This was a heartwarming and whimsical story with a diverse band of characters.

Sera, a young and extremely powerful witch loses most of her power when she resurrects her great-aunt, Exiled she spends the next fifteen years running her inn. A magical inn that's always there for those who need it. Some of those who have found the inn have never left.
Sera discovers that there is a chance for her to restore her power, a spell in a language she doesn't know.
Enter Luke, who's a magical historian, who believes that he is going to stay at his boss’s cottage for a while, while he figures out where he and his younger sister are going to live, he doesn’t know that his boss has actually given him directions to the inn. Luke can read the spell, and while he is initially reluctant to be involved soon he and the rest of the inn’s residents are helping Sera find the ingredients for the spell and work out what she has to do to make it work.

🔮𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭. 🔮

This was one of my most anticipated reads for this year, and I was so happy when I got the ARC approval.
Having loved Sangu’s last book, I knew this next story would bring all the cosy heartwarming vibes and it didn’t let me down.

Sera is a powerful witch who owns and runs an inn with her great aunt Jasmine, after her parents essentially ran off to travel the world.
When she is 15, she has to perform a resurrection spell on Jasmine who unexpectedly dies in their garden. Unfortunately, this drains her of almost all her magic, and along with this, gets her banished from the witch guild.
Fifteen years later, surrounded by new additions to the ‘family’, including her nephew Theo, honourable knight Nicholas and the decaying zombie chicken she also accidentally resurrected with her Aunt, she finds that there may be a way to restore her powers after all.

One of my favourite things about this story was the way that the magic worked and the idea that the magic had its own wants and needs. That magic has heart and wants to be loved, which is why it manifested in unique ways for each person, dependent on how they treated it.

I loved the diversity and representation in the found family. We got a glimpse into each of their personal stories and struggles, and how they supported one another, creating a sense of belonging.

I know the main romance was between Sera and Luke, but I loved the development between Matilda and Jasmine more 🥹.

I’m still in two minds about how I feel with the ending. I wanted to see a little bit more of the aftermath of how this affected Albert, perhaps a few years later.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @hodderbooks and @netgalley for the ARC 💕

I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this! Another magical novel about love in all its forms.

The writing was light and full of love. It was such a heartwarming read with the perfect balance of setting description to action ratio. I was engaged from the beginning right through to the end and looked forward to picking it back up at each reading session. I wasn't ready for it to end!

The chapters were fairly long so you got a good chunk of the story before moving on. There was a good pace to the story with things always happening to keep you engaged and to keep the story moving. There were some time jumps every so often, which also helped to keep the story moving.

There was a good flow between the chapters which meant that I was happy to sit and read it for long periods of time. It was definitely a "just one more chapter" sort of book!

The characters were excellent. I really felt for them all and willed there to be a happy ending. The relationships between all the characters was a joy to read about. There were some darker characters and these helped to highlight the importance of the love shown between the other characters. I would quite happily read more about all of these characters. They were all different with their own challenging backgrounds, but they managed to push through and find one another. It was the very definition of a heartwarming read.

I enjoyed being on the main character's journey and watching her find out things about herself. As the reader we were privileged to see how the other characters made her see things from a different point of view. Seeing her come to certain realisations gave a warm feeling to the story.

Lastly the settings. They were great. I enjoyed all the magical descriptions and the love that came with that. I was completely drawn into their world and would love to visit that Inn! The description of the settings perfectly aligned with the message of what is truly important in life.

Overall a wonderful, thought provoking read that I can't recommend highly enough. It's the perfect cosy fantasy that you didn't know you needed!

Another incredible book by Sangu Mandanna!!

This had my fiancé wondering why I was in tears laughing in the car.

Also the bittersweet tears shed for the characters

Speaking of characters, I LOVE found family so much and this is no exception! Sera and her possy at the inn made me so happy!

I love Sangu’s writing so much!!!! It was so beautifully written!

I read irregular witches last year with the mysterious bookcase book club and have been so excited since then when this book was announced. So to anyone who was in that month and loved the book PLEASE read this!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this eARC

Currently on holiday with minimal signal so will post to Instagram Sunday/monday

I was so excited to get the ARC of this book. I read The Very Secret Society for Irregular Witches and absolutely loved it.

This one was just as delightful I am not always a big fan of a slow burn but this worked. The characters were well written and interesting. I will continue to read anything this author puts out.

A most wonderful cosy ,magical slow burn romcom all wrapped up in one novel - what more could I want. Sera uses her magic in her teens to resurrect a great aunt not realising the consequences of the forbidden spell. A novel most wonderful cast of quirky characters that you just want to sweep up in a huge hug- a knight in armour, a cantankerous gardener, and is it wrong that I would actually want to kidnap Roo Roo ( you have to read a novel to find out) I devoured this book very quickly and I’m really looking forward to the next novel from this author as this book I think was even better than her last, and that was excellent. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the AOC of his novel in return for an honest review.

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping is the new cozy witchy fantasy by Sangu Mandanna. At this point, I will read everything she writes. I love the found family aspect of the story, and there’s also a talking fox and a resurrected chicken. Sangu Mandanna always includes diverse representation in her work. In this story, we see LGBTQ+ rep, autism rep, and disability rep, all written beautifully. I adore this whimsical inn and its quirky residents so much that I wish it were a real place. I highly recommend this book to everyone and will always read her books in the future. Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book by this author, and she has created yet another cosy, warm, and inviting world of witchy magic. The story revolves around Sera, a powerful witch, who runs a magical inn. It has a host of lovable characters and a warm love story.

I really enjoyed it, just as I had enjoyed Irregular Witches... And I am very excited for the world to read it

It took me so long to finish this because I (inconveniently) fell into a reading slump after starting it!

I really enjoyed it though - it's cosy fantasy which touches on various realistic themes. There's LGBT, autism and disability rep which is so refreshing to see!

I'm so glad that I pushed on with this, even when I was in the mood to DNF everything I picked up.

I had such a great time reading this book. I loved The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, and A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping gave me the same cozy, feel-good emotions. It made me laugh, it made me smile, it made my heart squeeze.

My favorite part about the book was the incredible found family element of it. Sera Swan created her own welcoming island of misfit toys in her magical inn, and it was unbelievably touching. Every guest-turned-lodger brought their own special something to the story and represented pure love found with others who’d been left out, left behind, loved less than they deserved before finding their place at the inn.

And, I mean, there was a lovable zombie rooster, so what more could one possibly need in a book?

Thank you to Hodderscape via NetGalley UK for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had everything I need when the world feels a bit much. The representation is vast, but in no way token, and I especially appreciated the sub-narratives of finding your place as a person of colour in a home you love but that doesn't always love you back, and the found family that is abject chaos but provides a place for people who otherwise have felt adrift or unwanted. The romantic leads are both adorably grouchy, and being with them as they gradually allow each other to see beyond the prickly outer layer was a joy.

Okay, yes this review is going to sound cliche given its a book about a Witch, but this book is MAGICAL. It is wholesome, so full of joy and love and laughter and genuinely feels like a mug of hot chocolate on a cold day, it feels like a hot bath after being out in the rain, like a night in with your girlfriends after a bad break up... just sheer joy. Also, genuinely loved the romance in this one, it felt very right.

Sangu Mandanna is a wonderful writer and creates such a detailed and magical world, full of all the best tropes of found families and slow burns. Where this book improved on the first in this cozy series (though not a sequel, and the very secret society was already excellent..!) was some of the commentary about what it means to be different in the country you now call home - and I felt especially connected to it as a brown woman from Lancashire! The diversity of the characters was such an authentic addition, and I especially loved the nod to Malik's family history of what it means to be Palestinian, that paragraph genuinely made me cry.

This book was everything I needed in the moment that we are in - wholesome, joyful and full of love; and a little dose of resistance!

[SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER]
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My only issue was the ending, I understand WHY Sera sacrificed her powers but it did felt like a little kick after 90% of the book was trying to get her powers back! Its fine its fine, maybe the stars will come back..

When I seen Sangu Mandanna was releasing a new book I was beyond excited, their previous novel The very secret society of irregular witches was one of my favourite read last year and I was itching to my hands on this book in the hopes it would give me the same feelings. I’ve now read this and can confirm it done exactly what I wanted, the only way I can describe the feelings I got with these two book is when I was a young toot during rain storms if we got caught out in them we’d go to my grans who would dry our clothes give us fluffy robes and a sugary cuppa Tea to keep us warm, that’s the magic in that’s in these books.

Follow Sera who is prodigy in the magical community that is until she casts a spell to bring her great aunt Jasmine back from death and with the spell her magic leaves her. Her once thriving sky of stars and galaxies is now just a twinkle behind her eye. Sometimes a twinkle is all you need.

I love the found family aspect of this book the messages that it gives you belong somewhere! The characters are so nuanced and quirky but in a way that feels authentic and not forced.
Something I love about this is you go in knowing what to expect or at least you think you do but it still doesn’t fail to entertain and surprise. I love that these books contain magic and then the experience reading them create some magic. The perfect cosy fantasy you’re missing out on.

I really want more information on the world and the guild, this books leaves you wanting more information about the magical system in place but also fulfils enough for you not to feel like the world isn’t well rounded. It’s one of those books that makes your crave more of this world and the characters in them.

*cosy fantasy
*found family
*mental health rep
*disability rep
*queer rep
*cottage core vibes

I enjoyed this book even more than The Very Secret Society... which was a tall order! The cast of characters at the Batty Hole in are nothing short of eclectic and, well, batty - they all bring something excellent to the mix with a varied dose of bonkers and it makes for a delightful found family.

The central mystery is how will Sera recover her magic and the solutions to each riddle were lovely. She finds herself more than anything else (and maybe a little love along the way).

I wasnt a fan of the ending but that hardly matters because I was a MASSIVE fan of Roo-Roo the undead rooster.

* Actual rating is 4.5 stars*

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping is a wholesome and heartfelt cozy fantasy featuring the found family trope with a cast of delightful misfits. The inn that’s the main setting of the story is magical, both literally and figuratively as it serves as a safe haven for the people who found their way there.

Sera is a character I feel that everyone who was a gifted child but is now a nothing special adult will relate to. She was once the most powerful witch in the country, until the burnout of using a resurrection spell to save her only close family member left her with little magic. As such she has spent the last 15 years trying to navigate losing everything that made her special and trying to find out who she is without her magic.

It’s all just very comforting to read about Sera’s journey and the life she has managed to build around her. Even without all of her magic, she still created something magical. The cast of supporting characters, the people who reside in the inn, also feel very human. They are far from perfect and have their own quirks, but they come together to take care of each other in the middle of all the chaos. Sera’s romance with Luke was really sweet, but the more explicit scene felt a bit out of place with the rest of the comfy vibes.

As isn’t unusual for a cosy fantasy, the plot is a bit more laid-back to allow the characters to take the center stage. It’s a story about how to make space for yourself in a world that wasn’t made for you. The book is witchy, cozy and comforting.

𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝑬𝒎𝒐𝒋𝒊𝒔:🔮🦴🦊🐓📚🫖
𝑸𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆: “Like his lonely and her lonely fit perfectly into the empty spaces at the other’s side, saying nothing, asking nothing, just keeping each-other company.”

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕:
🔮Found Family
📚An Undead Skeletal Pet Rooster
🔮Cosy, Witchy Romance
📚Academic History Nerd MMC
🔮Magical House

𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘: This was such a lovely book, the perfect comfort read filled with found family, diverse characters and themes of self love, belonging and personal growth, all tied up in a quirky, witchy package!

Sera felt so relatable as a MC, and I really felt the Gifted Child to Burnt Out Adult kinda pipeline she experienced (albeit with a magical twist!) The loveable side characters living at the inn were unapologetically themselves and accepted regardless of their quirks which I loved… in general this book felt joyous to read, like a warm hug of acceptance and healing that will put a smile on your face. I liked the romance in this and how it didn’t take away from the personal journeys of the characters

𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.✨ (4.5⭐️)

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches was such a great book that I was scared I wouldn't like this one but oh my god this was even better?? A Witch's Guide to Magical Inkeeping is everything that I needed to warm my grieving heart. I love the plot, I love the chaotic found family the characters had made, I love the romance!! Oh god I love everything about this book. I particularly love the messages about finding a home for yourself and to always be yourself - something that I probably have read in so many other books before but I'm so charmed by how this book tells it.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were excellent, and the inn was so inviting, I just wanted to step into the pages. The descriptions were heavenly! I did feel that the ending was rushed a little, however it didn’t remove anything from my enjoyment of the book!

I really enjoyed this one, so cozy yet still had some stakes.
Felt like it was rushed at a couple of parts and I never really got a good idea of the characters appearances
But this was still such a lovely book so I'll be recommending it to everyone