The Little Shop of Gentle Magics by Jessica Rosenberg
Tracy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Series: The Enchanted Thistle #1
Release Date: October 20, 2026
Meg MacIntosh is a newly divorced baker from a family of kitchen witches, although her own abilities have yet to emerge. After relocating to Scotland, Meg impulsively buys a run-down tea shop in the small town of Banhaven and begins turning it into a tea-and-cookie business.
Her attempt at an independent fresh start changes when Art, a man she once dated arrives in Scotland with his children and, after a housing problem, they move into the rooms above her shop. As Meg navigates the rapidly developing relationship, new family responsibilities, and the opening of her business, occasional visions and the appearance of her grandmother’s ghost suggest that her inherited magic may finally be surfacing.
I was disappointed by this one. The blurb noted that this book was perfect for readers who loved The Ex Hex and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, two books I loved, but this felt nothing like either of them. Primarily because both those titles are written in the third person, while this book is written in first person; a point of view I particularly dislike in romance. The book does have a great group of secondary characters that include the residents of Banhaven, a meddling ghostly grandmother, and a stray cat, all of whom support Meg as she adjusts to a new home, business, and family dynamic. But overall, the lack of meaningful magic and witchiness just made this book an OK read and not something I would read again.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for a DRC/ALC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *
