Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti by Bailey Cates

"A Witch with a Whisk"

As a new witch- not to mention head chef at Savannah's most enchanting bakery- Katie Lightfoot is still getting used to casting spells, brewing potions, and mastering her magical powers. But that doesn't mean she can't find time to enjoy a picnic with firefighter Declan McCarthy...until she stumbles upon a corpse.

The dead man's tattoo reveals he was a member of a secret society- and it turns out he's missing an object that was very important to the group. When Katie learns the killer was after more than the man's life, she and her aunt Lucy leave the baked goods on the cooling rack and set off in hot pursuit of a murderer.

Hello, my friends! I am back again with a new book review and a revived sense of motivation! My last book review was posted way back at the tail end of 2017, and I've been wanting to keep up with blogging and written reviews for quite some time now, that it seemed the perfect time to start back up again with a nice cozy mystery!

Now, Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti is the second novel of the Magical Bakery Mystery series by Bailey Cates. It was back in the middle of November when I read the first book, Brownies and Broomsticks. 

One of the big draws for me for this series is the idea of witches in bakeries, and although it is a common enough concept in the fiction world, it's one that I absolutely subscribe to! It makes complete sense for a modern day witch, who dabbles in herbs and natural magic, to find herself utilizing her knowledge and prowess within the food and goods that they share with those around them. ABSOLUTELY!

Now, seeing as this is the second in a series, there are a few relationships that have been established and those that are still yet to be explored. Katie has found herself in a complex love triangle (of course, because why not?) between her friend Declan McCarthy, and Steve Dawes. Declan, as far as I can tell, is the ride-or-die friend who loves her until the end although she may not be quite there. Whereas Steve is a male magic user that she can confide in and that gets her motor running in a more, let's just say, primal way. Catch my drift? So, although this is a pretty standard love triangle between the dark hero and the best friend, I appreciate that Katie is not down for any of it. At the end of the day, she wants both men in her life and she is adamant about not settling down for either of them, although she has yet to actually say that to their faces. 😩

Katie is a fun character who is independent, powerful, smart, and surprisingly vulnerable. In the previous book, she picked herself up from her old life where she was dumped by her fiance and moved to Savannah to switch gears and reinvent herself. What I love most about her is her ability to balance her strength against her weaknesses. She is a new witch who is still training, and she accepts that she needs help from those around her who are willing to provide it should she simply ask.

I also really enjoy her coven and all those fun and distinct personalities that make up her cohort of close friends and allies. Everyone individual is unique and has depth, which helps to flesh out Katie a bit more and helps solidify her place within the coven, as well as the point in where her life is at.

About this story and installment specifically, I really enjoyed seeing Katie's advancement with her magic and abilities. The story continues to unfold and has created new layers to what was seemingly fun and innocent from before. Everything now has more meaning not only to Katie, but to her overall future and the continuation of the series.

My only downside was that I really don't vote for Steve. I understand why Katie is drawn to him and how he adds to her life but as a character, he is really wishy-washy! At times I thought that he was preventing her from getting to the truth, and that he isn't very convinced of his own choices and convictions. At the end of the day, I don't think he is good for her, mentally at least. If I had a choice I would totally choose Declan!

And lastly, it may have been sliightlyyy predictable! And at the end of the day, it doesn't bother me too much, but there was a character that I was convinced was behind it all very early on, and low and behold! I was right!

Other than that there is so much in this series that I enjoy and that gets me excited to continue on with the next installment! It may be a while as I am low on funds and I have PLENTY of other material I need to weed through, it's something I am definitely going to continue on with.

My overall rating for this book was a 4/5!

Definitely check this series out if you need something quick and fun and new to get into!

Until next time guys, thanks for stopping by! 💜