Las aventuras de Finlay Ashowan: De brujas y banquetes

The House Witch #1

by Delemhach, Laura Moreda Caballero (translator)

Una conmovedora mezcla de cozy fantasy y romance que narra la historia de un obstinado cocinero y sus aventuras mágicas dentro y fuera de la cocina real.

Cuando Finlay Ashowan empieza a trabajar en la cocina del rey y la reina de Daxaria es todo un enigma. Y a él le parece estupendo. Está satisfecho con ser el cocinero real, alejar a las personas entrometidas que pasan por su cocina y elaborar platos deliciosos.

Pero Fin tiene un secreto y puede que no permanezca oculto durante mucho más tiempo…

Mientras Fin se reencuentra con su pasado, debe sortear las intrigas de la corte y alejarse de los problemas acompañado de su familiar, Kraken, un gatito negro y suave.

Sin embargo, todo se complica aún más cuando llama la atención de cierta mujer que resulta formar parte de la corte real.

¿Conseguirá Fin mantener oculto su secreto y proteger su corazón? ¿O se verá superado por el caos del castillo y sus afables residentes?

 Las aventuras de Finlay Ashowan. De brujas y banquetes es el primer libro de una saga cautivadora repleta de personajes fascinantes, intrigas políticas y dela corte, comidas deliciosas, animales de compañía achuchables, travesuras mágicas y tensión romántica.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Cozy, Cozy Fantasy, Witches, Fiction, Magic

544 pages, ebook

First published June 6, 2022

About the author

Delemhach is the Canadian author of the popular online series, The House Witch, and is already hard at work on the sequel series, The Burning Witch. When they aren’t following the whims of their unfortunately intelligent cats, Kraken and Pina Colada, they are teaching music privately to their students. In their spare time outside of writing and work, they enjoy cooking, reading, hiking, spending time with family, and trying not to remember their socially awkward moments.

Reviews

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

this shot right up to one of my favourite books of the year! It's cozy, it's funny, its interesting, the characters are all great, and I can't wait to see where this goes.

And if you get a chance to listen to the audiobook, the narrator does a great job there too!

Fin is a Housewitch and a cook, who just wants to do his new job at the palace and be left alone in peace. He doesn't want anyone to get close enough to learn his secrets, but try as he might, people just keeping coming into his kitchen! Everyone from royalty to nobility to staff just keep popping in, and the knife over there that's chopping food on it's own? Not happening! The broom sweeping up without human assistance? Nope! But you need someone to put pig-headed Knights in their place? Fin is definitely your guy!

This is a fun story, kinda light on the romance and the fantasy, but big on the humour. I loved being in this world, and I'm keen to see it expand in book 2.

[Maria Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

CON ESTO TE LO DIJO TODO😱:

¡SE VA DIRECTO A MI LISTA DE MEJORES LECTURAS DEL AÑO🔥!

🪄¿Eres fan de la fantasía?
🪄¿Te apasionan las historias con brujas?

Si es así, y además disfrutas de las historias con su punto de humor, romance, acción, intrigas palaciegas, rivalidades, y los héroes un tanto huraños pero tiernos como un osito, estás completamente perdida❤️‍🔥!

Así es,
Lamento ser yo la quien te lo diga,
Pero alguien tiene que hacerlo…🤭

Y es que esta historia te sacará más de una sonrisa y, hasta alguna carcajada, mientras te enamoras de sus personajes tan carismáticos y especiales🔥

Es más, te lo advierto desde ya📢:

¡Vigila porque crea adicción de la buena🔥!

¿Ya sabes de lo que te estoy hablando, verdad? De esa necesidad que te impide soltar el libro y rezar a santa Cachucha que no se termine… Porque sabes que cuando eso pase, necesitarás leer todo lo que ha escrito la autora…❤️‍🔥

¡CUIDADO, TU PRÓXIMA OBSESIÓN ESTÁ A UN PASO DE TI🚩🔥!

[Charlie Holmberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is adorable.

It's written in a sort of nineties style, with omniscient and quick narration; reminded me of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. It's full of charm and whimsy and honestly brought a huge smile to my face. Also ended a very long and frustrating reading drought. Highly recommend (and you know I do; I never write reviews).

[Melindam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is in perfect line with what is now tagged as "cosy fantasy" (courtesy of an article I read in Book Riot), undemanding, low-angst/stakes (though this may vary), containing "slice-of-life" events which can be extremely comforting or extremely boring according to your booktastes.
I am mostly all for this type of reads, but book-chemistry being what it is, we do not always click, as you can see from my original review below.

‐-‐---------‐--‐--


2,5 stars

Mixed feelings and reading experience.



When I started listening to this story, I thought I would be able to give it 4 stars, but by the last third the author unfortunately lost the plot (that wasn't that much to begin with) and my attention as well as my goodwill by letting it dissolve into a completely silly and annoying will-they/won't-they/why-the hell-just-don't-they-so-we-can-FINALLY!!-get-to-the-interesting-bits. (The chemistry between the would-be couple was nonexistent, btw, so that made this all the worse.)
I really enjoyed the book until about 40-50%, but after the cosy-comfy feelings it originally evoked in me, it let me down by the thin plot being dragged out interminably into precisely nowhere.



The clumsy attempts by the author to insert all the critical issues of our day and age were very worthy in themselves, but they did not mix well with this particular, middle-ages-ish fantasy background as written by them. Instead of being organic to the whole story, they felt forced and crude, and sometimes downright silly. I mean "royal employee appreciation day"? Oh, pur-lease!! The "humourous" bits were the slapstick kind which may entertain a 10-year-old, felt also totally out-of-place and were repeated to the point of ridiculousness.

To say that the 472!!-page-long book ends on a cliffhanger would be unmerited flattery. But I just checked out to see how Book 2 is going on and it is clear both from the reviews and the cover blurb that the going-nowhere-very-slowly is still there and there will be a book 3, so I just returned Book 2 to Audible, because I do not want to go on with the series.

Anyways, to give praise where it is due, the narrator did a very good job of a very messy book.

[Eileen Owens · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. With this being marketed as a "humorous fantasy romance," I was expecting it to feel akin to something like The Princess Bride, but it fell flat on both the comedic and romantic elements for me. At 30% in, the “humor” had been limited to jokes about someone’s name sounding like "f*ck", and I felt zero chemistry between the two love interests. I also kept getting off-putting “nice guy” vibes from the main character; he had several preachy white knight moments that felt way too modern and cringey.

[ß]

this is like ratatouille but without the rat

[Nikola · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,25/5

[Shay Vande · Rating 1 out of 5]

The cover art for this book caught my eye, and my sister and I wanted to read it for our book club together. I liked the concept of "male witch protag that does a lot of domestic work" as a starting point and wondered where it would go from there. Whatever I thought I was gonna get didn't happen.

The writing style of this book made it increasingly difficult to continue on, but I wanted to finish to make the most of the money I spent getting it on audible. I still ended up giving up around chapter 40 when I checked and saw there were 55 chapters. I just couldn't do it anymore.

The writing reminds me of fanfiction that I could enjoy when I was younger, but don't have patience for now. The backround characters feel like set-dressing to the two protags that are inevitably going to be a romantic couple. That is to say, outside of the two main characters, most other characters didn't have much going on in their lives other than to comment on how handsome the main man was, how haughty the main woman was, the inevitability of them getting together, insisting the main guy is gay but the main guy assures us at least five times (and counting!) that he's not.

Our main character is cool about gay people but is NOT gay and very protective of women around him and his mother taught him cooking and healing and he wants to be a safe space for women being harassed by other men and he has feelings for a woman but he can't act on them but he's not gay but he's Not Like Other Men(TM).

Also--and this is not the author's fault--the white audiobook voice actor chose to voice the cat character with a Black accent. . . for some reason? I was baffled and then the cat is in a Gang with other cats, and I wondered. . . is THAT why you chose to voice the cats that way?????

I wanted to enjoy this book but it became impossible. My sister gave up early on. I pushed through but had to give up later on anyway.

[The Man from DelMonte · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 26%.
Shockingly bad. I can’t decide if this was churned out by an adult, presumably for a bet, or by an overly ambitious 12 year old.
The prose has obviously never been near an editor, who might have caught some of the more glaring errors e.g. misspelling the protagonist’s name.
In any event, the writing was wildly variable. Some quite good character dialogue and interaction was balanced by some toe-curlingly awful romantic scenes.
I bailed at the juvenile chapter mocking a character’s surname. I mean, seriously? That’s supposed to be funny? Grow up.

[Marcus Rigsby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm just going to say it. The House Witch is awful, but sometimes, I enjoy reading awful books. And I get a sick thrill out of reviewing things that I abhor, so here we go.

Let's start with the novel's most glaring and persistent weakness: it's prose. Here are a few examples of the kind of writing that Delemhach's readers will have to look forward to:

"Fin’s voice was hard as he negated any bowing from his addressing of the men" (36).

"They believed that witches were meant to rule the continent as the middle ground between nature and people" (91).

"Her bright teal silk gown was cut in a wide V, exposing her flawless chest with modest cleavage" (102).

" 'I happen to be a friend of a certain cook you know since many years ago' " (111).

"The idea that an uneducated peasant was trying to take care of one of their esteemed selves was abrasive to them all" (128).

"If I suspect anything suspicious of them, I will use the ball as an opportunity to … investigate" (148).

"How was that possible, and why did it smell good?!" (155)

" 'I would be seeing the queen in a disrobed state and bursting in on her while she is in a delicate state' " (156).

“I know there have been some rumors floating around that I’m gay..." (221)

"Every inch of him itched to do so … Itched to hold her and allow everything to turn right in the world" (263).

“Again, I am not gay” (289).

"Which is why you should be a little more self-conscious of allowing me to socially see anymore of you than is appropriate" (327).

" 'Godsdamnit Hank, I blame this on you thoroughly!' " (338)

"Clara stood over her mistress, thoughtfully watching the beautiful woman’s chest gently rise and fall" (357).

" '...they become very violent when you tell them of being ignorant of such a thing' " (369).

"...and the moment their gazes locked, it was as though every drop of blood in Fin was pulled to her" (371).

To get through The House Witch's 462 pages of clunky, pseudo-archaic language, I had to maintain a sense of humor. I imagined the characters as cartoons, acting their hearts out while reading a script written by a thirteen-year-old. I had to stop asking myself why Delemhach thinks replacing the word "me" with "myself" makes a sentence sound more formal, or how they landed on the phrase "superiorly crafted blade" (whenever I try to say that out loud, it comes out "superiory clafted braid").

The quality of the writing is important because it drags down every other aspect of the novel. Because the writing is clunky and wordy, most of the jokes don't land either. And because Finlay and Annika speak to each other in stilted dialogue (except when they're lobbing insults back and forth), their romance is impossible to believe. Actually, I initially read Annika as a scheming femme fatale and was surprised and annoyed when she emerged as Fin's love interest. She did apparently attack him with a knife, after all, but I guess we're okay with that, because she gave him a cat.

I will say that The House Witch made me laugh out loud several times, although I wasn't always sure whether I was laughing with or at it. A Monty Python-esque bit about a general whose name sounds like "fucks," as well as the homoerotic innuendos of the perpetually horny minstrel, Reese, are pure gold. And naming Fin's cat Kraken? Brilliant!

That said, I'm less sure that I was meant to laugh at the author's naming scheme. The dramatis personae includes Fin, Hannah, Annika, Ainsley, Aiden, Emily, Taylor, Karter, Corey, and Jade. Are these supposed to be characters in a medieval-inspired fantasy or students at the whitest high school in Temecula, California?

The chapter in which the pregnant queen is found lying in a pool of her unborn baby's blood is entitled "Uh Oh." Was this black humor, witty understatement, or the author's own carelessness?

238 pages in, the book inexplicably shifts to Kraken's point of view, and we are treated to a sequence of cat jokes for your grandma, including a shameless "purrfect" pun. I laughed, but again, probably not for the reasons that Delemhach wanted me to.

And for such a long book (did I mention that it's 462 pages?) not a whole lot happens. Most of the action consists of a rotating cast of characters visiting Fin's kitchen to reprimand him for some offense that he's given. Fin trades barbs with them, demands that they get out of his kitchen, and finally wins them over by treating them to some of his superiory clafted cooking -- I mean masterful cooking.

The looming war with the enemy kingdom of Troivack never materializes, nor does Fin's much hyped confrontation with his abusive fire witch father. Kraken's adventures with Scrappy Carl and James Paws during his POV chapters have no obvious consequences, and I question why they were included at all. The only major conflict that sees resolution is the "will they, won't they" romance between Fin and Annika, which is easily the least interesting arc of the story. I assume that we need to read the novel's two sequels to reach a satisfying conclusion, which means that The House Witch is actually a 1,195 page novel disguised as a trilogy. Nope! This is my stop. I'm getting off here.

Some reviewers have suggested that what this book needs is an editor. I'm tempted to say that only a ghost writer can fix The House Witch's many structural issues (and maybe shave off about 180 pages), but if that happened, then The House Witch would merely be an okay book, and not the "charming mess" that it is. In truth, awful books make for much more interesting reads than okay ones. Despite my criticisms, I genuinely had fun laughing with and at it. And on that note, I really did appreciate Delemhach's descriptions of food, which made my mouth water and inspired me to work on my own cooking. Bon appétit, Finlay Ashowan! Now get out of my kitchen.

[Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many things feel both forced and shallow. Modern day guy easily tramples over the established culture with his righteous modern values. Meh plot.

The protagonist has picked up an idiot ball several times to foreshadow future contrivances. He’s hiding from some antagonist so he very publicly moves into the kingdom castle as a Royal Cook. He belligerently argues with the powers that be and uses his 'secret magic he absolutely needs to hide' without any caution. It’s all really stupid.

-Dropped Ch 6

[Me, My Shelf, & I]

I'm officially choosing myself and DNF-ing this book.

Immature Humor:
Previously I was kinda feeling meh about it, then I read another 5 pages today and... well, it devolved into making fun of a Lord named Richard Fuks (but he goes by Dick) and an entire conversation about him, his son Les, and his father Gaylord; the characters are entirely incapable of containing their laughs, literally beating their fist on the table with tears in their eyes as they laugh. For >5 freaking pages, no less!
EDIT: Amazon wouldn't let me include reference to this "joke" in my review on their site, presumably screening for the word "dick" as being unacceptable. I'm also annoyed at it, Amazon.

Self-Published:
Obviously this is self-published so I'm willing to look past a lot of shortcomings. No, it's not excellent writing. And I often feel the author's heavy hand and have to imagine what the author is going for and consider if I like that idea or not (generally the answer is yes), so it's not really something I'd hold against them.

Characters:
Most of the characters have one or two characteristics, but they're mostly just props for Fin (the main character) to interact with.

Main Character:
This is where most of my criticism is. I don't understand why the setting was chosen-- the main character constantly butts up against it... but that's never a point of conflict or danger for him? Even though he's of low birth (frequently brought up to his face), it's entirely inconsequential that he ignores the rules and goes unpunished. I honestly don't even understand why these scenes exist in the book at all except to possibly virtue signal? He has entirely modern views/values and is always right and entirely self-righteous about it. He's the smartest person in all subjects, the hardest working, the sweetest, most powerful, etc etc. But there's also often a break in internal consistency (eg he wants to keep his head down and go under the radar, yet he constantly scoffs and rebuffs the polite manners and respect of the hierarchy that is essential to living in a gorram castle. Which is something he specifically chose to do.)

Overall:
I really wanted to love this as a new cozy fantasy. But I'm getting more and more frustrated and that's not fair to me or the author.

(The scene where the baddie painfully holds the wrist of the presumed love interest under the table and of course only Fin can see and then he fully overreacts with his magic to rescue her... annoys me so freaking much.)

[jules · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 25%

The writing in this book is exhausting. This is an attractive man who acts inappropriately but that’s fine because his food is amazing! Try his food, isn’t it AMAZING? Have you ever had food THIS AMAZING??? It’s e x h a u s t i n g. Subtlety does not exist in this book. I’m going to be kind and say I’m just not the target reader for this, and I’m going to be kind to myself by not reading it any further.

[hannah pachet · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 — this started out as a 4-star read, but as much as i loved the cozy fantasy atmosphere, i just couldn’t care less about any of the characters. i might have retained my initial feelings if it had been about 200 pages shorter

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Wholesome isn't my general vibe, so maybe that's why I'm not all in on this book. I'd read this with a kid, but I wouldn't reread it on my own. There's a really live action Disney quality to it.

I thought it was weird that Hannah had to work with the guys who sexually harassed her, and then they all became best friends.

I'm also uncomfortable with the black cat speaking in AAVE.

[Tiffany]

Saving this one for later! Heard great things but wasn’t in the mood just yet.

[Madison Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hey if this is your comfort book, I am so sorry. I’m about to be brutally honest. You’ve been warned.

Okay so I was tolerating this marathon of a book until the altercation between Fin and Jiho. This is the least likable main character I have ever experienced. He is obtuse, recalcitrant, and so ridiculously morally superior. The romance between Fin and Annika was not believable in the slightest. They were apparently so both madly in love with each other but they never communicate or bond? Instant love at the worst. Moving away from the characters, there is far, far, far too much going on with the plot. Half the time I had no idea what was going on. The pacing is atrocious for a nearly 700 page book. The POV is constantly shifting to even the most random, insignificant characters. There was a sub plot of the kitten joining a cat gang, Annika was like a triple spy, not-like-other-girls vixen, so we were constantly dipping into those nonsensical exploits as well. She’s rich, beautiful, a better fighter than every spy, and she’s also drunk all the time because she’s self medicating with the strongest moonshine ever made. This book needed severe editing. I never ever go in on books like this but I was so so so disappointed. I was so looking forward to reading this and it was an absolute slog. I’m being nice with the two stars simply because I sucked it up enough to actually finish it.

[Dee Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

How lovely, to read a romance with a male protagonist! Most of these romance novels speak in a woman's voice, but The House Witch homes in on Finlay Ashowan, newly made royal chef, who is also hiding his enormous talents as a house witch. Offering a keenly feminist/humanist perspective in a male is not merely refreshing; it highlights a lot of what's wrong with men today: first, in the depiction of three knights, boors who are introduced bringing Fin's kitchen maid to tears every day, on up to a visiting earl who delights in the subtleties of tormenting his sister into obedience without anyone taking notice.

As punishment, their wise captain sentences the knights to work in the kitchen under Fin for six months, during which time--of course-- they actually become good men and true. That they do so while doing women's work, peeling vegetables and washing dishes, is just adorable.

As for the wicked earl, and his country quietly infiltrating and planning war against Fin's, we'll just have to wait for The House Witch 2, to be published shortly before Halloween, in October. I've got my pre-order in!

The House Witch is available for free through Kindle Unlimited, but the second will cost you $5.99. If the second is as good as the first, this will be a real bargain. (The author, pen name Delemhach as one word, is a non-binary Canadian whose very real cat, Kraken, lends its name to Fin's familiar. Their other cat, Pina Colada, has yet to make a bookish appearance.)

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super, super enjoyable. Loved the setting, the magic and all of the characters. It does drag slightly in parts and could've used another round of edits, but I'm really looking forward to continuing the series.

[Geertje ~ witchybookmom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did anything happen? Not really
Was I entertained? Yes

[Bayleigh Strickland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is my new favorite book. This might be the cutest book I have ever read in my life. 😭 It matched my sense of humor exactly and I found myself laughing out loud at the jokes.

Finn is absolutely the most lovable character, flaws and all. He’s grumpy and brutally honest with both others and himself. The character arcs of all the kitchen staff were fantastically written.

This book made me feel so happy and is the very definition of “cozy fantasy”. It reminded me of Once Upon A Marigold. I was laughing and crying and then laughing again.

I wish I could read it again for the first time!

[Marta Demianiuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zastanawiałam się, czy dać 3 czy podciągnąć pod 4 gwiazdki, bo książkę oceniam na 3,5. Momentami zaczęła mi się dłużyć i miałam wrażenie, że robi się przegadana.

A jednak pokochałam Fina, pokochałam jego zespół pomocników i pomocnic kuchennych. Pokochałam to, jak bardzo jest połamany życiowo, a przez to ma ten cięty język, który przysparza mu kłopotów. A wreszcie pokochałam urocze zakończenie tej książki. No i humor, który momentami idzie w dziwną stronę (Hrabia Bzykacz? Toż to humor rodem z podstawówki), ale jednak po dłuższej chwili i tak bawi.

Czekam na kolejne tomy w PL.

[Pulek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Przyjemna historia, choć miejscami trochę mi się dłużyła, jak na takiego typu książkę to była dość długa. Myslę, że to fajny wybór na lekką opowieść na świąteczny czy jesienny czas. Ciężko nie polubić szczerego do bólu nieustraszonego , czarodziejskiego kucharza , który staje w obronie innych.Mamy też wątek romantyczny, który był całkiem nieźle wpleciony w historię i był taki w sam raz :) Jednocześnie też nie było czegoś wyjątkowego w tej historii, mamy znane schematy, nie jest to też jakaś najbardziej angażująca fabuła.

[Danny_reads]

DNF at 20%

I was so excited going into this. A cozy fantasy romance centering a male house witch? Yes, please!

Sadly, this just didn't give me what I wanted. It wasn't really giving cozy vibes, and I felt zero chemistry between Fin and the supposed love-interest. After a while, the novelty of Fin as a house witch also kind of wore off.

2023 is the year of DNFing "meh" books. I just don't have time for a book that feels like it's going nowhere slowly.

[tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf at page 157

the premise seemed so interesting, but the writing style is not for me and the pacing is unbearably slow.

[Lucía Cafeína · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madre mía, ha sido tan estupendo, cozy y agradable 🩷🩷 gracioso, mágico y con personajes adorables.

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile]]

DNF at 60 pages.

Normally, I would not write a review.

However.

While I was looking forward to a cozy, low-stakes fantasy (witches! baking! castles! talking cats!), the writing here isn't it. It's written to evoke the head-hopping, omnipresent style so common in 90s fantasy, but...this could really have benefitted from tighter editing. While the sentences were *technically* correct, often times it was very hard to tell who was doing what action due to the often obfuscating writing style.

I'm sure it's cute, but other reviews said it had a rather meandering, non-existent plot. I'm kinda down for that with the right vibes, but this writing is a no-go for me.

Like Assistant to the Villain,, this might be one that should have stuck to shorter format. Or at least have an editor not looking to quickly push out anything in order to jump on the cozy fantasy bandwagon. Another great concept, poor execution.

[Melinda Scaturro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book filled me with true joy. This book gave me the same warm fuzzy feelings as The House on the Cerulean Sea & Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune.

I love the magic concept in this story - reminds me of A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking. I can't wait to pick up the second book.

Also - I absolutely love the characters in this story, and had numerous laugh out loud moments that I was not expecting.

I would definitely recommend.

[Auđur · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,3*

[Jooo · Rating 5 out of 5]

5(⭐) QUÉ LIBRO DEL BIEN. Como amante del cozy fantasy esta historia cumplió con todo lo que buscaba: una ambientación con vibes de cuento, personajes entrañables, situaciones de comedia que te tienen riendo en voz alta, un romance tierno y comida, mucha comida. ¿Qué más se le puede pedir?
Ah sí, a Fin. Porque si de protagonistas maravillosos se trata, se lleva todas mis estrellas. Amé que no sea el típico héroe. Es gruñón y altanero pero también tiene un corazón enorme.
La verdad que este libro fue como terapia, de esos que te dejan el corazón calentito ❤️