Review & Giveaway: Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates

Mass Market Paperback

Expected publication: May 1st 2012 by Signet

more details...

ISBN: 0451236637 (ISBN13: 9780451236630)

edition language: English

series: A Magical Bakery Mystery #1

From the Publisher:

Lightfoot’s tired of loafing around as the assistant manager of an Ohio bakery. So when her Aunt Lucy and Uncle Ben open a bakery in Savannah’s quaint downtown district and ask Katie to join them, she enthusiastically agrees.

In the Honeybee Bakery—named after Lucy’s cat—Katie notices that her aunt is adding mysterious herbs to her recipes. Turns out these herbal enhancements aren’t just tasty—Aunt Lucy is a witch and her recipes are actually spells!

But when a curmudgeonly customer is murdered outside the Honeybee Bakery, Uncle Ben becomes the prime suspect. With the help of handsome journalist Steve Dawes, charming firefighter Declan McCarthy, and a few spells, Katie and Aunt Lucy will stir up some toil and trouble to clear Ben’s name and find the real killer…

My Thoughts: Such a fun new series! I liked the main characters right away. I could tell they had a strong emotional attachment to each other and would make a good team in running the new Honeybee Bakery. Katie is a wonderful baker with lots of hands-on experience and Aunt Lucy has some special skills to add to the mix. She's a real sweetie-pie but not exactly your typical aunt; she's a witch!  Aunt Lucy's book club is a little more than just a group of ladies who like to read. I loved reading about their exploits. This group reminded me of Dolores Riccio's Divine Circle of Ladies, one of my favorite cozy series!

Katie is a little taken aback when Aunt Lucy tells her the truth of her potential powers but she puts them to good use in the search for the person who really killed nasty old Mavis Templeton; you just know Uncle Ben is innocent!  Mavis's abrasive personality has ticked off more than just a few people in town. It takes a few sleuthing forays to finally ferret out the truth but Katie is persistent and it pays off.  Of course, she has a little help from her aunt and new witchy friends.

I never used to like any paranormal elements but I find that they are more and more appealing to me. This is one charming new series I will definitely follow up on.  4****

Bailey Cates is also the author of the homecrafting series written under her pseudonym ,Cricket McRae.  Cricket/Bailey can be found at her website. If you like Shirley Damsgaard's Abby and Ophelia series, you'll like this one too.

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by Berkley in exchange for my honest opinion.
Due to the ever so generous Berkley, I am able to offer a giveaway of one copy of this book. Open to US only. Be sure to leave an e mail address in your comment. No e mail address makes me assume you do not want to be entered in the drawing.

Deadline to enter is May 15rd at 5 PM (est). Bonus entries are as follows:

+4 for following on Networked blogs. Just remind me under what name.
+3 for blogging (sidebar is fine) or tweeting about the giveaway. Leave me a link, please.

If you cannot comment you can still enter by sending me an e mail with Brownies and Broomsticks in the subject line. Include your name and e mail and send to florida982002[at]yahoo.com

Good luck!