Thanks to Berkley Publishing for sending me a free digital copy in exchange for my review!

This was a cute, cozy fantasy book. Sera is an innkeeper and exiled witch on a quest to restore her magic to its former glory. With romance (very mild spice), found family, and a lovable cast of characters, this book was a big win for me!

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna ✨

Thanks for the free ebook @BerkleyPub

Cozy Fantasy | Found Family | Slow-Burn Romance

Sangu Mandanna (author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches) is back with another charming, magical tale that’s just as sweet as TVSSIW. Whimsical worlds, misfit magic, and healing through community were front and centre in this book.

🪄 Highlights:
— A magical inn in the English countryside
— A fox-bodied witch, a zombie rooster named roo roo (which happens to be my daughters cats nickname) and the best chaotic cast
— Found family done right
— A romance that’s slow, soft, and full of tension

Sera, once a magical prodigy, is now running a hidden inn with her eccentric aunt. Her house mates show up one night with a stolen spell book, the very spell book that contains the spell she needs to get her magic back. Enter an unexpected guest: Luke, a broody magical historian that’s very easy on the eyes.

What I loved:
✨how funny this book was, so witty and charming.
✨the supporting cast was fantastic
✨the zombie chicken, I now want one of my own

📖 Perfect for fans of:
The House in the Cerulean Sea, Legends & Lattes, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Berkley for the chance to read A Witch's guide to Magical Innkeeping as an eARC! I adore Sangu Mandanna and have been eagerly anticipating this release since reading The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. As we know, there were lots of changes to the expected release date of this book- but I'm excited to report that AWGMI was entirely well worth the wait.

Sangu Mandanna has once again shown a knack for writing stories that are equally heartwarming, humorous, and full of characters you can't help but love. I adored Sera (although I wish her story had ended just SLIGHTLY different) and enjoyed getting to know all of the residents at the inn- I love books with the casual use of magic and the idea of magical worlds existing just beyond the normal human scope of reality, and this captured that theme perfectly. I would consider this a cozier fantasy with just the right amount of romance (YEARNING and TENSION and secret make-out sesh in a forbidden library, oh my!) with a central story of found family, self-discovery, and redemption.

Will this book be for everyone? Probably not! Is it for me? ABSOLUTELY. A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping releases on July 15th; if you're looking for a cozy, low(ish) stakes, found family, touch of romance fantasy with diversity, whimsy, and a magically resurrected rooster, then this one is for you.

Thank you Berkley and Netgalley for the eARC!

Sangu Mandanna delivers another cozy fantasy with a splash of romance. Sera was a compelling character and I especially loved the antics of the side characters. There was so much whimsy in this book and it was a great follow up to The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. The magic lore was explained well and I felt truly immersed in the plights of the main character, as well as the cozy autumnal setting.

I discovered this author when I read The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches a couple of years ago and absolutely fell in love with its charm and humor. I think when I found out that this author was publishing another book set in this world I was over the moon excited. I think this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025. My expectations were high, and I was not disappointed one bit.

Sera Swan was once a very powerful witch, until she used a spell to resurrect her beloved and recently diseased aunt and lost all her magic. Now, fifteen years later and exiled from her Guild, she’s living a simple life running an inn with her aunt, placing small protective spells over the land that will bring travelers to her door that need peace and comfort the most. Her household is full of quirky, unique characters that have found their way to her and now have made the inn their home. There’s Clemmie, a witch who has trapped herself in the body of a fox and is desperate to find a way to fix her predicament. Matilda, a woman who loves gardening, goats, and Sera’s aunt Jasmine, but not necessarily in that order. Nicholas, a knight at the medieval fair who pretty much wears his armor 24/7. Theo, Sera’s cousin whose magicless parents weren’t sure what to do with him, so he moved in with Sera to fully embrace his magic. And last but not least, Roo-Roo, a zombie like chicken who was accidentally resurrected along with Jasmine, Sera’s aunt. Let me tell you, it’s a crazy, fun ride from the first page.

Sera is just living her semi-normal life, full of exasperating friends and family, when one day the new leader of the Guild, and also her ex-best friend, Francesca, pays an unexpected visit to retrieve a spellbook stolen by Theo and Clemmie. This is when Sera realizes that there might be a way to get her magic back. If only she can find someone who can read the ancient language the spell is written in to translate.

Enter in Luke Larsen, a magic historian who, along with his younger sister Posy, finds himself at Sera’s front door. He knows exactly who she is and what she lost all those years ago. He needs to find a safe place for his sister who has special needs and doesn’t know to hide her magic from the human world. When he first arrives, he insists that it’ll only be for one night. But one-night turns into two, which turns into a week and it’s not long before he gets sucked into Sera’s world and enamored of life at the Inn.

They begin to work together to find the components needed to cast the spell to regain her magic. Sera goes through this journey throughout the book where she really begins to look at her life differently, finding strength and discovering what really matters most. Her found family, the home she’s made for herself, her new love.

This is probably the most charming, tender, and sweet romance I’ve read this year. It was like a warm hug just when I needed it. The dialogue was full of wit and humor. The characters wonderfully supportive, accepting and loving. Highly recommend.

This charming story includes an enchanting plot, characters that are quirky and fun, a sweet romance and a loads of dry humor.
Thank you to the publisher/author for the opportunity to read this complimentary advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, Sangu Mandanna is an extraordinary writer and this was a cozy tale of burnout, finding yourself and the magic that lives inside you will always burn the brightest. It has amazing adhd, disability and autism rep not to mention conversations about classicism, racism, and parental neglect.

That being said, what should have been a five star reed and was going to be up until the ending that absolutely infuriated me, unravels the beautiful narrative that was weaved.

I am so incredibly disappointed it and it brings my rating down, I wish there was more time for an epilogue or to go back and have completely rewritten. All of the beautiful elements of this book are squandered by this ending.

Beautiful book with a bad ending, I’m so upset.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley for this ARC.

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping (ARC): ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

“But there was, nevertheless, something rather lovely about the weird, wonderful, ordinary everydayness of living.”

A very cozy read! I enjoyed the story for what it was, however I didn’t totally love an aspect of the ending. I also think if I had read this in the fall, my rating would be a tad higher! 🍂

I love the found family and the magical shenanigans we get to explore and experience.

Pick this up on July 15th if you love a cozy, witchy read with great exploration and representation of underlying themes! 🤍

Thank you so much @berkleypub for the free e-book.


Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her Great- Aunt Jasmine from the dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a talking fox and was exiled from the Witch’s Guild. Luke Larsen handsome and icy magical historian arrives on a dark winter night and just might be the answer Sera has been looking for. Sera, Luke and their stitched together family hold each other up, work together and love each other in their own way.

I absolutely adored this book. I am a sucker for found family cozy fantasy. I was thrilled with the accurate autistic representation in this book, as someone who has worked extensively with autistic kids and has autism this was such a refreshing take. Poppy is not a burden, she just requires different supports than other kids. I could see myself so much in each of these characters. Luke always being on the verge of flight, Sera’s struggle with depression and anxiety, Jasmine’s inability to see herself beyond the cruel words of her childhood, and so much more. I laughed, I cried and I giggled and kicked my feet the whole time. This book feels like a homecoming, bittersweet and familiar. I am blown away with Mandanna’s writing. Instantly put her on my auto buy list.

Read this book if you love found family, accurate mental health rep, and undead roosters. A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping releases on July 15th. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy!

Sera Swan, one of the most powerful witches in Britain, was just 15 years old when she made a decision that changed her life. The decision? Bringing back her very recently deceased great-aunt Jasmine from the dead (alongside her long-dead chicken, Roo-Roo - woops!). The cost? Almost all of her magic. Where she used to see galaxies, there were now only scattered stars.

Flash foreword 15 years, and Sera leads a quiet life as the slightly grumpy gargoyle taking care of the inn and the eccentric cast of characters who reside there. She longs to get her magic back but due to being exiled from the Guild, lacks the materials she needs to get to that point. Until one day Sera gains access to a spell that just might be able to restore her magic - if she can find someone to decipher it.

Enter Luke: a magical historian (also slightly grumpy), with his sweet sister coming across the inn during an attempt to get away for a while. He's not keen on helping the famously exiled witch, but...he also just can't seem to help himself.

* * *

I've been so excited for this book ever since I read The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches (also written by Mandanna). For me, this lived up to my expectations and was worth the wait! The cast of characters at this sweet little inn just warmed my heart and I cared so dang much about what happened to all of them by the end. Fair warning: this book is extremely wholesome and I can see how it might be too much for some folks. If I wasn't in exactly the right mood for it, I think it could have been too much for me, too. BUT...I was in exactly the right mood to pick this book up and I am beyond happy to have been loaded up with such wholesome, hopeful feelings.

Also, I loved the romance. It's not the main focus of the book and it's on the slow-burny side which is very much my jam. Did I find myself writing very yell-y notes at these characters during the third act? Yes ma'am, that is something that happened and I wouldn't have it any other way.

There's some really lovely and diverse representation in this book and I thought all of it, to the best of my knowledge, was done quite well.

I see some pushback about the end and I GET IT. Personally, I didn't mind it too much because it felt like that was where we were headed all along. That said, I completely get it and I wouldn't have been mad to see a diversion from my predictions. Not disappointed enough to take away from my rating, though!

Cant wait to see what Mandanna does next!

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping comes out July 15, 2025 and I'm not gonna lie, read it whenever you want but I highly recommend this as an autumn/winter read! That's when the story takes place and the coziness factor is next-level.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review!

I am a huge fan of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and have been looking forward to this book for awhile. I'm happy to say that it lived up to my expectations and was a very enjoyable and cosy read. I am such a sucker for found families and the inn family is so lovely. I love each of the residents and how fleshed out they all felt. I was a little disappointed by the ending that Sara lost her magic. I get why it happened and that it was a bittersweet, but I was still hoping for a more 'cosy' ending. Even that was a minor disappointment in an otherwise fantastic book.

It's no secret Mandanna's The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is one of my all-time favorite books. It's a Roman Empire book, a tucked-into-the-tenderest-corners-of-my-heart book, a book I love so much I literally made an entire Animal Crossing island based/themed around it. So when Mandanna announced a new book with the same witchy, cozy vibes but with a whole new setting and cast of characters, I could barely contain my excitement.

After several pushed pub dates and years of anticipation, I am delighted to report I loved this novel. Yes, it was worth the wait. I was not comparing it to TVSSOIW as I read, believe it or not – that would have been downright unsporting – so while AWGTMI doesn't take the title of my new favorite, it is absolutely and utterly everything I was hoping for and so much more. Once again, Mandanna invites readers into a charming, cozy world that feels like the embodiment of a soft sweater and warm cuppa, delighting us with her wit and penchant for creating uniquely quirky characters that you can't help but fall deeply in love with.

Very few do found family as well as Mandanna, and it shows. Each character of this often chaotic but always loving family felt distinct, well-rounded, and necessary. Sera, our grumpy yet unfailingly kind protagonist, is a witch who has lost most of her power. In addition to her processing the various versions of herself she's had to become to survive, she's found herself caring for a wide array of boisterous characters: Jasmine, Matilda, Nicholas, Theo, Clementine, Roo Roo, and now, Luke and Posy. I grew to care for each of them throughout the course of the story, even the ones I was initially unsure about (looking at you, Clemmie!), and by the end I was sad to say goodbye. There is so much charm packed into these pages.

Sera and Luke had more of a grumpy x outwardly-cold-inwardly-sweet dynamic respectively, and I loved it for them. Theirs is a magical, quiet, beautifully intimate love born out of a deep understanding of the other person and unabashed vulnerability. There are no expensive grand gestures or sweeping melodramatics, but rather two caretaking souls who recognize their match. It got me in my feels.

The only reason this is not a 5-star for me was the ending. Though I had an inkling it would happen given the foreshadowing, <spoiler>I hate that Sera had to lose all of her magic. I understand him being magic-less is the only long-term way to keep Albert at bay, but it felt like Sera didn't win in the end as much as fall on her sword to protect her family. Though the book's events weren't totally for nothing (after all, lots of growth took place!), it does sort of feel that way, and I'll confess I wasn't in the mood for a bittersweet ending when reading an otherwise cozy, happy book.</spoiler>

Pleased as punch that this book is finally releasing to the masses very soon! Lovers of cozy fantasy, found family, rom-coms, witchy hijinks, witty writing, or all of the above, get ready to devour this.

🌶🌶

Oh my goodness this is the cutest, coziest, most heartwarming story. If magical cottage core was a thing then this book would be the epitome of it. Each main character has a beautiful journey and I love the magic touches of being surrounded by their found family. Sera’s journey of losing her magic and working to regain pulled at my heartstrings and made me tear up several times.

I’m grateful that I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I seriously cannot recommend this book enough!

This was good. I enjoyed the romance, found family and especially the ND rep. The ending was mostly happy, but also a little bit of a bummer. I understand why the author went in that direction, but losing to win is a little too realistic. I want my fictional heroines to end up with all the cake. I will still recommend this happily.

After looking forward to surrounding myself with a world of magic and warmth it pains me to say that I struggled to connect with this story. Every single thing about it sounds like my jam from quirky supporting characters to the whimsical Inn, but it fell flat for some reason. I didn't feel settled into the novel until around the 80% point. It could be a 'Me' issue-sometimes that's all there is to it.

Sera operates an enchanted inn. She has lost the majority of her power after overextending herself resurrecting her beloved Aunt Jasmine. She went from being a formidable up and coming witch to having the barest trace of power. Sera's exile from the Guild ensures that help to repair what was broken inside her is hard to come by. Luke shows up at the inn and as a magical historian he might be just the answer she's been hoping for.

The pixie dust or secret sauce that makes readers devour novels was missing for me. I still finished this, but I was thinking of what I was going to read next so that's never a good sign.

Please check out other reviews for this one if you have an interest. I may end up being an outlier it's too early to tell as I write this.

Charm and coziness may fill this story, even so it failed to weave its spell upon this reader.

Thank you to Berkley for providing an ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My only regret was not reading this sooner. I loved the characters and the world. I thought I would have found the characters excessive and too much, but instead they were endearing and I found myself rooting for them and their eccentrics.

*Received as a free ARC*
Don't ask me why, but I was absolutely convinced this was set in the same world as her first book. It was not, but I still absolutely enjoyed it! The found family vibes were just as excellent and the whimsy was whimsical. Queer elders and disability rep was also awesome. Typical magical school plot? Subverted. Would definitely recommend, but am leaving it there to avoid spoilers!

THIS BOOK IS SO COZY AND MAGICAL AND CUTE. I love Sangu Mandanna’s writing so much she does an amazing job creating comforting and loving found families.

I really loved Sera’s journey throughout the story. I really liked the growth of Sera but also Luke, Matilda, Nicholas, and Jasmine. It all reminded me of Kate Quinn’s Briar Club in the best way.

Having read Mandanna's first book, I thought I was prepared for anything she would throw at me in this one.

I was wrong.

This book feels at first light a lighthearted romp (which is strange, given it starts with a resurrection), but layer upon layer of depth is built up before I even noticed, until the climax of the book where I was desperately trying to hide emotional reaction (tears, there were tears) from my boyfriend who was sitting two feet away. At another point, he asked why I was frowning so hard, and I had to reply, "I just don't like this character. He's a bad man." (Iykyk.) It is without question then, that I got very invested in these characters. They were just so cute and, as quirky as they were, relatable. Everyone had a consistent inner world, so that even if they were strange on the outside, once you got to know them, it made sense! This also allowed the author to demonstrate Sera's point of view with regards to the lodgers in her inn, and how easy it was for her to accept them. I absolutely adored Posy.

I also love the whole magical world that was developed in the world. It was an integral part of the story, but the author didn't dwell on it overmuch. I liked how little sprinkles of magic were dotted throughout the story, culminating in the climax, where we got to see it in all it's terrific glory.

The romance was also compelling! Sera and Luke are very different but share the same desires and hopes. Without going into detail, I was grinning along with Mathilda the whole way along.

Very much recommend, especially if you want a hopeful read!

Readers will find that it was worth the wait for this second novel from Sangu Mandanna, another delightfully whimsical cozy fantasy centering found family. When Sera Swan loses most of her magic after a restoration spell goes wrong (but what was she supposed to do? Just let her great-aunt Jasmine stay dead?), she is determined to find a way to reclaim it. Fifteen years later, she may have her chance, when she comes across a spell designed to do just that. She just needs to convince aloof (yet handsome) magical historian Luke Larsen to help her translate and complete the spell.

This was such a fantastic read. It's filled with snappy dialogue, whimsical details, a quirky cast of secondary characters, an extremely supportive found family, thoughtful but not overwhelming magical worldbuilding. There are some melancholy undertones running through the book but the characters and the overall message feel like such a warm hug that it doesn't get you down too much. There's also just enough of a sprinkle of romance as well. Highly recommended.