Lola Dodge delivers a sweet follow-up through her next book in the Spellwork Syndicate series. Sugar Spells is fun, magical, and everything I wanted from the previous book and more!

The story begins right where Deadly Sweet ended and we find that Anise is now at odds with her magic after the previous events occurred. She’s finally found a sense of home and feels more like herself than she ever has, but now she’s afraid she’ll have to leave the bakery because of this magic she possess.

“Is there anything else I can do?”
“Live,” Peggy said. “Dance, kiss, love and don’t fixate on what’s wrong. If you can be passionately yourself, death will never hold sway over you.”

It was easy to dive back into this world Lola Dodge has created and follow along with the story. I felt for Anise and how she’s constantly finding herself in trouble, but at the same time I loved reading about her magic in this book. There were certain areas in the first book where I wanted more from the magic descriptions, but in Sugar Spells there were fantastic explanations behind everything! Lola Dodge’s writing continues to grow and that makes me super excited to read the next book in this series!

And the baking!! We get to see a different side to Anise’s baking this time around. Her new magic helps her create what she describes as “killer Oreos” and it strangely made me want to eat some? You’ll understand why that’s weird once you read the book.. But in all seriousness, you probably shouldn’t read Sugar Spells while hungry.

As usual, the girl power and friendships in this series are on point. But the most interesting part of this book was the relationship between Anise and Wynn, her bodyguard. We learn more about mysterious Wynn and his back story as the story progresses and I loved it all.

“When we get out of here, I’ll take you to a real movie. A comedy. And we’ll eat all the snacks.”
We popped out of the tunnel I hadn’t paying attention to and Wynn paused to look back at me. His lips tilted in the rarest of Wynn-spressions.
A smile.
“Promise?”

Anise learns the truth of how the two of them are connected and what the terms of his Shield contract are. And with that, they form a somewhat friendship as they try to achieve the same goal of releasing him from his duties. This is really when the story started to pick up for me. Honestly, if Anise and Wynn end up together this has got to be one of my favorite slow-burn romances EVER. (Thank you, Lola.)

“You think you can experience what you experience and not be changed? You went through the fire again, cupcake. Never expect things to be the same on the other side.”

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It was the perfect weekend read when I needed a quick escape from the world. I recommend it to anyone looking for some magic in their lives!

So.  The scene was well and truly set in Deadly Sweet, and here we pick up the story, hot on the heels of the ending of that book.

For me, this has a different tone.  This feels darker, more unsettling than the first, but it still works.  World building is done.  This is all about the plot and the relationship development.  And it works.  Almost effortlessly it would seem.  

I think I'm developing a magical sweet tooth.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.

Sugar Spells is book 2 in The Spellwork Syndicate series. Lola Dodge is a must read author for me, I love her writing style. Her characters are entertaining and lively, and her world building is great.

After the events in book 1, Anise is left with her powers acting a bit wonky. She's trying to bake and everything is turning into gooey sludge messes and she can't figure out why. She's off kitchen duty at her Aunt's bakery until it all gets sorted out. After consulting with a family friend they realize a bit of her friend's death magic is in Anise and that's what is throwing everything out of wack. She has to find an outlet for the magic or who knows how long this will last. So Anise does the thing she's best at and winds up making deadly macarons. This draws the attention of a creepy mannikin (vampires and other things that go bump in the night). Something is up with the mannikin though and Anise is more focused on helping Wynn, her bodyguard out of a situation he was forced into.

Sugar Spells was a strong sequel to a magical series you won't want to put down. We got some light shed on the other abilities we got glimpses on in book 1. I was very pleased with learning more about Wynn this time around too. All in all this was a great read, I recommend it if you like YA Fantasy novels with magic mixed in.

I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book but it was still a fun read. There were many little threads of possible storylines that were sort of picked up but never actually lead anywhere. Sometimes this felt like watching a movie trailer. Anise also made some very stupid moves which I did not see fit to her character from the first book. Those are just a minor flaws, but they took one star off from my rating. Next to that I had fun with Anises new murder macarones, the friendship developing between her and her shield and the guano … Yeah, you read that last one right but I won't tell anymore!

*Full review to Come*

This is the cutest series. I'm learning about baking as I read. Anise can't make her magic work correctly after her brush with death. I loved learning how to make murder macaroons as well as how Wynn's contract worked.

Good story. Enjoyed it.

"For fans of Hex Hall, The Magicians, Practical Magic, and Food Wars!

After her run-in with a jealous warlock, apprentice baker Anise Wise can’t wait to get back into the kitchen where she belongs. But thanks to her brush with death, the land of the living isn’t all cupcakes and marshmallows.

Anise’s magical mojo is way out of whack and her changed powers are stirring up trouble. The town’s abuzz with news that Anise can bake deathly spells, and unsavory characters start lining up for a taste. They’ll stop at nothing to use Anise and her witchcraft to further their own plots.

She plans to hole up researching solutions until the attention dies down, but then she discovers the horrifying terms of her bodyguard’s contract. Wynn has saved her life so many times, she can’t leave him trapped. Doing the right thing will mean risking death or worse - losing her dream job.

For this witch, justice might not be as sweet as advertised."

A book for when you're trying to scratch that Great British Bake Off and Magicians vibe at the same time.

I wish I would have read the first one before this one but I still really enjoyed it. It just took me a little bit of reading to get invested in Anise and Wynn's problems. Book was well paced and had action. I liked the uniqueness of the story and the familiars were an added plus. Can't wait for more by this author.

3.5 - 4 Stars
I really enjoyed this.
I couldn't put it down.
Sugar Spells picks off sometime after the end of Deadly Sweet, with a new problem for Anise - apparently she now has death magic too, and it is leaking into her baking.
This series is different. Very fun. I really enjoyed this.

Rating 4/5

I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review.

This is a sweet, cozy read that illuminates Anise and her kind soul. She is the epitome of what every young teenager should strive to be in kindness, generosity and always choosing to do the right thing. I loved how the complexity of the storyline was absent - I say this because if there was more focus on the magic, it would have taken away from the great character building. I absolutely died when we got to venture into Gabi's vet clinic and I hope there's more focus on that in the next novels!

I'm a fatty at heart so the culinary tidbits (were note really just *tidbits* but had a major role in this series) was literally icing on the cake for me!

Side note: this cannot be read as a stand alone.

Anise has had a bad few months. Her powers have gone haywire after she nearly dies. From being an apprentice baker at her Great-Aunt Agatha's Bakeshop with her own brand of magic to death magic that she can't control. With the help of her friends, she tries to figure out how to deal. Once people find out that she has this power, they want to use her for their own schemes. Fortunately, she has Wynn, her bodyguard or Shield. He is with her every minute to protect her, even when she doesn't want his help. I read the second book first, but I didn't have any problems keeping up. I did buy the first one because I really like this series. Many great characters with a fun story. I received this book from Net Galley and INscribe Digital for a honest review and no compensation otherwise. The opinions expressed are my own.

This book might have been better than the first book in the series. It had the same amazing characters in the amazing world that was built with a whole new plot. Anise’s baking magic wound up entangled with death magic from her near death experience in the previous book. She still makes baked goods, but now with death enchantments. Mannikans also come into play, they are non-human supernaturals, like vampires and werewolves.

I loved the character growth in this novel. We got to know Wynn bettere and also got to see what Gabi’s magic was like. Anise also continued to grow as a witch. I love these characters and I will follow them through the rest of this series because they are so much fun to read about,

What I think made this novel better than the first is the plot. Don’t get me wrong, the first book is amazing, but this one was even better. I was a little scared, because typically sequels suffer from second-book-syndrome, but that wasn’t the case here at all. While in the first book I felt that the climax was diminished by prior big events in the book, in this book the climax was executed perfectly. I also loved the addition of vampires to the world.

I am so glad to have discovered this series. I absolutely love these characters and am so glad to have gotten to read about them in two novels and will continue to follow them through the rest of the series. This world is so unique and the plot was amazing. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and hopefully read other books by Lola Dodge.

This book was So good. A total one click read. While I read book two before book one it did not take away any enjoyment nor leave me confused. The characters were flawlessly written. I also enjoyed the familiars lol. Overall I found the plot highly engaging and want book 3 now!

Loved Sugar Spells! Book 2 finds Anise in another magical mishap. A fun read with fun characters. I loved the magical animals in this story. Wynn is awesome and I'm looking forward to reading book 3 Wicked Tasty. #SugarSpells #NetGalley

I give Sugar Spells 5 stars for its fun read.
I would recommend this book to YA Paranormal Fans.

These is the second book in the Spellwork Syndicate series. I enjoyed reading this story and thought it was well written and a good storyline.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a honest review the opinions are of my own.

This second book is so sweet, inspiring and just fun to read. On one of my status I mentioned that the cover represents really well the inside and it's because everything feels like a princess fairytale and I would definitely read these books to my kids if I had them.

Our main character, Anise, is still one of my favorites. I love how she's always paying attention to the people around her trying to help and the beautiful way she uses her powers. It was heartbreakig to see her struggling to bake, the thing she loves doing the most. However, at the same time, it made me realise how there was so many people trying to help her because everyone just adore her like I do.

One of those people protecting Anise is our Shield, Wynn. I love him and I would love to be like him too, such a badass and always trying to start a fight haha. Here we get to know a little bit of his past because he starts opening up bit by bit and let me tell you, saying I got angry and I wanted to protect him is an understatement.

Another character we get to know better was Gabi, one of Anise best friends. I just adore their friendship, how all three of them have each others back and would do anything at anytime to help. Also, I would love to live in Gabi's house since she's a vet her house is full of unique creatures that just take your breath away.

The character that made me laugh at loud anytime it was there was Carrot hahaha, she goes straight to the point and doesn't hesitate when she has to say somenthing.

However, the aspect I loved the most was the ending, it was heartwarming and left me wanting to go and do stuff because we are so lucky we're alive. I have to admit it was a little bit unrealistic but I didn't mind.

I don't like writing a review with everything positive so I'll say some things other people maybe won't like but that for me it was fine :P One of them that I noticed was, it only has two conflicts and one is a result of the other so I'll probably would count it as only one, therefore if you're looking for a lot of action this may not be it. Another one is that Anise isn't such a badass but because that's just her personality, she doesn't like fighting and I think it was ok since not everyone has to be a badass.

All in all, I would 100% recommend this trilogy to everyone! It's sweet, heartwarming, it talks a lot about desserts and it has magic, what else could make it better?

A great story for young adult readers.
This is the second installment of this series, and would recommend to read the first one to get a feeling of the characters.
Our main character, Anise, is struggling with her magic and need to cleanse it, to keep working as a baker's apprentice. Her natural magic is tainted with death and she needs to find an outlet to drain it.
The solution might be more dangerous than the problem.

This book was just the recipe of magical fun I was looking for! Sugar Spells is the second book in The Spellwork Syndicate Series, the first is Deadly Sweet, which I have not read yet, and works fine as a stand alone. The third book, Wicked Tasty comes out next March. I am going to be adding Deadly Sweets to my TBR!

This fast read is a story about Anise and her baking spells. She is all of a sudden unable to whip up her usual yummy pastries and discovers evil magic is running through her veins. As she tries to discover a solution to her baking and magical troubles she also tries to save her bodyguard from a lifelong debt he is repaying.

This book is an easy and fun little story of baking and spells. Plenty of magical creatures fill the pages of this light story along with lots and lots of BATS!🙀 This story finds me at the right time, before Halloween and going into baking season!

I received this advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. This book will be published October 30th, go check it out!

This book was a ton of fun. I ended up reading the entire thing in 24 hours (and keep in mind I didn't have a chance to read the first book in the series). Luckily the author does a very solid job of world-building with slight reminders of the previous plot without going into it with too much detail. Anise is a witch who can infuse her magic into the items that she bakes. However, due to unfortunate circumstances her magic is temporarily death magic rather than whatever it normally is. After a series of comedic almost-montages, she decides that the best way to get rid of the magic is to bake it out. In come the death Macarons.

My first line of this review really is the best description of this book, a ton of fun. Anise has her friends, a girl squad you might say, who are there to keep her company and try to help her deal with things like a death god crow creature or accidentally killing all of the bushes. She also has a guardian in the form of Wynn who gives off major "this is going to be the romance" signals without actually having it happen, which was kind of wonderful. All in all, the magic system seems pretty solid, the plot felt conventional at times, but still had a few wonderful twists and turns.

I really enjoy this series from Lola Dodge. It is light mystery, food and teen angst all wrapped up in one.

Advance reading copy provided by netgalley.

OK, maybe this wasn't the best book to read while on a low carb diet, haha. Once again this book goes pretty heavily into the details of the things Anise is baking, so if you're into watching The Great British Bake-Off and Charmed then this book might be for you! If cooking shows bore you, you might want to move along...

After her exploits in Deadly Sweet, Anise's fire magic is left tainted with death magic and she can't bake. If you've read the first book in the series, this is basically game over, life is ruined for Anise. (And if you haven't read the first book in the series, what are you even doing here? This is the second book in a series, and no, it can't be read as a stand alone. Go read Deadly Sweet first, then come back, you weirdo.) She's desperate to get her baking mojo back - by any means necessary, even it if means baking murder macaroons for a local vampire who is not-quite-right-in-the-head. Especially once she finds out the terms of Wynn's contract, and realizes that there's a way she can use this unwanted power to his advantage.

I love that we get a look inside Gabi's family's cryptozoology vet clinic in this book! I'd have loved to get a little more of a look into that aspect of the world, but they pretty much say that because of Anise's fire magic (to say nothing of being tainted with death magic) she'll have a hard time getting the creatures to warm up to her, so she doesn't get to go exploring much. It feels like there are a lot of little threads of possible storylines that get sort of picked up in this book and then never actually lead anywhere, which was disappointing. Still, it was a fun story, and I enjoyed reading about Wynn opening up a little more with Anise, as well as reading about her power continuing to grow. BUT WHAT ABOUT SCHOOL?! SHE MISSED SO MUCH CLASS AND NOBODY CARES!! AHHH! The Ravenclaw in me is not OK with this!!