Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Shortbread and Shadows
SERIES: Hedge Witches Lonely Hearts Club #1, Dreamspun Beyond #41
AUTHOR: Amy Lane
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 222 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2020
BLURB:
When a coven of hedge witches casts a spell for their hearts’ desires, the world turns upside down.
Bartholomew Baker is afraid to hope for his heart’s true desire—the gregarious woodworker who sells his wares next to Bartholomew at the local craft fairs—so he writes the spell for his baking business to thrive and allow him to quit his office job. He’d rather pour his energy into emotionally gratifying pastry! But the magic won’t allow him to lie, even to himself, and the spellcasting has unexpected consequences.
For two years Lachlan has been flirting with Bartholomew, but the shy baker with the beautiful gray eyes runs away whenever their conversation turns personal. He’s about to give up hope… and then Bartholomew rushes into a convention in the midst of a spellcasting disaster of epic proportions.
Suddenly everybody wants a taste of Bartholomew’s baked goods—and Bartholomew himself. Lachlan gladly jumps on for the ride, enduring rioting crowds and supernatural birds for a chance with Bartholomew. Can Bartholomew overcome the shyness that has kept him from giving his heart to Lachlan?
REVIEW:
You know, from the time I read the first book of Amy’s and I don’t remember which one….I think it was the Granby’s or Promise Rock series, but I fell in love. There’s just something about her characters that are so endearing. They are anywhere from clumsy to shy, brave to the ‘weakest link’ of the bunch. But they always have a strength you never expect. And more to them than meets the eye. And I love reading who’s next. And I’m waiting to see how this series is going to turn out, because this was a good start.
When Bartholomew, Barty for short, was with his friends, his coven, they decided to make a spell to get basically what they want in life. The problem is, something went wrong with the spell when instead of what they want coming out, it was what their true heart desires. And Barty was mortified, because his heart wanted Lachlan. But he was positive Lachlan would never see anything in a shy nerd like him. But what he didn’t know is Lachlan did want him and has been trying to get his attention for a year and a half. And was about to give up. But somehow this spell not only caused them to spit out their heart’s desire, but it caused Barty to add a special ingredient in his baking, and for the rest of the world to seem mad. Animals doing things they shouldn’t and his own friends having issues they were trying to figure out how to fix. As they each try to figure out how to fix this spell, they realize they need special things and Barty needs to fix something on his own. And he does, and he hopes it will allow him to keep his heart’s desire as well as be able to stay with his coven.
Barty is one of those characters you want to wrap in a hug and never let go of. He just screams ‘hug me’ and you can’t help but fall in love with him. Especially knowing how his parents are…grrr. But he also has this clumsy, goofy, shy way about him, that makes him so endearing. And I love that he has close friends that are his family that take care of him and protect him. But now that this spell has Barty needing to tell the truth, he has Lachlan as well. It’s hard for him to accept at first that someone as beautiful as Lachlan could want him, but that voice in his head that is his father….grrr…keeps Barty from believing in anything good for himself. And I love that Lachlan is doing everything he can to prove to Barty how true his interest is and how he’s in for the long haul. And how special he really is. If it takes him everyday for the rest of his life, Lachlan wants Barty to realize how truly magnificent he is by just being himself. He does so many little things that even his friends don’t realize he’s doing, just trying to make sure that everyone is happy. And Lachlan is going to make sure Barty gets that back tenfold. Anyway he has to.
This is such a sweet romance. It has some funny moments, some weird moments that make you want to go what the heck, but it’s all about friends and love and family. The family you make, not the one you’re born with. But even then, Barty has another family with Lachlan’s family so that makes it even better. They are beautifully flawed characters that make your heart sing and I can’t wait to see who is next.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
[…] Read More » […]