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Ingredients of Magic
Mix one part small-town magic and two parts heartbreak until fluffy. Bake under the Texas sun. Disaster is ready when you can smell it two towns over. Serve hot.
Magical pie baker Gracey Daylittle has everything she her bakery, a quiet life, and no complications. But when a ghostly figure with a hauntingly familiar face disrupts her fragile existence, Gracey's pastry-crust world crumbles to bits. Her pies have lost their magic. On the edge of the Chihuahuan desert, transient teenager Miko runs a bathhouse for spirits and delivers blessings to local families. But when the blessings dry up and a creeping chaos consumes the town, Miko suspects a connection between the town’s bad luck, the phantom, and Gracey’s magic pies. Desperate not to lose the one thing that gives her life meaning, the baker tries everything to regain her magic and banish the phantom, even accepting questionable magical help from Miko. But when her efforts go disastrously wrong, Gracey has no choice but to do the one thing she has avoided for the better part of her life. To destroy the phantom and restore her town, Gracey must discover and embrace the secret ingredients of magic before her personal demons destroy everything she holds dear. Ingredients of Magic is a delicious blend of Spirited Away , Like Water for Chocolate , and Gilmore Girls that will transport you to a world where love, magic, and pie are baked to sweet perfection.
Magical pie baker Gracey Daylittle has everything she her bakery, a quiet life, and no complications. But when a ghostly figure with a hauntingly familiar face disrupts her fragile existence, Gracey's pastry-crust world crumbles to bits. Her pies have lost their magic. On the edge of the Chihuahuan desert, transient teenager Miko runs a bathhouse for spirits and delivers blessings to local families. But when the blessings dry up and a creeping chaos consumes the town, Miko suspects a connection between the town’s bad luck, the phantom, and Gracey’s magic pies. Desperate not to lose the one thing that gives her life meaning, the baker tries everything to regain her magic and banish the phantom, even accepting questionable magical help from Miko. But when her efforts go disastrously wrong, Gracey has no choice but to do the one thing she has avoided for the better part of her life. To destroy the phantom and restore her town, Gracey must discover and embrace the secret ingredients of magic before her personal demons destroy everything she holds dear. Ingredients of Magic is a delicious blend of Spirited Away , Like Water for Chocolate , and Gilmore Girls that will transport you to a world where love, magic, and pie are baked to sweet perfection.
370 pages, Paperback
Published May 2, 2023
17 people are currently reading
635 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 7, 2023
Very disjointed and bland.
October 24, 2023
I will say, this book is a very experimental one and one that doesn't easily fit into finely defined genres (at least in my mind). Like the reviews show, it can be a hit-or-miss (especially with recipes being within the chapters; if you aren't used to seeing them there, it can be a bit jarring to see at first), but this is a book that I definitely recommend for a special blend of beautiful writing and experimental ways to convey the overarching theme of the novel.
This book is dual POV, between a mortal baker woman and an immortal spirit that both reside in Love & War, Texas. The hop between the two POVs is usually told with context clues, though there were a few times when it took me an extra moment to click into the current POV of the chapter. There were times when certain minor characters became a tad annoying or frustrating to spend time with, but they were wonderful to see grow until the end. The character arcs were lovely, and Gracey's arc especially was a treat to read through. Oh, and the descriptive writing! There were so many lines that read like poetry, and there were numerous times I took a moment to really let the beauty of the words sink in.
Overall, the theme is of loss and dealing with tragedies in life, and the book does a wonderful job of showing growth through Gracey and Miko. There were several times where Gracey goes through something that was coated in supernatural symbolism, and seeing her change and grow was a lovely experience. If you do decide to read this book, I hope you find gems of beauty among the lines and see how well you liked the concept of the universe and how it delivered on the themes within the story.
This book is dual POV, between a mortal baker woman and an immortal spirit that both reside in Love & War, Texas. The hop between the two POVs is usually told with context clues, though there were a few times when it took me an extra moment to click into the current POV of the chapter. There were times when certain minor characters became a tad annoying or frustrating to spend time with, but they were wonderful to see grow until the end. The character arcs were lovely, and Gracey's arc especially was a treat to read through. Oh, and the descriptive writing! There were so many lines that read like poetry, and there were numerous times I took a moment to really let the beauty of the words sink in.
Overall, the theme is of loss and dealing with tragedies in life, and the book does a wonderful job of showing growth through Gracey and Miko. There were several times where Gracey goes through something that was coated in supernatural symbolism, and seeing her change and grow was a lovely experience. If you do decide to read this book, I hope you find gems of beauty among the lines and see how well you liked the concept of the universe and how it delivered on the themes within the story.
January 19, 2024
Did Not Finish
I like this, I really do. Its cute, its cozy, and we very much need that. Especially when it seems like the author has put so much of themselves into their work. And the idea of baking with magic just sounds so nice.
However, its a little off. I only give 1 star reviews for stories that aren't finished, and thats the only reason this got that rating. It could be a great story if it weren't for a couple things.
This book could definitely have used a bit more work when it comes to pacing and building up the emotional parts. I'm all for starting the book off strong, but this seemed to skip the getting to know the character part to go straight to the emotional hit we start with on the first couple pages. And we aren't given enough time to learn about the main character before being asked to care about her family.
Add to that the fact that we're introduced to multiple characters before we're given time to form any connection to the first one. Each one of these characters is well written. We just need more time with each individually.
Again, this is really good. It could be great! It just needs a little more work. A little more time put into each character.
I like this, I really do. Its cute, its cozy, and we very much need that. Especially when it seems like the author has put so much of themselves into their work. And the idea of baking with magic just sounds so nice.
However, its a little off. I only give 1 star reviews for stories that aren't finished, and thats the only reason this got that rating. It could be a great story if it weren't for a couple things.
This book could definitely have used a bit more work when it comes to pacing and building up the emotional parts. I'm all for starting the book off strong, but this seemed to skip the getting to know the character part to go straight to the emotional hit we start with on the first couple pages. And we aren't given enough time to learn about the main character before being asked to care about her family.
Add to that the fact that we're introduced to multiple characters before we're given time to form any connection to the first one. Each one of these characters is well written. We just need more time with each individually.
Again, this is really good. It could be great! It just needs a little more work. A little more time put into each character.
April 27, 2025
3.5⭐️
This one was hard to rate. I enjoyed some parts but others not so much.
It was like a version of Spirited Away but set in the middle of no-where in Texas. The Phantom seems like a no-face, wanting to eat and there is Miko who runs a bathhouse.
What I liked:
-The ending where the FMC learns to love herself and finds love again.
-How the relationship between the sisters got better.
-The thought of music infused pies.
What I didn’t like:
-The pacing.
-The recipes being inside the book.
-how it seems all the practices and religions seemed to mesh together but focusing only on the Japanese practices, since we have Miko.
-How at the end the FMC was able to start teaching others about magic, but her magic was not teaching. I feel that other lady was able to teach her how because their magics where similar, but for me, she can’t teach other about their magic. Maybe I missed the part where Miko helped her know what the other people’s magic was, because there is no way the FMC could have known.
This one was hard to rate. I enjoyed some parts but others not so much.
It was like a version of Spirited Away but set in the middle of no-where in Texas. The Phantom seems like a no-face, wanting to eat and there is Miko who runs a bathhouse.
What I liked:
-The ending where the FMC learns to love herself and finds love again.
-How the relationship between the sisters got better.
-The thought of music infused pies.
What I didn’t like:
-The pacing.
-The recipes being inside the book.
-how it seems all the practices and religions seemed to mesh together but focusing only on the Japanese practices, since we have Miko.
-How at the end the FMC was able to start teaching others about magic, but her magic was not teaching. I feel that other lady was able to teach her how because their magics where similar, but for me, she can’t teach other about their magic. Maybe I missed the part where Miko helped her know what the other people’s magic was, because there is no way the FMC could have known.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2023
I loved this book.
I loved this book. I loved Miko, Gracie, Tiny, Toshi, Rose and Gloria. I loved reading about their journey. I loved the magic of it all.
Five stars. I loved it!
I loved this book. I loved Miko, Gracie, Tiny, Toshi, Rose and Gloria. I loved reading about their journey. I loved the magic of it all.
Five stars. I loved it!
Want to read
August 9, 2023-Cozy fantasy about a pie baker by a black author!! I'm really enjoying this one so far 🥧🧡
September 3, 2023
This was a super cute read!
January 24, 2025
A great read but it feels like it drags in places.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews