A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. An aspiring teenage talent, magic came easy to her and was her closest friend. Then, Sera’s great-aunt Jasmine died, and in a split second decision, Sera resurrected her. The spell brings Jasmine back to life (as well as her dead pet chicken, Roo-Roo), but at the cost of Sera’s magic. Sera used to see her magic as an endless, starry night sky, but now in her thirties her magical sky is filled with holes and Sera has barely any magic left at all.
This is how Sangu Mandanna’s cozy fantasy novel A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping opens, and for the remainder of the novel we share in Sera’s madcap adventures as she tries to get her magic back. Sera spends the majority of her time running the inn her and Jasmine own, the Batty Hole Inn. It’s got that cozy cottage charm only a British inn could have, with some quirks thrown in, of course. Sera had given up hope of ever having her magic back until she learns about a book owned by Britain’s Magical Guild. Unfortunately for Sera, her resurrection spell broke major Guild rules, and she has been exiled from the Guild with no access to its library permitted.
Enter the novel’s wacky yet lovable secondary characters. In true cozy fantasy fashion, hijinks facilitated by the inn’s well-meaning, long-time residents are plentiful, as well as humorous and heartwarming. The guests at the inn range from the previously mentioned undead chicken Roo-Roo, Sera’s nephew Theo, Sera’s great-aunt Jasmine, a knight from the village Medieval Fair named Nicholas who takes knightly chivalry very seriously and wears nothing but his knight’s armor, a witch named Clemmie that accidentally turned herself into a fox and is now stuck that way, a retired dance teacher named Matilda who gardens (badly) and would love the inn to get a goat, and the newest arrivals a fellow Guild member, Luke, and his sister, Posy.
Guests is the official term since they are staying at the inn, but they are all really found family. They’ve all been in search of something after not really fitting in wherever they went, and found themselves at Batty Hole Inn with fellow outcasts that, while looking for a place to stay, were really in search of an accepting home. The zany group bands together to help Sera get her magic back, fight the Guild, keep the inn together, all while avoiding tripping over the undead chicken. And what cozy fantasy wouldn’t be complete without a little romance between Sera and Luke.
This was a cute, easy read with lots of laughs and well written characters. The cozy fantasy vibe was there with the magic, mentions of baked goods and tea, and the English countryside setting. I flew through this book because I liked the characters and their development so much. At times the humor did seem to be trying a little hard, and I’m not quite satisfied with the way the novel ended. Overall I would recommend this novel to cozy fantasy fans that enjoy a somewhat predictable yet cute plot, especially alongside a cup of tea and baked dessert.
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Review by Sarah Turner-Hill, Adult Programming Coordinator
