A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping – ARC Book Review

A whimsical and heartwarming novel about a witch who has a second chance to get her magical powers—and her life—back on track, from the national bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.

Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild. Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps her aunt run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests’ shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her. But then she finds out about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power…

Enter Luke Larsen, handsome and icy magical historian, who arrives on a dark winter evening and might just know how to unlock the spell’s secrets. Luke has absolutely no interest in getting involved in the madcap goings-on of the inn and is definitely not about to let a certain bewitching innkeeper past his walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he agrees to help Sera with her spell. Worse, he might actually be thawing.

Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera Swan is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone…and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.

Have you read Sangu Mandanna’s The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches? Well I enjoyed the book and vowed to read more books from this author. So when I got my hands on this book as an ARC, I was super excited to get my hands on this book!

Sera Swain is once one of the most powerful witches in Britain. But to revive her great-aunt Jasmine, she lost a great deal of magic. The Guild found her guilty and was exiled. Sera then runs a magical inn for fifteen years–this magical inn is very special and only certain people can see the inn and if they stay at the inn, they never want to seem to leave the inn. Enter Luke, the magic historian and his younger sister Posy who stays at the inn. Luke might be a key to help Sera regain her magical abilities once again and with Luke’s help, Sera will once again be able to become a powerful witch again.

This was actually a heartwarming story which I actually enjoyed reading very much. I like how the chemistry between Sera and Luke brewed slowly in the book. All the characters in the book are all likable–Clemmie, who by accident has turned into a fox and needed some magic to turn back to human, Nicholas, Matilda, Jasmine. Theo…I really love the connection between all the characters. The writing was actually great and the story was really engaging and enjoyable to read as a whole. And reading this whole book made me think of myself in the magical world as well.

Towards the end wasn’t really great but then of course it ended up with a happy ending. Like last time, I actually enjoyed reading this book much. Worth 4.5 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Hodder for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.