The Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium

by Lexie Sharabianlou

A magical witness protection program, a town in need of saving, and a sorceress-in-training . . . oh, and the human woman she’s not supposed to fall for. The Blue Moon Café has a little bit of everything (except, you know, decent coffee).

In the tiny town of Pine Hollow, barista and fledging sorceress Talula Smith runs The Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium, aka the worst coffee shop in town. The café’s horrible reputation hides its true providing new identities and safe passage to at-risk magical beings while keeping humans far, far away. That is, except for town local Dahlia. Dahlia’s devastating dimples, addiction to Talula's cocoa recipe, and keen observation skills keeps the smitten barista scrambling to ensure that her magical abilities (or, lack thereof) stay a secret.

But when big game hunters start preying on magical beings, her powerful sorceress mother is called away to track them down, leaving Talula and her barely-there magic in charge of The Blue Moon. With the impending Samhain festival to organize, magical refugees to help, half of the town turning against her, and her ever-growing feelings for Dahlia, Talula’s magical destiny feels further away than ever. But as the hunters set their sights closer to home, it’ll be up to Talula to master her craft, trust her heart, and bring her magical and human communities together . . . before she loses everything she loves.

Genres: Fantasy, Cozy, Cozy Fantasy, Romance, Lesbian, Queer, LGBT

448 pages, Paperback

First published August 18, 2026

About the author

Lexie Sharabianlou earned her Master’s in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh. She has sold cupcakes, taught high school English literature, and written audio tours for zoos and museums. These days, she writes stories about magic, mischief, and falling in love. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tell your dog she says hi.

The Blue Moon Cafe & 24-Hour Occult Emporium is her debut novel.

Reviews

[EmJustReading]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Now that I’ve finished crying after that ending (I can’t believe you did that to us Lexie) I want to explain how much happiness I got from this book. As a self proclaimed Halloween obsessed person, this book was immensely satisfying and gave me fall fever.

Sara, Talula’s mother, is responsible for the Blue Moon Cafe, which houses a secret, magical portal. Talula is a barista at the cafe that acts as a safe house for magical beings that need help. We meet Dahlia, who is the only regular at the cafe, and we get to watch Talula be oblivious and trying to determine if the interest is mutual.

The big conflicts in this book:
-Self doubt (in her magic and belonging)
-Romantic questioning
-Samhaim vs. Pine Hollow council
-The threatening & kidnapping of magical creatures

Simon quickly becomes my favorite character because of his killer one liners. I imagined he has a British accent — specifically the voice of Maxwell Sheffield in The Nanny — and I highlighted at least 20 lines that made me laugh. His obsession with Emilio is adorable (who was also a hilarious addition) #QAFD&DG

This was such an easy, cozy read. And there were a lot of elements that are relatable and endearing. From doubting yourself, comparing yourself to your parents, and being scared of failure. There were some surprises throughout the story, and the twist involving Mrs. Bochart made my jaw drop.

This book was perfectly scheduled to be published in the fall (August 18th) and I’d highly recommend you pre-order this. If I have one suggestion, or really just a wish, it would be that I want recipes to follow along with the story — because all of the food sounded mouth watering.

Some of my favorite lines/ insults:
“Co-chair of the Bashful Armadillo Preservation Society”
“Sometimes … you’ve just got to chuck some jackalopes”
“that reptilian flatulence incarnate”
“basically, in bisexuality years, Talula was a teen queer”
“So peasants— Simon began.”
“and mayo was magical no matter where it came from”
“you besotted mongoose”
“a geriatric nematode could have told you that”

Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC

[Julie Leong]

This book was so ridiculously delightful. I blurbed it with the below, and meant every word:

"Charming, whimsical, and endlessly kind, Sharabianlou has crafted a fun, fantastical world that is at once familiar and fresh – where farmers’ markets and sapphic yearning coexist with mysterious jinn, the pantry’s a portable pocket dimension, and… let’s not talk about the jackalopes. Gilmore Girls and Charmed fans will be right at home! Don’t forget snacks–this witty, delectable delight of a book will leave you emotionally sated, but hungry for more."

[tori]

Let me reference the magical Jinn cookbook to determine the ingredients for a 5 star read:

1. Impossibly ancient magical sorcerer whose current corporeal vessel is a very fluffy corgi
2. PORTALS
3. Depiction of the power (and magic!) of community
4. Impeccable one-liners, often delivered by aforementioned corgi (see 1)
5. An ooey-gooey queer romance
6. Meditation on accepting yourself and what it means to not feel like you’re enough (or that you’re too much!)
7. MAGICAL CREATURES

The Blue Moon Cafe & 24-Hour Occult Emporium read like a nostalgic cross between the Halloweentown films of my youth and Sabrina the Teenage Witch (albeit, instead of a talking cat, we have a talking corgi). It also felt like a warm hug on a chilly fall day, when summer is in the rearview mirror and the excitement of Halloween is just around the corner.

Coziness aside, we also have some very real stakes - our FMC, Talula, and her cosmic immortal goddess of a mother, Sara, are responsible for overseeing and protecting the Volta, a magical wayportal that transitions magical creatures to safer pastures. When a nefarious magical creature hunting party crops up and Sara is pulled into the investigation, Talula is left behind to manage the portal and protect the magical community - worse, her town is campaigning to get the Blue Moon Cafe and their annual Samhain festival shut down.

The problem? Well, she hasn’t QUITE mastered her magic as of yet (though she’s trying her best and I love her). Annnnd she has an evil ex-girlfriend plotting on her destruction.

Not all hope is lost, however - after all, Talula has the power of a magical cookbook, community (both human and magical) a talking corgi, and her kickass crush, Dahlia, on her side.

And what’s more magical than the friendships and relationships we spend our lives cultivating and nurturing?

[Sam]

Wow this book was such a wonderful cozy adventure! This is the perfect read to escape into a magical small town cafe with a nice cup of hot cocoa 📖☕️ All the characters are so well developed, the friendship between Talula and Dahlia is heartwarming and their chemistry is electric! If you are at all interested do yourself the favor and just read it (I would especially recommend around Summerween-Halloween to maximize on the cozy witchy autumnal vibes) 👻🎃

Note: I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley.

[Victoria | Victoriabooklover]

This was so good.

Fall vibes 🍁
Cafes ☕️
Magic ✨
Romance 👩🏼‍❤️‍💋‍👩🏾
Talking Corgi 🐾
Portals🚪

I loved all of it!!! My only note is that it dragagdd a liiiitle bit for a cozy book. If it was a tad bit shorter I’d have loved it even more.

[Aila Krisse]

Whimsical yet also very emotional, and probably my new favourite (sapphic) cozy-ish fantasy book. Though it really is only cozy-ish, there’s a lot of angst, near deaths and relatively high stakes that really make it a not-all-that-cozy cozy fantasy.

Overall, I just really enjoyed every aspect of this. A lot of the plot points feel kinda tropey and perhaps even a bit overdone; the (magical) protagonist that is failing to live up to her family’s and society’s experctations, the love interest that doesn’t know about the magical world, the talking animal that is actually powerful entity, the café setting. But somehow none of it felt stale or forced - all the parts just fit together perfectly.

There were definitely parts where I thought “oh well that’s mighty convenient”, but it added to the book’s humorous tone, rather than detracting from my enjoyment. You kind of know it’s going to have a happy ending (as do all cozy fantasy books), yet I was so lost in the sauce (aka the story) that I still felt incredibly tense at certain parts.

I also really appreciated that the characters in the book seem to both possess brains and know how to use them. Also I’m so sick of the forced third-act-crisis that basically every rom-com type story has in it and am very grateful to this book for putting its own third-act-crisis in the first half of the book, very refreshing.

Tropes and such:
- sapphic cozy-ish urban-ish fantasy
- coffee shop that’s a front for a magical witness protection program
- organisation that’s poaching magical creatures
- disaster bisexual sorceress FMC with magical impostor syndrome
- her all-powerful bisexual sorceress mother
- a talking corgi (actually a millenia old sorcerer)
- trans and enby side characters
-----
Thank you to Dell for the ARC

[Joshua Covington]

This was a great read to follow some heavier reads lately. I'm a big fan of anything with witchy women, I enjoy a good sapphic romance, and everyone loves a snarky animal companion.

My favorite aspect of this book is how funny and silly it is. There were a bunch of moments that had me laughing out loud, and some of the exclamations are incredible (you besotted mongoose!). It straddles the line between India Holton's Dangerous Damsels (absolutely farcical) and Sangu Mandanna (witty banter but sincere) which is a wonderful place to land. I think fans of either of those two authors will find a lot to love here.

I'm a total sucker for cinnamon roll characters, and Dahlia and Talula are both perfect little gooey rolls. The way the two of them circle each other is adorable, because it's obvious from the very start they both have big hearts and big feelings. It's such a treat to read about nice people who want to share themselves. There's a pretty great supporting cast here as well. The sneaky little jinn, Kiki, and the Volta itself are both super charming. I actually wish we got a little more of both.

My only gripe is the length, as this is longer than I typically enjoy. Even with that, this is an easy recommend for me to any cozy vibe enjoyers. It's got a plot with stakes, a good pace, great characters, and a lot of heart.

[BookishKB]

☕🔮 The Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium 🔮☕

📖 Bookish Thoughts

My full review will be shared closer to the publication date.

✨ What to Expect
• Cozy Fantasy
• Magical Café
• Witchy Magic
• Small Town
_ _ _

📅 Pub Date: August 18, 2026

Thank you to Dell, Ballantine, and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

[Enna]

3.5/5 stars!

Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic–The Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium is the perfect cozy Autumn read. Talula Smith is the sole daughter of an ancient and powerful sorceress. Together with her mother, she manages the Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium which acts as a safehouse for magical beings seeking refuge. The Valta, hidden in the basement of the Blue Moon, is a force of magical power that acts as a gateway to transport magical beings to their intended destinations. To keep the magic of the café a secret from her fellow residents of small-town Pine Hollow, Talula serves purposefully bad coffee to keep mortal patrons away. However, when a new bubbly and beautiful resident, Dahlia, arrives in town and Talula’s mother is called away on an important mission, Talula begins to wonder if she is really ready to face her magical destiny.

There was a lot I loved about The Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium, including the loveable and well-fleshed out characters, from Talula to the ensemble cast of Pine Hollow residents. Each character felt distinct and purposeful, always having an intended mission to help or thwart Talula on her journey. My favorite character was obviously Simon. I never cease to love a snarky talking animal sidekick, especially when they're trapped in an adorable corgi body. Additionally, I enjoyed the representation of a single-mother/daughter relationship as well as the LGBTQ characters. Dahlia was the perfect love interest! From the moment Dahlia was introduced, it was obvious she’d be the main love interest, but the “will they won’t they” narrative was present throughout the story. I kept getting frustrated with Talula for messing things up with Dahlia, but those aspects really tied into the greater narrative of Talula struggling with her double-life.

I also really loved the town of Pine Hollow. It is the perfect comparison to Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow. A cute small-town with a cast of quirky and loveable residents who are always in each other’s business. The residents, drama, and the farmers market really reminded me of my own small hometown. A protest of a Samhain festival may seem far-fetched for some, but I could totally see something similar happening in my hometown. The town hall scene made me laugh out loud because I’ve heard similar things at my own town hall meetings.

While The Blue Moon Café very much is a cozy fantasy, the stakes are nevertheless pretty high. Not only for Talula herself–forced to grow into her magical potential, but for the whole town of Pine Hollow as well! These high stakes definitely kept me engaged throughout the story, always wanting to know what was going to happen next. Even though the book is almost 450 pages, it flew by pretty quickly.

As you can see, there was a lot I loved about this story, however, I have two main complaints that kept it from being a four or even a five star read. Firstly was the writing, particularly the dialogue. Now, I am by no means a professional writer or reviewer, so I usually don’t feel qualified to comment on things such as prose. While I did like Sharabianlou’s writing in terms of her plot and character development, there were multiple times where I physically cringed at some of the dialogue. So much so, that it would take me out of the story completely. I know I read an early copy, but I really hope some of this got cleaned up in editing because it really prevented me from loving this book more.

My second complaint has to do with some of those high stakes aspects. While all of the other characters felt very fleshed out to me, the villain character was very one dimensional and I felt like he came out of nowhere. His whole deal is being a bad person and there weren’t any other aspects to him at all. Similarly, Talula’s ex-girlfriend is presented in a similar light. She’s just a terrible person and that’s basically it. I feel like the story would have benefitted more if some of these more villainous characters were fleshed out a little bit more. There is one character in particular that the author did a really great job developing. I won’t mention them due to spoilers, because I was really surprised when their twist was revealed. I wish the other “villains” got similar treatment.

Overall, I definitely will recommend this book to friends looking for a cozy or witchy read this Fall. It was super cute and a fun time all around. I do feel like my complaints are pretty minor, but they were significant enough to take me out of the story at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the advanced copy!

[Naori]

This advanced reader’s copy was received from NetGalley.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Press for this advanced reader’s copy of Lexie Sharabianlou’s novel, The Blue Moon Café and 24-Hour Occult Emporium in exchange for an honest review. My words are my own.

What an astonishing, hopeful and healing book. It was so life-affirming and celebratory. I was incredibly impressed with how Lexi Sharabianlou took so many forms of difference that could’ve clashed like pieces of glass, and rounded them out like they had been washed by the sea. It is hard not to resort to puns about ingredients with a novel whose predominant themes are sorcery and cooking, but what I think this book is really about is multiplicative love and cultivating safe spaces. This book makes you feel alive. It makes you want to cook, it makes you want to eat, it makes you want to kiss and be kissed, it makes you want to find something magical in your life, and above all it makes you thankful.

As you might glean from the title, this book takes place at an establishment called “The Blue Moon Café and 24-Hour Occult Emporium”. Talula, the hybrid human-magical daughter of sorceress Sara, is the barista at this somewhat sham coffee shop that is really a front for a magical vortex. The café is essential to the magical community because mystical creatures are being hunted, and the vortex provides a portal for them to escape to other realms. When Sara leaves to hunt the predators, Talula is assigned a “tutor” who comes in the unexpected form of a corgi she names Simon. From here the cast begins to multiply, along the storylines.

So much of this book is about hybridity - about understanding that what seems extraordinary is in fact, ordinary, if we only interrogate our definitions of these notions. Talula is half human/half sorceress and feels stymied by that, as she blunders through her magical training early on in the book; but it is when she accesses the key to her magic through something as ordinary as cooking, she unlocks her extraordinary magical abilities. Conventional magical training hasn’t worked for her because her talents lie in the culinary world; it takes tapping into the place where she was most extraordinary to illuminate the book’s most extraordinary form of magic. Additionally, Talula is bisexual and is painfully flummoxed by her feelings for Dahlia, a beautiful young writer whose daily visits to the café have much more to do with the woman working there than the cocoa she makes. Because Talula does not think of herself as extraordinary, she does what is intrinsically human - she feels ordinary, so much so that she doesn’t believe someone as extraordinary as Dahlia could find her attractive.

I don’t think that all of these themes of hybridity are accidental. The author, who herself in writing this book has said she came out as bisexual, is also of Iranian and American descent. I think we are seeing a brilliant mind using a magical landscape to work through concepts of hybrid identity. What is exceptional for me is that rather than having these characters resolve or dissolve the hybridity of their identities, the tensions in the novel are not solved by any singular character. They are resolved communally, often using non-magical characters, and with a great sense of inclusivity. This is not a landscape where evil does not persist, rather one where unexpected solutions and healing prevail.

This book is so much more than a clever, romantic, whimsical book about magic. It can be read that way, but there are subtle conversations about complex topics all over the book that the writer clearly intends readers to pick up on if they’re aware. One of Talula’s friends at the farmers market is trans and has recently had top surgery; however, they are never identified as such and that is never spoken out loud. There is a lot of banter with puns about chests, and if you were part of the queer community you would know exactly what was going on, but otherwise you could read this book and think this was just another couple at the farmers market. This is true of multiple other relationships and topics in the book. There was a sophistication to this novel that went beyond the surface and there was a great deal of nuanced historical information, again if you were paying attention. I loved that there were nooks and crannies everywhere for your mind to go, and although I read this whole book in less than 24 hours, I really let myself wander into them. In fact, I greatly neglected my own stubby little dog while doing so. This is one of my top two favorite books of the summer and I will gladly read anything else this author writes.

[Hannah]

They say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” well, I certainly did, and I’m so happy I requested this book.

The Blue Moon Cafe and 24 Hour Occult Shop truly is a safe haven. The story follows Talula, a sorceress in training who has one foot in the human world and one in the magical world. She runs the cafe, which serves as a witness protection program for magical beings who need a place to start over. But the cafe becomes more than a safe haven for the magical community. It becomes a sanctuary for Dahlia too, their human regular.

While protecting the cafe’s secret, preparing for Samhain, and navigating her place between two worlds, Talula also has to figure out what her growing feelings for Dahlia mean.

This was such a fun, cozy read. It would be a great fall read for anyone wanting to step into this small-town world, but I also think it has something to offer if you’re navigating your own journey. Sometimes a book can put things into perspective in ways you don’t expect. And that ending? Absolutely not the ending I was expecting, but somehow exactly the one I needed! 4.5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the ARC. I read an uncorrected proof and all opinions are my own.

[Rebekah Blake]

Shut the hell up right now!!! You mean to tell me I just stumbled upon the most perfect and endearing book I’ve read all year? I have been blessed.

I fell in love with this stupid cafe and occult shop from the start when our main character Talula is having gay panic over her regular customer Dahlia with her infectious grin.

Talula is just your average half human half magical being struggling to find her place in the world where she needs to be whole. This story was a beautiful story about learning to trust yourself and stand up for yourself when it’s easier to be agreeable and do what you’re told. Sometimes you just need a shift in perspective for it all to come together.

I spent the whole book wishing it was fall so I could also be curled up with a hot cocoa and immersing myself into pine hollow while we fight to save the Samhain festival.

This book is exactly what you expect. Cozy, sapphic and magical.

Simon is hilarious and I love him!

I can’t wait to read more!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

[Darvi V.]

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley but these thoughts and opinions are my own. I loved the yummy descriptions of food, the magic, the pocket portals and the relatable FMC. I can see how Talula felt torn between her magic and being human but at the same time feeling like she doesn’t belong. I loved that Talula stayed true to herself and she brought out the best in others especially through her cooking and making drinks. It was a comfort read for me and I can’t wait to travel back to it during a reread!

[Frida]

4.25 ⭐️

[Noel]

This book was like a warm hug! It thoroughly scratched my itch for a story that has the perfect Autumnal vibe and gentle storytelling. I loved all the different kinds of magical beings that were encountered and seeing Talula come into her powers! The more action driven scenes were maybe a little sloppy, but while they were necessary for the plot it is completely understandable that the focus was more on the meandering Fall feeling of it all :)

[Cierra Diedrich]

4.5 ⭐️ what a debut!!

A cozy fantasy that delivers on a love story, a genuine conflict, and developed characters. This book was so fun to read. Talulah is the daughter of a sorceress and has yet to come into any magical prowess. She is expected to live up to her mother’s reputation, but when the magical community is threatened, she will have to overcome a lot of challenges to succeed. Trials include: a crush on a local girl, a community divided on all things occult and running a cafe with really bad coffee.

Loved this, loved the relationships and was giggling throughout the book. Thanks to Netgalley and Ballentine Books for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Sydney Hagerman]

If you love the video game Coffee Talk and want to live inside that cozy “café” setting, you need to read this. The LGBTQ+ representation is great and feels so natural, and the characters are incredibly easy to root for. The food and drink descriptions are so vivid they made me hungry the entire time, which normally doesn’t happen when I read a cozy fantasy. It’s the perfect blend of supernatural slice-of-life comfort and immaculate cozy energy. Highly recommend picking it up!

[Shannon]

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley all opinions are my own.

This was really cute! The Blue Moon Cafe is a front to keep the magical population safe from humans when they need safe passage to a new location. The cafe serves terrible coffee but has all of your occult needs covered. This is ironic because the shop's barista and daughter of the owner Talula is a talented chef who makes amazing hot cocoa, but struggles to use her own magic. She also goes weak at the knees when local aspiring writer comes into the cafe everyday for cocoa and inspiration.

Talula and Dahlia's romance was slow burn, despite it being obvious to everyone. Talula has alot going on and overthinks pretty much everything. She is torn between her magical life and her human one, but with the help of her magical mentor and Dahlia she is able to find a happy medium between the two. I really loved how that storyline came together and she faced her magical fears as well as her fears around relationships both romantic and within the town.

This was a lovely cozy read with great characters in a fun setting. The personal turmoil Talula faces is very relatable. There was some great humor to balance out some of the more serious moments. The romance was sweet and the magical wasn't overly complicated but it made sense. This is a great read for fall as it has those cozy fall vibes.

[Joyfully Jay]

A Joyfully Jay review.

5 stars

This is a sweet, cozy romance, with an excellent use of cooking and cookbooks and magic. The cooking isn’t just there to make you hungry, it’s plot relevant in all the best ways. The romance is a slow burn due to actual character motivations and reasons, rather than being a silly misunderstanding, and the world building serves to prop up the romance rather than distract from it. And Talula, the heart of the book, is an earnest and nice person, so much so that it makes absolute sense why and how things play out in those final chapters.

Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.

[Rosemary Dreyer]

3 3/4 Stars: This is a debut novel and I’m going to assume that with each subsequent book, her writing will get better and better. This story was at times: charming, witty, endearing, and filled with hope. Other times it was: maddening, fluff, and trying too hard. What I liked: the characters, especially Dahlia; the farmers market and community vibe; the rallying when Talula finds her voice at the town council meeting; the amazing pre-Samhain Magic Box performances; the quirky magical characters. What I didn’t like: the continual self-doubt and lessening of herself that Talula cycled through - too much and too often; the not-fully-developed Hunters - cause, “mission,” and sources; and the Magical Council who seemed absent and not very powerful. Overall, I recommend this book knowing these strengths and weaknesses.

[shatterinseconds]

*4.5 stars

Single-handedly restored my faith in the cozy fantasy genre!! Everything about this was so good. It's the perfect fall book and was such a lovely read with decent high stakes for the "cozy" genre which probably is why I enjoyed it so much.

I was invested in every character but Simon was definitely a stand out!

Highly recommend!

[Mariah Dunlap]

This is such a beautifully written story. I found myself invested in the characters so quickly, and the ending was wonderful and made me excited for the sequel!

[Mackenzie]

So sacchirine it hurts. Cozy. I think it would have worked better as YA. But what do I know

[Dotti]

The Blue Moon Cafe & 24-Hour Occult Emporeum is a sweet cozy fantasy romance perfect for lovers of fantasy romance and cozy fantasy alike. The story follows Talula, the half-human, half-sorcerer daughter of the most powerful sorceress in history. Talula embarks on a journey of self-acceptance and love with a decent bit of cooking thrown in.

The pacing of this story was well done, as were the characters. The conclusion to the story was very appropriate, fitting and also engaging. The romance was cute, building slowly throughout the book, and the third act conflict in the romance was appropriate for a cozy fantasy. The setting of Pine Hollow was delightful and complex, and Talula’s roots in the town feel real and grounded.

Talula’s relationship with her mother is complicated, and I wish there had been more time to explore their connection. Sara, her mother, disappears for the majority of the book due to the investigation, and only occasionally checks in. It was a little distracting that Talula refers to her mother throughout the book as Sara, but calls her “mom” directly, and it was hard for me to identify the closeness that Talula describes.

A major plot point of the story is Talula’s magical education and her lack of progress. Unfortunately, the story made the solution to this education a little too obvious to our readers without making it obvious to our characters. At the halfway point our character finally figures it out, but I had been shouting it for the previous 100 pages and was deeply annoyed it took her so long to get it. It would have been nice for the hints to be a little less obvious.

I tend to label cozy fantasy as “high fantasy, low stakes”, and I think the stakes in this book are much higher than you typically see in the genre. Generally, the story focuses on the smaller stakes conflict: the budding romance with Dahlia, Talula’s magical studies, and the possible cancellation of the Samhain festival. There are lots of cozy details, like Simon, the magical wizard trapped in the body of a corgi, and the detailed descriptions of various recipes. However, Talula’s mother begins an investigation into the disappearance (and presumed kidnapping) of multiple magical beings, and this conflict comes to a head at the climax of the book, creating great risk for our main characters. The book has descriptions of violence on-page, as well as themes of bigotry and grief, and readers should go into the book knowing about these elements.

Altogether, this is an excellent cozy fantasy romance, with a fun premise and a solid plot. There’s a lot happening in the story, but the author is successful in connecting all those different plots and making a cohesive story.

The romance is a major plot line, rather than a smaller side plot, and readers should be aware of detailed kissing scenes and allusions to more.

A big thank you to the team at Ballantine for this advanced reader copy.

[Siavahda]

This isn't a bad book by any means (at least, what I read of it), but it wasn't wowing me either. It's fine? Perfectly fine? The writing rhythm is a bit off, character names are repeated too often, and the prose in general is a little over-written - quotes taken from my advanced reader copy, so they might be edited/removed from the published version of the book.

She always wore something a little eye-catching and different, like a horde of golden butterfly hairclips holding back her black, spirally tresses or a pair of brightly embroidered loafers.

...The butterfly hairclips also hold back her loafers?

The woman's face could certainly launch a thousand ships, but she could just as easily sink them with the effort it took to twirl a lock of her silky hair.

Runs too long!

Dahlia searched her human brain for words that would hold up to Sara's etherealness.

Specifically her human brain, huh.

If these quotes don't bother you, great! You do not have whatever deeply weird, impossible-to-articulate THING I have that makes me hear prose like music and gets Very Upset if the 'music' is 'out of tune'. You can completely disregard my dislike of the prose here!

I'm also not a fan of mind-control being a casual magical thing that no one acknowledges is a violation. Possibly this comes up later in the book! But I'm not betting on it, going from the context of its use in the first chapter.

Dahlia, the love interest, stole my heart immediately: she's adorable and ridiculous in the best kind of way, and I adore her. Talula, though...calling her a wallflower would be putting it kindly. She doesn't seem to have a lot of personality, and is also maybe a bit of an idiot: it is specifically her job to make all the coffees etc undrinkable and inedible, to keep humans away from the magical witness-protection waystation the cafe is a cover for. But she sees a pretty face and just throws all that out the window, making her an incredible hot chocolate just because? Ma'am. What. WHY. You just. Compromised the safety of the waystation for nothing at all???

That's how Dahlia and Talula meet, and I was surprised that that occurred before the start of the book. Which means the first chapter is very tell-don't-show, because instead of seeing the events take place on the page, we're being told about the events, because they happened earlier. I thought that was an odd writerly decision.

I really wish Dahlia and Talula had met in some other way: I can't really forgive Talula making Dahlia's drinks delicious, given what's at stake. It would have been so funny if it turned out that Dahlia LIKED the deliberately-terrible hot chocolate, for example!

Talula's not a character I want to spend time with, and the prose here is making me twitchy, so I'm calling it quits!

[hannah ⊹ ࣪ ˖]

4.5⭐ | You know my problem with cozy fantasy is usually the fact that not a lot happens, but with this cozy fantasy? I really just wanted to live in this book. This was so wonderfully comforting. It’s a cozy fantasy with a little bit of everything. There's witchy magic, magical creatures, DELICIOUS recipes, small-town drama, a sapphic romance, found family, and, of course, a talking corgi with plenty of attitude.

I really loved the heart at the center of this story. Talula’s struggle to find her place, both in the magical world and in the human one, gives the book more depth than its whimsical premise might suggest. Her journey toward understanding her magic and realizing that being “enough” isn’t something she has to earn was one of my favorite parts. I especially loved the way cooking and her connection to the café became intertwined with her magic. It felt personal and beautifully fitting for her character. While reading this, I visited the author's Instagram, and I was so excited to see there were actual recipes posted with cute little graphics for the food within this book. The magical community and the café’s secret purpose were also such fun additions. I loved the idea of a terrible coffee shop secretly functioning as a magical safe haven.

The romance between Talula and Dahlia was SO sweet. Their chemistry, awkward flirting, and gradual shift from crush to something deeper gave the story a lovely emotional thread without overwhelming everything else going on. And I appreciated that Dahlia felt like a fully developed character rather than simply existing as Talula’s love interest.

There were moments when the dialogue felt a little too goofy for me, and a few character choices didn’t always land as naturally as I would have liked but the warmth, creativity, and genuine emotional core more than made up for those little bumps.

Ultimately, this is a story about community, acceptance, identity, love, and creating safe spaces for people who feel like they don't quite belong anywhere else. It has plenty of magical chaos, but its most meaningful moments are surprisingly human, so overall, this was a charming, heartfelt cozy fantasy with a wonderful sapphic romance, delicious-sounding food, magical hijinks, and one very memorable corgi.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Dell for this eARC!

[Megan]

I’ll be honest…I mostly requested this book because the cover was so so pretty. The description also sounded up my alley, but the cover is what truly caught me. And thank god it did because I absolutely loved this book. It was fun and well written (and sometimes frustrating) and the perfect fall read. Okay, so, it’s not exactly fall yet, but a girl can dream, and this book temporarily made me forget that it’s 95 degrees out.

Talula was a likable main character. She had her insecurities without being super frustrating about it (though there were a few times that I wanted to shake her but in a loving way). Dahlia is the type of character that can easily get too over the top and annoying, but thankfully that wasn’t the case here. There was the perfect amount of side characters for me. Enough to make the world feel real without overwhelming you with them to the point that you don’t know who anyone is. And then there was Simon, who was absolutely perfect. 10/10, no notes.

The Samhain plot gave the book a cozy, small town feel, while the thing with the hunters upped the stakes and added some action and tension to the story. I enjoyed the former plot slightly more, along with Talula trying to finally learn to master her magical abilities. But that might be because a lot of the latter involved Simon, who truly made me smile on numerous occasions. There were also some twists in the book that I did not see coming, and there were several times (especially in chapter twenty-nine) that I just set my tablet in my lap and stared at the couch cushion for a moment as I absorbed what I was reading.

While I enjoyed both the characters and the plot, my favorite thing was probably the romance. I love a good slow burn, and this was definitely a slow burn. Talula and Dahlia had great chemistry, and I spent a long time internally yelling at them to kiss, which is how I like my books. There are way too many books that rush the romance and I end up not caring about them because there wasn’t enough longing or buildup of chemistry, so this was a nice change of pace.

After reading three duds in a row, this book was an absolute (and desperately needed) breath of fresh air. It made me smile, it made me laugh, it nearly made me cry. A solid five stars for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[M. K. French]

Talula Smith works at the Blue Moon Cafe, which is considered the worst coffee shop in town. That bad reputation hides its true purpose of providing new identities and safe passage to at-risk magical beings while keeping humans far, far away. The only person in Pine Hollow that comes around is Dahlia, who is very observant and is the focus of Talula's crush. Hunters begin moving in to kill magical creatures, and Talula's powerful mother goes to track them down. With the impending Samhain festival to organize, magical refugees to help, half of the town turning against her, and her ever-growing feelings for Dahlia, Talula’s magical destiny feels further away than ever. But as the hunters set their sights closer to home, it’ll be up to Talula to master her craft, trust her heart, and bring her magical and human communities together.

Talula is half human and half sorceress; her mother was created out of magic and has existed for millennia. The coffee shop is located on top of a magical vortex, which her mother can use to make portals for the magical refugees. Talula has always felt less than, since she doesn't have the innate skill to magic that her mother does, and many people in the town look down on her for being the only child of an unwed mother who is a pagan. The same people who ostracized her in high school are now fighting to shut down the Samhain festival and her shop, saying she attracts freaks to town. At the same time, she has Dahlia, who is just as interested in her, and some of the townsfolk enjoy her company. Talula is a foodie and excellent cook, and truly enjoys being a barista at the Café.

The stress builds from the different parts of her life: hiding magic from Dahlia even as they spend time together, trying to harness her magic, and still sending refugees through the portal while unknown people are hunting magical creatures for sport. Talula is such an endearing character, and we feel what she does right away. The pull of secrecy is painful as she tries to keep her different lives separated. We know that it means she must figure out a way to integrate the aspects into a singular existence. It's a fun finale, and it came together wonderfully.

[Mantagray]

I was excited for this one and it exceeded my expectations!! A cozy queer story following our main character, Talula, strive to live up to her magical destiny when it matters most. Hunters are kidnapping magical creatures and the Council is trying to figure out who it is and put a stop to it. Talula is the daughter to the most powerful sorceress of all time who is the guardian of the magical portal in the basement of their coffeeshop which are some big magical shoes to fill. When Talula’s mom is called away on official Council business, Talula and her community must band together to save their town. Talula’s has been shown her whole life that in order to fulfill her magical destiny she must keep her human emotions under wraps, which would be easy if not for the lovely, tempting Dahlia whom Talula has a fat crush on. It’s a push and pull between planned and chosen destiny, found and blood family, unlikely allies and people with whom the damage is irreparable. Don’t worry, there is a healthy serving of wholesome romance thrown in to the town saving as well 😉

The only way I rate a book five stars is if it makes me cry (a lot of books make me cry, it's not a very strict criterion) and this book made me cry. I didn’t think it would, but stories have a funny way of connecting with their audience when they need it most. You’ll have to read the novel to understand. Sharabianlou does a superb job of creating a world that isn’t too complicated with characters who have rich stories and backgrounds, weaving in allegories of things going on in the real world right now. This is the comfort book to end all comfort books. I feel satisfied, like I just had a big meal with the people I love most and now it’s time to go to sleep, tucked in under my blankets next to my partner. Like things are going to be okay. I'd be remiss to not mention that this is a beautiful and diverse cast of characters.

Thank you to the author, Dell publishing, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Star1468]

This book is a delightfully fun and cute entry into the cozy genre. The title caught my eye, and I'm a big fan of cozy fantasy, and the book delivered. It reminds me of A Curious Kind of Magic by Mara Rutherford crossed with Sarah Beth Durst's books, but with its own special blend of magic.

Talula is the daughter of a powerful immortal sorceress, half-sorceress and half human. She's spent her entire life living between the magical and mundane worlds, helping her mother run the Blue Moon Café, a coffee shop and occult emporium whose terrible coffee hides a secret: magical beings, from hellhounds to forest nymphs, come to the shop in the guise as customers to seek refuge from persecution and a new life.

At the start of the story, Talula's mother Sara has to go away to pursue a ring of trophy hunters seeking magical beings, leaving Talula to run the shop without her mother for the first time. She's not alone though - she has Dahlia, her only regular customer and newfound love interest, and Simon, her new magical mentor in the form of a wonderfully snarky corgi. Talula has always struggled to master magic, something that weighs on her as the daughter of a powerful sorceress, but she finds that she must come into her powers as the threat of the trophy hunters looms. She also faces threats from her human side as well - religious zealots are trying to shut down the town's annual Samhain festival, run every year by the Blue Moon Café, and Talula finds help from the most unexpected of places as she fights to preserve her home and the people she's come to love.

I'd happily spend a day or two, or maybe an entire week, in Pine Hollow, eating some delicious pastries (Talula is an excellent cook) and getting to meet some new friends. Sometimes you just need an escape from the world, and this book's a cozy and fun way to lose yourself for a while.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.