Seashells, Spells & Caramels: A Cozy Witch Mystery Paperback – October 1, 2017

Erin Johnson is a completely new to me author. I was hooked from the first page! Imogene Banks is a sweet quirky character that you hope will succeed as soon as you meet her. Imogene has always dreamed of opening her own bakery. After helping her boss out by baking for the rehearsal dinner, she finally has enough money for her bakery. While there, she learns about a mysterious baking competition that she decides to enter. Imogene spends hours baking to get the right confection to submit to the competition. Wrapped in a wax paper cover she plans to take it to the post office in the morning. Imogene is so tired she falls asleep and awakes to the smoke alarm going off.Feeling lower than low, from losing everything in her apartment, she is completely taken aback when a courier hands her a special invitation to participate in the bakery competition to be the new royal baker. Confused as she is, she decides to head on out and participate in this magical competition.I read late into the night and finished the book the next day. I was captivated by the magical island Imogene went to for the competition, the people involved in the competition and the imagination Imogene uses to complete her baking. Along with a little help for her co-competitors, Imogene makes it through the rounds – then one competitor is killed! Imogene and her new best friend, Maple are determined to find the killer.I happily gave this book five stars for the magic that was brought into the story, the fun friendships that were established as well as the story itself. Charming, cozy and full of surprises! Looking forward to book two and more of Imogene’s capers!

When I first heard of this book I knew I had to read it. It just sounded like exactly the type of read I would enjoy. I actually bought the first 3 books in the series before I even picked up book 1 as I was that sure I would enjoy this series. Now that I read the first book I am happy I already have book 2 and 3 waiting for me to read them.This book was so much fun! I really enjoyed the book and I just wanted to keep reading. It is well written and the pacing worked well. The blend between paranormal aspects and mystery worked really well here.Seashells, Spells & Caramels follows the story of Imogen. Imogen has a normal 9 to 5 job, but she's saving up so she can one day start her own bakery. I quickly grew to like Imogen, she was such a nice character and I liked how she worked hard to achieve her dreams and I could understand her frustrations and sadness when that all went up in flames.I think this is only the second paranormal cozy mystery that I read and it's very different from the other paranormal cozy mystery series I read. This series is filled with magic. It has a slight Harry Potter feel, with how Imogen is a normal girl learning of magic and is introduced to a magical world hiding among our own world. The paranormal aspect was well done, although I did feel like what we learned about magic is still a bit limited. But that does make sense as Imogen is so new to everything. I loved discovering this new world with her and being as surprised as Imogen to see what was possible and what not. I really liked the talking flames.The mystery is a bit slow to start, with only around 50% of the book the murder investigation really starts in earnest. But I felt like that totally worked here. Imogen had to find her way to the magical city and find her place a bit first. The mystery was well done, there were multiple suspects and I didn't guess who the murderer was. It was a nice twist and it did make sense in the end when things fell on it's place. Although I did predict several other twists, as some of the hints for those could be quite obvious to the reader if not to Imogen.I liked getting to know Imogen throughout the book. I liked her and her love for baking, how she was a nice person and how she made mistakes, but kept trying to do better. I liked seeing how she adapted and found her way in this magical world and I liked how human she was compared to the magical other beings and how her human knowledge was of use at times.There is a big cast of side characters as a big part of the plot centers around a baking competition and we get to meet the other competitors. At first I was totally overwhelmed when the other bakers were introduced as I couldn't keep them apart, but as the book progresses we get to know everyone better and it quickly got easier to keep them apart as they all had their own characteristics. The whole baking competition was fun to read about. There are some great descriptions of all the delicious food that they are making.To summarize: this book was so much fun! Filled with magic, a relatable main character discovering a whole new world, magic, a hint of romance and a fun cast of side characters this book was a great read from start to finish. The paranormal aspect is very front and center in this book and that totally worked here. I loved discovering this new magical community and learning how magic worked. The mystery was well done. Although it didn't fully start until later in the book, but that worked her. I hadn't guessed the who the murderer was, although I had predicted a few other twists. Imogen was a likeable character and the side characters were interesting too and all had their own personality, even though at first the large cast of characters was a tad overwhelming. I had a lot of fun reading this book and really enjoyed it. I loved imagining this magical city and reading about the delicious things they baked. I hope to get around to reading book 2 soon as I am already looking forward to returning to this world!

Like the Great British Baking Show with magic and intrigue. Nice world building, inventive and inviting setting. Main characters were interesting and the story was playful. Looking forward to reading more in this series.

Seashells, Spells & Caramels is a wonderful and enchanting (pardon the pun) book that I utterly enjoyed. It begins with Imogen working at a dull job waiting to she save enough money to realize her dream of opening her own bakery. After a hugely successful catering gig for her bridezilla boss, Imogen now has enough money to make her dream come true. Her cupcakes and cake were such a success that a very unusual guest gives her an invitation to enter a Royal Baking Contest in Bijou Mer. After a series of devastating mishaps and the loss of her nest egg, Imogen finds herself on her way to Bijou Mer where she has won a spot in the baking competition -- what does she have to lose? Once there, she finds herself in the magical Water Kingdom, competing against bakers with magical powers, and wondering why she has been selected to participate, as she is not magical -- or is she?This book is delightful and charming, but also a mystery as one of the contestants dies a suspicious death in the middle of the competition. Imogen finds herself the prime suspect, and between daily baking contests and trying to convince the Royal police of her innocence, she finds herself fighting for survival in a now dangerous game. Erin Johnson has done an enthralling job of creating the Magical Kingdom of Bijou Mer, and its magical inhabitants. It's like being in a lovely dream that you don't want to end, and Imogen and her new friends are wonderful characters that you can't help but like (well, most of them).Seashells, Spells & Caramels is a lovely and lighthearted read that I highly recommend, and I am so excited that there are more books in the series waiting for me to read.

I really enjoyed it! I’m not normally a mystery reader but this was so good! Highly recommend it for anyone looking to get into a good mystery series!