Sweet Magic

by Donna Kauffman

Every autumn, Moonbright, Maine, is the picture of charm with its piles of crisp leaves, flickering jack-o'-lanterns . . . and a touch of the sweetest kind of enchantment.

Bree works in her family's bakery, Bellaluna's, where the secret ingredient is magic. Among all the mouth-watering treats that they regularly dish out rests a special cookie that can nudge would-be couples together. Though Bree has tried to perfect the recipe, her attempts have always come up short . . . but then Caleb, a visiting restaurateur, steps in and gets a taste of her latest creation.

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Halloween, Fiction

1 pages, Audio CD

Published June 15, 2021

About the author

USA Today bestseller and award winning author of the Cupcake Club series and the Blueberry Cove series, DONNA KAUFFMAN has been gratified to see her books get rave reviews in venues ranging from Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal to Entertainment Weekly and Cosmopolitan. She lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in southwestern Virginia, where she is happily working on the next book in her brand new Blue Hollow Falls series, set right in her mountain home area. When she's not writing, she can be found recapping the popular tv show NCIS for USA Today, or escaping into her garden to play in the dirt. Donna also works as a volunteer wildlife transporter for two local sanctuaries, giving orphaned and injured wildlife a second chance at survival. You can catch up on all of her adventures via her author page on Facebook, or on Twitter, or Instagram @writerchick. Donna loves to hear from readers!

Donna Kauffman passed away on April 9, 2020 of pancreatic cancer.

Reviews

[Toya (thereadingchemist) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet story, but I definitely wanted an actual paranormal romance and not just a hint of magical realism.

[Rachel (Into a Story) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not the target audience for this. I don’t enjoy most of the romance genre and I hate Insta-love.

These people literally knew each other for days and then got engaged.

I read this for the cute setting and Halloween theme, but I regret it.

[Elizabeth McKay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really did try to finish this one. I got 24% done and I just couldn’t get past the storyline.

[January · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bakeshop at Pumpkin and Spice by Kate Angell, Allyson Charles, and Donna Kauffman
Moonbright, Maine #2
360-page Kindle Ebook

Genre: Magical Realism, Romance, Halloween, Anthology

Featuring: Partial Bibliography for Authors, Maine, Italian Bakeshop, Halloween Party, Waiting For Gifts Trope, Irish-Italian MC, True Love Trope, Family Businesses, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Greek MC, Family Ties, Sexual Tension, Siblings, Recipes, Man Sagging Treats, Hot Boss Trope, Workplace Settings, Pets, Unrequited Love, Halloween Parade, Mayor, Starting Over, Curvy Girls, Sex - Detailed (3rd story), Food, Decorating, Costumer, Excerpts from LAVENDER & MISTLETOE by Donna Kauffman, NO KISSING UNDER THE BOARDWALK by Kate Angell, and FOREVER WILD by Allyson Charles

Rating as a movie: R for sexual content

Books and Authors mentioned: Cendrillon/Cinderella by Charles Perrault, The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow by Alyssa Palombo, It by Stephen King

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🎃☕️📕🫖
Sweet Magic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🧁🍰🍪🪄✨️
Love Spells Disaster 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟💼🍪💘🧰🦸‍♂️
Sweet on You⭐️⭐️⭐️🧁👨‍⚖️🦄

My thoughts:
🧁🍰🍪🪄✨️Sweet Magic by Donna Kauffman pages 3-128/130 - This was a completely different vibe than the first book, the last book was bordering NC-17 and this felt very PG-13 in the beginning. I was surprised it didn't open with f-bombs and 🐓, but the change in vibe added a lot of value to the plot line and I found this story much more enjoyable than the stories featured in Book 1. It does eventually get PG-15 bordering R but it will definitely give you bangxiety if you like things spicy, it's a big tease till the end.

💼🍪💘🧰🦸‍♂️ Love Spells Disaster by You by Allyson Charles pages 134-211/214 - Okay, This book must not be spicy. This one was my favorite so far.

🧁👨‍⚖️🦄 Sweet on You by Kate Angell pages 216-322/326 - This was good but fell short of the other two stories, but it had that NC-17 material I was expecting based on my experience with the first book.

This book centers around Sofia and her Italian Bakery as well as two Cassandras that go by Cassie. The last story felt a bit out of place but was better than the stories in book 1, despite the odd plot. I'm going to stop here for now, maybe save book 3 for next year.

Recommend to others: Yes. This was very good.

Moonbright, Maine
1. The Cottage on Pumpkin and Vine (2016)
2. The Bakeshop at Pumpkin and Spice (2019)
3. The Cafe between Pumpkin and Pie (2021)

[Carole Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gimme all the cozy, small-towns!!!

Here we follow Bree and Caleb. Bree works in her family's bakery where the secret ingredient is magic. The women in Bree's family have a little bit of magic through their baking that helps them find their soulmate. Everyone except Bree. Until Caleb walks in and gets a taste of her latest creation.

This was simply adorable and cute. Can I move to this town? I would go to the bakery every day. Yummmmmmmmm! *drools*

Now - things did move quick between Bree and Caleb. They def had insta-love, but they tried to deny it for a couple of days but they simply couldn't stay away from each other. They were engaged a month later. Not sure when they tied the knot, but very quick.

This is a novella so it is pretty short. TBH, this could have been a full-length novel. There were many plot points that could've been inspected and looked into more. Esp with Caleb's family. Maybe we'll see them walking around in the other stories of this town's series. We shall see.

But yes, this was cute and I adored this couple. I do wish this had been longer and explored more of our characters and their situations. I'll give this 3 stars.

[Tammy Rawls · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute story but the plot is not well developed. I kept thinking the story should go deeper into the thoughts and plans of the uncle who owns the restaurant: Planning for his nephew to take it over as his own. Or if the aunt survives her sickness the uncle gets the restaurant back on its feet with the help of his family, then Caleb & Bree could turn the newly bought house into their own Air B&B. This is barely a novel at all more like a novella.

[Lindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet simple story but just not for me. I was looking for an autumn book to get me into the season with lots of autumnal descriptions that would satisfy my fall mood like sights, sounds, tastes, and other sensations of autumn. This was just a simple story of instant romance. Not enough magic for my witchy season reads.

[Cheriwinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly sweet and delightful story, with characters you fall in love with immediately. Bree and Caleb have you longing for happy-ever-afters and the All Hallows Eve festivities make you long to start such traditions in your own home town. Well read, although some mispronunciations of words, by Tiffany Morgan.

[Rosie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sweet Magic by Donna Kauffman is just okay. So short, I stuck with it for it not to be a waste, but really lacking in so many areas. While I had hoped for an Autumn/Halloween cozy read, it really wasn't. It just felt underdeveloped and hollow

Not one I would recommend.

[A Novel Approach · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ 3.25/5. This was a cute story about two foodies who fall in love in the fall, thanks to a little bit of baking magic and magical realism. While it was cute though, it lacked depth and was definitely insta-love. It was a fun novella to listen to though while I did chores today.

[Christel Reynolds · Rating 2 out of 5]

That book took too long to read for what it was. A bit boring but not crappy enough to throw at the wall 😆

[Pam Marcola Duff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good sweet short story

[Karen Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and cute. Much better than many of the books I've been reading lately.

[Chels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, sweet, short book.

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute and light hearted book. I read this book as a palette cleanser after reading a long series. This book is fast and cheesy but charming.

[Kamia Solomon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cute. Not the vibe I was going for but a nice little romance

[Madelynn Bolton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short, very cute

[Adrienne Patenaude · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick listen. Cozy, small town, romance with some Halloween magic rolled into one. Love that there was just a dance of magic.

[Heidi Normand · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute but boring 2