Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
52 posts | 54 read | 48 to read
Maire is a baker with an extraordinary gift: she can infuse her treats with emotions and abilities, which are then passed on to those who eat them. She doesn t know why she can do this and remembers nothing of who she is or where she came from.When marauders raid her town, Maire is captured and sold to the eccentric Allemas, who enslaves her and demands that she produce sinister confections, including a witch s gingerbread cottage, a living cookie boy, and size-altering cakes.During her captivity, Maire is visited by Fyel, a ghostly being who is reluctant to reveal his connection to her. The more often they meet, the more her memories return, and she begins to piece together who and what she really is as well as past mistakes that yield cosmic consequences.From the author of The Paper Magician series comes a haunting and otherworldly tale of folly and consequence, forgiveness and redemption."
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
review
Clare-Dragonfly
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Mehso-so

I‘m glad I read this all the way through even though I wasn‘t that into it, because the ending was the best part. Very creative and unusual. I just never really connected to Maire, and I felt like the world should have either been a straightforward, conventional fantasy world or a lot more wild. I never got a sense of the “surprising yet inevitable” (until the epilogue, which I would have been mad without)—just surprising.

blurb
ShyBookOwl
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

I love when Google photos sends me memories of myself reading random books. I always try to remember what book I was reading based on the one page. Pretty sure this one is the tagged book. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

review
MrsBibliophile
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Pickpick

What a unique spin on some old fairy tales! I love how this book tied in some of my favorite childhood stories.

I recommend this book to anyone looking to get into the Fall season. The ending was absolutely beautiful.

📚📖 Happy Reading! 📖📚

review
Darklunarose
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Bailedbailed

I honestly just couldn‘t get into this one.

blurb
Darklunarose
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

About to start this one. It was on my tbr last year but I just didn‘t get it done

57 likes1 stack add
blurb
Darklunarose
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

To start tomorow.

blurb
Nutmegnc
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

What a waste. These are hours I can‘t get back. I wish I‘d bailed. So disappointing—misogynistic baloney. Gah. I feel like I need to rinse out my brain.

BkClubCare Well, the term “misogyny baloney” made me laugh. 3y
19 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
jpmcwisemorgan
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

For the Littens looking for a food related book for this week‘s #LitsyATXReadersSociety meeting, this might be an option for you. It was an ok book and a reasonably fast read. I don‘t find Holmberg‘s books to the kind that stick with you but, in the middle of a pandemic, I‘m not sure that‘s a bad thing. It‘s also available as an ebook either on KU or for 99 cents if you really want to buy it.

blurb
ShyBookOwl
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

This pandemic situation is awful, but I sure am grateful for my sunny backyard. Loving this book!

79 likes1 stack add
blurb
ShyBookOwl
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

Workday finally over... time to get lost in a fairy tale 😌

thegirlwiththelibrarybag I enjoyed this one 5y
ShyBookOwl @thegirlwiththelibrarybag I am almost halfway through and really digging it 5y
76 likes2 comments
blurb
ShyBookOwl
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

A very sweet start to my day 😏

allureofbeauty I want that cake lol 5y
ShyBookOwl @allureofbeauty homemade banana bread with a peanut butter maple glaze 😌 5y
allureofbeauty @ShyBookOwl that sounds amazing. 5y
ShyBookOwl @allureofbeauty thanks (it's pretty tasty lol) 5y
81 likes1 stack add4 comments
blurb
julesG
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

1) all four. I keep the favourites, donate some books, sell especially children's books, lend books to friends (sometimes permanently)
2) depends on the book - even with a good reading speed, some books are slow and I take breaks often, meaning I read other books in between
3) tagged. Writing and character development

Eggs Thanks for playing 💗🌺💗 5y
59 likes1 comment
review
Literary_Siren
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Pickpick

I loved this! It started off confusing but I feel like I was just more in tune with the MC and added to the atmosphere of the story. I have yet to come across a Holmberg novel I haven‘t given 5 stars to! I think I‘m going to start her Paper Magician series next.

DebinHawaii I loved her Paper Magician series! ❤️ 5y
85 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
ShyBookOwl
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

Day 4 #7days7covers #covercrush

Post a book cover you love every day for 7 days, no explanation required. Try to tag a litten to join in too.

@hes7 if you're interested in playing 😊

review
Ryanne
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
Pickpick

I got this book on Audible & truly enjoyed it. The story held my interest but the real selling point for me was the narrator. Very light but believable & captivating. I followed this book immediately by The Paper Magician (from the same author) & I had to force myself to finish it. I'll look for more from Ms. Holmberg, after I see what else the narrator has done.

review
Lucy_Anywhere
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Panpan

Ugh - I had to force myself to finish this dull fantasy. The premise was cool and there were moments when I thought the plot might be going somewhere interesting...but it never did. It simply plodded from one unlikely coincidence to another. The world-building was gossamer thin, the whole tone of the book was sugary sweet, and the main character was bland and passive. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, fantasy fan or otherwise.

blurb
vonnie862
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

There were a bunch of free books in front of Sprouts, so of course I grabbed a couple. 🤗
#freebooks #score

review
bookwrm526
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Mehso-so

So, I read and really enjoyed the Paper Magician series, so when I saw this one on sale I jumped on it. It has a little Like Water for Chocolate vibe, but more completely magical than magical realism, and it was just meh. I never really got invested in the characters, though the premise was interesting and the last two chapters were really good!

trazo Adorable 🐶😍 6y
bookwrm526 @trazo That‘s Tess, the other dog I‘m dog-sitting. She‘s a little obsessed with tennis balls, that‘s the only way I got the picture lol 6y
KarenUK Tess is so pretty! What a lovely face 😍💕 6y
45 likes3 comments
review
callunakeep
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️OMG!! This was my 2nd read by Holmberg, and I am hooked!! This woman is an AMAZING story teller, blending the mundane & magical to create worlds that feel even more real than the one the reader occupies! Her characters are beautifully flawed, raw, & open! I fell in love with all of them, and want to have coffee with them and chat with them and live with them! I did NOT want this book to end!!

17 likes2 stack adds
blurb
callunakeep
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

1. Current reads: Magic Bitter Magic Sweet & Howl‘s Moving Castle
2. Both of my parents were readers, even when I was very young & we were poor there ALWAYS books in the house. I think I was born with a book in my hand!
3. Any time I‘m awake!
4. Winnie the Pooh & his crew. So much more than a child‘s book; so much deeper & more profound than many characters in adult books. The secret to happiness lies in those 100 Acre Woods!
#manicmonday

JoScho 📚😊❤️ 7y
11 likes1 comment
blurb
callunakeep
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

Now up on Audio. I LOVED The Fifth Doll, so thought I would try another by Ms. Holmberg!

blurb
MorbidAi
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

back at work and severely missing being curled up in a ball with the animals. fingers crossed I make it through my shift today. 😷🤒

blurb
Foragingfantasy
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

Thank you sweet friend!!! @elkeo

Mommamanzi I see Frost Blood in there too! Both are on my tbr, great minds think alike! 7y
elkeOriginal Hope you had a happy birthday! 7y
Foragingfantasy @elkeo I did! No books (until now!!) but my guys got me a KitchenAid mixer!! 7y
45 likes2 stack adds3 comments
quote
LeenReads
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

I bake inspiration into specific flavors to make it easy for those who frequent my little bake shop to find what they need. Those with a taste for the olive oil cake crave strength, while those who come back for the berry tarts are, unknowingly, seeking wisdom. #bookquotes

blurb
LeenReads
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

Story with an interesting premise (similar to Like Water For Chocolate). Maire has a unique ability to infuse her baked goods with emotions and abilities. She has complete amnesia though, and figuring out who she is and where she came from forms the bulk of the book. The story gets dark really fast, and is annoyingly slow to develop. Ending felt a little rushed, and not well thought out.

2 likes3 stack adds
review
avalinah
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Pickpick

Well, better late than never? This ARC had been sitting on my virtual shelf for over a year, sad to say - because I loved it! LOADS of love for cake, and just as much love for fairytales. But if you have trouble following mysterious storylines and tolerating amnesia suffering characters, then you might have trouble. HOWEVER! I truly loved it.

blurb
jpmcwisemorgan
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

Get Shorty, Ghost Story, and Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet are recent #blue additions to my ebook hoard. Two were on sale and I‘m reading Ghost Story for a #lengthylit readalong (I should probably get started!). #30daysofreadathon

review
Victoriahoperose
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
Panpan

Pass. This book was super boring and inauthentic. I had no idea what was going on. I don't recommend.

review
allisoncc
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Pickpick

Day 14 of #riotgrams. Boks that feature food. The magic in this book uses food!! It's so good. Pick it up!

review
Taayasbooks
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
Mehso-so

Though the book is not boring at all, it is rather brutal and dark. Not that much of a fun read, but still an interesting story. Only the epilogue seems hasty and rather unexplained though in its events to be expected.

blurb
IndyHannaJones
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg

Sometimes a book is a quick, fun read. Sometimes that book makes you want to eat cake. I'm not talking like a dainty Weight Watchers slice of cake. I'm talking a Dwayne 'The Cake' Johnson size piece of cake. So tasty.....wait, what was I talking about again? (WHICH IS PERFECT BECAUSE MAIRE LOST HER MEMORIES...not about the Rock...he's not in the book....but if he was you best believe it would be called Magic Bitter, Magic dem Bulges)

IndyHannaJones Do you smell what the Rock's cooking!?....it's a three layer chocolate cake with ganache frosting 8y
SheilaChew Pass me a piece of that cake! 🍰 8y
22 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
amma-keep-reading
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
Mehso-so

I'm giving it a 3.5. I love the fact that it kept me guessing and that's why I finished it so quickly. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't great. Meh. I need to think about this some more...

quote
Teresa4
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

Around a bend and over a bridge where all the people sleep and eat.

1 stack add
blurb
alanacristin
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

Hmm...this is starting out a bit darker than I expected from a book about magical baked goods... #mommyreads #audiobook #fantasy

5 likes1 stack add
review
TindraTieren
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
Mehso-so

Sadly, I'm with many others that this is not my favorite of Charlie's works. Paper Magician and Frost are comfort reading for me; they are great for when I don't want something challenging, and I want a happy ending. This one... just kept breaking my heart. Even once you started seeing how it was going to turn out well, it still stinks because other people had to hurt for that to happen.

review
kochtob
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Mehso-so

i'm actually a fan of ms. holmberg, but this book came out as mediocre for me.

it started out with a really good premise: maire, the talented baker who can infuse her food with magic, doesn't remember her past. i love how the book revolves around maire discovering her past, but the story just felt too grand to be told in one volume.

blurb
AmandaV
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

on sale today on Amazon!

review
jpmcwisemorgan
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
Pickpick

This one has a certain fairy tale quality to it that's helped along with references to actual fairy tales. Baking cakes with various qualities reminded me of some of the paranormal cozy mysteries I've read, as well as the Practical Magic movie. Midnight margaritas anyone? I was drawn in by the slight intrigue of a main character not knowing her identity and fairy tale magic component so it was a quick, enjoyable read.

22 likes2 stack adds
review
ladywithaquill
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
Pickpick

I have always adored Charlie Holmberg's books. Every. Single. One. I always think, each time I read her newest book, "There's no way this could better than the last one. It's just not possible." And each time, I am wrong. This is, without a doubt, her best book yet. I could write an essay explaining how I feel, but I'll try to keep this as brief as possible, without spoilers since that's not...*Read more on my blog - www.ladywithaquill.com*

blurb
thegirlwiththelibrarybag
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

This is what my July looked like... Also, Australia won the 2016 Qudditch World Cup 🇦🇺🐨 (also rather happy with having read 12 books)

Does anyone else do the Reading Challenge on GoodReads?

SharonGoforth I do 😊 8y
Chessa Me! 8y
Varshitha Me too🙋🏻 8y
See All 10 Comments
rubyslippersreads I do too! 😺 8y
CaitlinSiem Yup! 8y
Lizpixie 🙋 8y
tnorris I do! :) 8y
Lacythebookworm Me, too! 8y
DebinHawaii Yep, me too! 👍 8y
39 likes10 comments
review
BarbaraTheBibliophage
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Bailedbailed

I had to bail on this one. Not enough detail. Too YA for me. Continual use of "indescribable" as a description. Authors are supposed to describe the indescribable! That's their job and how we enter the world of the book. Here's my GR review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1670229992

ReadsInTheDark Haha. I know what you mean, I hate when I read a book and they say it's so beautiful it's undescribable. I mean, that's how I describe things, I say it's undescribable. That's why read and why I am not an author. LOL! 8y
MrBook Nice cover though. 8y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @MrBook It is a great cover! 8y
30 likes4 comments
blurb
BarbaraTheBibliophage
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

My #TBRTuesday is a question. My TBR is hundreds of books long. (You get me Litsies, right?) I want to DNF on this because there are so many other books out there. It's just not detailed or interesting enough for me. Got it on NetGalley. What do you think?

NatalieR Bail! You're right, too many good books waiting for your attention! 8y
CaitlinSiem Agreed. Life is too short to waste time on bad books. 8y
Sue Ditch it if you're not enjoying it. 8y
See All 8 Comments
Texasblues Bail! 8y
Arabiatta Good that you bailed! Too little time, too many books! 8y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Arabiatta It's not my style to bail. I can count on one hand the times I've done it. But Litsy and general life have added so many other books to my TBR. And, darn it, no extra reading time! 8y
Arabiatta @BarbaraTheBibliophage it usually isn't my style either but if I don't bail out of books that don't resonate with me somehow, I wouldn't read anything unfortunately! 🙈 8y
28 likes8 comments
review
Sue
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Mehso-so

I was a little disappointed by this one. The writing is solid and it's an enjoyable journey, just don't read too much depth into it. Full review at doddyaboutbooks.wordpress.com

BarbaraTheBibliophage This one is on my NetGalley shelf. Hopefully it's a quick read if not fantastic. 8y
Sue @BarbaraTheBibliophage It's a super quick read. I just felt like it hinted at a lot more and didn't follow through. As long as you read it on face value I'm sure it will be fine. 8y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Sue May squeak this one in before my next library book! 8y
43 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
DarcysBookBlog
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Pickpick

I just love Charlie Holmberg's writing. This was a wonderful book, filled with magic and baking and mystery. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

13 likes1 stack add
review
thegirlwiththelibrarybag
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image
Pickpick

From sneaky references to other stories that contain small moments of baking (like a certain gingerbread house in the woods) to the mystery of an amnesiac regaining her memory - and to characters that were able to be kind, in a world that often wasn't. One for lovers of fairytales! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

23 likes4 stack adds
blurb
DarcysBookBlog
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet | Charlie N Holmberg
post image

Spent my 4th of July drinking tea and reading Magic Bitter Magic Sweet 🇺🇸

8 likes1 stack add