I love a good cozy witch mystery. Add in a chef who can talk reasonable food a non-chef can easily understand and I'm completely in. This novella is a great introduction to a new series I look forward to reading more of. The end was a bit abrupt, but I enjoyed meeting the characters and setting the groundwork for more adventures starring Mia and, hopefully, Christine.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars, it was okay, but too short to really judge.

A short, quick introduction to the new series. This book really was just a quick intro that didn't have a lot of depth and moved quite fast. Mostly a glimpse of what the series may be.

I'm looking forward to the first full length book to hopefully answer questions and fill things in.

I enjoy Lynn Cahoon's writing, so when I saw that she had a new series beginning, I grabbed this one. Chili Cauldron Curse is a quick, fun novella to introduce the series and characters. We meet Mia Malone, a kitchen witch who is back in her hometown of Magic Springs, Idaho. She is there to assist her grandmother and her friend in getting the local food bank in order before the new school year begins. While there, they find the body of Dorian Alexander, the local coven leader and her grandmother's boyfriend, dead in the foodbank. Mia wants to help her grandmother to find the culprit as well as get the foodbank up and running. There was not a lot to this one, but that is to be expected considering its length. I will see how the first full length book goes before I decide if this is a series I will follow.

I really loved this first book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

Mia is a kitchen witch and is also a fledgling sleuth. So when a body is found, mia jumps at the chance to investigate. This book is cute and very charming. The characters are sweet. The plot is tricky and keeps you guessing. I definitely recommend this dynamic series.

Had me at Kitchen Witch and Paranormal! Wonderful into novella to the new series I can’t wait to dive into! Cozy, for me at least, spooky but light hearted and well written. Again, a great intro / peek behind the curtain!

Mia visits her Grandmother to help organize the local food bank. While cleaning and organizing, she finds a body. This is a cozy introduction to a new series which shows promise. I look forward to learning more about characters. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next one. I received this book free and chose to make a voluntary, unbiased review.

When Mia Malone’s grandmother asks her to take a week away from her restaurant job and come to Magic Springs, Idaho, she’s happy to oblige. Like Mia, Grans has witchcraft running through her veins, and life with her is never boring. Plus, the cause is a good one helping Grans get the local food bank up and running again. But there’s an unappetizing surprise in store. While Mia is knee-deep in boxes of donated produce, she encounters the body of Dorian Alexander.

Dorian was a warlock, leader of the local coven. He was also her Grans’ new beau. There’s no potion that’ll make this trouble disappear. But if Mia wants to keep her Grans now a prime suspect from serving a spell in prison, she’ll have to unearth the real killer fast.

The author uses this novella to introduce us to the characters in her new series, but only manages to give us a mystery that is easy to solve since the story is shorter than a regular length mystery. The characters are well written, likeable, compelling, and interesting which makes it seem like they are three dimensional and have depth. The mystery is lacking clues, suspects, red herrings, twists, and turns so you can guess who the killer is early on in the book since there are only two or three main suspects to begin with. The conclusion to the mystery seemed to be rushed so the author could have Mia go back home and make her big discovery and make her life changing decision.

I enjoyed getting to meet the new characters and I especially liked getting to know Grans and Mia. I didn't like Mia's boyfriend from page one and I was right about what he was doing while Mia was helping Grans, since the author basically laid all the clues out in a nice little row. I look forward to reading the next book in the series One Poison Pie to see what happens to the characters and see how they grow and develop.

I received an ARC of this book from Kensington Books through NetGalley for my honest review.

I have read many cozies by Lynn Cahoon and loved them all. Chili Cauldron Curse is a short novella to introduce us to the characters and community that we will visit often in the Kitchen Witch Mysteries. Cahoon always writes interesting, entertaining and wholesome characters. She sets them in communities populated by some real "characters" then throws everyone into solving a perplexing mystery. Although she sticks to this basic format, her books are unique and fresh, no rotating plot lines from one series to the next.

Chili Cauldron Curse brings us Mia Malone and her Grandmother, both practicing witches of varying skills. When the local coven leader is murdered, Mia finds that he was also Gran's boyfriend which places her as the #1 suspect list. The investigation turns into a competition with Mia in the lead to figure it out and save the day.

I really didn't like the main character at all. Mia was very dull. The other characters all seemed to be very self involved.

This is a short novella that is a prequel to book 1 in the Kitchen Witch Mysteries. I'm guessing readers wanted more information about Mia Malone, her grandmother and Magic Springs, Idaho. A cute paranormal cozy with good witches using their magic to help others. Mia is visiting Magic Springs to help set up a food bank for the winter ahead. The local witches coven helps run it and magic is all around this small town. Mia finds the dead body of Dorian, the local warlock among the boxes of the food bank and her grandmother is the prime suspect. Good short read for the Halloween season. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Lynn Cahoon is one of my favorite authors so when I heard that she had a new series, I was excited! She didn't disappoint. This novella is a prequel to the Kitchen Witch mysteries that will start with One Poison Pie but here we are introduced to Mia and get an understanding of the character and her familiars.

Mia has come to Magic Springs to help her grandmother with the local food bank. She is drawn into investigating what happened to her grandmother's boyfriend when his spirit enters her cat.

The characters and the early development for the new series have me anxious to start the new series.

This novella was a super fun start to a new series by Lynn Cahoon. Mia Malone is helping her grandmother get the town's food bank set up before school starts. She is just in town for the week, and then she'll get back to her boyfriend and her own life. But, one day when opening the food bank, she finds a dead body. Mia needs the help of her grandmother and the local coven of witches to find the killer.

I enjoyed reading this book. I did want to find out more about the magic and the witches in the world of the book. I really want to continue the series and find out more about Mia. I liked the characters and the story. I can't wait to see what comes next!

*eARC provided in exchange for an honest review*

Mia Malone returns (temporarily) home to Magic Springs, Idaho to help get a food bank up and running, and finds herself embroiled in murder.

This short little delight is the prequel novella to Cahoon’s upcoming Kitchen Witch Mysteries series, and it does a great job setting the reader up for a wonderful adventure. I do think the novella choice to introduce the characters, their various relationships, and the witchy side of Magic Springs was a good idea. It’s explanatory about the more peculiar aspects of the town and gives some hints as to possible elements that will play roles in the series as it develops, and definitely excites anticipation about the next book Mia stars in, but that said, I think that the short format might have short-changed the story a bit. Cahoon fit a *lot* into this small story. The characters are well-drawn, the town really starts to come alive, the food aspects of the story, represented by a chili contest to benefit the food bank, is neat but seemed to appear a bit suddenly, given that Mia’s focus for the beginning of the story was in organizing the food bank for it’s re-opening. It was the murder mystery aspect that suffered the most, in my mind. The murder itself was sort of glossed-over, and there was more cooking than real investigation on Mia’s part. Not that the reveal didn’t make sense, because the reveal itself was dramatic and fit the story well.

I loved the characters, and I was really getting into the groove of Magic Springs by the time the novella ended. At the end of the story, I definitely was on board to enjoy Mia’s next adventure, and can’t wait to see where Cahoon is taking her (and the reader!) next in the first full-length mystery in the series.

Chili Cauldron Curse by Lynn Cahoon
Book #0.5: Kitchen Witch Mysteries Series
Source: NetGalley and Kensington Books
Rating: 3/5 stars

**NOVELLA MINI REVIEW**

The Bottom Line: Generally speaking, I liked this book, but it is a bit of a wobbly start to a new series. First in a series books are always hard as there is so much information, characters, backstory, plot, etc. that must be introduced. Unfortunately, the novella format of this book didn’t allow for enough time or space to really develop much of anything and the book just stops rather abruptly. While this makes it sound like I didn’t like the book at all, that is not the case. There is just enough in this book to make me want to come back for more. Mia and her grandmother are solid characters, the idea of an actual practicing coven makes me happy, and the help of familiars is always a bonus. Lynn Cahoon is an accomplished author, and I can’t see the next book in the series being anything other than thoroughly interesting, packed with details, and fully developed. I’m hanging on for round two!

This book was an excellent novella that was an introduction to Lynn Cahoon’s new series, The Kitchen Witch Mysteries. The book barely satisfied my appetite for the characters, and I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series! It’s going to be a good one. 4 stars.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Princess Fuzzypants here: It is always fun to see what an author you enjoy does with a new group of characters. As a prelude to a new Kitchen Witch series, she introduces Magic Springs and its various denizens including Gran and Mia and the members of the local coven. There are Muggles in town who often dismiss them as kooks. But they are real and someone has murdered the chief warlock.

Mia is in town at Gran’s behest to bring her organizational skills to bear on the food bank which is in total disarray. Once Dorian’s body is discovered and Gran becomes a prime suspect, Mia is going to have to sharpen her magik to find the real scoundrels. While the motive seems pretty obvious, the author manages to throw in enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. There is also a nice bit where the victim and Mia’s kitty familiar become entwined. There is a ton of potential in that story line.

Five purrs and two paws up.

Mia Malone is off to Magic Springs Idaho for a week to spend.With her grandmother and help her out with some things. The local food bank needs to be organized and get set up so it can begin running again. Mia is happy to help and loves getting to spend time with her grandmother who happens to be a witch. You see witchcraft runs through the families blood and life is never dull when her grandmother is around. When Mia opens the doors to continue working one morning she comes across the body of Dorian Alexander. Dorian is the leader of the local coven and also happens to be dating her grandmother. With her grandmother as a suspect Mia decides to look into the mans murder hoping she'll be able to give the police someone else to look at. She is only in town for a short period of time so she must rush her investigation but will this cause her to place herself in danger? Follow along and see where the investigation leads her and just what happens in the end!

This is the start of a new series by one of my favorite cozy authors featuring Mia, a kind of practicing witch, and her Gran who is a full on practicing witch. In this intro Mia is helping her grandmother get a local food pantry off the ground and stumbles on a dead body hiding among the bags of rotting potatoes. While Cahoon is one of my favorite cozy authors I don't usually love her novellas and unfortunately, this wasn't an exception. I just didn't connect with Mia or her grandmother or really anyone else in the town. As well I never felt particularly engaged with the mystery. I do like the concept and I trust Cahoon so I will probably pick up the first full length book in the series but I think I'll skip her novellas from now on.

I received an ARC of Chili Cauldron Curse through NetGalley. I have read most of Lynn Cahoon’s books. Chili Cauldron is a novella so it is a quick read. It introduces the new cast of characters and the location for Cahoon’s newest series featuring Mia and her grandmother who are both witches. Mia takes a week off from her job at a restaurant in Boise to return home to Magic Springs. Her grandmother asked her to come help organize the food bank and to help with the annual fund raiser. Mia also has to “babysit” her boyfriend’s adult sister. When Mia finds a body in the food bank, she is drawn into the investigation. The victim is Grans boyfriend. The local coven gets involved in both the food bank and the investigation. The storyline is a little simplistic but I believe that’s because of the novella format. Personally, I’m not fond of books with magic and spells. Fortunately, this book doesn’t overly use the witch aspect.