Making friends as an adult can be difficult. Summoning one can be a disaster.
When apothecary Growina Crowe receives a witch’s grimoire as collateral, she attempts to summon an otherworldly companion. In the process, she forgets a boiling teapot, topples candles, and sets her herb garden ablaze. The next morning, a magic-eating monster besets her town, prompting a bounty hunt.
Growina fears she may be responsible, but there are only two ways to find out for sure: wait for bounty hunters to catch her, or join one of the adventuring parties. Unfortunately, she lacks the social skills to make friends, or she would never have tried to summon one.
Several cities away, actor Florian Honeybeard—unrecognizable without his feminine makeup—is mistaken for a soothsayer and accidentally kidnapped. To survive, he must improvise the role and assist a team of mercenaries. Their mission: collect the bounty on the magic-eating monster and apprehend the person responsible.
L. N. CLARKE is a video game producer by day and word nerd by night. In the past, she designed comic books and studied computer science. She is a total sucker for strange old books, antique lockpicks, and pen and paper cryptography. She lives in the Eastern U.S. with her equally nerdy spouse, cool kiddo, dog, cat, and a flock of chickens.
tl;dr A fantasy adventure in a whimsical world featuring a colorful cast of characters, and a playful narrative.
Thoughts The author describes her work as whimsical, and I am inclined to agree. There's a playfulness to the narrative, with several tongue-in-cheek descriptions of this Very Serious World, and plenty of subverted expectations. The guide to plants in particular speaks with a dry humor that I really enjoy. World-building is a little wibbly, but this feels largely on purpose. It's a fun ride, and it's easier not to ask toooo many questions about what's going on with all the magic. From what I can tell, this book was originally written for Kindle Vella, which means chapters were released one at a time. You can feel this a little bit with chapters feeling more like short episodes rather than connected scenes, as it bounces between two separate story threads that eventually come together. Florian's arc feels more adventure-like in nature, and I found myself really liking the motley bunch of characters he fell in with. Growina's story starts more cozy fantasy-like, with a larger cast of slightly less endearing folks as she navigates things like making friends or trying to convince people to try new food. If you're looking for an adventure with bright characters and less baggage than your average fantasy, give this book a look.
Thanks to NetGalley and Naughtobelus Books LLC for the review copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
Growina runs the local apothecary and just wants a friend. When the opportunity to peruse a grimoire arises she decides to give it a go and gets more than she bargained for. This was a quirky little mystery with plenty of magic. A very lighthearted read.
What to excpect: *Witches *Adventure *Dual POV
*Thank you NetGalley, Naughtobelus Books, and L.N Clarke for this arc.
3 stars... Thank you NetGalley for the ARC...this was a quick read for me. I liked it well enough. It just wasn't a favorite. There was magic, adventure, monster summoning. I would probably read more from this author in the future.
Making friends as an adult can be difficult. Summoning one can be a disaster. When apothecary Growina Crowe receives a witch’s grimoire as collateral, she attempts to summon an otherworldly companion. In the process, she forgets a boiling teapot, topples candles, and sets her herb garden ablaze. The next morning, a magic-eating monster besets her town, prompting a bounty hunt.
Growina fears she may be responsible, but there are only two ways to find out for sure: wait for bounty hunters to catch her, or join one of the adventuring parties.
Several cities away, actor Florian Honeybeard—unrecognizable without his feminine makeup—is mistaken for a soothsayer and accidentally kidnapped. To survive, he must improvise the role and assist a team of mercenaries. Their mission: collect the bounty on the magic-eating monster and apprehend the person responsible.
This was a really quick and enjoyable read. Very whimsical fantasy novel with a hilariously clumsy FMC who you couldn’t help but love. I think I enjoyed Florian’s narrative more due to it being more action packed and adventurous whereas growina’s was more cozy. I didn’t connect to the characters the way I would have liked as we didn’t get as much backstory than some other fantasies I have read. Definitely a playful book that is mainly vibes. Unfortunately I feel like the world building did lack at times with not much explanation as to why things were happening.
Overall I think it was a quick enjoyable read with a babble of bright and funny characters that will make you laugh. Will be perfect for people how are looking for a less complex fantasy!
A big thanks to NetGalley and Naughtobelus Books LLC for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Making friends as an adult can be difficult. Summoning one can be a disaster. Sign me up because this book is either going to be hilarious or all too relatable.
How to Fix a Flubbed Summon by L.N. Clarke is a fantasy novel about a woman just wanting to have a friend, even if she has to summon them. When apothecary Growina Crowe receives a witch’s grimoire as collateral, she attempts to summon an otherworldly companion. In the process, she forgets a boiling teapot, topples candles, and sets her herb garden ablaze. The next morning, a magic-eating monster besets her town, prompting a bounty hunt. Growina fears she may be responsible, but there are only two ways to find out for sure: wait for bounty hunters to catch her, or join one of the adventuring parties. Unfortunately, she lacks the social skills to make friends, or she would never have tried to summon one. Several cities away, actor Florian Honeybeard—unrecognizable without his feminine makeup—is mistaken for a soothsayer and accidentally kidnapped. To survive, he must improvise the role and assist a team of mercenaries. Their mission: collect the bounty on the magic-eating monster and apprehend the person responsible.
This book is all around hilarious, as it boils down to a person so desperate for a friend they summon a demon to be that person. The world building was good, I just wished I got to see a bit more of it. Overall, the plot was good with it's pacing. And I found myself laughing at every turned page. Who knew I needed something funny AND spooky.
How to Fix a Flubbed Summon by L. N. Clarke is an interesting story about Growina Crowe. Growina is an apothecary dealing in all types of plant matter used for magical purposes. While she loves her plants and her job, she is lonely. When a witch leaves a grimoire with her, Growina feels compelled to look inside - just because she is curious. (I would be too, and if you are honest, so would you!) But then she sees a spell to summon a friend. She has all of the "ingredients" so even with none of the training or skills, she thinks "Why not?" Of course things go wrong. She assumes the spell failed completely, but did it? Did she summon the "magic-eating beast" that shows up the next day? Meanwhile, Florian Honeybeard , an actor who plays a female heroine, is out requesting donations to keep the theatre in business - but that goes wrong also. At one door, the group decides he is the soothsayer they have requested and he is kidnapped and thrust into the role. The group is a bunch of mercenaries who intend to earn a bounty. All they need is for Florian to use his (non-existent) powers to get them the inside information.
The stories do intertwine nicely and the characters became quite real in my mind. At some point the book became un-put-down-able, Late at night, I finally found a "resting place" so that I could sleep...but the next morning I read right on to the funny and surprising ending. Thanks to Netgalley, L.N. Clarke and Naughtobelus Books, LLC for providing a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
This was a delightful, cozy read from start to finish.
Though things do escalate, the stakes feel low in a good way - hence, the cozy - throughout. In that way, along with the misfit found family vibes, it did remind me of Legends & Lattes.
Growina was a cutie, and I loved many of the other characters: Theo, Florian, Eddie. I only wish Growina and Florian had met up earlier in their quests. I would have liked to see their dynamic.
The first part of the book and the last ~40 pages, I devoured; I really loved the setup and the ending. However, I did find the pacing in the middle to be a bit rough, and some parts felt very “A happens, then B happens” with little foreshadowing of things to come down the line.
One of the quotes I thought was amusing: "That isn't your real name, then?" "Nope. We had to protect our families. You didn't think Slugbeard was a real name, did you? Slug beard?" "I... I think it's fairly common to have a name that ends in beard," said Florian Honeybeard.
If you love a cozy fantasy, enjoy the wandering nature of a D&D campaign, and don’t mind light world building, I would definitely recommend this book.
All opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in return for my honest review.
This book was a lot of fun. I wasn't sure at first, but I found myself drawn into the story of this lonely apothecary who just wanted to summon a friend. The world building was interesting and hints at a lot more history and lore than we get to see, which is almost a shame. I loved the ideas, and I wish we'd gotten to see more of them - I hope this is going to be a series!
The one thing I didn't like was the dual storyline. It felt like the author wanted to tell two different stories and wasn't sure which to tell, so told both at the same time. I feel like both stories were strong enough to stand on their own and be part of a series rather than trying to make them fit together. I hope we see more of all of these characters.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the eARC I received.
How to Fix a Flubbed Summon was a really fun and whimsical read. I was originally drawn in by the cover art, which is just phenomenal. The story follows Growina, a lovably messy witch who is seeking friendship.
After reading through a ton of contemporary witchy romances for the Halloween season, this was such a fun departure from the same tropes. This book is whimsical, sometimes silly, and totally captivating. I really enjoyed the writing style of L.N. Clarke whom I hadn't read before.
I had one small complaint - it didn't seem like there was a ton of world building, so sometimes there would be an inexplicable magical occurrence. I'm personally good with just going with the vibes, but some of the magic could be developed more.
I super appreciate Net Galley and Naughtobelus Books LLC publishing for allowing me access to an ARC copy of this book!
🦚Genre: High Fantasy 🦚Themes: Witches & Monsters 🦚Page #: 329 🦚 Author: L N Clarke 🦚Series: No?
Synopsis: Growina is just an apothecary in a world of witches and wizards but somehow she’s summoned a monster set on eating all the magic in her town.
Review: The good: The author must like Terry Pratchett because the whole book is one big Discworld vibe. I’m a fan of Pratchett so I like the quirkiness. The story itself is sweet and matches the sweetness seen on the cover.
The less good. There’s two points of views in the book and while the male character is fully hashed out, I didn’t get a real sense of the female character. She’s on the cover and clearly important but I felt her character was flat.
I think I’m just not feeling high fantasy these days and I didn’t realize this wasn’t mystical realism.
Thank you to NetGalley and Naughtobelus Books LLC for a copy of the e-book in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Making friends as an adult can be difficult. Summoning one can be a disaster.
Thoughts: I loved this book! This book was chaotic in the best way possible - you never know what the characters are going to do/say next. I loved the use of fun, inventive language throughout the book, it kept it lighthearted and interesting. The use of two story lines grabbed my attention and made me want to fly through the book to find out what was going to happen. I loved watching the story lines come together. And all of it happens because Growina just wants to have a friend. Girl, I get it, making friends is tough.
If you want a cozy, fun, fall book, I absolutely recommend this one.
Growina is something of a witch who typically specializes plants and potions derived from them. However when a friend lends her an old grimoire she uses a spell from it to summon a friend. But of course she gets it wrong and summons a monster that begins rampaging the area eating magical objects.
A whole host of wizards, witches, and other magical beings gather to begin the hunt for the creature while another, smaller posse set out on a parallel journey with an actor who believes he’s been kidnapped under the premise of mistaken identity.
It drags on a bit in the middle but there’s such a sweet cozy ending it’s worth sticking it out.
A very cozy and fun book. It reads like a Dungeon and Dragons campaign written by Terry Pratchett.
I enjoyed the sense of humour and endearing quirky characters a lot. The story was engaging enough, even though it dragged a bit at parts, but I loved the ending and how everything came together. It was simply cute and feelgood altogether.
If you're looking for light read to make you laugh, set in an easy-going, whimsical fantasy world, this is a go-to. I would definitely read any future releases from this author.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest review.
I was so excited when I found this book on Amazon and really couldn't wait to read it....
However I just couldn't finish it, I had to DNF this book which I never do!
I found trying to keep up with both stories a struggle (I don't normally struggle) I really enjoyed reading about Crowina and getting to know her, I really wish the whole book was about her!
As for the second set of the book about Florian Honeybeard well it totally lost me and I just felt I was reading nothing, no real story to it unlike Crowinas.
I wanted to love this book. I enjoyed Baldree's Legends and Lattes a lot and was hoping that this would be along that line. I got about 1/3 of the way through it before I just put it down. I realized that I only sort of cared about one character in one half of the story (Growina), but her poor choices in the very beginning of the book meant that I was just really frustrated with her. Maybe there is more here than I've seen? If it is nominated for a major award, maybe I would give it another chance? But there are just too many good books out there for me to spend any more time on this one.
A fun, jaunty, roller coaster of a book, perfect for the Halloween season. Fast paced. Plot driven. Magic filled. The worldbuilding was fantastic. And there were even some laugh-out-loud moments.
There were places that could have used a bit more development. But overall, I really liked the story and the weirdness of the characters.
This was a delightful romp--adventurous, funny, clever, and cozy. A fantastic cast of characters, a detailed and delightful world built around them, twists on the expected and a wonderful warmth to it. The narrator also does a wonderful job, I loved her voices for the whole cast! Downright Pratchett-esque, the whole thing.
3.5/5 stars rounded up. Thank you NetGalley for the review copy.
This book was the definition of cozy fantasy. Whimsy wrapped every chapter, and the MC was delightfully clumsy in her attempts to find friendship as an adult. This was a quick, enjoyable read all around, and I'll be looking forward to more from this author.
Amazing fun read. I really enjoyed the development of the characters throughout the book. Growina is an amazing character who definitely should not be discounted at any cost. She finds that she really does have friends and should never feel lonely. I would say it's a good choice for those that like Lemony Snicket. I did win this book through Goodreads and highly recommend.
A cute, fantastical story that would be SUPER fun to read with my eight-year-old, chapter-by-chapter, at bedtime. Unsatisfied with that kind pacing, however, I devoured this book in less than 24 hours. For anyone who likes adventures, wizards, witches, spells, and silliness.
Thank you for the chance to read this adorable book. I absolutely loved the look of the book. The story itself didn’t pull me into the magical world I was hoping it would. I became bored several times and took me awhile to finish. I would still recommend the book.
A nice little cozy fantasy with fantastic world building elements and interesting characters. The ending was certainly a page-turner and wrapped up quite nicely.
Some of the information at the beginning of the book was confusing, which is the only reason I've given it four stars instead of five.
I really like this book, but I liked reading about Growina a lot more than Florian. Often I would find myself skimming the Florian chapters, but overall I really liked this book and the story is really cool
This was fun and a cute read. Reminding me of my childhood reading "The Enchanted Forest Chronicles" but more adult-ish. I enjoyed reading this and I am excited for more from this author. 4.5/5