Book Club April 2026- A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic

By: J. Penner
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Pages: 288

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A human, a dwarf and an elf walk into a bake-off…

In the heart of Adenashire, where elvish enchantments and dwarven delights rule, human baker Arleta Starstone works twice as hard at perfecting her unique blend of baking with apothecary herbs. So, when her orc neighbor (and biggest fan) secretly enters her creations into the prestigious Langheim Baking Battle, Arleta faces a dilemma. Being magicless, her participation in the competition could draw more scowls than smiles. And if Arleta wants to prove her talent and establish her culinary reputation, she'll need more than just her pastry craft to sweeten the odds.

Though Arleta may not yet believe in herself, she makes her way to Langheim―with the help of a very attractive woodland elf―and competes. While on a journey of mouthwatering pastries, self-discovery, heartwarming friendships, and potential romance, Arleta will have to decide whether winning the Baking Battle is the true prize after all. But win or lose, her adventure is only beginning…

What I thought

I had seen this book on social media for a while so was intrigued when it was picked for book club. This book was advertised as Great British Bake Off meets the fantasy world.

Arleta is a human living in a magical world. When her neighbors enter her into a magical baking competition in the land of elves, she is hesitant to go. But baking is the biggest joy in her life, so she decides to see whether her magicless recipes are enough to win her the competition and enough money to open her own bakery.

I enjoyed the concept of this book and thought that it was fun, but I didn’t love the writing as much. I found the world building to be lacking and the problems in the book repetitive. Arleta is frequently dealing with prejudice for not having magic and being human, but it’s never explained why people seem to dislike humans so much. For example, she is charged significantly more than magic creatures to rent a booth at a market but we’re only told that it’s because the head of the market dislikes humans because of the past. And then we’re told that Arleta is hiding the fact that she is human from the competition because humans are always eliminated for no reason. Yet again, we don’t really know why.

Additionally, there are a bunch of creatures we’re introduced to and just assumed that we know what they are. The author talks about halflings and I still don’t know what those are. I don’t fully understand the world that we were living in, nor why the elves live separately from the others. Additionally, something about being “Fated” gets thrown in for the romance, yet we get little to no backstory on this.

I did enjoy the baking competition itself and I enjoyed the two friends that Arleta makes while she is there. I also enjoyed her two neighbor orcs. I wasn’t crazy about the romance aspect either. Overall, this book was fine. It was short and easy to get through, but not something that I think will stick with me.

What Book Club Thought

I think everyone enjoyed this book a little more than I do. One member had a similar feeling as me where she felt like we were just dropped into the word without any world building. I was seemingly the only one annoyed by the “fated” storyline. One of the other members said that it almost felt like the author had a story that was 400 pages long and then was told she had to cut it down to under 300. I definitely agreed and thought that was exactly what it felt like. The ultimate consensus was that it’s a cute easy read, a decent intro into a light fantasy if you’re not a fantasy reader, and that it had a lot of potential.

The Name Game

By: Beth O’Leary
Published Year: 2026
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 384

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A man and a woman with the same name are looking for a fresh start only to discover they have landed the same job in this charming new romance by bestselling author Beth O’Leary.

Charlie couldn’t be happier to take the job of farm-shop manager on the remote, wild Isle of Ormer. She’s grieving, a little lost, and in desperate need of a fresh start.

Jones has come out of a difficult breakup and is looking forward to some peace away from the noise of his city life. Moving to Ormer couldn’t have come at a better time.

But when Charlie Jones and, ahem, Charlie Jones both turn up at Ormer’s one and only farm shop, claiming to have been offered the role of manager, everyone is baffled. How could this have happened? And just who is the real Charlie Jones?

First Impressions

O’Leary is one of my go-to authors. I have really enjoyed every book of hers that she has written. I didn’t know she was coming out with another new one, so when I received the opportunity to review this one I was very excited! The premise felt a little silly and I honestly don’t know if between that and the summary I would’ve picked this one up if I wasn’t already a fan.

What I thought

This book was a little confusing but ultimately a fun ride.

Charlie Jones shows up on the tiny island of Ormer for a job on a farm as a fresh start to her life only to find, Charlie Jones is in the shop for the job that he received. Rosie, the owner of the shop doesn’t know how this happened. Charlie and Jones (as he decides to go by to lessen confusion) decide to each work the job until October in hopes they can increase profit enough that Rosie could justify keeping both of them on.

This novel is written in journal entries by Charlie, emails by Jones, and then flashback to each of their past lives before moving to Ormer. Ormer sort of reminds me of Mackinac island. It’s a small island of about 500 residents, lots of tourists, and no cars allowed. Charlie is struggling to start over and wants to move to the island and eventually become a single mom. Jones is starting his journey of sobriety and wants to start over on the island to assist with that. Because the job was only intended for one person, Jones and Charlie have to share the living space above the farmhouse.  

Honestly, if I hadn’t been a fan of O’Leary, I don’t know if I would’ve given this book the chance it deserved. I found the early premise to be confusing and a little silly. How in the world do two people with the same name end up at the same small job on an island with no one claiming responsibility? However, the payoff is worth it. It took me a little while to get into this book, but it crawled up on me slowly and I ended up really enjoying the characters and the island.

The first maybe 25% of the book I was kind of meh. Then all o fa sudden I found myself wondering about the characters and not wanting to put the book down. I always love how O’Leary tackles hard hitting issues and this book is no different. She deals with alcoholism, anxiety, depression, and grief. She always does a wonderful job balancing romance with real life issues.

This book is wonderful if you’re looking for a quirky story with a small town feel and a twist you won’t see coming. I don’t think I would recommend it as your first into to O’Leary, but if you have read her other books I think this one holds up. I do want someone I know to read it because of the twist so we can talk about it, so it might be a fun book club pick!

Shadow Hunt

By: Melissa F. Olson
Published Year: 2018
Publisher: 47North
Pages: 318

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): For years now, Scarlett Bernard has counted on two things: her ability to nullify magic, and Shadow, the bargest who guards Scarlett with her life. But after a sudden revelation turns Scarlett’s world upside down, she panics and leaves town without warning, leaving Shadow with her partner, Jesse. In the chaos that follows, the bargest is stolen—and Jesse nearly dies from a brutal psychic assault.

It seems that an old enemy has returned for revenge…and the attack on Shadow was only the beginning. As Scarlett races home to find the bargest and rescue her friends, she is dragged deeper into a terrifying legend that has somehow found its way to present-day Los Angeles.

Now she will have to recruit every possible ally for a battle that will test her null ability to the limit. Scarlett has been in over her head before, but now she risks losing everything—and she’s never had more to lose.

First Impressions

I might’ve picked this book up based off of its cover when I was in college, but definitely not now. My mom found it for free and asked if I’d want to read it. I read the plot and thought it sounded interesting. Since she offered to pick it up, I decided to give it a shot, but based off of the cover alone I was a little hesitant.

What I thought

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I didn’t realize that it was the third in the series when my mom gave it to me, but I never truly felt lost. However, if you are interested in reading this series and want to start from the beginning, I will be spoiling things.

Scarlett is a Null living in LA. A Null is someone who can nullify all magic. She works for the cardinal vampire of LA and is also friendly with the witches and vampires. When she goes off to Boulder to investigate a personal matter, her dog/bargest (a magical werewolf hunting dog who is basically impossible to kill but loves Scarlett) is kidnapped and her friend Jesse is put into a magical slumber. When she gets back to LA, they discover that this is the work of the Luparii, a group of witches whose goal is destroy all werewolves and now they are there to kill Scarlett.

Ok, so from what I can gleam from Goodreads, there are multiple series within this Old World universe. I believe there is a series about Scarlett prior to this one as well as a series that occurs simultaneously with other characters. While this trilogy seems to wrap up Scarlett’s story in the universe, she does seem to appear occasionally in other series by Olson. I did find this book relatively easy to follow, with only certan parts that probably would’ve helped if I had background. For example, Shadow (the bargest), what a Null is, and a lot of relationships with previous characters.

I really enjoyed Scarlett and her powers. I haven’t read a supernatural book about someone who can cancel out all powers so that was an interesting take. I also liked the relationship with Scarlett and Jesse and Scarlett and her friend Molly. Additionally, when they go to Boulder they meet with some other witches and a very old vampire. I was intrigued by the characters and am curious which series would follow them and their connections.

It also seems like the Luparii are the big bad from a previous novel and in this book they’re coming back to seek revenge. I don’t want to give away exactly what their plan is, but it is based in old Grimm lore and I found it fascinating. The only parts I didn’t love were some of the romance scenes. I liked the romance between Jesse and Scarlett, but I didn’t need anything more as I found the supernatural parts of the story to be more interesting.

This series is very intriguing. I think I would’ve been completely obsessed with this in college and maybe after. I am curious to read more in this universe because it is very well thought out and written. I would absolutely watch this as a TV series. If you are a fan of the supernatural as well as a little bit of mystery, I would recommend checking out this series. It’s more of the urban magic, so it does occur within out world. It’s easy to get into and not at all hard to follow the rules.

A Terribly Nasty Business

By: Julia Seales
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 300

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): After achieving her lifelong dream of solving a murder, bringing a killer to justice, and proving she is not, in fact, a morbid creep, Beatrice Steele feels like everything is finally falling into place. She's traded her etiquette-obsessed community of Swampshire for the big city of London, accompanied by her ever-trusty chaperone, Miss Bolton. They've settled in a lovely neighborhood, Sweetbriar, known for its proximity to the Sweet Majestic theater, picturesque pleasure gardens, and an unfortunate infestation of flying squirrels. But Beatrice's favorite part is that Sweetbriar is also home to D.S. Investigations, the new office she opened with the prickly, annoyingly logical Inspector Drake to solve the city's brutally thrilling crimes.

However, nothing is turning out how Beatrice imagined it would. Sir Huxley, famed gentleman inspector and Beatrice's former crush, is still considered the real investigator in London, so the only cases left for Beatrice and Drake are lost pets and spectacles. Not that Beatrice has much time for crime-solving, anyways, as her mother still expects her to find an eligible (rich) husband to protect their family from destitution. Beatrice is struggling to balance all the demands on her and begins to wonder if she can become a true detective in a city that feels full of false promises.

That is until a string of murders thrusts Beatrice and Drake into the center of a scandal that pits the neighborhood's wealthiest against the arts community, spreading fear and chaos throughout the city. As they follow the trail through bewildering ballrooms, secretive shops, and odd operas, Beatrice must survive threats to her partnership, her business, and her place in society to break the case - before it's too late.

First Impressions

I read the first book in this series for book club and it really made me laugh. I was excited to see that there was a sequel and I do love these covers. I think between the cover and the title I would’ve picked this up on first impression alone.

What I thought

This book was just as cute as the first.

Beatrice is back but this time she has left Swampshire for London. Miss Bolton is her chaperone as she lives in the city and works an investigative business with Detective Drake. But one of the caveats to her being in London is that she participates in the social season o find a rich husband to help support her family back in Swampshire. When a man is found murdered, an accused actor comes to Beatrice and Drake to help clear his name and find the real murderer. Beatrice, Drake, and Miss Bolton have to navigate an investigation and finding a husband all at the same time.

I love how these stories have a strong female lead in a time where women were not meant to be independent. All of the women in this book are bucking the stereotypes of society. Beatrice is observant and I love her skillset. I also appreciated that she started to make friends in this book. The world is being built more and more and I can see this as a long standing series.

The mystery itself is semi-predictable, but not in an annoying way. There is so much going on in the story outside of the mystery that I don’t find myself focused on trying to figure out who the murder is intensely. The will they or won’t they with Drake and Beatrice is still occurring which I enjoyed. I like how he seems to be a little baffled by Beatrice yet accepts her completely.

Seales does a fabulous job making characters and settings that pop off the page. Who else could make a city infested with flying squirrels seem plausible?

I haven’t ever read a story like this one before. It balances mystery, romance, and humor. I really hope that Seales continues this series, especially given how this book ended. If you are looking for a light read I highly recommend checking out the first book and continuing with this one. Even though there’s murder it’s not dark at all. I don’t know how she balances it all but she does and I cant wait to read more!

Dragon Fires Everywhere

By: Hazel Beck
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Graydon House
Pages: 368

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Newly-minted Historian of the soon-to-be-ascended Riverwood Coven Georgie Pendell has always played her part—so why does she feel like an outsider in her own life? Duped and dumped by her boyfriend, Georgie finds herself dismissing love as a fairytale. But when the words she reads aloud from an enchanted storybook free a dragon shifter, everything changes.
 
Georgie finds herself drawn to the dragon in ways she didn’t think were even possible for her, and her dragon, with his fiery golden gaze, all but claims Georgie as his own. But beneath his scorching intensity lies a secret, one that stretches back into the ancient past.
 
With the Joywood Coven still finding ways to upend the new order of the witching world, Georgie and her coven will need to prove themselves up to the task of being in charge, and right the wrongs their predecessors committed—if they can uncover the truth. Because something is missing. Something that will stop the Joywood once and for all. Something that only a Historian and an ancient dragon can find.

First Impressions

This is the 4th and final book in the Witchlore series. I was so excited to read this one and see how everything played out. I am partial to the purple so this might be my 2nd favorite cover in the series.

What I thought

Perfection. This book wrapped up everything within the series and I felt so satisfied.

The fourth book follows Georgina Pendell who is the Historian of the Ravenwood coven. In the previous books she was portrayed as ditzy and probably one of the women I was least interested in. Not that I disliked her, but she came off a little boring. However, this book take some turns and sucked me in immediately.

Georgie finds out that she is connected to Azrael, a dragon, as her soulmate. While everyone thought that witches only live the one life, the coven ends up finding out otherwise when it comes to Georgie, as well as magical creatures they thought didn’t exist.

I love the way this series deals with the world of magic. The Joywood coven is truly evil and seeing them plot and scheme n each book never gets old. I also love how at its core, the series is about love and togetherness and equality. While it may be categorized as a romance novel, there is so much more to it than that.

I also enjoyed how magical creatures were introduced in this installment. While every part of it was new, it didn’t come out of nowhere. It built throughout each book and made me want to re-read all of the other books to pick up on all of the details. The romance/relationship part of the story was interesting. It is sort of instalove but also not because of the whole past life thing. I do wish we had gotten a little bit more because at the end I didn’t quite feel their meant to be connection, but I loved Georgie’s growth and storyline overall.

It is so rare to find a series where you can recommend each and every book. I loved each book individually and as a whole. If you are someone who enjoys witchy/magic stories and also enjoy a hint of romance I would highly recommend this book. Even if you’re a little hesitant about either of those, I would say to give this series a shot.

Go Luck Yourself

By: Sara Raasch
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Bramble
Pages: 320

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Someone has been stealing Christmas’s joy, and there’s only one clue to the culprit—a single shamrock.

With Coal busy restructuring Christmas—and their dad now having a full midlife crisis in the Caribbean—Kris volunteers to investigate St. Patrick’s Day. His cover: an ambassador from Christmas to foster goodwill. What could go wrong?

Everything, it seems. Because Prince Lochlann Patrick, Crown Prince of St. Patrick’s Day, happens to be the mysterious student that Kris has been in a small war with at Cambridge. They attempt to play nice for the tabloids, but Kris can’t get through one conversation without wanting to smash Loch’s face in—he’s infuriating, stubborn, loud, obstinate, hot—

Wait—hot?

Kris might be in some trouble. Especially when it turns out that the mystery behind Christmas’s stolen magic isn’t as simple as an outright theft. But why would a Holiday that Christmas has never had contact with, one that’s always been the very basis of carefree, want to steal joy? Can a spare prince even hope to unravel all this, or will Kris lose something way more valuable than his Holiday’s resources—like his heart?

First Impressions

This is the sequel to Nightmare Before Kissmiss and I love this cover and title just as much. Add in the sprayed edges to match the holiday feel and I would happily put this book on my shelf. I would absolutely pick it up based just on the cover and title alone.

What I thought

I said it before and I’ll say it again, I need a never ending series in this world of holiday royals.

Kristopher, the second son of Christmas, is struggling to find his place after his brother Coal steps up with his royal duties as the heir to the Christmas throne. While at school, he pulls a prank on the boy who keeps stealing his study room, only to find out later that he is the Prince of St. Patrick’s Day. On top of that, they discover that St. Patrick’s Day has been siphoning off magic from the Christmas Day joy collector. Kris volunteers to go to St. Patrick’s Day to help the Christmas Court figure out who planted the device under the guise of apologizing to his arch nemesis.

Raasch balances political intrigue and romance unlike anyone I have ever read. She makes me just as interested in everything going on with the royals as I was in Lochlann (Loch) and Kris’ romance. I love a good enemies to lovers story and Loch and Kris have some great banter.

I didn’t quite love this one as much as the first, but I think that was because I got a little frustrated with Kris. He is dealing with a lot of self-image issues and anxiety and I frequently wanted to smack him across the face and tell him to get over it. Now, I think it’s realistic and I wasn’t annoyed with him because of that. Just that here were a few moments where I felt he got a tiny bit too whiny and I didn’t love it.

I did like how Raasch had so much of Coal and Iris in this book still. Kris played a big part in Coal’s book, so I was glad to see Coal still around so much. Plus it let me stay up to date on how he was handling the Christmas scandal from the last book. I am still so curious how this world will continue to function.

This book was honestly the perfect follow up to the first. I loved reading Kris’ story and I need Raasch to write Iris’. I wouldn’t recommend this one as a standalone because I think you need the history of the political scandal from the first story to really understand this one. This is a very fun read, especially as there aren’t many St. Patrick’s Day books!

The Deal (Off-Campus #1)

By: Elle Kennedy
Published Year: 2015
Publisher: Bloom Books
Pages: 400

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): She's about to make a deal with the college bad boy...

Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she's carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush's attention, she'll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice...even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date.

...and it's going to be oh so good.

All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he's worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he's all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn't take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn't going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.

First Impressions

I saw the special edition on the shelf at the library and it immediately caught my eye. I have had this book on my radar but continually forgotten about it. The first cover isn’t my favorite, but the style of the special edition is amazing.

What I thought

I LOVED this book. Flew through it in 2 days.

Hannah is a music major. Garret is the star of the hockey team. Hannah is one of a handful of students who passed the Ethics midterm. Garret is not. When Garret sees that Hannah passed, he tries to charm her into tutoring him so that he can continue to play hockey. She is having none of it, until he comes up with an offer too sweet to turn down. She tutors him, he uses his social status to get her crush to notice her and make him jealous.

This book is sort of enemies to lovers and has the banter that I love. Hannah and Garret’s chemistry was amazing. They both have their issues and it was beautiful watching them open up to one another. I appreciated that their relationship wasn’t surface level and it had me rooting for them the whole time.

The book does warn that rape is a central plot point. I think that Kennedy does a nice job handling it. It never felt overly graphic or cheapened to a plot twist. I also loved the other hockey boys. They were perfectly ridiculous in the fun way that college boys can be. It makes me look forward to reading their stories in the rest of the series.

One other thing I really liked about this book was how Hannah and Garret had their own stories in addition to their romance and relationship. Everything about this book felt fleshed out and not just fluff. While there were some minor things that annoyed me, like the constant referrals to how tiny Hannah was but how amazing her boobs were, overall this book might become a new favorite.

I can’t wait to read the next books in the series. They’re also making this into a show and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m not a hockey fan, but even though hockey is central to the story, you don’t need to know anything about it. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a light fun romance with banter.

Book Club March 2026

By: Emilia Hart
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 337

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): 2019: Lucy awakens in her ex-lover’s room in the middle of the night with her hands around his throat. Horrified, she flees to her sister’s house on the coast of New South Wales hoping Jess can help explain the vivid dreams that preceded the attack—but her sister is missing. As Lucy waits for her return, she starts to unearth strange rumours about Jess’s town—tales of numerous missing men, spread over decades. A baby abandoned in a sea-swept cave. Whispers of women’s voices on the waves. All the while, her dreams start to feel closer than ever.

1800: Mary and Eliza are torn from their loving home in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship heading for Australia. As the boat takes them farther and farther away from all they know, they begin to notice unexplainable changes in their bodies.

A breathtaking tale of female resilience, The Sirens is an extraordinary novel that captures the sheer power of sisterhood and the indefinable magic of the sea.

What I thought

While the cover is pretty, I wasn’t very excited by this book when I read the summary and I feel like it met my low expectations.

This book has 3 different POVs across 3 different timelines. Mostly, we follow Lucy in February 2019. She leaves school to go spend time with her sister after a bad sleepwalking event. We also have the perspective of Mary from the 1800s. Lucy is seeing Mary in her dreams, so all of the stories we get of Mary are supposedly what Lucy is dreaming. Finally, we have Julie’s POV in 1999. Julie is Lucy’s older sister and Lucy finds Julie’s diary, which is what we get. When Lucy does show up to Julie’s house unannounced, Julie is missing. So there is a mix of mystery of why is Lucy dreaming about these women and where did Julie go?

I found this book to be so boring. There is so much going on, yet none of it sucked me in. Comber Bay has had multiple men disappear, which, based off of the title of the book is obviously due to supernatural forces of Sirens. Yet for some reason Hart writes the story as if we’re supposed to not know how/why these men go missing. Then there is the mystery of why Lucy is dreaming about Mary and why she is sleepwalking. Again, I found the reason to be very obvious and predicable. I think the only thing that semi-surprised me was finding out where Julie has been. And it wasn’t even that I was surprised by where, but more so why she was gone for so long.

If this had not been a book I was reading for book club, I could’ve stopped reading it at 50% and not felt any regret. It’s not that it’s necessarily a bad book, I just found the story to be so slow and predictable that I was never drawn to pick the book up. I also feel like Hart tried to create too much mystery and suspense and could’ve made it more exciting by pulling things back a little bit.

What Book Club Thought

This was interesting. My friend who picked the book felt very similar to me. She struggled with reading it and also felt like she would’ve stopped reading it had it not been for book club. One of our members liked the book except for the chapters about Mary, whereas another member really liked the chapters about Mary and less so about present day. We had a lot of discussion about plot holes with the whole siren/mermaid storyline as well as the fact that it kind of felt like this could’ve been two different books because of the disconnect with the past and the present. We did have a lot to discuss because of the issues we had with the book which did lead to good discussion about the plot and the conflicts within it. While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book because of how I felt, if you or your friends are into this type of story, it could lead to some interesting discussion.