Spirits and Sourdough - A Spotlight

Today I'd like to shine a spotlight on a book on my virtual TBR pile. I am sadly sooo far behind in this series, but I've loved every book I've read in it. Spirits and Sourdough by Bailey Cates is the tenth book in the Magical Bakery Mystery series and was released January 4, 2022. 

Blurb:

Hedgewitch Katie Lightfoot works at the Honeybee Bakery in Savannah, and she's always up for investigating her adopted home's rich supernatural history. That's why she's taking a ghost tour for the very first time. But when the psychic tour guide tells Katie that she's being followed by the ghost of a recently murdered woman, Katie realizes she met the victim earlier that day, just before she died. She knows she must bring the killer to justice.

And this murder isn't the only mystery Katie needs to solve. Her new husband, Declan McCarthy, is missing the guardian spirit who always watched over him, and she's concerned that Deck's life could be at risk if they can't find him. Under pressure from the living and the dead, Katie will have to use all of her magical skills to start an investigation from scratch and avoid half-baked alibis, because this baker kneads to find a killer.

Potions and Pastries - Spotlight

Today I'm shining a spotlight on a book on my TBR pile. Potions and Pastries by Bailey Cates is the seventh book in the Magical Bakery Mystery series.

From the back cover:

In this New York Times bestselling mystery series, witch Katie Lightfoot bakes enchanted treats-and faces more than her fair share of toil and trouble...

It's been exactly two years since Katie and her aunt and uncle opened the Honeybee Bakery, where they serve delicious-and bespelled-treats to the good people of Savannah. After a dinner celebrating the bakery's anniversary, they all take a stroll along the waterfront and meet Aunt Lucy's friend Orla, a colorful character who has been telling the fortunes o locals and tourists alike for years.

The next day, Orla meets with what seems like a terrible accident, but Katie's witchy intuition tells her it was something more sinister. Together with her trustworthy coven and her firefighter boyfriend, she'll race to find out what happened to the unfortunate fortune-teller before the piping hot train goes cold...

Recipes included.

Spotlight - Magic and Macaroons

I'd like to shine a spotlight on a July release: Magic and Macaroons by Bailey Cates. This book is the 5th book in the Magical Bakery Mystery series. I really love this series, but confess that although I own all of them...I'm behind in reading them!

From the back cover:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Some Enchanted Eclair comes a tale of delicious desserts and supernatural sleuthing. ...

For magical baker Katie Lightfoot, the only way to beat the Savannah summer heat is to whip up some really cool treats for the Honeybee Bakery's patrons. But when a meeting of the spellbook club is interrupted by a stranger collapsing on the floor of her shop, mumbling something about a voodoo talisman, Katie drops everything to begin investigating.

Her search for answers quickly leads her into a dangerous blend of Savannah's most potent witches, a powerful missing charm-and a killer who seems to be targeting the city's magical community. And with the case getting hotter by the second, Katie will have to work fast to track down the talisman and the killer before the timer runs out. ...

Recipes included.

Spotlight - Charms and Chocolate Chips

I'd like to shine a spotlight on a book in a series I love, but which I'm behind in. Charms and Chocolate Chips by Bailey Cates is the third in the Magical Bakery Mystery series. It was published in November of 2013 and is on my TBR pile.

From the back cover:

A Half Baked Hex

Between brewing magically spiced treats at Honeybee Bakery and volunteering with a local conservation group, Katie Lightfoot has barely any time to see her firefighter boyfriend, Declan McCarthy, much less delve further into her destiny as a witch. But avoiding her fate won't be as easy as whipping up a new recipe-especially when Katie finds herself once again mixed up in murder.

When a fellow volunteer for the conservation group is found dead, Katie's mystical senses tell her that there's more to the death than meets the eye. Her suspicions are confirmed when members of her coven are targeted next. Katie will have to embrace her powers quickly...or she may find herself chewed up and spit out by some serious black magic.

Recipes are included.

Love is in the Air and Winner Announced

While the mystery is the reason for the cozy mystery, it's not the only thing. Reading cozy mysteries is like traveling to places you want to go to visit with friends. Good cozy series develop characters you want to care about. More than that you want to learn about them. Love is such an integral part of real life, whether good or bad, and it stands to reason it finds its way into cozies.

Almost all cozies have a touch of romance in them. Sometimes it's hints, sometimes it's more obvious. It's never explicit and sometimes it's never even acted upon. The "will they or won't they" is a common theme. The cozy mystery embraces all types of romance.

Probably the least common romance in cozy series are those that start with a couple already married. There are married couples involved in many series, but it's not that common for our protagonist to start off married. The Bear Collector's Mysteries by John J. Lamb feature a happily married couple as does the Clay and Crime Series by Melissa Glazer. While I'm sure there are others, these are the only two series that pop into my head. What I find interesting is that both of these authors are men!

Some cozy protagonists start out single, but eventually marry their love interest. I'll only give one example of this type as I don't want to spoil anyone's reading-but since the first book in the series was published in 1975 I'll risk this one, The Amelia Peabody Series by Elizabeth Peters.

A lot of times the love interest is a member of the police force. The romance oftentimes starts as a conflict, with the protagonist being a suspect. Sometimes she's not a suspect, but she's poking her nose in police business. This was the case with Jessie Hewitt in the Cueball Mysteries by Cindy Blackburn, Sophie Winston in the Domestic Diva Mysteries by Krista Davis, Sunny Meadows in the Fortune Teller Mysteries by Kari Lee Townsend, and many more.

Sometimes our protagonist has multiple romances throughout the series. Josie Marcus in the Mystery Shopper series by Elaine Viets is a single mom who is unlucky in love. We get the romance, but as oftentimes happens in real life, we discover he's Mr. Wrong.

Sometimes there's more than one love interest. Katie Lightfoot has feelings for two men in the Magical Baking Mysteries of Bailey Cates. This series has only just begun, so we'll have to see if she'll choose either of these men. There are currently 16 books in the Hannah Swenson Mysteries by Joanne Fluke and, unless something happened in the newly released Red Velvet Cupcake Murder, which I haven't read yet, our baker still hasn't decided which of the two men she's seeing is Mr. Right.

In life, love and romance isn't always easy. The same goes for our cozy mystery romances. But some people have it trickier than others. I so want Penelope Thornton-McClure to find happiness with Jack Shepard. Author Alice Alfonsi makes it difficult for these two in the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries as Jack is a ghost! One of my favorite characters is Lily Ivory in the Witchcraft Mysteries by Juliet Blackwell. I'm not sure which of the possible love interests is best for her, and that makes the reading even more interesting.

What do you think about romance in cozy mysteries?

Now for the winner of the e-book A Charming Wish by Tonya Kappes: Cricket! Cricket, please send me your e-mail address so that we can get your prize to you. You can message me on Facebook at my Cozy Up With Kathy page or e-mail me at cozyupwithkathy @ gmail dot com. Thanks to everyone who entered.

Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti, the second Magical Baking Mystery by Bailey Cates. The more I read, the more I love. Katie is learning more about being a witch and has stumbled upon a group of Druids. Let's hope her powers continue to grow, Mungo can help keep her safe, and we get more great recipes.

Which Witch?

Growing up I loved watching the TV show Bewitched. To this day I wish I could be like Samantha. Oh to be able to wiggle my nose and have all of the house cleaning done. The world of witchcraft is varied and infinitely interesting. Sol Saks' vision of witches is just one. Cozy authors give us differing views of witches and witchcraft as well. Our protagonists generally have to work at their craft. Wiggling noses to accomplish housekeeping is as much a dream for them as it is for me!

One of my absolute favorite mystery series is a paranormal cozy featuring a witch. Juliet Blackwell has created Lily Ivory, the protagonist, and witch, in the Witchcraft Series. Lily owns a vintage clothing store in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. Lily is a witch who has never been comfortable with her powers. Throughout the series she learns and grows...and solves murders. As a side note-I love the TV show Grimm and was so excited about the Halloween episode which aired yesterday about La Llorona. It was through the Witchcraft series that I first learned of this legend. Lily has to face La Llorona in Secondhand Spirits, the first novel in the Witchcraft series.

Lily Ivory isn't the only cozy witch who has been uncomfortable with her powers. Ophelia Jenson is a psychic in Summerset Iowa whose grandmother, Abby, is a witch in the Ophelia and Abby Mystery Series by Shirley Damsgaad. While Abby is happy and content with her gifts, her granddaughter would be perfectly content without hers...at least as the series begins.

The Bewitching Mysteries by Madelyn Alt show another view of witchcraft, this time in Stony Mill, Indiana. In the first book in the series, The Trouble with Magic, we meet Maggie O'Neill as she discovers a great new job. While Maggie's new boss is a witch, Maggie doesn't really believe in witches...or the fact that she herself is one.

Heather Blake creates a new and different version of witchcraft in her series: The Wishcraft series. Darcy Merriweather and her sister, Harper, discover that they are wishcrafters-witches who are able to grant wishes. They arrive in the Enchanted Village, near Salem, Massachusetts to help their aunt and learn their craft.

Katie Lightfoot also moves to help her aunt... and uncle in their bakeshop in Savannah. What she doesn't realize is that her aunt is a witch...and she is too. Bailey Cates combines the paranormal and culinary genres is this great new series-the Magical Bakery Series. he also includes recipes.

Ella Mae LaFaye also bakes...and is also a witch in Havenwood, Georgia. The Charmed Pie Shoppe mysteries by Ellery Adams serve up a delightful combination of magic and food...pies to be exact. Recipes are included as well!

Whether our witches are just learning about their powers or are honing their skills, whether they're working with clothing, food, antiques, or books, they'll gladly welcome you to their world. I hope you'll visit them soon.