This book was definitely a slice of magic. When Susanna's aunt asked her to run her pie shop and take care of her dog, Susanna was happy to help. Imagine her surprise when she showed up and Aunt Erma was missing. Susanna meets some great characters and has some surprises in store for her, along with a little magic. I was so disappointed when the book ended, but have since found its just the first in its series! Can't wait for the rest.

I am not a fan of books with fantasy or magic; however I found this to be an enjoyable read. It was easy to follow although I did have trouble figuring out some of the characters and where they were. Probably not my most favorite book.

This one is light-hearted mystery. At times I was glad about the way this book was not serious. But, there were times when that works against this book.
It was good for a while, but since I found quite a bit of text monotonous and repetitive in concept, I skipped a lot. The characters could have had some depth as well.
A good light read nonetheless.

Cute, magical little tale about Aunt Erma’s niece Susanna, who takes over the pie shop when Erma goes missing. I could relate to Susanna - not born a baker but trying her best, accepting a magically clean kitchen without question, and finding it awfully suspicious that Aunt Erma is unreachable for quite a bit of time! Loved the descriptions of pies, the production of the “villainous” cookie shop owner, and Erma’s loyal friends. The mystery was a little hokey, but i expected it from the title and description. I enjoyed it anyway!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2745907373

This was lovely and I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this.

It took me a few tries to read this book and although I enjoyed how the book ended, I didn’t enjoy the rest of the book.
The premise was good but the characters were a bit underdeveloped and all the mystery annoyed me rather than captivated me. Although I liked Susanna, her character and her friends could’ve been fleshed out a bit more. I did however enjoy the story and that’s why I’m giving the book a 3/5.

In the tradition of Sarah Addison Allen, Aimee Bender and Amy E. Reichert, A Slice of Magic is a lushly delectable treatise on the many forms of love.

Mayes' unique style will appeal to readers who want to sink their teeth into a softly delicious portrait of small town magic. A lovely sense of community, a relatable heroine and the pursuit of family secrets are at the heart of a book that is lovingly told.

For the romantic reader ( like myself), the soft taste of love is welcome indeed; but never overpowers the heroine's slow reconciliation with the past and exploration of new community.

(also posted on instagram)

I love aunt Erma more than my own life! She is so spunky and full of heart!! This was just the kind of story I was looking for and I’m so glad I read it!!

Susana's estranged aunt Erma runs a successful pie shop in the quaint town of Hocus Hills. When she emails Susana an urgent message, she immediately drops everything and goes to help her out. But her aunt has disappeared, leaving Susana to fend for herself-and the pies.

I am usually a huge fan of cozy mysteries and magical realism, which this book seemed to promise. Unfortunately I was let down. This was slow moving and I was slightly annoyed with Susie and basically every one in the town of Hocus Hills. I wish there was something more, including more mouth-watering descriptions of the pies, or even some recipes!

I ended up having to call it quits on this one before finishing as it just didn't work out for me and I have way too many other books I'm interested in reading!

Susanna has not seen her Aunt Erma for years and when she gets a phone message asking for her help she heads off to Hocus Hills looking forward to seeing her and finding out why she has been gone all these years. When she arrives though there is no sign of Erma just a note asking her to look after the Pie Shop and the dog Mitzy....... what is going on...... and Susanna is certainly no baker!

A lovely whimsical book with some great characters and am looking forward to the next one in the series

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this early copy!

I enjoyed this well done cute read. It reminded me of magical realism, a mix of contemporary and magical elements. I adore books that mix in food with their stories, and I was craving pie while reading this.

Oh I really really enjoyed this magical little book. The story is just beautiful. So addictive I couldn’t stop reading it. Perfect characters. Lots of fun. Fabulous!

There’s some lovely world building in this quirky cozy mystery. If you accept the fantasy, then this is good escapist read, full of unique characters, magic and romance.

Susanna has a lot to contend with in Hocus Hills, first she’s in charge of a pie shop and she can’t cook. She needs to solve the mystery of her aunt’s disappearance, and then there are the strange goings on in the town and the pie shop.

A magical mystery to solve, lots of characters to hold your interest, and a blooming romance, what more could you ask for? Oh, I forgot there’s pie too, so be prepared.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Impulse via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Some very tasty pies, a funky little town full of eccentric people, and what is not to love? This new series by A. G. Mayes has everything topped off with a lovely bit of magic. I can't wait for the second one.

From the back of the book: "Susanna Daniels has spent over twenty years wondering why her beloved Aunt Erma disappeared from her life. When Aunt Erma leaves a voicemail asking for help at her pie shop, Susanna thinks she’s finally going to get the answers she’s been waiting for. But when Susanna arrives in the small town of Hocus Hills, Aunt Erma is gone, leaving only a short note and her mischievous dog, Mitzy. Running a pie shop is harder than Susanna could have ever imagined. To top it off she has an inspector and an overzealous gym owner breathing down her neck. Then a cookie shop opens up down the street bringing competition she can’t afford. As if that isn’t enough, strange things start happening around town."

This book was a quick read. It wasn't the most amazing book I've ever read, but it was a fun one with some twists, and sweet moments.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This was certainly a scrumptious novel and was a wonderful recipe of cozy romance and mysterious adventure. The entire text was playful, and I found myself with a smile on my face as I turned page after page, relishing in the fun and colorful world that was being served. Now, if only I had a slice of pie!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This was a very sweet story about a small town and the people that lived there. Thoroughly enjoyable

Unfortunately I don't think I'm the best person to review this book. I am very much not into the magical realism and didn't realize that this book had so much of that until I was about 30% through. With that said, I'll leave that out of my star rating and review what I did find. I was promise a romance, and there was very little. The story was fast paced and cutesy and i felt like i was watching a disney movie. There was a very quirky, poorly developed cast of supporting characters who are difficult to keep track of, which reminded me a bit of Gilmore Girls. The "mystery" was vague and poorly constructed that was frustratingly slow to reveal and super obvious to figure out to everyone except the protagonist. I will be recommending this to my much younger niece who loves magical realism & a cute series. I will not be posting my review on bookstagram since it isn't very positive. Thank you for the opportunity to review your books prior to their publishing! It is always very appreciated!

I received an ARC from NetGalley. This did not impact my opinion or review.

I was excited to read A Slice of Magic based on the summary. It is the type of book you want to read in between two heavier books to refresh your mind and to enjoy something light. My only feed back is that I wish the plot would have been more fleshed out.

Okay, let's do this one more time. A quirky city woman has questions and so she moves to a small town where baking has all the answers. Along the way, there's a soft man who's not like other city men because he is polite and super hot. Yeah, that about covers it.

"A Slice of Magic" not so subtly introduces the concept that there will be magic involved. Whether it's the essence of the unexplainable or an actual hard magic system is to be determined. Susanna thinks her Aunt Erma can help fill in the gaps between what went down in the family. What Susanna doesn't know is only the tip of the proverbial powdered sugar mound. The town's people are eccentric but is it the work of magic or meth? It's up to Susanna to get to the bottom of her aunt's sudden departure and figure out if the secret ingredient really is...love. Hm.

This is a quick read so it doesn't take long for Susanna to pack up and get going. Then, whatever you imagine a small town is like takes over. There isn't much physical world building but I don't mind since it seems to not be the focus of the plot. Instead, the cast of characters including the Morning Pie Crew and angry gym lady really does well to fill in the space. I grew to love them because they are genuinely nice and little nosey. While Susanna is childish and all of her interactions are awkward to read, it's mainly played up for comical effect. Some of the jokes fell flat but the plot doesn't linger. I guess the way Susanna and Henry flirt sometimes did make me want to barf (who rolls around in an ice rink for fun)? I'm just thankful that Henry isn't a douche creep. Holly's a riot and there's minimal mommy issues.

If anything, the plot follows a conventional structure with a misunderstanding to drive Henry and Susanna apart. There's also a cryptic message that Susanna ignores until it's used in the third act to save everyone. But hey, I had fun with this. I hope the series goes into depth with the world building and we get more hijinks from characters interacting.

Cover Review:
I like the redesigned cover. It has a better use of white space and the color palette is generally more pleasant to look at. The illustration is 100x better as it less resembles vector art. The typography is also an improvement and offers a sense of whimsy rather than a generic serif (was that Times New Roman)? I also think the gingham border is a nice touch.