A review by sasaboba
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

book: 6 stars
audio: 2.5 stars

"[he] had forgotten that his history might be a legacy of power, but hers was a legacy of resistance. sera's ancestors had not defied tyrants and broken free of empires for her to now give this man a single inch."

another certified banger from sangu mandanna, feeding readers british-indian, cozy, fall, witchy vibes to save us from the horrible summer heat. there's another large cast of lovable characters with their own distinct personalities and a heavy spotlight on autism representation in masking adults and early development children. readers are also blessed with a fantastic and emotionally heartwrenching representation of mental illnesses and how that manifests as various traumas in multiple adults. chapter 20 especially left me brutalized 😭

i have a couple of minor gripes with the book and a major issue with the audiobook. i had the same struggles with the love interest in this as i did with irregular witches. his personality is fine and i love how much he cares for his sister but constantly describing his "icy blue eyes" and how he's "so white that he's translucent" was so beyond unattractive. i'd started imagining something akin to the pale man from pan's labyrinth and was almost repulsed every time he touched the mc 😂 second gripe is clemmie. minor spoiler:
self-victimizing white women who do the most to inconvenience others grind my gears and i felt like she was too easily forgiven, especially because she was a consistent thorn in everyone's side the whole book
.

as for the audiobook, i'm not south asian but it's really weird to me that the audiobook production team at penguin random house won't hire british south asian talent when the talent exists and penguin has the means to. this is especially weird to me when the white scottish voice actress is tasked with speaking in what i can only describe as a caricature of an indian accent for a major character 🥴 samara maclaren is talented and did a fantastic job with everyone else but that indian accent felt like a hate crime. audiobook readers beware.

despite all of my issues with it, a witch's guide to magical innkeeping is one of the best new releases i've read so far and i think it will stay that way for 2025. the magic system is even more fantastical and the politics was even more assertive—both of which i absolutely loved! sangu mandanna said, "support independent businesses and protect immigrant, bipoc, queer, mentally ill, and autistic people!" resistance is beautiful 💖

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us cover artist: lisa perrin
uk cover artist: irene neyman 
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