing I didn't like from the start; it looked like the author is going to try to create a love triangle - and I'm not a fan of that. Still, it became apparent that the two suitors were at least interesting. I just hope Ms. Cates doesn't string it along and make it painful.

I'm really really looking forward to future books in this series.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 12 May, 2012: Finished reading
  • 12 May, 2012: Reviewed