This second book is so sweet, inspiring and just fun to read. On one of my status I mentioned that the cover represents really well the inside and it's because everything feels like a princess fairytale and I would definitely read these books to my kids if I had them.

Our main character, Anise, is still one of my favorites. I love how she's always paying attention to the people around her trying to help and the beautiful way she uses her powers. It was heartbreakig to see her struggling to bake, the thing she loves doing the most. However, at the same time, it made me realise how there was so many people trying to help her because everyone just adore her like I do.

One of those people protecting Anise is our Shield, Wynn. I love him and I would love to be like him too, such a badass and always trying to start a fight haha. Here we get to know a little bit of his past because he starts opening up bit by bit and let me tell you, saying I got angry and I wanted to protect him is an understatement.

Another character we get to know better was Gabi, one of Anise best friends. I just adore their friendship, how all three of them have each others back and would do anything at anytime to help. Also, I would love to live in Gabi's house since she's a vet her house is full of unique creatures that just take your breath away.

The character that made me laugh at loud anytime it was there was Carrot hahaha, she goes straight to the point and doesn't hesitate when she has to say somenthing.

However, the aspect I loved the most was the ending, it was heartwarming and left me wanting to go and do stuff because we are so lucky we're alive. I have to admit it was a little bit unrealistic but I didn't mind.

I don't like writing a review with everything positive so I'll say some things other people maybe won't like but that for me it was fine :P One of them that I noticed was, it only has two conflicts and one is a result of the other so I'll probably would count it as only one, therefore if you're looking for a lot of action this may not be it. Another one is that Anise isn't such a badass but because that's just her personality, she doesn't like fighting and I think it was ok since not everyone has to be a badass.

All in all, I would 100% recommend this trilogy to everyone! It's sweet, heartwarming, it talks a lot about desserts and it has magic, what else could make it better?

A great story for young adult readers.
This is the second installment of this series, and would recommend to read the first one to get a feeling of the characters.
Our main character, Anise, is struggling with her magic and need to cleanse it, to keep working as a baker's apprentice. Her natural magic is tainted with death and she needs to find an outlet to drain it.
The solution might be more dangerous than the problem.

This book was just the recipe of magical fun I was looking for! Sugar Spells is the second book in The Spellwork Syndicate Series, the first is Deadly Sweet, which I have not read yet, and works fine as a stand alone. The third book, Wicked Tasty comes out next March. I am going to be adding Deadly Sweets to my TBR!

This fast read is a story about Anise and her baking spells. She is all of a sudden unable to whip up her usual yummy pastries and discovers evil magic is running through her veins. As she tries to discover a solution to her baking and magical troubles she also tries to save her bodyguard from a lifelong debt he is repaying.

This book is an easy and fun little story of baking and spells. Plenty of magical creatures fill the pages of this light story along with lots and lots of BATS!🙀 This story finds me at the right time, before Halloween and going into baking season!

I received this advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. This book will be published October 30th, go check it out!

This book was a ton of fun. I ended up reading the entire thing in 24 hours (and keep in mind I didn't have a chance to read the first book in the series). Luckily the author does a very solid job of world-building with slight reminders of the previous plot without going into it with too much detail. Anise is a witch who can infuse her magic into the items that she bakes. However, due to unfortunate circumstances her magic is temporarily death magic rather than whatever it normally is. After a series of comedic almost-montages, she decides that the best way to get rid of the magic is to bake it out. In come the death Macarons.

My first line of this review really is the best description of this book, a ton of fun. Anise has her friends, a girl squad you might say, who are there to keep her company and try to help her deal with things like a death god crow creature or accidentally killing all of the bushes. She also has a guardian in the form of Wynn who gives off major "this is going to be the romance" signals without actually having it happen, which was kind of wonderful. All in all, the magic system seems pretty solid, the plot felt conventional at times, but still had a few wonderful twists and turns.

I really enjoy this series from Lola Dodge. It is light mystery, food and teen angst all wrapped up in one.

Advance reading copy provided by netgalley.

OK, maybe this wasn't the best book to read while on a low carb diet, haha. Once again this book goes pretty heavily into the details of the things Anise is baking, so if you're into watching The Great British Bake-Off and Charmed then this book might be for you! If cooking shows bore you, you might want to move along...

After her exploits in Deadly Sweet, Anise's fire magic is left tainted with death magic and she can't bake. If you've read the first book in the series, this is basically game over, life is ruined for Anise. (And if you haven't read the first book in the series, what are you even doing here? This is the second book in a series, and no, it can't be read as a stand alone. Go read Deadly Sweet first, then come back, you weirdo.) She's desperate to get her baking mojo back - by any means necessary, even it if means baking murder macaroons for a local vampire who is not-quite-right-in-the-head. Especially once she finds out the terms of Wynn's contract, and realizes that there's a way she can use this unwanted power to his advantage.

I love that we get a look inside Gabi's family's cryptozoology vet clinic in this book! I'd have loved to get a little more of a look into that aspect of the world, but they pretty much say that because of Anise's fire magic (to say nothing of being tainted with death magic) she'll have a hard time getting the creatures to warm up to her, so she doesn't get to go exploring much. It feels like there are a lot of little threads of possible storylines that get sort of picked up in this book and then never actually lead anywhere, which was disappointing. Still, it was a fun story, and I enjoyed reading about Wynn opening up a little more with Anise, as well as reading about her power continuing to grow. BUT WHAT ABOUT SCHOOL?! SHE MISSED SO MUCH CLASS AND NOBODY CARES!! AHHH! The Ravenclaw in me is not OK with this!!

Disclaimer I voluntarily read and reviewed this advance reader copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. So thank you so much to the author, INscribe Digital's amazing publishing, and Netgalley for giving me the chance to review this amazing book.


I give this book a 3/5 stars.


I read the first one "Deadly sweets" in 2017. I sadly wasn't a fan of the first one, but the second one was a lot better. I picks up exactly where the first one finished. To some things up Anise has death magic rattling through her body and can no longer bake at her great-aunt's bakery until the magic is dispelled. All she wants is for her magic to work again, so that she could stop burning things when she bakes. She tries everything, even her friends try to help, but nothing works. So she ended up making a deal with a vampire.

This was such a fun enjoyable read. Its very easy to follow the plot.
.The characters are witty and interesting. I loved the way the relationship development I got to see between the characters. It was a magical book. I recommend this book who wants to escape reality.

This is a delicious mixture of sweet magic, some dark creatures, and spicy adventure.

Anise has survived the adventure of the first book...a book I truly enjoyed...and now, finds herself at odds with her own magic. Thanks to her brush with death, death magic has intertwined with her own cheerful sparks. It makes for deadly baking, which really is killing her mood. Her necromancy friends are doing their best to help out, but it's slow. When she discovers a way she can still bake even with death magic seeping in, it appears that more than one problem might be solved. But nothing is as easy as it seems.

This is not a deep book but simply an enjoyable read with lots of sugary treats, magic, paranormal creatures, a very light dust of romance-ish, and tons of fun. In other words, a great read to simply escape reality.

Anise struggles with her magic, and her frustration comes across natural and very understandable. The attempts of her friends to help her is inspirational, and it's refreshing to see that these witches definitely have their borders on what they can do. There's a nice community feel as they stand together, even when it's not enough. The scenes carry danger, but also a bit of humor to even things out. It's a lovely mix.

Imagination flows freely in these pages, especially in the way of magical creatures. While Anise and her magical problems remain serious, the author has added a bit of childish wonder on the side. I enjoyed reading about the fantastical creatures and Anise's interactions as much as the more serious and action filled scenes.

Anise does have a tough adversary especially toward the end, and action scenes keep the suspense high. Some moments are more of a surprise than others, but there's enough of a unexpected twist to keep the tension flowing. The ending scene hit a little sudden, but then, it fits the tale and promises more to come. I'm looking forward to see what Anise will face next.

The story picks up exactly where Deadly Sweet left off. Anise has death magic rattling through her body and can no longer bake at her great-aunt's bakery until the magic is dispelled. Her friends try and help wean the green coated magic from Anise, but the process is relentless. No matter how much Anise drains the magic through baking charred concoctions, it still remains inside of her. Upon meeting a shady vampire named Giraar and learning more about Wynn's past, Anise decides to strike a deal with the vamp so everybody wins: her necromancy magic will be drained through constant baking, the macaroons she bakes will be given to Giraar since he loves death magic, and in payment Giraar will hand over gems and gold coins that will be saved up and used to buy Wynn's freedom from his Shield life. So what could go wrong?

There's something magical swept into the pages of this series, and it took me so long to finish because I knew I had to wait until March for the next installment. We learned about Wynn's past which resulted in a friendship slowly blooming between Wynn and Anise (and hopefully something more in the next book). Unlike Deadly Sweet, the main focus was on Wynn and Anise as they struck a deal with the devil and paid the consequences. I didn't mind not having the other characters in the spotlight since I loved the interactions between Wynn and Anise. The only reason I rated this four stars was because the last ~15% felt weird compared to the rest of the story.

March cannot arrive fast enough and I excitedly look forward to the next adventure!

I was really hoping to love this story, but I just couldn't seem to get into it.

It has an amazing synopsis and the characters seem very unique. Sadly I couldn't seem to get fully invested.

This is not the books fault, it is just not something I feel like I would fall in love with.

I will still recommend to friends. Even though it is not for me that does not speak for the book and the author.

A fun, quick read, filled with bits of magic and sweetness.

Anise again finds herself in danger for reasons beyond her control, but once again with the help of her loyal friends and her somewhat reluctant bodyguard she will overcome all the obstacles in her way.

I enjoyed the first book in this series, but I didn't love this one. For me the first two thirds really dragged. It took me forever to get through to the action at the end. I also found it to be much more predictable than the first book. Just didn't catch my attention

Sugar Spells was the perfect combination of modern witchcraft and grim-dark fantasy. The town of Tousa is where magical beings and supernatural creatures can exist without fear of prosecution. You can find everything from enchanted stilettos to zero-cal ravioli.

Anise has just moved into her aunt’s magic bakery to begin her witch baking apprenticeship but her magic’s acting up. Her sugary sweet spells have turned into death dark magic. Her brush with death in Deadly Sweet has left some necromancy in her blood; death magic. She goes through a series of trials to remove it and finally decides to wait it out while baking death-infused macarons for a mannikin to help her bodyguard Wynn pay of his indenture. But everything goes sideways when the mannikin in question, Girrar, holds them hostage.

Thanks for the early review copy!

I recommend this book to fans of young adult fantasy. It was well-written, had interesting characters, and good plot.

Just as delightful as the first book in the series. There's more cooking, there's more witchcraft, more magical creatures (both good and bad) and - best of all - finally an explanation of Wynn's past. Seeing him finally actually TALK to Anise was worth the wait!

Like the first book in the series, "Sugar Spells" is uncomplicated enjoyment. What you see is what you get. It's cozy fantasy at it's best, filled with charming asides - just the way I like it!

I really enjoyed Deadly Sweet and this second book in the series was even better. These books are to horror/ dark fantasy what the cosy mystery is to crime and I absolutely love it. Fun, cute, warm and funny, this is the perfect hallowe'en read for those who don't want out and out horror or gore. A realy enjoyable series. I hope there's more to come.

This is the second book in The Spellwork Syndicate series. In this book, Anise Wise's magical mojo is out of whack thanks to a brush with death, and now she has unwanted death magic in her blood. This has completely sidelined her ability to work in the bakery, as everything she touches is immediately ruined. Anise and her shield Wynn go on a hunt to find a cure so she can get her life back.
I was unfamiliar with this series but I had no trouble catching up with the backstory. This is a YA series but I think it would be enjoyable to anyone. If you are into fantasy books, then I think you should give this one a try.

I really enjoyed this. There were so many interesting character and relationship developments in this book. This is a really enjoyable series to read and I can’t wait for the next book!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

I read the first book, Deadly Sweet, at the start of the year and was quite pleased to see this second book appear on Netgalley. While I did have some critics on the first book it was still an enjoyable read. The second book moved on in the same direction and it was just what I needed.

Don’t go into these books expecting a very complex magical system or very complex plot. What you see is what you get. Sugar Spells is a true cozy, feel good, magical book. These books are perfect to curl up on the couch under a blanket and read in one sitting this Winter. Sugar Spells isn’t too long nor does it move to fast. The baking and the main character give of something homely and comforting, and that is what I needed at the time of reading.

What I also appreciate is how the romance is being approached. I suspect there is a slow burn romance at work here and the ground work for that was laid down in this book. One can’t be in a relationship if there is an unequalness in the relationship. ‘Employer’, and employee that can’t leave. This was talked about without the romance in it actually. That is how slow burn it is.

Anise also reminds me of myself. The bad luck, the complete unflattering wardrobe when she stays in, the constant push to fix what is wrong, feeling crap so eating ice scream it is. And yes she is clearly the ‘heroine’ who wants to fix everything and always chooses the right thing. But there is more to her than that and that is why I enjoy her character.

This book is being targeted at young adult however I do have my questions regarding that. Anise is out of high school and working on a career. So I would say this series also borders on new adult in that context. Having said that there is also barely anything triggering in these books.

This title was so cute and spooky! I loved it! Perfect for Halloween time and fall. Fans of The Wicked Deep and Hocus Pocus will love this title.