Review – Deadly Sweet (Spellwork Syndicate, Book 1) by Lola Dodge (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 265 pages
Publisher: Ink Monster, LLC
Release Date: January 16, 2018
ASIN: B06XWJND2X
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Spellwork Syndicate series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Anise Wise loves three things: baking, potion making, and reading her spellbooks in blissful silence. She might not be the most powerful witch, but enchantment is a rare skill, and her ability to bake with magic is even rarer. Too bad one wants witchcraft on their campus. Anise’s dream of attending pastry school crumbles with rejection letter after rejection letter.

Desperate to escape her dead-end future, Anise contacts the long-lost relative she’s not supposed to know about. Great Aunt Agatha owns the only magic bakery in the US, and she suddenly needs a new apprentice. Anise is so excited she books it to New Mexico without thinking to ask what happened to the last girl.

The Spellwork Syndicate rules the local witches in Taos, but as “accidents” turn into full-out attacks on Anise’s life, their promises to keep her safe are less and less reassuring. Her cranky bodyguard is doing his best, but it’s hard to fight back when she has no idea who’s the enemy. Or why she became their target.

If Anise can’t find and stop whoever wants her dead, she’ll be more toasted than a crème brûlée.”

I got a copy of this book through NetGalley to review. I enjoyed this YA paranormal book about a baking witch who is trying to find her place in a society that spurns witches. At least one more book is planned in this series;
Sugar Spells is expected to release in October of 2018.

There was surprising amount of action in this story and I loved the descriptions of baking and magic. I enjoyed the world created here and the characters in it.

The book is well written and engaging and makes for a fun and cute read.

There are a lot of unanswered mysteries at the end of this first book; especially around the Shields that protect the witches and how their contracts are enforced. I am hoping some of that will be explained more in upcoming books.

Overall this was a cute, fun, and quick read about a world where witches are real and specialize in very specific areas. I loved all the baking magic, the fun characters, and the light tone to this book. If you are looking for a fun and light paranormal YA read then I would definitely recommend this book. I plan on continuing with the series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– New Release Reading Challenge
– Goodreads Reading Challenge