by Terrance Mc Arthur

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of A Spoonful of Magic. We also have a link to order it from Amazon, and an indie bookstore where a portion of the sale goes to help support KRL .

If a woman receives photos of her husband, “G” (for Gabriel), having sex with another woman, she kicks him out, right? If she finds out that the rat is actually a wizard marshal fighting magical baddies, and their children and his son are developing powers, should she let him back into her life?

That’s one of the problems Daphne “Daffy” Rose Wallace Deschants faces in A Spoonful of Magic, a series debut by Irene Radford. The baker of delicious goodies learns that her husband’s son, who she has raised as her own, is being sought by his presumed-dead, blind birth-mother as an eye donor, one of Daffy’s daughter’s can bewitch young men at will, the other girl hacks computers and cracks safes like a cat burglar, the boy can defy gravity when he dances, there are magical weapons hidden under her greenhouse, and Rose may have her own baking-magic abilities. She doesn’t trust her now ex-husband, but she needs the creep’s help to protect her family. Who can she trust? G’s wizarding partner, or her son’s not-exactly girlfriend’s dad (who is a good kisser)?

Sometimes, Daffy comes off as wimpy, but other moments show her as a mother wolf, not to be provoked when the safety of her children is concerned. With G out of the house but an advisor in things magical, there is a lot of tension, as the serial two-timer wants to have Daffy back in his arms. G is unrepentant and has been unfaithful, manipulative, and doesn’t seem able to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

The kids are the joy factor in this urban paranormal opus. Their antics as new powers surface are delightful, as they go a bit too far, and learn control, except when those abilities are needed by the author to track down and battle the villains. The stories of how wands come to witches and wizards and what forms they might take, are quite entertaining.

The set-up is unique, the discovery of powers and how to use them draw in the reader, and the danger is plausible, but the ex-husband would make a better late husband.

You can find more fantasy reviews in out Fantasy and Fangs section.

To enter to win a copy of Spoonful of Magic, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “spoonful,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 13, 2018. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

Use this link to purchase the book & a portion goes to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:

A Spoonful of Magic

You can use this link to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:

Terrance V. Mc Arthur is a Librarian for the Fresno County Public Library.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.