Holmberg is one of my absolute favorite fantasy writers and this book did not disappoint! I loved everything about it — the world building, characters, story pacing. Brilliant!

I fell in love with Charlie N Holmberg when she came out with her Paper Magician series. This is another homerun. I enjoyed this so much I bought 2 copies of the books to give out as gifts.

Anything that Ms. Holmberg writes is pure gold!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

Charlie N Holmberg is SO clever and her books are very creative and fun. A magical baker with no memory of how or why she has the special gift, super cool. Maire's emotional journey is one that will stay with the reader long after they finish.

The concept of using cooking as a means of working magic is a terrific one, and this book did a pretty good job of executing it. I have to admit it sometimes didn't feel as if all the parts of the world of the story fit together for me, but the characters were interesting and multi-dimensional, so I stayed around to see what happened to them. Overall it was entertaining and I felt it was worth my time, though I like some of this writer's other works, like the Paper Magician series, better. I think that's mostly because I am a sucker for good world-building, and I thought the world of this book just didn't feel as fully developed.

This is yet another fantastic Charlie N. Holmberg book! I maybe wouldn't rate it as highly as some of her other books but I would still highly recommend anyone who is mildly interested in fantastical stories with a little magic for good measure. The character development like in all of Charlie's books is great but the story building so common to charlie's stories left a little to be desired. I did however greatly enjoy her step out from the normal maybe slightly miserable lead character growing and developing into this fantastic story that ends happily ever after. This story is definitely a little uncomfortable in spots and is a little slower to pick up but I still suggest you read it through. It's worth it.

A sweet, gentle book about magic and baking. I've read Holmberg's Paper Magician series, and this is just as good! Would recommend to magical realism lovers and baking enthusiasts.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

Yet another outstanding novel by Charlie Holmberg. Such a fun, interesting magic system with just the right amount of romance. Fans of the Paper Magician will love this magical standalone.

Unfortunately I was unable to download and Review this book. I have thus given this an impartial 3 star rating for this book review.

I really loved the synopsis of this book but not the book itself. Once I got into it I kind of feel like when you watch a movie preview and it tells you all the best parts and the movie couldn't live up to the condensed preview. It's a great concept but not enough execution.

Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet. A cake filled with magic, it sounded like a recipe for success (pun definitely intended).

Maire is a baker with a troublesome past (in the sense that she can’t remember it). Her cakes are magical – literally so – as they can convey feelings to the eater. I guess more intense than when I bake a cake and spread happiness around ( 😉 ). One day on a raid she is sold as a slave and when they found out about her baking skills, they are put to use in rather dark schemes.

It sounds like a fairy tale and to some extent it was, but the story flowed more slowly I found. I had expected to like it more than I did because for me it was missing something special. I never really connected with Maire and therefore was not fully invested in the outcome. It was still a nice way to pass the time but it was missing this ‘secret ingredient’ (for want of a better term) that made it something special.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I want to like Charlie Holmberg's books - they are so creative and has such good premises. But somehow, I just never REALLY love them. When I saw the description of this book, I was intrigued because it reminded me of Sarah Addison Allen, who has put the "putting feelings into food" in a couple of her books and I loved it. However, while the first part of this book was interesting, it lagged in the middle and I felt like I was just waiting for more to happen.

I did enjoy this retelling of sorts of a fairytale. I guess I just wanted more between Fyel and Maire. I wanted more romance, more mystery, more. Just more. I was heartbroken when Maire finally remembered what she had done and what exactly she is/was.
I loved the epilogue. What a great wrap up.
I guess the middle of the story just plodded along for me. I wanted to read it in a rush, but just couldn't.

This book was just alright. The most I can say is that I didn’t get it. I read other book in between this one because it was not catching my interest. I found Feyel to be the most interesting character. Marie getting beaten and whining all the time the most annoying. I think I had bigger expectations for this. Although I did get my library to get this .

I didn't see the twist coming.

I really liked this book. It isn't like anything I've read before. I really enjoy this author's body of work she has such a unique and creative mind.

With Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet it is very descriptive with the all the food (which really makes one hungry). I like the infusion with the feelings and emotions into our main characters treats. It really gives the pours her heart and soul into the batter in a whole new meaning.

The many this story takes can not be guessed from the beginning and I really like that.

This looked like a great book, but unfortunately it was archived before I could read it. I will pay more attention to that before requesting. Thank you.

I would like to start my review by thanking the author, the Publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this fantastically well written and magestic book in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

This book tells the story of Maire is a baker with an extraordinary gift: she can infuse her treats with emotions and abilities, which are then passed on to those who eat them. She doesn’t know why she can do this and remembers nothing of who she is or where she came from.

I was drawn to this book when I saw it on Netgalley because I had already read the first three books in Charlie's Paper Magician series so I knew that I loved her writing & the books premise of the story had me intrigued. for my full review follow the link below.

The idea on how the magic worked in this book was very unique and interesting and i loved that the main character was a passionate baker and the idea of using that as a way to create or use magic was lovely.
Its a nice book and an entertaining read.

Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet is about a woman named Maire. She's not like everyone else and is gifted with the ability to infuse her delicious treats with emotions and abilities for those who eat them. Yet Maire is not quite sure why she has this gift, or where she is even from. After conflict in her town, Maire is kidnapped and enslaved to use her gifts for evil purposes. What she does know is that the ghost who visits her named Fyel is comforting and familiar. Maire soon finds herself on a journey that will change everything.

Charlie N. Holmberg creates such vivid works of fantasy. There is a grim nature to this story that stirs you're interest and a whimsical element that feels familiar and good. I found this story to be really interesting. As with Holmberg's Paper Magician series, there is something so interesting about the magical elements in Holmberg's work. Readers of Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate will understand how food can bring about magic into existence. Holmberg's work in comparison, feels less polished but the growth of Holmberg's skill is evidenced in this book. Readers of Holmberg's Paper Magician series will be ready to dive into this fantasy. I was disappointed towards the end of Holmberg's Paper Magician series and the lack of rounded-characters. I look forward to seeing Holmberg develop her stories more and flesh out her characters. I am ready for more books!

So I honestly don't remember what drew me in besides the cover and sometimes that works for me, unfortunately this time it didn't. I can't give you a full review of reasons either it was simply that the story did not excite me enough to get past one chapter.

This was a compelling read. Some interesting plot twists, great characters, and very interesting world building. Practically a created mythology to go with it. I found it very entertaining and would love to see more take place in this setting.