Friday, February 15, 2019

Love Sugar Magic #1: A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano

A Dash of Trouble (Love Sugar Magic, #1)My name is Leo, and I'm the youngest daughter in my baking family. However, no one will let me do anything, and I'm treated like a baby! I hid in our popular bakery one day and discovered an amazing secret. All of the girls in my family are baking brujas! Isabella says I have magical ability too, but I shouldn't do anything with it for another four years. Yeah, right. My best friend Caroline needs help with our friend Brent, and I'm sure I can figure out some recipe to fix things. I just need him to show Caroline a little more affection, and a batch of cookies should do it. Now, I realize I should have listened to my sisters, but I can't admit my mistake without telling them what I've done. Maybe another spell will fix the first one.

This book was a finalist for a 2018 Cybils Book Award. It's a new version of an old story where a magic spell goes wrong. As in many of these kinds of stories, the main character was warned, made a bad choice, and wouldn't admit it to anyone who might be able to help. Then, she continued to make bad choices that compounded the problem. In this book, I was a little surprised, since Leo's family was so kind and supportive. I didn't understand why she wouldn't at least confide in one of her sisters, especially Isabella. The most interesting aspect to the book was its focus on the Spanish culture and cooking. It included descriptions of family life, celebrations, and food. The end of the book even included recipes mentioned during the plot. I assume the recipes are accurate and tasty. They were described in Spanish which added to the conflict, since Leo couldn't read or speak the language. Caroline was learning the language and was able to help Leo later in the story. Overall, the book told an engaging story of family, culture, and magic, and I recommend you give it a shot. 

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