A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I needed a change of pace as fall approached. I wanted something light and cozy and luckily I my audiobook hold came in from the library for A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping.  Having never read The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches or any of her middle grade books, this was my first Sangu Mandanna read.

Sera Swan runs a magical inn after being outcast from witch society by her former mentor due to performing a forbidden spell that has left her with just a sliver of her power left. Now along with her resurrected aunt she runs an enchanted inn in need of repair. When she hears word of spell that can restore her powers, she'll do what it takes to gather the ingredients. When Luke Larsen stumbles upon the inn with his little sister Posey, he finds himself drawn to this magical place. It's the first place in their world where his autistic sister feels safe. Which is why he agrees to help Sera in her quest to go against the guild and get her magic back. 

Audiobook narration is decent enough though I wish the publisher would've gotten someone who matches the ethnicity of the character. Ironically while the book does touch on race it's at a very general level. Sera is half Indian and half white. Neither of her parents are British which is a factor in the very white wealthy British witches' guild. But at the same time she's not particularly in touch with either of her cultures and has a non existent relationship with her parents. Her love interest is also a white man described as having super pale skin and icy blue eyes. The preference for what a guild member should look like but that's not really brought up when it comes to discussion of him.

While having cozy touches this book still has a plot to follow with stakes so it doesn't suffer from wandering aimlessly even when it slows down. And slow down for a little it did. It does loose a little moment for a bit towards the end before gaining it back again in the last couple of chapters.

The romance has a slow build too it with an easy friendship between Sera and Luke. Tonally the attempt at being a little "spicy" didn't really fit and could've been left out.

Overall this is an enjoyable read for someone who wants vibes but a little bit of a plot as well. And for those looking for vibes this is a good option for a late fall/early winter read.