Cooking with Ergot by Luisa Prieto

Title: Cooking with Ergot
Author: Luisa Prieto
Publisher: Aspen Mountain Press
Buy the book: Publisher

Blurb:

Dominic is a witch, Carter is a descendent of infamous witch hunters. When Carter’s cousin attacks him in a parking lot, Dominic comes to his aid. Just what can the two men expect from one another, especially when Cousin Simon is determined to eliminate another witch from the world?

Review:

Dominic Abernathy is the host of cooking show Midnight Gourmet with the gimmick that he is a witch, mixing magic and cooking together for the show. The real trick is that Dominic actually is a witch, and uses magic in his everyday life as well as during the taping of the show. Along with his familiar, stuffed tiger Blaise, Dominic has created a successful show. When the man playing the “witch hunter” on the upcoming show backs out due to illness, Dominic’s agent hires cookbook author Carter Brooks to replace him. The only problem is that wherever Carter goes, witches end up dying and the last thing Dominic wants to do is invite a possible witch hunter into his home. When they are attacked at a book signing by the actual witch hunter, Dominic can’t deny being drawn to Carter, the last thing he ever imagined would happen.

This story is based on quite an interesting mix of witchcraft and cooking. Not often are these combined and it was a premise that I enjoyed. The writing is clean and economical, with the dialogue between characters fast-paced and quick witted. At times there was a bit too much internal responding to what another character says or asks, which got a bit frustrating as I would have preferred to see the character actively speaking or responding. The story overall is a quick and easy read, though it was a bit jarring for me in the very beginning as we’re dropped so quickly into the story. It almost felt like starting to watch a show already in progress, or that I should have known these characters from a previous story.

This is a story based around cooking and so it’s not surprising that there are some recipes including throughout the story. The recipes are very tongue-in-cheek with a lot of humor and snarky comments in the directions, but what really puzzled me was their placement. Although they relate to what is going on in the text when they are included, they seem to suddenly appear out of nowhere. At one point you’re reading the story and next you’re thrown into a recipe. Though the recipes came at the end of chapters, it felt a bit jarring to me to suddenly be reading a recipe, especially when the recipes were sometimes written from another character’s perspective than the one that was active just prior in the story. The recipes add an element of humor, which I definitely enjoyed, but for me they were more distracting than they were worth.

Of the secondary characters, Simon is presented as a bit crazy and way too obsessed with his work, rightfully so. He truly believes in his family’s destiny and sees the elimination of witches as justified. Dominic’s brother Justin is intriguing but his role in the story is a bit weak. He’s there to challenge Dominic, especially when it comes to choosing a partner, but we don’t know much about his abilities or background. There are details about Justin meeting a man at a crime scene, and the time they spend together, but since this has no bearing on the story it felt out of place. Justin’s presence in the story felt like it was laying the groundwork for another story to focus on his character. I enjoyed his character enough that I wish he had played a more central role.

Absolutely my favorite part of the entire story is Blaise, Dominic’s familiar. Of course Dominic created his familiar when he was eight, so Blaise is in the form of a treasured stuffed tiger. Yes, my mind immediately thought of Calvin & Hobbes as well, though Blaise is much more proper with an slight English accent and strict attention to manners and instead of getting into trouble all the time is usually looking out for Dominic, despite how much it might annoy him. Blaise’s dialog is witty and humorous while at the same time his genuine care for Dominic always comes through. I easily could have read an entire book based only on the interactions between Dominic and Blaise.

Overall this is a fun and quick story, well worth the read for the fabulous Blaise. If you enjoy stories with magical elements, you should pick up this story.