I received copies of Kathryn Moon’s The Baker’s Guide to Risky Rituals and The Knitter’s  Guide to Banishing Boyfriends in a Renegade Romance book box.

About The Baker’s Guide to Risky Rituals:

A Kitchen Witch with a bite, a King of Hell on a mission, and a candy coated town hiding bitter secrets.

Josie Benoit, gourmet patissier and kitchen witch, may not be a Sweet Pea native but she’s made the small town her home and she intends on keeping it that way. When trouble rolls into town on the seats of shining motorcycles, and the safety of her home and her own reputation are put at risk, Josie bands together with her coven to protect her world from a dark influence.
If only that dark influence wasn’t so deliciously handsome.

King Beleth is not a demon to be trifled with.
Leader of the Hell’s Bells MC and one of the great warlords of the Bowels, Beleth takes pride in his work and has the patience of a… man who knows what is best is worth waiting for. Known as Bell—to his friends, which you are not—he’s come to Sweet Pea to dismantle the core of good at the heart of the little town. But upon arrival he discovers three things that might just get in the way of his work:

Sweet Pea is more disgustingly adorable than they were warned.
The town has a coven of witches protecting it.
He’s developing a sweet tooth.

Review:

I enjoyed this well enough, though I don’t feel any desire to rave about it. It was fairly short and sweet and nowhere near as smutty as anything else I’ve read by Kathryn Moon. While I liked the characters, the overarching plot setup seemed interesting, and it got the occasional laugh out of me. But the whole thing felt hollow and incomplete. I got no real sense of the demon’s motivation beyond being assigned, nor did I really feel that I followed Josie or Bell’s change of heart toward one another, and it, at best, can be said to end on a happy-for-now (though barely even that). Some of this, I think, is because there are 7 demons (most of whom will eventually want love interests, I imagine) and 4 witches to introduce. That’s a lot for a 258-page book to carry, and it, therefore, felt very diluted. I have and will read book two. But unless it is significantly better, I probably won’t search up any more of the series…if there is any more.

About A Knitter’s Guide to Banishing Boyfriends:

A Stitch Witch trapped in a cage, a Demon in search of a challenge, and old enemies creating unlikely allies.

June Byrne, stitch witch and unofficial leader of the Sweet Pea coven, just wants a little peace and quiet. She has everything under control, even the demons of Hell’s Bells MC, until a stranger steps into her knit shop asking for help. Sucked back into her ugly past with her ex-boyfriend and his coven, June’s peace is shattered.

When the bonds of the Sweet Pea coven fracture too, June turns in an unexpected direction. What will be the cost of tangling her troubles with a dangerously handsome demon?

Ashtaroth is no King of Hell. He’s the demon with the skills and determination to unravel even the most intricate problems. He can carve away at a civilization like a sculptor digging the human frame out of a hunk of marble. And when he’s done? He can shatter the remnants into an unsalvageable mess.

June Byrne appears to be the perfect puzzle to solve; a witch so guarded with charms, she blends right into the background. Ashtaroth has her in his sights and he will make an art out of breaking her walls down, as long as she doesn’t catch him in her threads first.

Review:

Well, I officially liked this second book more than the first. I found the MMC, Ash, more dynamic and engaging, and the FMC, June, has more backstory and is therefore more interesting. But like in book one, the transition from enemies to not-enemies is abrupt and seemingly without cause. Unless some twist on the motivation of hell in sending the demons to Sweet Pea is eventually exposed, I don’t grasp their intentions, as the men don’t seem to be doing anything of note (and no one important seems concerned by this) despite our being told they are the best of the best. So, while I think it’s fluffy and sweet and enjoyed that aspect, and Ash has some funny moments, I also found the whole thing kind of flat and milquetoast.

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