Review: Sugar Spells by Lola Dodge

Title: Sugar Spells
Author: Lola Dodge
Series: The Spellwork Syndicate #2
Genre: YA/Urban Fantasy/Witches
Publisher: Inkmonster LLC
Publication Date: October 30th, 2018
Edition: Kindle Edition, 270 pages
Source: NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon US | Kobo | Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:

   After her run-in with a jealous warlock, apprentice baker Anise Wise can’t wait to get back the kitchen where she belongs. But thanks to her brush with death, the land of the living isn’t all cupcakes and marshmallows.

   Anise’s magical mojo is way out of whack and her evolving powers are stirring up trouble. As the town buzzes with news that Anise can bake deathly spells, unsavory characters start lining up for a taste. They’ll stop at nothing for the chance to use Anise and her witchcraft to further their own plots.

   She plans to hole up researching magic recipes until the attention dies down, but then she discovers the horrifying terms of her bodyguard’s contract. Wynn has saved her life so many times, she can’t leave him trapped. But doing the right thing will mean risking death or worse—being cast out of her dream job.

I didn't plan on reviewing this book the day it came out, just happened that way, fitting though. 

This is a great book to read just in time for Halloween. While not the typical horror, it has some spooky elements. And a decent amount of humor. 

This book picks up shortly after the first one ended, Anise is struggling with her new magic and wants it gone. I enjoyed this book more than I did the first, while it was still a really good book, this one felt a little more fleshed out to me, the characters were more developed as well.

Anise is a really great character. She has a pretty relatable personality, in that she's not one of those super over confident characters, and she still struggles with things and has to ask for help with things she doesn't know much about. The way life is, nobody can know everything.

One thing that I really like about this series, is that there is no romance at all. Not even a hint of it. Anise and Wynn have grown respect for each other, but so far, that's all it is. Mutual respect for each other, and it's nice to have two characters of opposite gender have that kind of relationship. It's a nice change.

We also get to know Wynn's character a little better get know his back story a little and where he came from. He has some character growth as well, becomes less, though not much, stoic. He's not so quiet and shows his personality more. 

This book also expands the world a little, introducing Mannikans, non-human magical creatures like Vampires and Werewolves. I hope that gets expanded on more in the next book. 

While the magic system isn't that complex, this is more of a character driven story than magic driven, it doesn't lack magic. Things still feel very magical in my opinion. I really enjoy this series, it's a nice quick book that helped pull me out of a reading slump. And I can't wait to read more.