A Sorceress and Scones

Of Mist and Magic #1

by Allie Leigh

The rumours should have been enough to send her running, but when the opportunity to study magic under the Lady Elliane presents itself, Korinne can’t say no. Even if people do think the lady sorceress has terrifying fangs, fearsome claws, and a tendency to eat hearts.  

She’d planned to focus upon her studies, but life at the sorceress’s castle isn’t what she'd expected. Though she hides herself away, Elliane doesn’t live alone. There’s Arycelle, a spirited girl from beyond the valley, and Wick, a demon who seems more interested in performances and pastries than any sort of eldritch pact. Along with living shadows, poetic statues, and an opinionated stove, Korinne isn’t sure what to make of the strange world she’s stumbled into.

But when Elliane, Arycelle, and Wick learn of her feelings for Ninette—a sweet baker and her dearest friend—they decide to take responsibility for ensuring she gets a happily ever after, and Korinne finds she has much more than magic on her mind.

Genres: Fantasy, Lesbian, Queer, Adult

250 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2024

Reviews

[R. Dawnraven]

ARC Review
A fantastic cozy fantasy debut from Allie Leigh.
If Sapphic cozy fantasies are your jam, I highly recommend picking up this one!

[Rook]

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25

Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

World Building: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25

Ending: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Favorite Characters: Wick, Ninette, Ella, Korrene, Sol-Mi

Favorite Part: When Ella was awoken!!!!!

What I Liked: The characters, the world building, the ending.

What I Disliked: the pacing mostly tbh.

Thoughts: What a delightful story!!!!! This felt like Legends and Lattes or Howl's Moving Castle, but not in a way that feels copy-paste!!!!! I enjoyed this quite a bit, though it lagged a little in the beginning.

[Heather Hogan]

Ah, that’s the gentleness I was looking for! A really sweet sapphic cozy fantasy. YA, I think. A very soft and lovely start to the year!

[Raj]

The people of Norre, for some reason never really explained to the reader, think the sorceress Elliane is terrifying, and never have anything to do with her or her castle, even though the Rose Accords mean that she should help anyone in need. But Lady Korinne thinks that she may have magic, so comes to learn at Ella's side. There she learns that Ella, and her companions, Arycelle and the demon child Wick, are anything but scary. She soon settles in to routine alongside her new friends, not to mention the poetry-loving statues, opinionated stove and living shadows. But she never gives up her flame for the baker, Ninette, and when they find out, her companions start plotting to bring them together.

Yes, that plot summary is immensely cosy, and yes, it was quite lovely to read. It's a short book - I got through most of it in an afternoon - but still manages to tell a good story. There's some niggles, like the aforementioned fear of the people, and how quickly it seems to be overcome, by a single fete held in the castle. There's a lot of mystery around Arycelle and the pact that she seems to have made with Wick, but given the epilogue, I imagine that will be covered in the sequel, which I will be looking out for.

I have some typographical issues with my particular (electronic) edition, where the divider between sections in a chapter was overly large, and there were various letters at the end of chapters that were just images, not text - not great for accessibility, since they were important to the plot, but those are relatively minor.

I don't know why I keep torturing myself with books involving food and baking, as I've recently been told by a medical profession that I need to seriously rein in my (extensive) sweet tooth. I'd still love to have a caramel croissant though (preferably not a living, flame-breathing one though).

[Ricard Margienda]

Innocent story bu so imbibed in beauty and magic that one can not just find dull. Well sculped characters that hide its secrets well enough to make the plot intersting even if you are used to more daring stories.
Definitely worth your time.

[Jane]

Just not well written. MCs who don't seem their age, conversations that make no sense, pointless events or events with a lot of meaning that are actually very unimportant.
Nothing about this story appealed to me in the slightest, and it wasn't particularly original either.

[TrixieB]

Sweet found family story with a mystery and unexpected evil. Loved it.

[Mirella Pryce]

Sweet, slow and cozy. I'm going to give it to my friend's kid to read. Thank you queer rep! Can't wait to see what happens next 💖

[Sarah Browe]

I loved this cute story and all of the fantastic creatures and magic in it.

[Botond]

Such an amazing book! I really enjoyed every single page of it. I hope we will see more of Arycelle in the future tho.

[Ana Arellano]

cozy and cute

[sufei]

3.5