Looking for a cozy witchy read this fall? Look no further ya'll.
Synopsis:
Hecate Goodwin, Kate to her friends, has curated the perfect life as a hedge witch, living in a secluded cottage with only a black cat for company. She spends her days foraging herbs from the Ipswich forest, gardening and creating tinctures to sell at the apothecary she owns. Most evenings pass without her speaking to another human being, an arrangement she quite prefers.
Kate's solitude is thrown into disarray when her older sister, Miranda, reaches out and asks her to host their coven's annual Halloween gathering. The day marks the beginning of the new year for witches and is also Kate's birthday. The pressure from her coven to make the evening memorable mounts as the event draws near. To complicate things further, a handsome man from Kate's past turns up at her cottage, asking for sanctuary. It is Kate's duty as a hedge witch to honor this request, much to her dismay. Matthew Cypher is no ordinary lost soul -- he's a practitioner of forbidden magic who's tricked Kate once before and her guard is up.
As she juggles Matthew's arrival and the preparations for Halloween, Kate comes across an old tome shrouded in dark magic. She is horrified when she realizes the blood-red inscription is written in familiar handwriting: her recently deceased mother's. Afraid to even touch the dark magic her mother secretly studied, Kate can turn only to Matthew for help. Her idealized memory of her mother begins to distort, and as she and Matthew grow closer, Kate has to reevaluate whom she can really trust.
Thoughts:
This was my first cozy witchy read of the season, and I am surprised how much I enjoyed this one. It's written in a first person based narrative, and the author's writing style was easy to sink into. She wrote vivid descriptions that didn't become too wordy, but lead to me very easily being able to imagine the world Kate was in.
I also love that she went into great detail about the foods Kate made. Kate's mother was a kitchen witch, so food was an obvious part of the story...and perhaps our author is a bit of a foodie too. I think a fun idea would be to make a recipe book from this book. Maybe in the style of the Necrononomicon...oh the possibilities.
This was a low stress read with an unexpected HEA, that I really didn't see coming. So grab your tea, a cozy blanket, and dig in.
A Dark and Secret Magic will be released October 8, and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon or Bookshop.
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book free for review. This however does not affect my opinions, as I do not leave a review for each book I receive. There are links to Amazon, clicking these links won't cost you anything but any purchase helps support this blog. Thanks!
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