Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic book review

Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic by Meghan Ciana Doidge
Series: Dowser #1
Published by Old Man in the Crosswalk Productions on June 18, 2013
Format: eBook
Goodreads

If you’d asked me a week ago, I would have told you that the best cupcakes were dark chocolate with chocolate cream cheese icing, that dancing in a crowd of magic wielders — the Adept — was better than sex, and that my life was peaceful and uneventful. Just the way I liked it.
That’s what twenty-three years in the magical backwater of Vancouver will get you — a completely skewed sense of reality. Because when the dead werewolves started showing up, it all unraveled … except for the cupcake part. That’s a universal truth.

Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic piqued my interest when I realised that not only did it contain witchy things but also vampires and werewolves. Set in a cute bakery with delectable treats the story takes a nasty turn with a range of violent murders and the baker being in the centre of the controversy.

Characters in Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic

Jade, a half witch runs a bakery that specialises in different flavoured cupcakes is dragged into a murder mystery when a vampire and werewolf turn up at her door accusing her of murder. As a main character she was a little lacking, I was hoping she was going to have a little more sense as a business owner but she ended up being naive and lacking in any kind of intelligence of her own. I enjoyed her passion for the bakery but her lack of self-preservation became more and more annoying.

The other two main character types are vampires and werewolves, and we’re introduced to the main alpha types of each group. There was a lot of potential between these groups especially with Hudson but I don’t think it was ever really explored. I struggled with the development of the dynamics and I don’t feel like it was explained particularly well, especially why they hated one another. When I look at the supporting characters, Kett, the vampire definitely showed the most promise and the one I would be the most interested in reading more about.

Bad bits in Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic

For me this book was just a little bland, I found the action to be watered down and almost skimmed over in favour of more chocolate or cupcake descriptions which was frustrating. Also the mystery element and twist was particularly obvious, and I’m not entirely sure why it took so long for anyone to realise what was actually going on. Overall there was a lot of potential and I feel like there was more to be explored. If the main character had been a better fit I think the story would have progressed a lot quicker and there would have been more opportunity to explore other subplots.

Good bits

I enjoyed having the mix of two supernatural groups in one book, it would have made the book a lot more interesting if these relationships had been looked at. The setting was really well thought out and I liked the fact that there was a lot going on outside of the different stories. There was enough going on outside of the main characters to make the story worth while reading.

What now?

This is another series that has been added to my Wishlist and I may go back to if I feel a desire too but it’s just not a priority at the minute. I have so many books on my list that unless I have a burning need to read something it’s being put off.

Have you read any good urban fantasy? Let me know what was your favourite?