-thank you to the publisher and to netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review-
A sequel (I didn’t know going into it).
This books tried, really hard. The magic system was a bit confusing to me, which could be because I mistakenly requested the second book in the set without having read the first, or because it just isn’t fully explained.
Although categorized as YA, I’d almost put this in the middle grade area, with an aim at older middle graders. I will try again to read this but at this time...it didn’t feel well with me.

When I saw the synopsis of the book and how it was related to Hex Hall I wanted to give this one a go. I also found out that this was the second in the series sigh lol, Any who, onto my review.

There are some things that did leave me asking questions because I didn’t read the first one. Aside from that I loved how Anise was paying attention to people and trying to figure out ways to help them. She does struggle with baking which was a little disheartening because she lives for it.

I loved the growth that the characters had in the book, they all played a roll in helping Anise.

This book was a light and quick read. I was able to finish this in one sitting, its packed with lots of magical beings this book would be perfect for the Halloween season.

My review is a little “off” I think because I haven’t read the first one to get to know the characters as well as I should. This one was a pretty good read.

Recommended to lovers of heartwarming fantasy series.
I just love everything about this book.

To start with , the world building.
I didn't have the chance to read the first book "Deadly sweet" , but i read the excerpt and some reviews to get an overall idea. The world is so amazing with supernaturals of all forms , witches , vamps , mallikins . They all live in harmony with the syndicate on power.
Characters:
Anise , the protagonist - book lover- baker - introvert. The perfect combo ever..
Wynn , the shield of Anise is soooo cute and hot ( am assuming) . He is the strong silent messed up type of guy.
Gabi , the life saver in the previous book is given priority and time.
Agatha , with her messed up priorities and silently caring heart , rocks and rules.
My review
Sugar spells was a unique book I've ever grabbed and its so cute.

I have a pretty terrible memory for the details of books, and I read the first one back in March. But I’m pretty sure I liked this one even more than the first!

Lola Dodge’s culinary descriptions continued to make me drool and once again, the cover is really stunning. The way Anise’s magic is infused with the baking was also described in detail and Dodge was able to expand on the magic system she established in book one. We also got to see more of Blair’s necromancy and Gabi’s cryptoid veterinary clinic, both of which were enjoyable.

Character-wise, my favourite part was the burgeoning friendship between Anise and her bodyguard, Wynn. I love begrudging friendships! And this was definitely begrudging on Wynn’s part. We also got to learn how he ended up in his contract as Anise’s bodyguard and what that meant for him. I loved Anise’s attempts to help him and how he opened up as he realised she was genuine about it.

I never saw the twist coming, but in hindsight, I should have known something was up. And those are the best sorts of twists, I think. The different sub-plots of the story all wove together into the climax, and I ended up taking a longer lunch break than I should have to finish the book. From the sounds of it, it looks like book three in the series follows pretty closely from the events of this one, and I can’t wait until March to read it!

Lola Dodge’s Sugar Spells is a quick, entertaining, and well-written read filled with magic and delicious baked treats. Although I wish some of the characters and certain elements of the plot were more developed, this is a great read. It’s an excellent second addition to The Spellwork Syndicate series.

Our protagonist is teen baker and kitchen witch Anise Wise who is recovering from her brush with death at the hands of a murderous warlock. She can’t wait to get back to whipping up magical treats but life isn’t so simple. She is tainted with death magic and everything she bakes turns out disastrously. Her new powers also attract the attention of unsavoury magical beings. She’s also trying to find a way to free her Shield, Wynn from servitude. When Anise combines baking the death magic out with attempting to earn enough money to free Wynn, things go terribly wrong.

I love that this book delves deeper into the magic world. Dodge gives us enough to keep us invested but does not overwhelm us. The introduction to the other magical beings in Taos is really well-done. The plot is interesting and well-paced. But, I would have liked more mystery with regards to the creepy Girrar. I also wish the main villain’s storyline was more developed and better explained.

Dodge touches on heavy issues but deftly avoids being heavy-handed or too superficial. The book explores indentured servitude in the magical world as well as how Anise copes with the changes within herself and her magic.

Anise is a great and likable protagonist. She’s relatable and realistic. I like Wynn’s character development and I enjoyed seeing him show more personality than just being grumpy. I love how the relationship evolves between Wynn and Anise as they grow to trust and understand each other. I sense Dodge may be heading towards a romance and I’m looking forward to it because she’s taken the time to build up a great rapport between them. I actually really like that Dodge barely features romance in this series but instead, focuses on character development and platonic relationships which is so rarely seen in YA literature.

But, I would have liked more of Anise’s friends, Gabi and Blair. They are interesting but underutilized. I would have also liked a more substantial relationship between Anise and great-aunt Agatha.

Sugar Spells is a fun magical read. Although I would’ve liked some more development of character and plot, I absolutely recommend this book. I cannot wait for book three!

SUGAR SPELLS is a fun, light read as long as you don't look too far into the ingredients of its sweet frosting. Readers who enjoyed Anise's voice and relationship with her bodyguard will be delighted to find more of the same in this sequel. As they grow closer, Wynn opens up about his past, adding more complications to Anise's story.

However, SUGAR SPELLS suffers from many of the same problems as its predecessor. The ethics of using spelled treats to influence emotions is never discussed. Wynn points out that witches are manipulative, but the discussion ends there. A plot point briefly comes up where SUGAR SPELLS could have addressed the problematic power of raising the dead and using them as servants, but the issue is side-stepped and never brought up again.

Like the first book, Wynn and Anise end up in trouble despite the obviousness of the villain's plot; however, Anise's voice is such a delight, that I kept reading. At this point, I'm not sure that I'll pick up the third. With the second book following the same mistakes as the first, it's difficult to imagine the last book in the trilogy will manage all the heavy lifting of fleshing out the world building and addressing the problematic issues that Anise has blithely ignored.

This is the second book in the Spellwork Syndicate series. I got this through netgalley to review and really enjoyed it a lot. It’s just a cute and fun read with a lot of magic and some interesting magical creatures. I like the characters, the story, and the fact that the whole book is kind of happy and fun feeling; even when it gets a bit dark.

Anise is having trouble with her magic and seems to be channeling death magic along with her normal fire magic; it’s messing everything up! Anise seeks a way to get rid of her death magic while trying to pry some truth about Wynn’s past out of him. When Wynn finally tells her how he became a Shield, her and Wynn devise a plan to help break Wynn’s contract and get rid of Anise’s death magic all at once...what could possibly go wrong?

While these books aren’t works of high literature or incredibly complex they are very fun and light reads. I love all the baking magic in here. I also really enjoy the characters and the situations they are put into. Nothing is this book is super dark and the characters are never in really dire situations; this is just a fun read about magic, friends, and growing up.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this fun and magical read. The biggest issue with this book is how hungry it makes me! While this is a simpler story, I really enjoy the positive feel and how fun this series has been. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and would recommend to those who enjoy lighter reads about YA witches and magic.

Since this is the second book in the series there will be some spoilers for the first book, Deadly Sweet.

Sugar Spells jumps straight into Anise’s next set of woes in her life: after her near death experience with the villain in Deadly Sweet, her magic has become tainted with death magic. All her bakes are self destructing and she is banished from Great Aunt Agatha’s bakery in case her death magic messes with the aura of the bakery. On top of that, Anise learns the terms of Wynn’s shield contract and decides to help him buy out the contract so he can go live his life. Both these issues lead us to the creepiest character, Girrar. He is a vampire, which also inhabit the witch friendly town of Taos, and is the ultimate creeper. He wants Anise’s death magic baked goods and is willing to pay a lot for them. I won’t go into too much more, but we all know nothing good can from all of this.

Wynn and Anise were a little less antagonistic in this one. Wynn, getting his tragic backstory finally told, is a little more relaxed in this. But honestly, it doesn’t make up for how much of an ass he was in the first book. I see where things seem to be heading with Anise and Wynn, and while I’m not 100% on board with it, I can handle it. I think my main problem is I don’t really care for either Anise or Wynn. I don’t hate them, but I haven’t found myself rooting for them either.

Again, this was a quick, fun read, but it felt like it was lacking a layer of the story. The villain situation was weird in this one and while I won’t go into details for spoiler reasons I can say that the big bad they have to face is forgettable. Like, I don’t remember anything about it. I don’t want to use the term “fluffy read” because it’s not a fluffy book, but it is lacking a bit of depth. Still, I enjoyed myself while reading it and I am looking forward to the third book.

Sugar Spells is the second installment in a cozy little witch series. It's perfect if you want to celebrate the spooky season without actually reading spooky books. Or just want a cute little book about witches, baking, and lots of magic.

I read the first book nearly a year ago and I quite enjoyed it. If you want to you can check out my review of it here.
But to quickly recap (no spoilers, don't worry) the first book Deadly Sweet was a lot of fun and a very new reading experience for me. Usually, I gravitate towards dark and gritty books not a lot of cozy, or happy books. But that's exactly what both books are. Now there is trouble Anise the mc has to go through. But the atmosphere is just ... so homey. It was very predictable though.

Now, this book, Sugar Spells, has the same atmosphere with some darker undertones mixed in. And it was a little less predictable. I enjoyed reading it a lot. It's still a very quick read, but was great for that. I am curious to see what happens in the third books. Towards the end, a lot of things happened where I want to see how they play out. And I've grown to care for these people.

I love the characters and how helpful everyone is. That's soo good to see. The family relationships are great and the friendships! It a huge strength of these books and something I very much appreciate. It's not that often to see in books (especially the kind of books I usually read)

Just a thing you should know ... you'll have a lot of baking to do.
I baked brownies the day after finishing Sugar spells.
There is so much talk about all the delicious things Anise bakes or Agatha, her great-aunt, sells in her shop and just ..I mean you just have to look at the covers to know what to expect.
they represent perfectly how the books are. And their stunning!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

For the love of baking and all kinds of fun magic!

Sugar Spells was a pretty quick and cute book to dive into. I loved getting to see the darker side of magic with this book - even if it is with baking yummy treats! Anise is so lovable and I liked seeing her go through every day troubles. Baking can be hard (for some people) and it sucks when you've slaved all day (or an hour or two) baking and it all just dies. Burnt to a crisp. Inedible basically. Unless you like food like that..

Well Anise's magic has definitely gone through something. It's not her magic anymore really. Of course, when you try to bring people back from the "dead" they tend to change. At least she still had her humor and Wynn. OH WYNN - I definitely was seeing some tension between them. I was hoping for some kind of romance but I think their friendship actually becoming a thing was beautiful to read.

Of course I still ship them and I hope they are a thing in the next book .. because you can't hint such things and not give me anything!! I will be distraught guys. Besides the baking and the hints of romance, there were familiars and vampires! The vampire bats in that damn cave kind of creeped me out (a bit) .. yet they were oddly adorable at the same time. Well, when they weren't trying to suck the blood from ya!

Overall, it was a cute book with some danger, twists, turns, and some wicked vampires. I loved seeing her friends again and more about their lives. I kind of wish I was in this little town because it sounds awesome!

Sugar Spells by Lola Dodge is the 2nd book in the Spellwork Syndicate series, and another fun book. Anise Wise is now living in Taos with her great Aunt Agatha, and looking forward to getting back into her aunt's kitchen. Aunt Agatha owns a magical bakery where witches openly use magic. Unfortunately Anise is recovering from her run in with a warlock, and her magic is messed up. On top of that, the word is out that Anise can bake deathly spells and people are demanding one. So many things are wrong now, can she get back to the job she loves? What a great book, I really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. I recommend this book to all who enjoy paranormal/fantasy and mystery books.

I was given a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.

Let's just get this one thing out of the way before we do anything else in this review, readers. These covers are killing me! I have died and gone to purple heaven and you cannot make me leave. I want paperbacks so I can have these books facing outwards on my shelf just facing the room and when I need a bookish pick-me-up, I can just glance over and BAM! Shot of purple power! I'm not saying purple is one of my top 3 favourite colours but I did dye all of my hair purple for a few months a few years ago. No, really. It was a tacky purple explosion of rebellion I enjoyed flaunting in a small Southern Baptist Georgia town. *sigh* Ah, memories. Moving on!

In Sugar Spells, we return to Taos, Arizona and our heroine, Anise Wise, and her compatriots weeks after the events of Deadly Sweet. We quickly learn that Anise has been banned from working at her great-aunt Agatha's magical bakery for the time being as her magic's gone a tad bit awry following her near-death experiences of the first book and she's now filled with death magic. Because you don't want to accidentally sell any tourists a death-laced custard bomboloni, right?

Well, Anise decides that, yes, she's going to sell death-laced macarons to see if that will get the death magic to wear off. To a well-paying shifty customer who actually wants to eat an entire batch on a regular basis, and she's doing it in order to help her Shield, Wynn, pay off his indentured servitude contract.

Now. For the whosits and whatsits. I'm glad to see that Gabi gets more of a role in Sugar Spells than she had in Deadly Sweet where you had to skip back to remind yourself who she was a few times. When her new death magic starts to act up, Anise seeks refuge at Gabi's animal rescue/hospital and stays in a cottage apartment away from other lifeforms. We also see a fair bit of Blair, Anise's other best friend, including a bestie shopping trip with all three of them and their bodyguard contingent.

Thankfully, Anise steps away from the bumbling blonde routine she had developed in Deadly Sweet and it seems as if she's found her feet in Sugar Spells. I'm so thankful for that, too. She doesn't sit about waiting for her mum or Aunt Agatha for Wynn or anybody and everybody BUT her to do the figuring out of things for her this time. Instead of waiting around for someone or something to fix her magic, she takes the magic bull by the horns and keeps trying to find a way.

My favourite part is, of course, the magical baking. I mean, if I could make good fortune blueberry-lemon bars, well, I wouldn't be typing, I'd be baking. And, if anybody wants to try to make macarons after reading Sugar Spells, here's 12 Tips for perfect macaron feet because the feet are important!

Wynn maintains his steadfast role of silent but deadly throughout the story, except for moments where Anise manages to break his stony façade and he gifts us with a full sentence or two. Call the news, it's a miracle!

I'm giving Sugar Spells 4 stars because it improved a lot from Deadly Sweet and it gave me the edge of my seat feeling a few times. You know how much I love that edge of my seat feeling.

Sugar Spells is the second book in Dodge's 'Spellwork Syndicate' series. Anise has a predicament following the fallout from the events in Deadly Sweet, her normal fire magic is amiss. Instead, replaced by death, making her a disaster in her aunt's bakery business. She plans to hole up researching solutions until the attention dies down, but then she discovers the horrifying terms of her bodyguard’s contract. Wynn has saved her life so many times, she can’t leave him trapped. Doing the right thing will mean risking death or worse—losing her dream job.Soon Anise learns that she can 'bake the death magic out'. The town’s abuzz with news that Anise can bake deathly spells, and unsavory characters start lining up for a taste. They’ll stop at nothing to use Anise's power to further their own plots.

Good stuff here - well balanced, interesting, fun plot plus good character development. I love the tense relationship between Anise and Wynn. They are building trust and are now even friends but I still think there might be something more in the future. These are great YA books that skew interest to adult readers who enjoy a good paranormal mystery.

Looking forward to book 3!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I received this book, I had no idea it was a sequel so I missed some of the preceding storyline. When I began, I did not know the characters and it took me a little bit to warm up to them. In the end, though, I grew to like them and root for them and I look forward to reading more about them in the first book and in the upcoming book. All in all, it was an enjoyable read that was easy to follow, humorous at times, and full of adventure at times. Since it was about baking, I did spend a portion of my time craving sweets. :) If I had one criticism, it would be that there seemed to be more editing issues than normal and there were some missed words and typos. It did not detract from my enjoyment, though.

Happy Halloween my book friends!

I received an ARC of Sugar Spells by Lola Dodge, in exchange for an honest review. This book came out yesterday!

This is the second book in the Spellwork Syndicate series, so before I read this one, I read book once which is called Deadly Sweet. I did a review on that book as well. If you’re interested it is here

Seeing as it is October, I thought these would be great books to get me in the witchy mood for Halloween!

This book was really cute, and if you’re looking for a light read that still has a magic feel I would recommend it.

What I liked

Wynn – I think Wynn is my favourite character in this novel. I honestly found him to be the most real. He is there to protect Anise, but you finally get some of his back story. It makes his hostile personality make a lot more sense. He was great.

The Magic – I absolutely adore the idea of a baking witch. I mean who wouldn’t want to eat magical things. I loved how everyone kind of has their own type of magic and that they don’t really cross over. When Anise’s baking magic gets tied up with death magic, I thought it added a nice twist to it that I think this book needed.

The Friendships – I really liked the relationships in this book. I like that everyone was worried about Anise and was trying to help her figure out what was wrong with her magic. I thought it was very sweet.

What I Didn’t Like

Lack of Action – Honestly, to me there just wasn’t enough happening in this book. At times I struggled reading it, waiting for something, anything to happen. There are some minor conflicts, but there just wasn’t enough for me.

Too Sweet – I am probably being too critical here, but I just felt the whole vibe of this book was overly sweet. The main character is sweet ,caring and nice. Her friends are sweet, caring and nice. Just everyone is too nice. The only one who is different is Wynn, which is why I think he’s my favourite.

I think this comes down to personal preference. I prefer the books I read to have a darker, more complex type of magic. I need there to be real conflict and real character growth and I felt that was lacking a bit in this book and series.

All that being said, it was a cute, light read that I definitely enjoyed, I just felt like it was just missing something.

Sugar Spells fulfills the promise of Deadly Sweet, becoming everything I had hoped this series would be!

Don’t you just love these covers? The first one sucked me right in, and I love this one even more. But what’s true of the covers is just as true of the books!

Anise is still in Taos, but her previous adventures did not leave her unscathed. Without spoilers (for either this book or book one), she finds herself more deeply immersed in the world of magic, becoming more aware of its darker side—whether she wants to or not. Now she’s struggling to figure out how she fits in, who she’s going to be, and what exactly is happening to her powers.

The first book, Deadly Sweet, intrigued me enough to request the second. With Sugar Spells, Lola Dodge’s Spellwork Syndicate series has become one of my fun-read favorites. I wanted to see Anise come more into her own, learning from past mistakes and making better choices, and she’s definitely doing her best to rise to the hero’s call. Better yet, she’s doing it believably, with her own personal style. Anise is never going to be a smooth, cut-off-your-head-with-a-scimitar kind of heroine, and she isn’t trying to be. She just Anise, only, you know, more heroic.

The world also becomes richer in this novel. We get to see a bit more of the different kinds of magic, and we’re introduced to a few new venues. But my personal favorite thing is that we get to delve deeper into characters who weren’t fully explored in book one. Anise’s future in Taos is on the line, and while she’s had friends here from the beginning, it’s time for her to start building a real team—if she wants to survive.

Loved it, loved it, loved it! Can’t wait for book three!!!

Sugar Spells picks off sometime after the end of Deadly Sweet, with a new problem for Anise – apparently she now has death magic too, and it is leaking into her baking. Afraid of never being able to bake again, she engages the help of her friends, as well as an unlikely customer to get rid of her magic. Along the way, though, she also gets a way to free Wynn from his contract. The best part of this series is the fact that it keeps the cuteness contained in a serious plot, and still manages to give the latter considerable weight – the witch society’s indentured slavery is not something she agrees with, so she tries to change what she can. Also, another thing I like about it – it doesn’t go the expected route. The plot took me places I didn’t imagine would happen and the unique direction of the story had me loving this immensely.

Anise’s support system comes into good focus during this book – while we knew they were protective of her in the last one, this one shows a little more into the workings of the witch society around the Vortex. There is also a little about the necromancy parlor (I actually didn’t like this part much because Anise was practically being insulting about having death magic like it was something disgusting, and hello, you are standing in the house of people who wield death magic? Girl, time and place!), about the cryptid clinic (I loved this part, but I wish it had more to do with the main plot), then a little more about the non-witch population (complicated, as they treat them like second class citizens) and finally, some dimensional magic and a bit about familiars! I loved Anise’s approach to solving problems, as well as the whole contract thingy and how she navigates those issues, both hers and Wynn’s. Her friendship with Wynn gains more ground, as he finally realizes she was not just a privilege witch, but also an ignorant one, and starts to trust her.

Overall, it is an unexpected treat!

Sugar spells is a brilliant take on witchcraft and patisserie. I bsolutely loved deadly sweet and was so excited to get my hands on the next book!

Lola Dodge is a wonderful story teller who pays exquisit detail to all things pastry. As a former pastry chef and cake decorator, I am a lush for books like this. I am also more critical of them but Dodge does not disappoint.

The cover art is absolutely stunning and I need so badly to get this book in print. Sugar spells will be great for anyone who likes mystery mixed into a plate of sugary delight!

This was such fun and unique sequel. I really love all of the characters, and the world is very bewitched meets buffy, which is always bonus. I will say that while the story was fun it never felt really high stakes for me, hence the three star rating. All of that aside I found this to be a great installment in the series and I am excited to get my hands on book three.

I read and reviewed the first book and lived it and I am so glad to be able to say Im still 100% there for this series! I still Love Anise and I was really happy to get to see more of Wynn’s personality! The story felt a little lighter and faster than the first book which isnt a bad thing but now I have to wait for another book! This series is like a breath of fresh air in between all of the serious, “end of the world!” or “overthrow a regime!”type books I have been reading lately. Just a fun, witchy mystery with enough dessert references to satisfy a sweet tooth!

I can’t wait for the 3rd book!