Everyone knows that when something good happens, something you’ve dreamed of for a long, long time, you’re filled with this wonderful, dizzying, joyfun conviction that there’s nothing in the world beyond your reach. Everyone also knows that as lovely as that feeling is, it’s best not to let it run away with you entirely, because next thing you know, you’ve tried to do too much and you’re wilting on your sofa with two ibuprofen and the sort of headache that makes you feel like there’s a herd of elephants stampeding across your skull.
Chapter 31, A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
Table of Contents
Preamble
I had A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna preordered since January of this year which is when I first heard about this. I had previously enjoyed another Sangu Mandanna book The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches back in April 2024 so I figured I would also enjoy this one.
The book came out in the summer – July 14, 2025 to be precise. Looking at the description of the book and the general vibes, I decided to save this particular cozy romantasy until a more appropriate time. And that time is while I was on vacation in Montreal for a week.
I read the entirety of this book while I was enjoying a flat white and a slice of saffron or almond cake at a cozy Persian cafe in downtown Montreal called Cafe Aunja. It was quite cloudy and rainy while I was in Montreal which made for an even stronger vibes fit for this particular book.
Now that I have set the scene, let’s get into the book.
The Book
The vibes of this book are immaculate. Like with Sangu Mandanna’s previous book, this book is set in the English countryside, in this case it is in Lancashire. Most of the story revolves around the titular inn, I think it is best I quote from the book’s description of the building here.
It was a three-storey, 1840s hodgepodge of cream stone and brown brick, with multiple chimneys and sharply slanted red roofs long faded by the sun, and looked like it ought to belong to a Victorian dowager. The ivy climbing the walls was so overgrown that very little of the original brick was visible. The house was surrounded by low, weathered stone walls on all sides, and a shallow brook babbled its way past one corner. The front of the inn faced the same winding lane as the back, just farther uphill, and above the front door swung an ancient sign that read BATTY HOLE INN.
Chapter three, A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
In combination with this inn are a colourful and eclectic cast of characters all of whom I love very much. There is Nicolas, the knight who works at the local medieval fair and runs around in knightly armour and speaks in knightly cliches. There is Clemmie, the prickly witch who was turned into a fox by a curse. There is Posy, the autistic child along with her brother Luke, the love interest. Last but not least, Sera Swan, the main character who manages to run the whole inn seemingly by herself.
This book is fairly light on the fantasy elements, there is magic and there is a brief description of the various types of spells but the book is content to not overly explain the magic and let the magic be a vehicle for the narrative rather than a complex system of its own. The main thrust of the narrative revolves around Sera trying to get her magic back while slowly falling in love with the magical historian Luke. I think the romance here is reasonably well done and has just the right amount of tension and yearning.
Speaking of Luke, I think this book does a thoughtful and nuanced representation of people on the autism spectrum. Luke is described as a icy magical historian, and over the cause of the story and through his interactions with the rest of the characters we learn that his icy exterior is a masking method Luke learned as a child in order to conceal his autistic behaviour patterns from adults who didn’t like it. He also has sensory issues (specifically sounds).
Luke’s sister Posy is also on the autism spectrum – her behaviour presents itself in the form of hyperfixations, echolalia, and being mostly non-verbal. A sub-plot in this book revolves around Luke trying to give Posy a better environment to grow up in than the one he grew up in and I found that to be heartwarming.
Like with this author’s previous this book also has a strong theme of found family through it, and I enjoyed the found family aspect of this book even more than The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches because the characters here are genuinely more likeable – they are charming, weird, and funny. This book genuinely had me going from crying at heartwarming interactions to laughing at funny witticisms that one of the characters said.
The book also very lightly touches on themes of classism, racism and emotional abuse – all of it originating from the magical organization called the Guild and its educational systems. The abusive mentor character reminded me of the Professor Grimes from Katabasis. There is nothing especially problematic about these thematic explorations though they are shallow enough that I think they are extraneous. The book would be better off without them.
Conclusions
I think A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping is a perfect fall/autumn read. And in my case, it made for the perfect book to read while on vacation and I am glad I saved it for that time. From its cozy rural England setting to its cast of whimsical and eclectic characters to its sweet romance, it had everything I could ask for from a cozy romantasy.
This book definitely was a nice change of pace from the heavier reading from this past month or so. I continue to enjoy Sangu Mandanna’s particular brand of romantasy and I want to read more of them in the future.
That’s all from me this time, see y’all in the next one!
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