Deadly Sweet imagines a world in which witches are present, and have their own community but are also shunned by the population as a whole. Anise is an aspiring baker who wants to go to baking school, get more experience and have her own bakery with holistic treats. Unfortunately, being a witch also throws a wrench in her plans as witches are being discriminated against in the world, sometimes even as extreme as physical harm. So, when she accidentally gets outed, she goes for the first opportunity that comes up - to become an apprentice to her estranged great-aunt, who owns a huge bakery in a witch-friendly town. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't know of the danger she is stepping into, and the threat her position puts her in.

The story is cute and entertaining - it has Hex Hall vibes, definitely, and a little bit of The Devil Wears Prada situation going on. Anise goes from a witch-hating world to a town where they are revered, where there is a syndicate that cares for its younger witches, and she is almost royalty (as her great aunt's only legit heir to the bakery), with a surly bodyguard and everything. She enrolls at the college nearby, and her classes are fun, until the assassination attempts start. Girl only wanted to bake and now she has to go under house arrest because people can't let her live, gawd! Turns out the witch world is much more dangerous, with a hierarchy and a Syndicate, and belonging to a prestigious family she has a bulls-eye on her forehead. She is determined to stick it out, but she is also worried about her life, you know, and she comes off as extremely pragmatic.

In the town, Anise makes friends with other young witches like her, who become her good friends. (Of course, they are also members of other families of the syndicate). She is however, unaware, of how the hierarchy plays into her position there, and she has yet to challenge her privilege, like the fact that her bodyguard is a warrior as an indentured servant. (Things have been hinted at that makes it seem it is much worse, so I'm looking forward to how it plays out in the sequel) That could also be the reason for his surliness towards her. On the whole, though, it has a more paranormal mystery vibe than hitting any political issues. It is simply a story of a young witch who just wants to become an accomplished witchy baker, and simultaneously also avoiding any murder attempts. The villain of the story, though, turned out to be less dangerous than I hoped.

Overall, an entertaining paranormal fantasy novel that was entertaining and a quick read. Looking forward to the sequel, Sugar Spells, to release ASAP!

This book was filled with awesomeness – yummy baking, action galore, and a journey of self-discovery for the very awesome Anise.

Anise is a girl who has been barely scraping by. Her life living with her mother is good, but they are both struggling to make ends meet. To make matters worse, they live in a world where being discovered as a witch instantly marks you as “evil.” Sure, there are some bad witches out there, but most aren’t what they’re portrayed to be by the media. Throw all that in with Anise trying to get ahead in the baking industry while battling her teenage hormones and you’ve got a pressure cooker ready to explode (or oven? Is that more relevant here?).

One event ends up outing Anise and sending her running to her only other relative for help. Lucky for her, her great aunt Agatha happens to be a super powerful witch and massively successful baker. While this seems like a great place to make a new start, there are additional dangers lurking for poor Anise. With great power (or baking prowess) comes great… list of people gunning for her. Turns out, by becoming Agatha’s apprentice, she’s inherited the last apprentice’s enemies.

So while Anise is trying to figure out how to please the more experienced bakers in the store, she’s also trying to make friends, avoid getting killed, and figure out why her assigned bodyguard is so surly. This book definitely leaned more heavily towards a paranormal mystery than romance, which is a bit of a departure for me. That being said, I still really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to see where Anise heads next. I also want way more answers about… everything! I’ll definitely keep my eyes open for the next installment.

So, I knew there would be food talk by the cover and summary, but I had no idea how much. It was driving me banannas! Now if you like all things food with magic, you are probably going to love this book. The writing was great, and the magic was super interesting but just too much food stuff for me!