Skip to main content

Book Review: Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet

MAGIC BITTER, MAGIC SWEET by Charlie M. Holmberg
3 Stars
Verdict: A strange way to bake a cake.


Note: I listened to the audio-book for this one, which was a new experience for me.

Maire is a baker who can infuse her creations with emotions, enriching the eater with love, happiness, luck, strength - anything she puts her mind to. She only has memories of the last four years, and so doesn't know how she acquired this skill, and is happy to work in a small shop, selling her cakes for little or nothing. When marauders raid her village and turn her into a slave, Maire meets Allemus, a strange man who can see the magic in her and wants to use it in bizzare and nefarious ways.

I think chapter one was my favourite. I loved the descriptions of the magical cake baking and the emotions it involved. The idea is simple yet beautiful, and created a world of ideas which I couldn't wait to explore.

Most of the rest of the book I found...odd. There were bits to enjoy here and there, like the Hansel and Gretel references, but these things weren't plot related. In fact, the plot spun in circles for a while, only picking up again at the very end where the learn who Maire truly is and what happened to her.

I struggled to get Allemus. He's a very uncomfortable character to read about, seemingly mentally disabled, but also abusive and inconsistent. Sometimes he acted like he needed Maires approval, and other times he turned vicious. He helped terrible people and did terrible things without a sense of motive, and his personality felt flaky at best. This was only somewhat answered in the end.

What slowed the pace for me was the repetition and use of the amnesia trope. Mare kept asking the same questions, thinking about the same things, saying the same lines over and over. Perhaps it's easier to read over than to listen to, but I found it a little irritating, especially as there are characters who do know what's going on, but decide not to say anything.

So who is Mare? Where did her magic come from? There wasn't a lot to go on at first, but it all came together in the end. Again, I struggled a little because I didn't think she was a very interesting character. She was too nice and simple, and as I didn't understand Allemus, I wanted to know more about him instead.

The ending felt like another weird turn to me. It felt like a different story, but I liked it. It answered the key questions, and made sense of what felt like a mess, although I'm still uncertain about Allemus. There's also a huge jump which I can't help wondering if it would have been better to speed up the first half the book and then show more of the resolution.

So it didn't pan out how I expected, but it was an okay book overall.

Source: Amazon kindle unlimited.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I took my book for a walk

I know what you're thinking...or actually, I don't.  It's easy to picture that anyone who reads your work will only see the negatives. They have every right to, after all, and I'm a big critic myself. I find things to improve in most books, even when I give them five star reviews. This is why solidifying one of my novels into print was a big step for me, and because of Sod's Law, it coincided with one of the hardest times of my life to date. When my book published, I struggled to market it. Besides being crippled with morning sickness, followed by a decent into depression and anxiety (coupled with friends not really liking my book - only softened slightly by the fact they don't like YA/reading), I didn't have the energy - emotionally or physically - to give my book the launch it deserved.  It deserved better.  Because no matter what, I put a lot of work into The Clearing. Over several years and iterations, too. I'm proud of the twists, and I enjoy hearin

Book Review: Threads That Bind

THREADS THAT BIND by Kika Hatzopolou Disclaimer time: As always, the following is just my opinion. Other opinions are available.  THREADS THAT BIND is an epic fantasy with an urban feel. It has a fascinating magic system inspired by Greek mythology, and a story that explores the bonds of sibling relationships. Overall, it's a fast-paced book about fate, choices, and forgiving yourself, so prepare for morally grey moments and difficult sibling relationships.  Io and her sisters are descendants of the Fates, which means they're able to see and manipulate the threads that connect people to the things they love. Io is the third sister, and therefore she is able to cut threads. The story kicks off when Io is hired by the 'mobqueen' to investigate murders linked to vengeful wraiths. To top it off, she has to work with the very person she's been avoiding for years, a boy she's fated to love - except he already has a girlfriend. If you think that the above sounds like t

Indie Book Review: The City of Snow and Stars

THE CITY OF SNOW AND STARS by S.D. Howard 4 Stars Verdict: A dark fantasy with a wholesome cast.  Trigger warning for rape/abuse.  'I'm not wanted for me, only what I can give, and there is nothing left.' I don't usually quote books, but this is a very quotable story! The dialogue was powerful in places, and the way the characters bonded together was the strength of this Christian fantasy adventure.   It's written in third person with a narrative that I personally found a little distant at times. That said, the characters are easy to root for. Runaways Trinia and Jayden team up with a wizard to take down Trinia's abusive father before he can take over the kingdom. They're joined by a talking wolf and a shapeshifter called Batanny, who in many ways seems like an older version of Trinia. Threads of pain run through this book and pull the characters together in a way that makes this dark read still feel wholesome at times.  It soon became an easy to enjoy fant