Reviewed: May 22nd, 2024
Released: January 4th, 2024
Genre: Cozy Fantasy
THERE’S A NEW SPY IN THE KITCHEN – AND IT TURNS OUT TO BE THE COOK . . .
Between his work for the King and Queen of Daxaria and a new (secret) relationship with Lady Annika Jenoure, Fin the cook’s life is anything but tidy.
Annika is being forced from the castle after there are threats to her safety. All the while tension is brewing with the kingdom of Troivack and war seems to draw ever closer.
As if he doesn’t have enough on his plate, Fin is soon promoted from cook to spy and sent into the city of Austice where he must sleuth out the plans of the Troivackian troops allegedly hidden there.
However, an unwelcome visitor is about to knock on his door, and Fin’s world starts to unravel even more . . .
Helen’s Thoughts: 4/5
I love the characters from the House Witch series. Fin is so wonderfully erratic and yet always seems to figure a way through the chaos he creates, and his relationship with Annika is wonderfully complicated. The Knights get a little lost in this story as the reason for their punishment is forgotten, and Fin beomes more a spy than the cook stirring his pot and solving the castles problems.
My main issue with this book was the head hopping, all the time. It got confusing as to whose viewpoint we were hearing the story from.
It would have been fun to see more of the chaos the knights caused in the kitchen, though we only see the results and reports of what they did.
That being said, the story will hook you in and you will cheer Fin on as he faces some new challenges. I think maybe this book loses some of its impact as it seems its purpose is to set up the finale in book 3.
Purchase The Housewitch and the Charming of Austice
Link to book on Amazon UK: Kindle | Paperback
Link to book on Amazon US: Kindle | Paperback
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If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series or Dystopian Science Fantasy, Harmony. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
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