What is a kitchen witch? It can be a handcrafted doll that is used as a good luck charm in Scandanavian kitchens or it can be someone who practices magic centered on the craft of cooking and all things related to food. One can be a kitchen witch who practices in the Wiccan tradition. In my opinion, if you cook with love and talk to your plants, and have a green thumb and secret recipes for delicious cookies that you won't share- I probably think you are a kitchen witch.
In paranormal fiction, various types of witchcraft are as popular (i.e. Harry Potter) as vampires and werewolves. Of course, I don't think vampires or werewolves exist, but paganism and Wiccan practices have been around for millennia and only got a bad wrap when men took over religions. Under the cozy mystery umbrella is the subgenre of paranormal cozies. Paranormal cozies are chock full of many different types of witches!
One Poison Pie by Lynn Cahoon is a series featuring Mia who is a kitchen witch and is working on starting up a catering business, only to have a murder pop up right before her first catering gig! This magical cozy is light on the magic and heavy on the sleuthing and traditional cozy themes, so if you haven't read a magical cozy yet, this could be the perfect foray to see if you like it.
I enjoyed the fresh tone of the book, Mia has common sense and a dogged determination to get her fledgling business off the ground. She also has a terrible ex, a grandmother who holds secrets and a potential new boyfriend. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Two Wicked Desserts, which I will be reviewing next month thanks to a copy from Net Galley.
Solid 4 Stars! A series I will continue!
As you know from reading my blog, I'm an aspiring cozy writer myself. I love the idea of a kitchen witch protagonist and I have been doing research and have an idea I am working on, I also have an 80% complete rough draft for another cozy mystery series idea. What I need to do is focus, finish one of these books and then go from there!
This is a beautiful book filled with recipes and rituals to be more connected to the Earth.
