A delicious wedding. A sour and supernatural curse. Will this baker’s next bite be her last? With her wedding to Hank fast approaching, Imogen Banks has come a long way from the magical contest that brought her to Bijou Mer. But when conspirators seek to sabotage the witch’s big day, she fears her latest recipe for happiness will end in disaster. And after the prince falls horribly ill, Imogen … horribly ill, Imogen and her friends must solve one more dark mystery before her love and kingdom perish.
Speeding through a menu of suspects as long as the guest list, Imogen clashes with a vengeful monarch and a calculating assassin. But as the minutes tick down to seconds, saving her home and her fiancé may require walking away from everything she loves.
Can Imogen create one final concoction to stop a war and marry her soul mate?
Bat Wings, Rings and Apron Strings is the magical conclusion to the Spells and Caramels cozy witch mystery series. If you like witty characters, mystical intrigue and a dash of romance, then you’ll love Erin Johnson’s tasty whodunit.
Buy Bat Wings, Rings and Apron Strings to eat one more mysterious bite today!
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Erin Johnson is my heroine these days… Ten (10 books) of semi-substantial page content in less than 2 years… all are great, tie together well, and make me yearn for the next release. But now I suffer… because with this 10th one in the Spells & Caramels Cozy Witch Mystery series, we have the final one: Bat Wings, Rings & Apron Strings. Is it okay to cry over the end of a book even though I know the author and she’s already gearing up for another series?
If you’re new to the series, here’s the brief scoop: Imogen is human and doesn’t know she’s a witch. She has an odd baking incident and sets a building on fire, then finds herself magically transported somewhere near France. She learns the truth about her heritage, meets and falls in love with royalty, fights monsters, meets her real family, and solves crimes in the world of witchery!
In this final book, Imogen is finally about to marry her beloved, but disaster strikes. Half the book involves her wedding preparations, the other half is figuring out who poisoned someone she’s close to. No spoilers here! In the end, of course, she saves the day, but the path to it is quite treacherous. I loved getting to revisit characters we missed from earlier books, as Imogen goes to each of them for help. The wedding is such a fun scene, and the ending is touching.
I highly recommend the series. The mysteries are light, the magic is low-level, and the characters are hilarious. When you add it together, it’s a recipe for awesomeness! Thanks for a great series, Erin Johnson. I’ll be with you on to the next one…
*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.
Imogen, Hank, and friends are back in the Water Kingdom gearing up for the upcoming wedding that is finally on the horizon. We are down to the final handful of days with the stress mounting as the big day gets closer. The big day arrives only to have Imogen find hank cursed causing a very large scramble as the try to figure out what happened in time while also keep it a massive secret from pretty much everyone. We are in for a few surprise along the way as the investigation plays out that will keep the reader guessing. Great blend of all the kingdoms with a wide range of all the past and present characters. It was remarkably fantastic I must say all leading to the wonderful conclusion that will make you fall in love with the series all over again. Johnson has mastered this series with each installment just reinforcing this opinion. Perfect for fans of magical cozy mysteries. I totally loved it so I give it 5/5 stars.
Imogen and Hank are excited as the hours tick down until their wedding. Then Imogen finds Hank overcome with some terrible illness, and she must try to solve the mystery behind it. Of course, she calls in her baker friends to help. Will she be able to find the cure for whatever has put Hank into a coma in time for the wedding?
This is the final book in the Spells & Caramels series, and it is every bit as good as all the rest. It ties things up beautifully with a nice bow. I’ve loved every book in this series; they were all brilliant. I’m kind of sad to see them end, but the finale was handled so beautifully that I have not complaints.
The writing, as in all the books is exceptional. The narration is near perfection, as it has been in all the books in the series. Both are cause for kudos to author and narrator.
A wonderful conclusion to a fabulous series. I’ll be listening to this series again in the future. I highly recommend all nine books in this series and that they be read in order.
I received a free Audible code for this book from the author. I thank her for her generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.
This review is for the audio book
Wow!! So sad this is the last book in the series but what a fantastic series it was. I have loved everyone and this book was no exception.
The characters are so much fun and I love listening to the antics they find themselves in. Many of the characters are regulars so it isn’t necessary to start with book one but you will miss out on all the fun if you don’t and it adds to the enjoyment knowing the history that has gone on before. It also has a guest appearance of the policeman from the authors other series (The magic market mysteries, which is just as good, so if you haven’t tried it yet and are in mourning at the end of this one then I would recommend you try giving that one ago too). The mystery was good and I didn’t see the twists coming or the ending. The series has come along way from the first book and the competition to find the royal baker and it has been a magical adventure. So a magical wedding was a great way to end it. I can’t wait to see what the author writes next.
It has finally arrived Prince Hank’s wedding to Imogen. After the ritual ceremonies and meet and great of guests and well wishers it is time to get the hen and stag parties underway. Imogen thought her biggest problem would be coping with a hangover on her big day but that would have been a lot easier than what she now has to face. Prince Hank has been cursed and is sleeping like the dead. The only way to remove it is to find out how the curse was given to him and what was used to make it and if they don’t find out soon he will never wake up. Imogen and her friends need to retrace his movements on his stag night to find out if anyone slipped something in his drink. If they find out how he was given it they might be able to work out the who? With time ticking away Imogen will have to use all the magic she has learnt, if she wants to save the love of her life and maybe as a princess she will have to decide whether to put the needs of the kingdom above her own.
I like the narrator. She uses a wide variety of voices and sounds to make the magical story unfold before your eyes
As the series comes to a close, I am left feeling bittersweet. Oh, not about the book! It was amazing. But that it doesn’t continue after this book. Anyway, Imogen and crew solve a different kind of mystery in this book. It’s not murder right off the bat. It draws in her team of friends and leaves you with a feeling that not only are they friends, but family as well. Hard to believe the arc happens in about a years time. So much happens! The conclusion is great and I feel like everyone’s stories get told, though, I do wish they would continue anyway. The characters, once again, are believable and real. Some so kind and gentle, while others are completely horrid and unbelievably evil. It all melds together for a very well written installment and ending to a great series. I can’t wait to see where Erin takes us next!
Bat Wings, Rings and Apron Strings is (sadly) the last book in the Spells & Caramels series. This series does need to be read in order as each book builds upon the previous one. Imogen grew up believing she was human and only discovered she was magical when she entered an unusual baking contest. The contest led her to Bijou Mer where she learns magic is real and that Imogen has special powers as a swallow. Imogen met Hank during the contest and only later learned he was Prince Harry. Imogen’s adventures have taken her to the various kingdoms (Air, Water, Fire) and eventually the group found themselves stuck in the Badlands where she learns Horace is her brother. Just when they settle down in their own home and bakery, they are found by Amelia and asked to return. Hank and Imogen’s wedding is needed to boost morale and reunite the kingdom’s after King Roch’s terrible deeds have split them apart. I liked that the various characters from the past books make appearances. Everything has come full circle. Bats Wings, Rings and Apron Strings is well-written and the story gallops along at a fast clip. Erin Johnson has crafted delightful characters and unique worlds that I will miss. She is so creative with her worlds and her word imagery brought the stories alive for me. The mystery takes Imogen on quite the adventure. There are good clues to help them (and us) solve the case. The ending is clever and humorous. Iggy’s commentary will have readers chuckling. My favorite line from Iggy is “no wedding would be complete without your chaotic terrorist brother”. Another good one is “that’s miss whatsherface to you!” as Iggy defends Imogen. The mermaids provide additional laugh out loud moments. I will miss Imogen, Prince Hank and especially Iggy. Bats Wings, Rings and Apron Strings has mystery, friendship, humor, suspense, love, unique worlds, magic and delightful characters. Erin Johnson has provided readers with an enchanting ending to the Spells & Caramels series.
It’s simply delightful when an author can reward series followers by providing, quite simply, the most wonderfully fitting finale. Thank you Erin!
Move over damsel in distress, it’s the princess-to-be who has to rescue the handsome prince and what an adventure she has in the process. All our favourite characters from across the series are united in their efforts to save Prince Harry (Hank). As Imogen and her best friends race across the kingdoms to find the cure for Hank’s illness, we revisit some past settings and catch up with old friends.
The mystery itself is to solve who poisoned Hank and how. The ‘who’ was explained pretty quickly and the ‘why’ along with that. But the journey to find the ‘how’ and the cure is what really takes up the bulk of the action. The pacing of that is very good with each chapter taking us to a new suspect or location in the hunt. I quite enjoyed the interesting characters introduced along the way.
One of my favourite scenes is where Imogen confronts a jealous female family friend who believes she should have been Hank’s bride. Our heroine was always feisty, but she shows that nothing is going to stand in between her and the man she loves- not even sub-par magic tricks played out by some floozy!
The evolution of Imogen’s character and several of her friends, and even members of Hank’s family, was on-going throughout the series but really comes full-circle in this last book. Beautiful storylines and fanciful tales… an absolutely wonderful series and finale. I voluntarily read and reviewed and ARC of this book.
After the twist at the end of book 9 I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy book 10. And sadly that worry was partly correct as I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the earlier books and would’ve preferred the series ended with book 9. At the same time it was a great ending to the series and wraps up most of the open questions.
In Bat Wings, Rings & Apron Strings Imogen and her friends are back in the water kingdom and the city Bijou Mer after spending time in Kusuri and planning to make their home there. Now suddenly they are thrown back into the politics of the magical kingdoms. There is chaos due to recent events and their wedding will be this big event now Instead of their small back yard wedding. And to make things even worse Imogen’s fiance prince Hank falls ill on the day of the wedding and Imogen and her friends have one more mystery to solve.
I didn’t really care for the whole being back in the kingdoms plot line, after the last few books I was happy for them to stay in Kusuri. And to me this book felt like a justification of their choice. Hank and Imogen aren’t happy being in spotlight and having all these royal duties, but they also can’t say no. They miss their home in Kusuri. Which made it hard for me to really enjoy the whole being back here plot line. I predicted correctly what would happen at the end, but i did like that turn of events.
Them returning to the kingdoms in this book was a way to resolve some open plot lines and answer some questions and I am happy to see those get resolves, but at the same time there wasn’t as much focus on that either and most it was about the new mystery. And I just didn’t really care about those open plot lines anymore after a few books that didn’t deal with them at all.
The mystery had a short time line, that felt a bit forced, but also added tension to the plot line. They only have hours to solve this one. The way the mystery progressed was pretty straightforward, no multiple suspects or big twists and turns. They rule out some one by one until they find the right one. There are a few interesting twists along the way tough and some great scenes along the way.
I did like how this book gives us the chance to have one more adventure with Imogen and her friends and also catch up with some old friends they haven’t seen for a few books. It was fun to read about these characters and see how some others are doing. I also liked seeing what happened to the kingdoms, but frankly after a few books of hearing nothing about them I just wasn’t as invested. These books are always well written and I like the characters. There were some fun Iggy scenes as well.
The last few chapters were really sweet and I liked the happy ending this book gave the series. I would’ve loved to see an epilogue of their future though to get that last glimpse of how they would make things work. This book also has some great messages of how Imogen finally has found her place and has all these awesome close friends around her. I liked that.
To summarize: While this book didn’t fully work for me it was fun to have one more adventure following Imogen and her friends as they solve one more mystery. Some plot lines that remained open are now resolved and this was a great ending to the series. I just didn’t really care about the few remaining open plot lines anymore after a few books of no attention for it and even in this book the focus is more on the mystery and the wedding. There are a few interesting twists in the mystery, although it didn’t grip me as much. I liked the message of how Imogen found her place to belong and how close she is with her friends and how much she cares about Hank. The ending nicely wraps it all up and all in all this was a great paranormal cozy mystery series.
After book 9 ended I was so so nervous for book 10. With it being the last book, there were so many possible ways it could end and many of them would be a let down! But guys, trust in the author. This series closed out as Imogen as possible, and it was an amazing read! Loved it so much, the last page made me squeal out loud with happiness for the gang! One of my favorite things about this series is that over the past 10 books each of the characters in the gang have grown so much, they all struggled, and found themselves. I love that it wasn’t just an Imogen party and everyone else was just there to support her drama. They all matter, and they all progress as people. Erin could do a spin off for any character in this series and it’d have a pre-built following, that’s how well she’s built this world.
The epic finale to an excellent series.
Bat Wings, Rings, and Apron Strings by Erin Johnson is the tenth and final book in this fantastic series with our favorite sleuth, Imogen Banks. Well, unless Ms. Johnson figures out another mystery for her to solve. This book has a bunch of twists and turns in it, and I loved every minute of reading.
What I like:
• Like all the other Imogen books it is written in the first-person with our sleuth being the narrator. Just like the other books in the series, this one, I am most glad is written in the first person so that we can see how she is taking the news and how she is trying to overcome it on her wedding day.
• Iggy is probably my second favorite character of the series. He is so funny and so full of life for being a little flame. His loyalty to Imogen is shown much more in this story, and I’m glad for it.
• The human pop culture references are still hilarious just like in the first one. I especially liked the Jurassic Park one.
• Imogen being able to stop trying to solve everything on her own and trusted her friends, who are helping her, is a big thing that I like to see. Especially after she hasn’t done well accepting help in the past, it means that a lot that she is doing that now.
• Horace shows a lot of improvement in here along with Hank as well. These two are fantastic characters.
• I loved that Horace was flattened by a little blonde lady.
What I don’t like:
I don’t want the series to end, but I do realize that sometimes an author needs to move on as well. However, I became friends with these characters, and I will miss them. Although, I plan to revisit them in the Audible books with Ms. Johnson’s sister reading them. I can’t wait to hear her voice for Iggy.
Five Star
Bat Wings, Rings, and Apron Strings by Erin Johnson was a great book to end the series and to start the next chapter in all of our favorite character’s lives. It ended on a high note and a way for Ms. Johnson to come back to it if she wants to. I am giving it a five-star rating and recommending it to anyone that likes cozy mysteries and baked goods too.
Anyways, until next time, enjoy this review brought to you by,
Karen the Baroness
Happy Reading!
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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Can Imogen with her friends’s help solve the mystery of Hank’s death trance in time to marry her soulmate? A sweet and funny last book of this wonderful series. I love Imogen and all her friends and I will miss their adventures
A fairy tale wedding or a curse to end it all?
This is the final book in the Spells & Caramels series and what a finale it is! Imogen and all her friends (Iggy is still my favorite!) are back for the royal wedding of the century. But will it ever happen? Will Hank make it to the wedding on time? This was so fast paced I just didn’t want to put it down! I read and thoroughly enjoyed the entire series and this is a fitting end. I will miss all my friends but look forward to what ever series Ms Johnson comes up with next.
I received an ARC. This is my honest review.