Book 98, 2024
Pumpkin Pies & Potions by Polly Holmes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I finished Pumpkin Pies & Potions this afternoon. It is the first book in the "Melting Pot Cafe" series by Polly Holmes. The main character is graduate witch Evelyn Grayson.
Orphaned at the age of 11, Evelyn has been raised by her wonderful Aunt Edie, and now that she's a graduate witch, she helps out at her aunt's Melting Pot Cafe while continuing to learn magic from Edie. As Halloween approaches, they are gearing up for a big celebration, but when the town grump, Camille Stenson, is found murdered and Evelyn's friend Harriett is a prime suspect, Evelyn is determined to clear her friend's name. Together with their other friends, Jordi and Tyler, they launch an investigation of their own. While they do turn up some interesting clues and information, their snooping and sleuthing also lands some of them in grave danger. It will be up to Evelyn to conjure the magic needed to save the day.
This was fun and lighthearted for the most part, although it took a darker turn at the end. I would have liked to see Evelyn and her friends spend more time living their lives; instead, virtually the entire story was devoted to investigating. Characterizations were okay--neither wonderful nor terrible. I imagine we'll learn more about them as the series progresses. I daresay my biggest disappointment is that the book's "blurb" mentioned "cheeky talking cats". There were no talking cats to be found, cheeky or otherwise. Evelyn did have a cat familiar, but Miss Saffron never spoke nor acted like anything but a cat. Hmpf. Editing needed some serious polishing, too. It was mostly little things here and there. Enough to be aggravating, but not egregious enough to pull me out of the narrative.
Favorite line: Walking into Aunt Edie's pantry was like walking into the potions classroom at Hogwarts.
"Holding my breath" line: I hadn't realized I was holding my breath until my lungs burned from the lack of oxygen.
Likable story, but deserves no more than 3 stars.