Baking Up a Magical Midlife, Books 1-4

Baking Up a Magical Midlife #1-4

by Jessica Rosenberg

Embracing a midlife transformation has never been more delicious.

At best, she's expecting a kitschy candy dish, at worst a beloved taxidermied pet, so when Cassie-newly divorced, single mom with zero prospects-discovers she's inheriting a fully stocked bakery along with a beautifully furnished apartment from a great aunt she'd never even heard of, she's convinced she must be dreaming.

The apartment bizarrely adapting itself to her whims and the friendly neighbor floating fireballs in the air aren't helping.

Cassie has two choices. She can hightail it out of this bewildering town and figure out another way to support her pre-teen daughter. Or she can stay and live the life of her dreams in this unsettling place where the rules of physics don't seem to apply, and people are suspiciously friendly and welcoming.

When Cassie and her daughter agree to give this new place a trial run (the fantastic pet shop next door is a helpful draw), she's not convinced they've made the right choice. That hesitation just might cost her the fantastic life she and her daughter deserve.

Welcome to Portney. The coffee is hot, the pastries are magical, and your new friends can’t wait to hang out with you.

971 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 26, 2023

About the author

Jessica Rosenberg is the queen of cozy witchy #FriendshipCore fiction that makes readers feel like they're having coffee with their best friends. She lives on the foggy Central Coast of California with her two wonderful teens, two playful dogs, and a mischievous orange cat named Persimmon for obvious reasons.

When she's not weaving magical tales or getting lost in a good book, Jessica can probably be found strolling along the beach, searching for sea glass treasures even though she should probably be tidying her office.

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Reviews

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like the heroine of this series, Cassie. It's about a recent divorce with a tween daughter leaving Atlanta and claiming an inheritance in a small, northern, sea-side town. That inheritance comes with the unveiling of their dormant witch powers, both mom and daughter, and a magical bakery/apartment building. The new matriarch of the town (after Cassie's aunt died) is a bully, and ends up very upset with Cassie at the end of book one. (Which didn't make sense at all considering that Cassie's snooping unveiled that the bully WASN'T to blame for the death of her long-ago love. You would have thought she'd be relieved, but instead, she was so embarrassed she went nuts for the rest of the books, doing increasingly horrible things that nearly kill people by books 3 and 4. Two of the books are about Cassie's ex-husband and ex-mother-in-law trying to get the tween daughter into their clutches. Book 4 has the beginning of a romance that is not backed up by much in the prior books. One of the books has Cassie being reunited with her dad. Cassie has several friends that are very tight knit almost the second she moves in.

What I really hated about the writing and the heroine is the way the bully, husband, and mom-in-law were painted as ultimate evil. There was no personal responsibility taken by the heroine, no acknowledgement of her own part in the disillusion of that marriage. It was men-as-enemies-feminism, and I really disliked the tone.

[Amanda Bowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Series

I read all four books and loved them! Cassie’s husband filed for divorce and sold their house out from under her and their daughter. A great aunt that she knew nothing about left her a building. She and her daughter move from Georgia to a small town in Massachusetts and discover there’s more to the town than can be seen. She also discovers she’s a witch. Mayhem and humor abound. Read this series.

[Thorin · Rating 5 out of 5]

an absolute MUST READ

these books have it all! Adventure, friendship, love, and magic!
The characters are so well written! I mean you really love the good ones and want to throttle the bad ones! Oof! I devoured all four books in a matter of days and I want more!

[Andrea Marie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

cute and charming

Love the series . I love how strong Cassie and her daughter are and that they are able to adapt and overcome . I would love to live in a place like Poerney and be part of the brew haha ‘s.

[Susan Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Series With Heart

The bond of friendship between the characters in these books is heartwarming. Add in magic, romance, and an evil witch, and you get hours and hours of happy reading.

[TheresaK · Rating 5 out of 5]

great, action packed reading again!

This series sure hasn’t let me down in the reading department! Lots of action, love, hate, tragedy, edge of seat thrilling, with dashes of romance. This is the best cook in the series! I loved the first ones, but they keep getting better.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this series overall. However, the main character is just annoying. She drones on and on making everything about her. Her emotions are always on the surface and she can barely contain herself for the sake of those she loves…

[Kati ONeill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

I have no words as good as how amazing this story was. I am a Massachusetts Diabetic of 50 yrs. The scene in the woods was bone chilling. I felt the shock, the trembling as I have lived the near death after effects. This story was amazing!

[Ipochtar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobooks for this boxed set. The stories are feel-good women friendship stories mixed with fun magic. An easy listen for my ride to work that I couldn’t put down once I was home. Loved all the characters.

[stephanie huntington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and engaging

[Elizabeth Lobdell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good characters

Middle-aged woman gets divorced, gets an inheritance, moves to a small town, discovers she is a witch, meets cute deputy. Has all the tropes done so well.

[Kenneth Bills · Rating 5 out of 5]

great collection

This was a great collection and has a wonderful story line I can’t wait to get the next one started

[Lizbeth Pepper · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a cute story but it did give me anxiety that it seemed she could never trust anyone. I did enjoy it as a fun cozy read.