ARC Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Adorable.

Cozy, warm, with a dash of magic. The whole book gave off the same feeling the bakery itself did. Full of sugar and cinnamon, sweet heat melting on your tongue.

A story of overcoming fear and accepting vulnerability. A short romance worth reading in one sitting and a magical society I'm eager to learn more about.

The world building was gentle and easy, the flow smooth, and while I still have many questions they don't hinder my experience of this book at all. Instead, they make me hungry for more 😉

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for this ARC!

Baking and banter go so well together,
. This book was cute. I like the mix of writing and baking/ 2 things I love! The setting was great and I enjoyed watching the characters grow and learn what they really want in life. A lot of swooned moments mixed with reality. Very cute!

A light, cozy read with small-town charm and a sprinkle of magic. The romance is sweet, but I found myself skimming more than reading. The surprise bear-shifting moment totally threw me and had me laughing—not sure that was the goal! Might suit fans of quirky, feel-good fantasy romances, but it wasn’t quite for me.

This cover is absolutely adorable!! The title is a nice play on words! Just awe 😊

Alexandra works at Gastronomy Eats. The name of the company alone seems like another play on words, but I like it. While Alex is at work, she gets presented with a picture of Ethan Hart along with a bio entry about him.

Fast forward. Ethan Hart has a parole officer. Very much giving that MMC with a backstory kind of vibe.

Alexandra has been sent to the small town for one reason per her boss, while Ethan thinks she is there for a similar yet slightly different reason. Yet along the way, Ethan and Alexandra have a romance. You guys see the cover, title, along with the romance category tag that is attached to this NetGalley listing!! Lol so yes there is romance between them. I did enjoy this story and I feel like I would continue with the series whenever available.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Whimsical, magical, nostalgic...

Alex and Ethan were a dream to read about in this novel by Noel Bailey.
Starting with Alex and her high-demand, productive-driven life with a dose of responsibility (we've all been there as first daughters), you can tell she needs a break! And, when it comes with a break that includes a hot baker, beach, and romantic seaside town -- why not?

Ethan is a dreamy MMC right from the start. You know he's had some trouble in the magical world but you're not sure why. The twist at the end of how magical he is took me by total surprise.
I loved all the side characters in Magnolia Cove and I think they added to the charm of the entire novel.

My only issue with the book is I wish it was longer and more detailed on the magical side of Magnolia Cove. I know there are other books coming in the series so I hope we get to see more of the magic and more of Ethan and Alex.

I have been given an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Whisked Away by Noel Bailey
(Magnolia Cove Magic Series - Book 1)

ARC Review: ⭐️4 (Access granted by NetGalley)
Completely Honest Review / Mild Spoilers

Romance + Magic = YES PLEASE.

For NetGalley: The review has been posted to my GoodReads which is @oliwiawioletta, this review was posted on 29/04/2025. It will also be posted to my TikTok/BookTok account which is @oliwiawiolettaagora tomorrow on the 30/04/2024 as I still need edit and will be posting it tomorrow.

Okay so… this book is a little out of my usual reading vibe but i absolutely loved it. This entire book felt like a warm hug! And honestly i will be reading the rest of the series no doubt about it because it genuinely felt so genuine and warm. It was refreshing.

This book has NO SPICE!!! So, if you are after a good romance read without any spice and absolute tension this one is definitely for you!

If this book had an anthem it would be Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls!

‘I just want you to know who I am’.

Ethan our cuddly bear, we know you wanted Alex to know who you were all along🥹

This story follows along our two main characters: Alex our FMC, who is a food critic/food journalist & Ethan our MMC who is a baker (a baker with magical powers).

This book has a magical twist in it where witches and warlocks are real and some of them live in a secluded island called Magnolia Cove. HOW CUTE IS THE NAME??? I would absolutely love to visit Magnolia Cove myself.

The story line was simply brilliant. Ethan our MMC was stripped of his main magical powers/they were controlled by the magic council because he chose love with a human in the real world and the ex girlfriend did not understand magic, she reacted terribly to him telling her his biggest secret. He thought he could trust her, he thought he loved her (until he met Alex, which he then later realised the love between them was the real kind of love, the forever kind of love). He exposed too much of his abilities in the real world and was sentenced to 10 years in ‘prison’ - Magnolia Cove, where he couldn’t leave beyond its borders, as well as being on ‘parole’ where the magic council basically watches his every move. Magnolia Cove is filled with magic, tourists and visitors don’t remember their visit, they just remember that they enjoyed their time there and are left with a sense of happiness when exposed to magic. Alex our FMC comes to Magnolia Cove to do a report on the Magical Whisk (his bakery). They connect, but Alex senses something is off the entire time and questions everything however, her feelings for Ethan are stronger than her doubts. She keeps extending her stay to spend more time with Ethan and the magic council is not happy about it. They threaten that if Ethan does not tell her to go home they will have to erase her memories like they do with the other tourists but Ethan fights for her memories because he does not want her to forget about him and what they share.

Overall, I really loved this book it really felt like a warm hug and it was such a cosy romance without spice and just genuine tension and chemistry between our two main characters and I absolutely loved every chapter. This book just gave me butterflies and had me giggling and kicking my feet in the air in complete honestly.

Gosh this book was honestly amazing. I loved it. I will be going back to Magnolia Cove in the future because it was a beautiful experience.

The only thing I wish it had more of is the magic aspect, I wish it played a bigger part in the book but believe me when I say the romance alone was totally worth it. It was a beautiful book and an amazing story. Noel is a brilliant story teller and I don’t think my heart will ever truly leave Magnolia Cove, it’s imbedded itself in every fold of my brain.

Happy reading!!!

Again, thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy I am so so grateful for being able to have read this book before its publication date.

thank you netgalley for the arc <3

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

dare i say this was amazing and so unexpected!

coming into this i didn’t know much! i saw the cover and knew i wanted to read it.

but this was so special and so fun to read. i loved every aspect of this book and the way it was written.
the main characters were so cute lovable and the side characters added so much to the story.

the magical side of this book was such a breathe of fresh air and so different to anything i've ever read before.

I will defo be continuing this series!

How do I sign up to stumble into a secret magical coastal town? Seriously, I’ll never be that lucky — but reading Whisked Away made it feel like I did.

I’m such a sucker for everything this book has:
• Magic
• Baking
• Small town vibes
• Sweet, slow-burn romance

I ended up reading it all in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down. It was such a cozy, feel-good story and honestly a much-needed reminder that life isn’t just about work, work, work. Sometimes you have to slow down, take a chance, and just let life happen. There’s real magic in that.

I absolutely loved every character — they felt like real people I’d want to hang out with. And thank god for the bonus content because I was NOT ready to say goodbye.

If you’re looking for something warm, magical, and a little bit delicious, Whisked Away is it.

This was very cute with an unexpected twist. A food critic Alex Sinclair is tasked with basically destroying the bakery of the new internet darling baker Ethan Hart. However she unexpectedly finds herself charmed by the quaint little town and the gorgeous (yes, obviously, very predictable twist) Ethan. However both the town and Ethan seem to be harboring a secret she can't quite figure out.
It's a lighthearted read with a mythical twist, I don't normally go for romance but I enjoyed it. Predictable in many ways but charming nevertheless.

This book was a wholesome experience and a breath of fresh air . It was a comforting, magical, sweet, and charming read. I love the chemistry between the lead characters and the side characters were so lovely and fascinating. I love the small town setting and it was a great book and I will recommend it to everyone who is looking experience something fresh and beautifully wholesome read. I recieved this arc from netgalley and all opinions about the book is mine.

oh Magnolia Cove can i visit you, live there or at least be adopted for the holidays please? this was a heart warming and sweet look. its not overly smushy or cliche though. it was just a feel good book, that in the moment you want to snuggle in deep and smile all the way through. it had the perfect mix of community and individual stories. oh and of course the perfect romance story and setting.
Alex isnt a trope or pushed in our face character with the back story that was more than the woman herself. and i really appreciated this. she is a food critic who thinks her sceptics is what keeps her good. so when she finds herself in Magnolia Cove its meant to be her mission to uncover the real community. to discover the secrets behind the real bakery. because its got to be too good to be true right. this place isnt magic for heavens sake!
but soon Alex is learning a place doesnt need to be casting spells to be magic. and the community and people in it are more than she could imagine. a place the takes her in and makes her feel a whole lot of wholeness. not least Ethan the baker. hes brilliant, kind, passionate about his job and okay he might just be a little hot hot hot too.
so Alex is searching for what lies beneath all this but whilst doing so is finding so much more. so much more to fall in love with. can she overcome her own walls. does she want to do what she set out to when she first arrived. will what she finds out make her happy by plastering it all over the pages of magazines? or could she be falling in love with this place and the people/ person in it making this belonging start to mean more to her.
to stay or go. to write or not. is she going to risk changing herself? or is she going to be finding herself?

ARC:
3.5

The sweetest and most warm hug I've read in so long. The magical realism and description was written to beautifully, making me want to visit this island.

Alex (FMC) is a food journalist, looking after her younger sister after her parents passed away, she's driven and very normal which is refreshing, because I feel like authors try to over complicate or make characters have too much trauma.

Ethan is a baker/chef and gets noticed by our fmc on a magazine and she's thinks hes not all what he says he is and the food is a gimmick. He's sweet and sensitive, completely different to what I normally look for in a MMC, but I enjoyed him so much.

All the side characters were all wholesome and charming, something you want in a small town/ Island. Definitely going to carry on with this series.

It has no spice/smut only suggested/ fade to black.

Goodreads: "Goodreads: see what your friends are reading" https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/223759182
Fable:Check out this review of Whisked Away (Magnolia Cove Magic #1) on Fable. https://fable.co/review/8b133068-9b64-4865-880e-894778d7112f/share
StoryGraph: megan_r1

Heartwarming magical romance is exactly how to describe this book! A hallmark movie in a book. Absolutely enjoyed this book and would be a great for the fall girlies !

This is the first book in a magical new series - and it really revolves around the magic of Magnolia Cove.

Alex is a well-known food critic for a major foodie magazine - she's also taking supporting her younger sister after their parents death. She's been given a big assignment to trash a new bakery making waves from a small island - and the handsome baker. Once she gets to the small town, she feels like it isn't real - too Hallmarkish to be for real. And the baker is as hot as his pastries. She gets to know the townfolk and baker Ethan and soon falls in love with the town, and the baker. But he's holding something back and she's determined to figure out what she's missing. The whole town is magical and soon she learns their secrets. Will she stay or go back and finish her article. It's all a little too magical for my taste, but the story was sweet and the characters were fun to get to know.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This is a really cute romance book that was just a very easy read. Has romance elements and vibes. The characters, Ethan and Alex, is trying to save something close to them. For Alex, it’s her sister and for him, it’s his business. Books with desserts and pastries are one of my favorite things to read about. Will be reading more from Noel Bailey.

A really cozy romantic novel set on a magic island. Just reading about all those delicious cakes and pastries made my mouth water and my stomach rumble. I just wish the magic had featured a little more. Very readable.

I absolutely loved this book, read it in one sitting, it was light hearted, the characters were loveable and they grew so well. the story line was a romantic easy read and it was a beautiful story in general. would absolutely recommend to a friend and will be reading more from this author!

Oh how adorable this book was! It was such a fun, easy and light read. I finished it in one setting!

I love how determined Alex is to provide for her sister. She knows she has to do whatever possible to make sure her sister has no worries.

Ethan is determined in his own way. He knows he has a lot to lose if he doesn't stick to her plan.

Together, they realize they may have a change of plans. Their magic is noticeable from the start and the rest you will have to find out for yourself!

Hallmark movie in a book! The best!

4.5 stars this was really cute but I wanted more magic!!!

this is a very cozy romance about a baker and a food critic - where the baker is banished to a magical community. I love how naturally the relationship progressed, and also how naturally the magic system was incorporated into the story! I am a fantasy lover so I would have been happy with more magical inclusions and lore, but the nature of this book as a more romance-focused storyline was very intriguing. Can't wait to read more in this series!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC!