Charms & Chocolate: Awakened by Fire

Witches World-Folds Saga #1

by Jenny Swan

What would you do if you found out in your 30s that you had witch powers?

While Mayla believes in having chocolates for every occasion, she doesn't believe in magic — at least until coffee cups and windows start exploding in her office. When she suddenly finds herself in a forest on her way home through the city and faces mortal danger, her world turns upside-down.
Along with this unexpected danger, she encounters a mysterious stranger, a handsome detective, and plenty of chocolate. If you love books with witches, don't miss out on this saga!

This saga is for you if love trianglesLike novels with witchesPrefer protagonists over 30Enjoy protagonists who can’t be taken too seriouslyLike spirit animalsAppreciate loads of chocolate!
The Charms & Chocolate saga is a slow-burn urban fantasy series that falls under the category of women’s fiction; the heroine, a woman just like you and me, is a chocolate addict who discovers that she is far from ordinary.

This captivating tale will take you into an enchanting realm where magic intertwines with the sweet delectation of chocolate.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Witches, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Fiction

338 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 15, 2024

About the author

Do you think women want to read fantasy books with adult characters?
If your answer is “Yes”, you are in the right place.

My name is Jenny Swan and I love to write fairy-tale and fantasy books about women over 30. We all want to find a magical portal to another land, sail with a pirate over the sea, unleash our witch powers, and find the love of our lives. These exciting, heart-pounding fantasy stories feature heroines who are just like you and me — normal women who lead normal lives until something magical happens.

The first series you can dive into is called “Charms & Chocolate.” Mayla, who believes in chocolate but not in magic, discovers that she is a witch and has to escape violent young men who are out to get her. A mysterious stranger helps her, a charming police officer cautions her against him, and a cat just appears in time to help her.

Reviews

[Amber J (Thereadingwitch)]

I DNFed after the first two chapters. The prologue was promising but I lost interest after reading the next chapter. Very wordy, in the sense that it over explained. It might have been really good but I've recently decided that a book has to get my attention pretty early on in order for me to read it. This book did not do that.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mayla is a 30 year old women who finds out she’s a witch by walking into a magical “world-fold” where if you’re not identified by your coven ring, you get beat up by the renegade “Hunters” or arrested. She asks a million questions, which no one will answer, and trusts people way too easily.

Although she’s been attacked multiple times while out on her own, she continues to wonder around this strange new world without any concept of how to defend/protect herself with magic. She really only cares about her own wants a needs and continues to ignore those helping her.

She uses powerful magic, which she has no knowledge of or experience with, not to find her lost grandmother, but to go back to her apartment in the human world because “she needed her own space, her cave - just for a moment in life.”

She constantly exhibits behavior I would expect from a teenager, not a grown woman. I also needed/wanted a lot more development of the relationships in order for the behaviors towards the end of the book to make sense.

I want more Tom (broody male lead) but not sure if I’m wiling to give the next one a try.

[Jessica Beatty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mayla is a newly single woman in her 30s living in present day Germany, and self-proclaimed chocolate addict. After her relationship of 4 years abruptly ends, Mayla vows to focus on and excel in her marketing career. Strange and unexpected things begin to happen to Mayla and she ultimately discovers that she is a witch. Relying on a warlock police detective and an outcast banned from his coven, she doesn't know who she can trust to navigate this new magical community she is now apart of. This is a fun and charming feel good story with a lot of action and plot building!

I really find concept of this book intriguing. Being a woman over 30, it is nice to have an FMC that is more relatable. Witches, animal familiars, romance, and elemental magic are all things I really enjoy reading about.

I wish I loved this book. I really wanted to love this book! I believe the target audience are adult readers, however, the writing feels more like something I would find in a young readers novel. Character development and dialog left me begging for more. I believe it was originally written in German and translated to English. If that is the case, the translation impaired what I'm sure is a complex, and well developed story. The constant inner questioning of Mayla with seldom any answers was vexing. I'm sure this was done in order to try and give some insight into her thought processes, unfortunately, it just made it hard to read.

Honestly, it is an interesting story with a well developed plot and setting, and tries to keep the reader engaged. I believe a lot of people will enjoy it! The writing style is just not for me and I think the translation did it a disservice.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kira · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 70%. I'm honestly surprised I made it that far. There were a lot of things the book had going for it, but I just couldn't get over how it read. This sounds silly, but the sentences were just too short and choppy. It made for a very awkward read, and I eventually decided I couldn't keep pushing through.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF about halfway through. The plot and concept of the book had a lot of potential, but the writing was style was hard to get through. The way that the character emotions were written felt off and over the top for the situations. This book needed a really good editor to pull it together and clearly did not have that.

[Dawn Rafferty · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very cute witch book,

[Lynsey B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in a series and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would as it's not my usual genre. I'm looking forward to reading the next book soon.

[Arlene Bamforth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not well written and can be a bit repetitive. The main character acts more like a whingy teenager than a “powerful” woman in her 30s. Plot is slow to progress and there’s not much character development

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

witches for YA

I had great hopes for this book. The story line looked promising, but the writing is so poor that it interfered with the story. I have no interest in reading further books in this series.

[sasha manojlovic · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 ⭐️
not very well written. got this during stuff your kindle day. wasn’t expecting much from it so i’m not disappointed

[Marie Korth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Durch den Epilog, der ein bisschen etwas der Vorgeschichte erzählt, war ich sofort neugierig was da noch so passiert.
Mayla als Hauptprotagonistin ist ein sympathische und selbstständige Frau von 30 Jahren, die eine tolle Wohnung hat, sich gerade getrennt hat und nicht an Magie und das übernatürliche glaubt.
Das muss sie sehr schnell überdenken und sie wird in eine magische Welt geschleudert, die sie nicht versteht und in der sie nicht weiß, wem sie trauen kann und wem nicht.
Im Laufe der Geschichte lernt sie Georg und Tom kennen. Beide könnten kaum unterschiedlicher sein und während der erste zur Polizei gehört, ist der andere ein Aussätziger.
Die Geschichte nimmt schnell an Fahrt auf und es wird nie langweilig. Die Charaktere sind sehr unterschiedlich und super ausgearbeitet, dass man sie teilweise vor sich sieht. Maylas Sicht aus der erzählt wird ist sehr sympathisch und sie hat eine tolle Beobachtungsgabe, die es leicht macht sich die Umgebung vorzustellen.
Da es Buch 1 ist liegt der Fokus sehr auf dem kennenlernen der erdachten Welt, sowie den Weltenfalten, dem Magiesystem und den wichtigen Charakteren, sowie den Antagonisten (auch wenn der Hauptbösewicht eher passiv teilnimmt).
Der Schreibstil ist sehr flüssig und die Übersetzung ins englische sehr gelungen, man fühlt sich sofort willkommen in Maylas Welt, so dass man sofort mitleidet, mitfiebert und oft absolut ratlos ist, aufgrund der ganzen Fragen, die nicht beantwortet werden.
Insgesamt hat mir die Geschichte sehr gut gefallen und durch Maylas Liebe zu Pralinen werden auch schwierige Situationen durchaus sehr aufgelockert.
Ich bin gespannt wie die 3 sich zusammenraufen und welche Abenteuer sie noch erleben und vor allem was ist wohl mit Maylas Großmutter?

[Debbie Alcorn · Rating 1 out of 5]

The FMC has to be the most unrelatable witch I've read. She is annoying, dumb, and asks way too many questions in quick succession. If I were in her shoes (apparently she doesn't own a single pair of sneakers because they are beneath her), I'd also ask questions, but if you string them all together like a toddler, it gets old real fast. And no one really gives her information anyway - its an entire book of being gatekept. Its extremely frustrating.

The constant chocolate addition isn't cute. Who's first thought on going into a missing person's house it to steal all their chocolate? She relies on chocolate for every bad emotion she has. Its so annoying to read because its all she thinks about. She has made it her ENTIRE personality.

Also, too many grammar errors and use of the '!'. For a third person perspective, it shouldn't be used as often as it is. Feels like it was written as a project for high school or fanfiction. Also, am I the only one that thinks her powers are more air aligned than fire?

[Pam Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book. Ready for more.
I lost be the idea of the worldfolds. The plot is good, interesting characters, nice settings, and the ending leaves the reader eager for more.
I do have a problem with any book that has adopted characters "lashing out" about their adoptive family not being your real family. Biology is not a factor in the love for your family members regardless of being found in a cabbage patch, through an attorney, or having the family doctor carrying you up to your parents' front door because they wanted a baby badly, but it wasn't happening the "natural" way.
Anyone with adopted children needs to be sure the children know how much they are loved and are truly an actual family. If the child wonders about their biology in this world, that's a reasonable thing. That's probably a thing for the courts. Adoptions should probably contain medical records. Not so much DNA, but information so that when the adopted is ashes for family information it can be found.
That being said, the book would be even better without those parts.
Recommend the series!

[Charlotte Venable]

Annoying heroine and !!!

The main character, Mayla is supposedly 30 but has the demeanor of a teenager. It is incredibly difficult to like her. She has no clue about the world she's in and her ignorance causes her to need rescuing over and over again. She needs to shut up, listen and stop making it all worse. The other characters all seem very one-dimensional and bland. Nothing is fleshed out very well except a disturbingly constant chocolate addiction.

However, it's the criminal overuse of exclamation points that are most annoying about this book, making it seem like it was written by a high school student. I really wanted to like this series but its hard to get through the immaturity of the characters and punctuation. I will give the next book a chance but it's more of the same, I'm out. Thank goodness I'm able to read them for free. I'd feel cheated had I paid for them.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-3.75. I enjoyed this cute book and plan to read the rest of the series. This had a slightly different take on the witchy world and I thought the world-folds idea was clever.

The story moves quickly as the MC suddenly discovers newfound magical abilities only to be immediately thrust into danger, uncertain of her surroundings and who she can trust while dealing with learning she wasn’t who she thought she was and that there is a whole other world with witches. Enter two different men, who both say they want to protect her, but we don’t know who she can trust. Set mainly in a magic world right within ours, I enjoyed the initial world-building and hope it is fleshed out more in later books.

The MC was likable, if not a little lacking in common sense, and I am looking forward to the next book in the series to see her grow her magic.

Recommend if you like books with magic, witchy-world setting, mysteries, and possible romance/ love triangle

[Marcia - itsabookthing2021 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Charms and Chocolate Awakened By Fire. I thought it was an excellent start to the series.
I loved the lavish world building and the action that played out. The magic elements were great to read and the further into the novel I got the more involved I became. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. I loved the characters and how they developed with each other. Mayla and Georg in particular I enjoyed their interactions, the revelation of the traitor was great and the ending was a satisfying one albeit one that has left me with many questions. Will they find Melinda and is Tom hiding something? I'm intrigued!
I'm glad to see there's not a long wait for book 2 as I need to read it to hopefully get my answers.
If you want a magical novel with action and mystery this one is definitely for you.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why I Picked It:
I picked up Charms & Chocolate – Awakened by Fire hoping for a fun adventure. Unfortunately for me it did not work and I DNF’d a few paragraphs into chapter 3.

What Didn’t Work:
I struggled with the writing style. The prologue was intriguing and I was excited to continue! Within a few paragraphs of the first chapter the writing became disjointed. It didn’t flow for me and made it difficult to read. It almost appeared as if it was not originally written in English and instead of paying for a professional translation it was ran thorough something like google translate.

What I Did Like:
Charms & Chocolate – Awakened by Fire is the first book in a completed series!

* Protagonist in her 30s
* Magic
* Completed Series
* Interesting Premise

If you like those things then this may be the book for you!

[Barbara Marie Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charms & Chocolate – Awakened by Fire (Witches World-Folds Saga Book 1) 

Charms & Chocolate – Awakened by Fire (Witches World-Folds Saga Book 1) ~~ This book lit a fire in me! What a perfect start to a paranormal women’s fiction series — it’s powerful, sassy, and full of heart. The magic is vibrant and symbolic, with themes of personal rebirth and self-discovery that spoke to me deeply. The story blends humor, emotion, and witchy empowerment in such a seamless way. I felt like I was right there, watching someone rediscover their purpose and ignite something fierce within. And the twist? It had me glued!

I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to see what the rest of the elements bring to the circle!

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amateur at best

It was such a poor read. The writing style was amateur, almost child like. (Maybe something lost in translation)
The story had promise but was badly executed. A poor man's Potter!
The main characters numerous questions was very distracting and they rarely had answers.
It was frustrated read and to get to the end without any real end was annoying. Nothing of significance happened. Lots of open ended questions that so obviously led to future books rather than being cleverly weaved into the story.
As for the chocolate. I just didn't understand it's relevance. Shoe horned in so it could be used as a revelation prop was ridiculous.
I won't be reading further books in this series. I didn't much care for the character.

[Vicki Chicago-Marsh · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a DNF for me 49% into the story~I wanted to stop reading long before, but hoped I would get become interested. This book was going absolutely nowhere, was repetitive, and had an uninteresting storyline. The main character Mayla, didn’t know she was a witch until she started creating havoc at work all of a sudden every time she waved her arms. Her life went downhill from there & everyone she asked about what was going on would tell her to ask again later. That went on halfway through the book with nothing much happening. I was so bored I couldn’t continue reading. I had high hopes for the book based on the synopsis; I found no fault with the writing style, but it just wasn’t for me.

I read this book on Kindle.

[Laurena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up on a Stuff your Kindle day. The book takes place in Germany and a witch world. I found the concept to be original. This book seems to be self published and I thought the author did a good job of creating a low stakes but entertaining story. There are a few typos and exclamation marks that more editing might have improved but considering this book was self published it is overall fun to read.

I didn’t mind the FMC, although there are a couple scenes which felt a bit odd to me. I would read more of this series when in the mood for a easy, cozy yet entertaining fantasy read with witchy vibes.

[Marci Beaudoin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story is fun...writing is elementary

I'm all in for a story about a non magical person suddenly getting powers! I was so excited to start reading. I'm a bit disappointed! It often feels like the author is stretching to use more "sophisticated" words... There was a sentence that had both a "basic" word and a more "sophisticated" word side by side (no comma separating them) like she wasting trying to decide which word fit better! Something the publisher should have caught!
I am undecided if I should purchase the next book or not.

[Laura Wardale · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting start to the series. There were twists and turns and lots more to come, for sure. I found her changes of heart a bit maddening at times and the fact that she seemed to continually go off by herself when she knows virtually nothing and every time the hunters would nearly catch her, it was just obvious it was going to happen each time so why would you keep going off?! So that lost it a star as I did wonder how anyone could be quite so stupid sometimes but I enjoyed the story enough to not knock off more stars. Interested to see what happens next.

[Peter S Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good world Building, let down by weak heroine.

The world created by Jenny Swan is excellent and well created. However, the heroine acts like a petulant spoilt teenager whose actions are shallow and selfish. More time should have been spent on deepening the two world’s interactions rather than flicking a switch to jump between them. Maybe, these are the reasons why I cannot write a book as I would procrastinate too much and become too wordy.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leuk eerste deel van een serie.
Het plot is simpel.
De hoofdpersoon is een onhandige, naieve dame die in het diepe wordt gegooid qua afstamming.
Haar krachten als heks zijn onderontwikkeld en ze krijgt hierbij hulp van twee mannen.
Deze karakters worden niet echt uitgediept.
Met een voorliefde voor chocolade worden geheimen onthuld en zenuwen gekalmeerd.
Kan de heksenwereld gered worden van de ondergang?

[Debs Crelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hugely annoying main character

I love witchy novels, but this is the first book I've nearly abandoned at many stages. I liked the writing style (apart from using the word 'gotten') but the main character is naive and frankly annoying. I'm saying naive diplomatically rather than plain stupid to the point where I found her actions and therefore the plot very frustrating and was not invested at all.

[Kathy Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do you mean I am a Witch!

Loved this book! I couldn’t put it down. It was so well written, very interesting and action packed! I had to see what was going to happen to Mayla and who could she trust, the gorgeous police officer or the dark sexy wizard! I have to get the next book to see what happens to her and does she find her grandmother, the most powerful witch in the coven, and where does her story go now? A must read if you love adult Paranormal women’s fiction.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely loved this book. The characters are all interesting. I can't wait to see if the FMC developes feelings for both MMC's. No spice, and it could have been edited better. It does read like it was translated from another language and some character names you have to look up bc they are definitely not English or easily pronounced. But with that being said I still loved the story enough to continue on in the series. highly recommend for a cozy read.

[Morticia_is_Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Germany and a magical world, this is the first in a series about Mayla who discovered her magical powers by accident. There follows a hunt for her, a rescue, her being silly and exploring,another hunt, another escape.....etc

Aside from the two guys, Georg and Tom being sworn enemies getting a bit tedious and some stuff in the castle being overdone,this wasn't a bad start to a series and didn't have any sappy bits ;)

[Alisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think 3 stars may be a little too generous. I want to call this a cozy little read but I don't think it's supposed to be. The FMC makes continuous not thought out decisions, uses a pair of sunglasses as a "really good disguise", and trusts people way to easily even though she's constantly warned against it.
This book had a great story idea but it didn't come across in the writing. Will not be reading number 2.