Imogen’s spent her twenties in Seattle, saving every penny and missing every party, to follow her dream of opening her own bakery.
When that dream goes up in flames, she accepts a spot in a mysterious baking contest—one she doesn’t remember entering. She travels to a bustling, medieval village off the coast of France and discovers an enchanting world of magic and mystery, and learns that she, too, possesses powers.
Unable to so much as cast a spell, Imogen struggles to keep up with the other witches and wizards who have come from all over the magical world to the Water Kingdom’s big competition. She juggles relationships with a sweet new friend, a snarky baking fire, and a brooding, handsome baker. As Imogen falls for this bewitching world, she fears she won’t master her magic in time to win the job of Royal Head Baker, and will be forced to return to the shambles of her non magical life.
It only gets worse, when a competitor drops dead in the middle of the big white baking tent, and Imogen’s the prime suspect. Now, she’ll not only have to survive the vampire and psychic judges, but also clear her name by finding the real murderer, before they strike again.
With a killer on the loose, a missing prince, and the Summer Solstice Festival fast approaching, Imogen will have to bake like her life depends on it- because it just might.
I received an ARC of this book from the author, this does not affect my opinion of this book or the content of my review.
I’ll admit, while I was intrigued by the blurb, the very shallow reason I took the author up on it was because we share a first name. And I was more than repaid in spades with a very funny and lighthearted story. When you find yourself giggling out loud in the first chapters, then you know you are in for a treat.
Alexander’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day ain’t got nothing on poor Imogene’s travails. And the way it all went down really resonated with me…I have those sort of life altering catastrophes myself. Admittedly though, my mayhem is just a little less magical.
I enjoyed the world building quite a bit, and I didn’t figure out the mystery until near the very end. The writing was quick and kept my attention centered on the characters. And the two female protagonists have a very Lucy Rucardo and Ethyl Mertz sort of vibe, which I was digging. There was also quite the nice little spark between the Imogene and the love interest.
The only “negative” is where the romance was at the end of the book….and that isn’t because it ended badly or anything, it just doesn’t neatly fit into my personal preferences. That being said, it looks like the second book should be coming out shortly and so I shouldn’t have to wait too long to see how Johnson pulls this off. I am definitely looking forward to the next entry in this magical world she has created.
...Burns Through Her Bookshelf 