Brownies & Broomsticks by Bailey Caites

**1/2

From Signet:

Katie Lightfoot's tired of loafing around as the assistant manager of an Ohio bakery. So when her aunt Lucy and uncle Ben open a bakery in Savannah's quaint downtown district and ask Katie to join them, she enthusiastically agrees.

While working at the Honeybee Bakery—named after Lucy's cat—Katie notices that her aunt is adding mysterious herbs to her recipes. Turns out these herbal enhancements aren't just tasty—Aunt Lucy is a witch and her recipes are actually spells!

When a curmudgeonly customer is murdered outside the Honeybee Bakery, Uncle Ben becomes the prime suspect. With the help of handsome journalist Steve Dawes, charming firefighter Declan McCarthy, and a few spells, Katie and Aunt Lucy stir up some toil and trouble to clear Ben's name and find the real killer...

The Good:

I love the premise of this book.  Katie gives up a life that is not making her happy after being dumped by her fiance.  She packs up everything, moves to Savannah and makes a new start opening her dream bakery with the Aunt and Uncle she adores.  The characters she encounters in Savannah are a little wacky, but mostly good-hearted. 

The Bad:

The love triangle between Katie, Declan and Steve felt unbelievable and forced.  I also thought that Katie's reaction to finding out her parents had lied to her and hidden her witchy heritage was unnatural.  She was entirely too accepting of the news sprung on her.

The Bottom Line:

I did not love it, I did not hate it.  It was a pleasant enough read for a sweltering Saturday afternoon hiding from the heat. 

~Shel