Series: Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet
Plot Type: Fantasy
Ratings: Violence—3; Sensuality—2; Humor—2
Publisher and Titles: 47North, Seattle (6/28/2016)
PUBLISHER'S BLURB
Maire is a baker
with an extraordinary gift: she can infuse her treats with emotions and
abilities, which are then passed on to those who eat them. She doesn’t know why
she can do this and remembers nothing of who she is or where she came from.
When marauders
raid her town, Maire is captured and sold to the eccentric Allemas, who
enslaves her and demands that she produce sinister confections, including a
witch’s gingerbread cottage, a living cookie boy, and size-altering cakes.
During her
captivity, Maire is visited by Fyel, a ghostly being who is reluctant to reveal
his connection to her. The more often they meet, the more her memories return,
and she begins to piece together who and what she really is—as well as past
mistakes that yield cosmic consequences.
From the author of
THE PAPER MAGICIAN series comes a haunting and otherworldly tale of folly and
consequence, forgiveness and redemption.
MY REVIEW
Holmberg sets her tale
in a generically medieval world—a pre-industrial polytheistic society inhabited by peasant farmers
and tradesmen who travel between towns on foot or by donkey cart. The heroine
is Maire, a baker who looks to be in her mid-twenties. Maire remembers nothing
about her life before she arrived in the village of Carmine four years ago. A
kindly woman named Arrice found her covered in mud by the side of the road with
no memories except for her name and her baking technique. Arrice and her
husband Franc took Maire in, cleaned her up, and helped her set up the bakeshop.
In that bakeshop, Maire finds that if she focuses hard, she can infuse her
baked goods with emotions. For example: "I bake inspiration into specific flavors to
make it easy for those who frequent my little bakeshop to find what they need.
Those with a taste for the olive oil cake crave strength, while those who come
back for the berry tarts are, unknowingly, seeking wisdom." Although
Maire wonders about her early life and why she can't remember it, she is happy
in Carmine. She even has a romantic admirer: Cleric Tuck, who tends a nearby
shrine to the god Strellis.
Maire has only a
single chapter of blissful life in Carmine before marauders sweep into the
town, killing or capturing most of its citizens. Just before the bandits
arrive, Maire has a fantastical vision of a glimmering, white, transparent man
who floats a foot above the ground. She has seen the man once before, but he
didn't speak to her. This time, he asks her to tell him her name and then seems
relieved that she can remember it. Suddenly, the raiders startle a flock of
crows from the trees, and the man in white urges her to run away.
Although Maire manages to escape being murdered, she is captured and sold as a
slave to a crazed, unpredictable, ruthless man who calls himself Allemas. Her new master seems to recognize her, and he knows all about her magical baking talents.
As the rest of the
plot plays out, Maire tries to adjust to life as a slave, but looks forward to
infrequent visits from the ghostly man in white, who eventually tells her that
his name is Fyel. As the story proceeds, Fyel drops some clues about her past, and Maire begins
to regain some fleeting memories. Unfortunately, Allemas soon discovers that Fyel has been visiting Maire, and he goes to increasingly desperate extremes to keep them apart. Allemas shows off some magical talents
of his own by teleporting Maire from one secret place to another. He also changes his name
several times. (Obviously, these are clues, but they are almost impossible to
decipher.)
An entertaining
element in the story is the fact that some of Allemas' clients—to whom he sells
Maire's baked goods—are the heroines or villains of several well-known fairy
tales. The true reason for Maire's memory loss is not revealed until the very
end of the book, and it turns out to be rooted in a fundamental human yearning. I
thought that I knew where this storyline was going when the fairy-tale
characters began to manifest themselves, but I was ever so wrong.
Even with the handful of clues provided by Fyel and Allemas, I was unable to predict the ending, which is always a very satisfying experience. In fact, there are really two endings—one in Chapter 28 and one in the Epilogue. Both are HEA endings, but in very different ways.
Even with the handful of clues provided by Fyel and Allemas, I was unable to predict the ending, which is always a very satisfying experience. In fact, there are really two endings—one in Chapter 28 and one in the Epilogue. Both are HEA endings, but in very different ways.
At the end of the book, there is at least one loose end—Cleric Tuck's full story—and because of that, I'm wondering if this is the first book in a new series. Although Tuck never does or says anything overtly harmful to Maire, I didn't like him. To me, he appeared to have a deeply buried mean streak, and his motives always seemed to be questionable—not at all what they appeared to be on the surface.
In an innovative touch, each chapter has a brief heading that relates to one of the three main characters, but you won't be able to figure them out until you finish the book and go back and reread them. Then, it's an "Aha!" moment.
I'm not usually a big fan of medieval fantasy, but this story kept my eyes glued to my e-reader. The characters—both primary and supporting—are fully developed and interesting, the action is compelling, and the suspense begins to build from the very first chapter. In fact, I enjoyed this novel so much that I plan to take advantage of Amazon.com's current three-book deal on Holmberg's PAPER MAGICIAN series—all three e-books for a total of $4.47.
Click HERE to read an excerpt from Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet on the novel's page at Amazon.com. Just click on the cover art on that page.
FULL DISCLOSURE: My review of Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet is based on an electronic advance reading copy (ARC) of the book that I received from the publisher through NetGalley. I received no promotional or monetary rewards, and the honest opinions in this review are strictly my own.
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