A bit whimsical, a bit scattered
Book review: A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
Published: July 15, 2025 by Berkley
Buy this book at: Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Bookshop.org
Synopsis:
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.
Rating
Review:
Based on the cover, I expected a cute, witchy cozy book. It was definitely cute and whimsical. But light on the witchy, Unfortunately it was also so cozy that it put me to sleep. Literally. In the beginning chapters this book drew me in, The backstory and the journey of how Sera found herself at the inn and what the next steps in her journey might be.
I fell in love with the resurrected chicken. The storyline of “found family” with a band of sweet, eclectic characters was also a big selling point. There was a lot of humor in those early pages too. The entire inn was so fun that it made me a little bit sad that I can’t live there too.
Unfortunately, some of the messages just didn’t resonate with me. It was a bit too heavy handed with the “Live, Laugh, Love” and “You can be special in your own way!” messaging. It was cute at first, then it felt nagging when it was pushed in my face for the fiftieth time.
The romance between Sera and Luke was completely unnecessary. Compared to the very intentional, thoughtful character dynamics elsewhere in the book, this dynamic was rushed and sloppy. I found them to have no chemistry at all. And the long conversation about condoms completely killed the sex scene. Yes, open discussions of contraception are important but….did I mention this was really long? So, so long.
By the middle of the book I started to lose interest. I didn’t really care about Sera’s quest to get her magic back. The author had already established that she had such an amazing life without her magic that I struggled to remember why Sera cared about getting it back. I have seen that a lot of other reviewers didn’t like the ending of the book, unfortunately I can’t offer any insight on that. I fell asleep for the last few hours of the audiobook and had no desire to go back to hear what I missed. The repetitive messaging and seemingly pointless quest for magic was just too much for me.
My final thought on this book is that it was alright. Some parts of it were wonderful and funny. Other parts were boring. Still other parts felt like the book was talking to me like I’m a toddler. Cute, but not the right book for me.