Rach's Reading Club

The House Witch: A Humorous Romantic Fantasy, by Delemhach  

I loved this story so much, I finished the next two books in the trilogy within three days of finishing this first novel. I also read them immediately because Book 2 could very well have been Part 2, and Book 3, Part 3 – but an author's gotta make ends meet. As such, Amazon Prime members can "borrow" Book 1 for free, and Books 2 and 3 are a small charge. Okay, on with my review:

First, The Subtitle: For me, labeling this book "A Humorous, Romantic Fantasy" would be like labeling Star Wars: Return of the Jedi "A Humorous SciFi Romance." Yes, The House Witch is quite funny, there's romance, and it's a fantasy. It's also about a kingdom preparing for war, court politics, witches and mages, and very subtly, working for social equality. But don't worry, these issues don't make it an emotionally heavy or serious-feeling story. They do make it a great fairy tale.

So What's The House Witch About? Fin Ashowan is a peasant man who is an amazing cook and a house witch. His powers seem to lie in making the people in his "home" feel warm, comfortable, and safe, which makes the food he cooks extraordinary to anyone who eats it. If you ask someone who cooks or bakes why they do it, they'll usually tell you it's a way they can put their love into the food and share it with their family and friends. This is how it is with Fin: he loves to cook and cooking soothes his soul; with his magic he can let his love of his work into the food he prepares. Witches were hunted down and murdered (yada yada) only fifty years ago, so keeps the fact he's a witch a secret. There's the background.
         The just-retired Royal Cook of Daxaria happens upon Fin as he's returning to his home city, and writes a missive to the King of Daxaria recommending Fin as his replacement. Fin travels to Daxaria and immediately begins to wreak havoc within the castle – not with his magic, but with his wit and his uncanny ability to make the right thing happen despite his being a peasant and just "the cook." To others he appears to constantly speak and act above his station, and his high standards rub everyone the wrong way – nobles, knights, and king – yet he somehow always manages to improve the situations he becomes involved in. And of course, a viscountess, beauty of the kingdom, and queen's best friend, finds him vexing and repeatedly seeks him out to try to best him in heated verbal exchanges. You can guess where that leads.

The House Witch is a funny, charming romantic adventure in a fantasy world that's now vying with T. Kingfisher's Nettle & Bone as my favorite new fairy tale.