A carnival bakery booth. A deadly magic show. Is it the perfect recipe for murder or a clever sleight of hand? Palace pastry chef Imogen is struggling to control her newfound magic and her potent feelings for the prince. So when the carnival rolls into the kingdom, she jumps at the chance to run the royal bakery booth. But her plan to escape her problems backfires when murder rocks the magician’s … rocks the magician’s table… and her dear friend is found holding the bloody saw.
Determined to cook up a way to keep Rhonda out of witch’s prison, she sifts through the clues and the long list of suspects. Between devious dark magicians, cagey stage assistants, and a strongman with more to offer than just muscles, everyone at the fairgrounds seems to be hiding secrets—even Rhonda.
With the final night of the carnival approaching, will Imogen’s shaky powers be enough to flush out the murderer before her good friend ends up on the chopping block?
Black Arts, Tarts & Gypsy Carts is the second book in the Spells & Caramels paranormal cozy mystery series. If you like feisty heroines, enchanted carnivals, and dueling magicians, then you’ll love Erin Johnson’s whimsical whodunit.
Buy Black Arts, Tarts & Gypsy Carts to fall under the spell of a festive mystery today!
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This review is for the audio book.
I really like this series and book two is no exception I loved it. I had worked out one part of what was going but still really enjoyed the book. The characters are so much fun and I love listening about them and the funny things they get up to. I have no idea where the author comes up with her ideas like a talking flame but hope they keep coming.
Imogen is a royal baker and sheed and her friends agree to run the royal bakery both when a carnival comes to town, but this is no ordinary carnival. It is run by magicians, fortune tellers and necromancers. It is not long before something goes horribly wrong and someone is killed. Imogen is first on the scene to find her friends standing over the body holding the saw. Knowing there is no way Rhonda was the killer Imogen starts her own investigation by questioning the assistant, the stronge man, the potion maker and even a ghost, anyone that might help reveal who the real killer is.
I liked the narrator but a few times I felt she was talking to quickly and rushing the story but other than that I liked her speaking voice.
Just as good as the first in the series. New mystery/case for Imogene to solve. She is trying to learn how to use her magic. She gets offered help from Edward, a shallow that works at the carnival, but is he really all he seems. Iggy is still my favorite with his little smart aleck things he says.
Imogene also helps Maple, who is now the Royal Baker, become more assertive. While trying to steer clear of Prince Henry, she helps at the Royal Bakery Carnival Tent. Here she gets involved in a mystery that may be the end for her.
Thanks to Goodreads for the Kindle Version of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
another delicious hit!
new to the world of magic, experienced in the world of baking,Imogene solves another murder with the help of her wonderful friends and a snarky Iggy. a truly one of a kind story line,
I love Erin Johnson and this series is awesome. You will learn to love all the characters and the escapades they get into. You can empathize with the main characters. This series just gets better with each installment. You will learn to love Imogene and root for her as even when things look the worse, she has a wonderful caring attitude that carries her and her friends through each adventure.
Imogen’s at it again. Baking with her friend Maple in the Royal Bakery lets her stay in Bijou Mer. But it also puts her closer to the prince who happens to be engaged, but she’s so drawn to. And he to her. When the carnival comes to town, it seems like everything is going to work out great. One of them offers to show her how to control her magic and she gets to man the booth away from the castle where the prince is. When she finds a friend standing beside the body of her closest rival, she agrees to prove her friend’s innocence.
In the second installment, you get to see more of the island Imogen now lives on and meet new people as well as getting reacquainted with some of our old friends. The story moves quickly and is plucky and fun in some places and downright hysterical in others. I loved seeing new and old faces and I really loved the twist at the end. I cannot wait to see where book 3 leads!
I received this book for free. I am voluntarily leaving this review and all opinions expressed herein are mine.
This is the second book in the Spells and Caramels series. It is a standalone book with no cliffhanger ending. While you can start here and enjoy the book, I would recommend that you start with the first book in the series [Seashells, Spells & Caramels] so that you can properly get to know Imogene and the other characters [plus it was a lot of fun!].
Here, the story starts not long after the first book ended. Imogene is working in the Kingdom’s bakery, trying to learn magic and control her feelings for the Prince. The carnival has come to the Kingdom and one of the booths will be manned by the Kingdom’s bakery. Imogene gets to work the carnival, which is also attended by humans. One of the attractions is a seer, who predicts her own death during the show. And soon thereafter, she is found dead with Rhonda standing over the body. Rhonda is quickly arrested and accused of murder. Additionally, Imogene believes odd things are happening at the magic show – which might be related. So, Imogene and her friends try to help Rhonda and figure out what really happened.
This is a well-written, fun and imaginative cozy. It’s full of humor and very likeable characters – from Imogene to Iggy to Rhonda. I love the intermingling of humans in the magical realm and Imogene trying to learn how to use her magical skills. The addition of the “cat” was both humorous and adorable. The blend of paranormal and mystery is so well done and really works here. The mystery was a good one and well paced.
I listened to this book – The narrator was wonderful – with distinct voices for the characters, great timing for the comedic lines and good pacing.
5 Star review of Black Arts, Tarts & Gypsy Carts (Spells & Caramels #2) by Erin Johnson
Audio Review:
Erin Johnson is a relatively new author to me and I am so excited I found her. From the first to the last chapter I was fully invested in Imogen, her friends and her investigation. It’s a cozy mystery and one that I found thoroughly entertaining. This was so good that I was frustrated when real life stopped me from listening.
The narrator Hannah Somerville did a great job and I thoroughly enjoyed the voices she used as she brought the story to life for me.
This was a a book filled with secrets, lies, mystery and suspense with plenty of clues to satisfy my detective spirit and I was on the edge of my seat as I listened to this story.
There are many twists, turns and surprises in Black Arts, Tarts & Gypsy Carts as Imogen and her friends fight to clear their friend Rhonda from murder charges.
I cannot wait for more in this series.
Audiobook review: Black Arts, Tarts, and Gypsy Carts has Imogen and gang back at another murder mystery who done it! The characters are likable and the storyline is entertaining. Though, I have to admit I’m somewhat disappointed that she and the prince can’t be a couple. The narrator did a nice job. I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Another great cozy mystery from Erin Johnson with the second book, Black Arts, Tarts & Gypsy Carts, in the Spells & Caramels series. After I read the first book last year, I downloaded the second and third to read in between other ARCs and thrillers I had set for January and February. I need to balance the light and heavy, or I get bored/frustrated with too much of the same thing. It seems this series continues to deliver on quality, imagination and humor. I recommend it for anyone interested in cozy mysteries, witches and cooking.
Imogen is new to the magic world, trying to learn how to cast spells and stay away from the prince in her new mystery land. He’s engaged, she’s nervous and there seems to be murders happening all the time a war goes on with the Badlands Army. In this edition, a carnival is in town, but when a seer is murdered, a rival is arrested for the crime. Imogen’s certain her friend Rhonda wasn’t the culprit — and fights to prove it, all the while meeting different carnival folk and learning how to practice magic. In the end, she unearths the true killer when she makes a connection with the dead during an annual creepy ritual.
My favorite part of this series is the imagination behind all the characters, setting and actions. It’s clear the author has built an entire world before writing the books, as it takes depth and design to architect this layer of intricacy in a story. Information about Imogen’s background is kept minimal, as I’m sure that will be a focus of a future book, but when you learn things, you learn them quickly! Between vampires, shifters, and swallows, there’s an entire structure to the world of witches and wizards. Add in Imogen’s role as an assistant to the royal baker in the palace, she’s constantly in the middle of situations where she is always out of her element. It’s a great break from contemporary fiction, full of quirky but lovable characters, that leaves you wanting more. I enjoy the series and will definitely keep reading it in 2018. Charming. Vivid. Comforting.
This series really caught my attention with the first book – Seashells, Spells & Caramels. The series is a cross between our world and a magical world.
Imogen is a fascinating character because I try and imagine myself in her shoes – never knowing that I had magical powers and how to learn how to harness those powers and use them properly. Plus being in a land that has normal human tourists but is filled with various magical people and beings. But Imogen takes it all in stride.
With this book, not everyone/everything is as it seems. There were some things that I figured out but how they were revealed was intriguing. I can’t spill too much otherwise it will give away some of the ending!
I do wonder if Imogen and Hank (Prince Harry) might get together at some point. Yes he is engaged to someone else BUT there is such a connection. Is it because they are both swallows or is there more to the chemistry they have together?
This is a fun series – it might be because I don’t read a lot of magical/paranormal type books, but I think it is also the light feel to the story and it is not intense like some books might come across.
I do love these books! The world building was incredible in the first one and this one held up to the challenge with lots of new little quirks that really set the story apart. The incorporation of all of the past beloved characters was ingenious. The investigation follows an odd path that really keeps the reader guessing what will happen next. The end was a huge shock which is quite a skill to pull off with me. If you enjoy magical cozy mysteries you really have to read this series. I loved every single page so it gets 5/5 stars.
This was just as enjoyable as the first book in the series. The characters are alright though a bit dull in some respects. They do not have a lot of personalities really, they appear to be just types instead of full-blown individuals. This is not to say that I do not still feel something for a few of them who come across as more there. The setting is alright but once again not as well drawn as I would like it to be, though I feel that this will change as the series continues. The language and dialogue work for the characters based on who they are supposed to be within that world.
Imogene is a Palace pastry chef struggling to control her newfound magic and her feelings for a Prince. When the carnival arrives in the kingdom, she jumps at the chance to get away and run the royal bakery booth. Her plans seem to backfire however when her friend is found holding a bloody saw which had been used in a murder making her the one and only suspect.
Imogene is determined to find a way to keep Rhonda out of witch’s prison, she sifts through the clues and the long list of suspects not being looked at by the police. Between dark magicians, cagey stage assistants, and a strong man with more to offer than just muscles, everyone seems to be hiding secrets, even Rhonda.
There are a few issues with words being misused or placed wrong but nothing major. This is a nice entertaining read with no surprises. The mystery is decent and gives enough of a brain tease to keep you interested and trying to solve it. I had the kindle book and audiobook so switched back and forth. Hannah Somerville who did the narration did a good job and was part of the reason I stayed engaged.
Imogen is going to face dangerous people while trying to prove her fiend Rhonda innocent of famous necromancer in Summer Sea Carnival. The audiobook is great.
Loved this funny, quirky mystery. It has a touch of romance, but the characters are what really shine through in this story. On top of all those great things, the murder mystery was really well thought out and plotted well. Very tricky and even then it still wasn’t over and there was more to come. The narrator was good but she is quite the speed reader. She read very quickly but the words were thankfully distinct. Really enjoying this series!
Imogen, Maple, Sam and Iggy are back for another adventure! This is the second book in the series, but it is stand alone for the most part. By reading the first you will get more in depth information on the world Erin has created, and the characters but this book will stand alone if it is the first you are picking up.
Compared to book 1, this one reads more like a journal entry if that makes sense? There are more dives into Imogens head than the last book.
It does continue the story arc started in book one, while having it’s own investigative adventure. I love that there is an over arcing problem that won’t be solved but will continue to burden Imogen instead of the book wrapping up peachy keen.
Erin does a fabulous job of world building, I love the magical world she has created within our own and can’t wait to discover more about the different kingdoms and how the world politics operate.
I’m pleased to report this second installment in the Spells & Caramels series was just as sweet as the first… The characters are charming, as is the setting/world-building. The mysteries aren’t always that mysterious, but they are cozy and fun to read nevertheless. And there is a HUGE reveal at the end that I totally did not see coming – in fact, I thought it was going to be something in an altogether different direction, so while I knew *something* was coming, was delightfully doubly surprised when I learned what it actually was… (I know, I know – tres oblique. But I have to be or I’ll spoil the whole thing.) This is a very fun series that I look forward to continuing with once the next title releases!