4 out of 5 stars
I would like to thank the author Erin Johnson for gifting me with a free electronic copy of this book. She has done so after hearing that I enjoyed the first book in this series, and I can assure you this is still my own open and honest opinion and not something I’ve been paid (or bartered a book) to say.
‘Cook Dough, Snow & Wands Aglow’ is book
four in the ‘Spells & Caramels’ series and one of my favourites. Not
because of the Christmas time feel, but simply because it finally started
giving we impatient readers (or was it just me?) some insight into Imogen, her
family, and her past. And it was well worth waiting for!
Yes there was, to me, a bit of confusion as the characters would say one thing,
and then the opposite… *cough* vampires… and the faults were not so seamlessly
stitched together to make sense. This gave it a clunky, badly edited feel – but
they were so minor I almost hate to mention them. They did not detract from the
main story at all. Yes it seemed like some clumsy backstory filler around the
main story gone awry, but dedicated fans of this series can easily overlook it
in our desire to learn more about Imogen.
Gosh, I just made it sound a heck of a lot
worse than it all really was… seriously, would I have given it 4 out of 5 stars
because it was a stinker? No! It wasn’t a stinker, it’s just a Monday morning
as I write this review and so I just sound crabby I guess! 😀
I loved the story, felt sad at times for the past, happy for the present, and
eager to see what happened in the next book. So, to me, a perfect little
supernatural cosy crime novel!
And the level of magic wasn’t as “urgh, Harry Potter wannabe” as the last novel. I was very relieved to read this. It was back to that nicer balance of magic is just part of their lives, not some miraculous way of making everything happen. I know that sounds a little weird when discussing magic… But I hope people get what I mean. Oh, and I loved the punch! Except for what ended up in it… but that little level of magic was cute.
All in all, ‘Cookie Dough, Snow & Wands
Aglow’ stayed true to the series so far. Same lovable characters, same strong
but sometimes witless protagonist, and same “baddies” in the background.
Thoroughly enjoyable and well worth a read.
Book nerd side of things – formatting was fine for Kindle, no clunky paragraphs
out of place or page numbers in the middle of a sentence.
Would I recommend this book to others?
Yes I would, but my regular followers will know what I would say – read the first three books in the ‘Spells & Caramels’ series first! I suppose it COULD be read as a stand-alone book… but it would come across as disjointed to me and I couldn’t do it. So, do this book, this series and this talented author the justice they deserve and read all the books in the series in order. Lovers of cosy crime mysteries that have a supernatural theme will adore not only this book, but this series so go grab them today. They are also very reasonably priced as both an eBook or as a paperback.
Would I buy this book for myself?
Yes I would. I mean, I own a copy so don’t have to… but have been buying all the other books in this series that I wasn’t gifted. I happily pay for them too as they are so good. I’ve recently signed up to Amazon Prime and ‘Cookie Dough, Snow & Wands Aglow’ comes up as “free” as part of my Prime account, but I would much rather pay the under $10 AUD price it usually costs and get to keep the book if I ever leave Prime.
In summary: A great continuation, with suitable plot twists, to an excellent series.
Janis's Journal 