Deadly Sweet by Lola Dodge

DEADLY SWEET PUBLISHES JANUARY 16, 2018

Deadly Sweet by Lola Dodge

First book in the Spellwork Syndicate series

3 stars
Anise Wise is tired of hiding from the humans of the world. It doesn’t that matter that witches are a well-known magical species, humans hate and fear them. All Anise wants to do is bake and create cakes that could allow her to have a bakery one day. The problem is that she keeps getting rejected from colleges and she and her mother are barely scraping by. When an incident arises and Anise finds herself in Taos to be an apprentice to her great-aunt Agatha. The catch? Agatha’s last apprentice went missing and Anise finds herself the target of a powerful and out of control warlock. Dodge’s newest series opener is a lot of fun. This is a fun witch novel that takes an interesting approach by making witches common knowledge to regular humans. This incites fear, but it also creates the dynamic of witches being seen as tourist attractions. It makes the story a little bit more complex than the run of the mill witch story, but this story doesn’t go beyond that. It is a very simple story and it can be a bit predictable. While the story is predictable, Dodge attempts to make Anise’s passions the centerpiece of her magic- baking is at the story’s centerfold. The baking makes this story unique and fun. Dodge isn’t the best urban fantasy writer, but the story is fun and I’d definitely recommend it to fans of witch stories and characters who bake.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 3

The main character is Anise. She isn’t the most original character, but her love and passion for baking made me love reading her PoV because she had a purpose outside of hunting a big bad guy like most UF heroines. It made her dynamic. She isn’t the most fleshed out character, but her passion is so strong that it makes her story fun to follow. Mainly, I’m just rooting for her because I want to see her bake more deserts.



Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 3.25

There are two potential love interests in this story. One is a huge character, but I don’t know if their relationship will blossom into more, but I’m betting that it will in later novels because of this guy’s role in her life as a protector. The other well, he isn’t a love interest anymore, but for the sake of not spoiling this incredibly short novel, I’ll leave it at that.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 2

The Villain- I called this one from the moment this character was introduced. Mainly because Dodge seems to depict all men with tattoos as villains. At the beginning of the novel, Anise is nearly assaulted by an older man covered in tattoos. The villain is covered in tattoos. It made the story arc incredibly obvious and I wasn’t surprised in the least.


Villain Scale: 3

The characters are all just kind of there. None of them feel concrete and I didn’t feel attached to any of them and I feel like it is because there are so many characters being introduced and mentioned that the few that should’ve been fleshed out were briefly touched on, but not further expanded upon. I’m sure Dodge will expand upon the friendships that Anise made in the next novel, which I really hope she does because the character friendship could be a lot of fun.


Character Scale: 3

This is a fast, quick story that I definitely recommend if you are in the mood for a quick read to past the time that doesn’t require a lot of concentration and thought. Magical baking is really what sealed the deal for me when it came to this story and I think it will be a lot of fun for readers, especially younger readers who are getting into the paranormal genre.


Plotastic Scale: 3.25

Cover Thoughts: I love this cover. It’s purple and the cake looks scrumptious. I’m a definite fan of it.

Thank you, Netgalley and Inkmonster, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Do you love books about witches? What are some of your favorite books about baking? Are you interested in picking up Deadly Sweet? Let me know down below in the comments!