The House Witch: A Humorous Romantic Fantasy: The House Witch, Book 1

A perfect cozy fantasy read. Characters with wit and depth and a plot riddled with amusing intrigue. Can’t wait to read the next one.

Fin Ashowan has just arrived at the castle in Daxaria where he has been hired to be the new cook. Fin is an excellent cook but takes control the minute he arrives and puts up the back of the other servants and the knights who like to hang out in the kitchen. He makes it clear that the kitchen is his domain and no one is allowed that he doesn't approve of. Fin is a house witch and he doesn't like others to know that. When someone knows you are a witch, they expect that you will be able to help them whenever they are ill or in a fix and sometimes no one can help.Soon Fin is in command and making progress. Everyone loves his food. He is able to start teaching the knights how real men behave, not the boorish behavior they are used to. He doesn't get along with the royal mage as witches and mages are like oil and water but each agrees to stay out of the other's way. Fin also meets a Viscountess that he immediately is drawn to and soon loves wholeheartedly but a member of the royalty and a cook are not a romantic pairing that would ever be allowed.All is not good however. War is threatening and his Viscountess is in danger as a spy for the country. The Queen is pregnant and has a long history of miscarriages and Fin saves her life one night when another threatens. Soon the King is using Fin and his magic as a resource and perhaps the love affair will work out. Who knows?This is my first work by Delemhach who is a Canadian author. The work is humorous and a romance fantasy so light and enjoyable. Fin can't believe in his powers or his ability to make others' lives better but as the days go by, he starts to realize his power and the gift of the chosen family he makes in Daxaria. The only thing I didn't care for was the abrupt ending that left everything up in the air with the main plot points unsettled until the reader gets the next book. This work is recommended for fantasy readers.

Wow.... these books are amazing . The way the writerswitches characters is incredible. I am reading the audio version and I am so in love . I usually read smut and needed something that was different. This was it and I'm hooked !

This one ticks all the boxes - jokes, romance, fantasy and fun! The lessons learned are 100% right on target. I was only halfway through the book before I ordered the next one!

This was so fun, so well written and just felt like a warm hug. I loved it, love the world and the wonderful characters! I will be reading all the books in the series. I also loved the audiobook of it. I mostly listened to the book, it’s one of the best single narrator books I’ve heard yet. Highly recommend the book and audio.

This book has an interesting premise, where the main character has great power but under limited circumstances. It was recommended to me because I was looking for more "Cozy Fantasy", and I was interested enough in the characters and story to finish the trilogy.That said, I feel that the writing has serious issues with telling the reader things about the characters and not showing them. The author does a good job of showing that Fin is surly and solitary but also charming, though that's relatively rare. More often, the author just says that a character is frigid or usually totally composed without showing the reader how they're like that. It then lessens the impact of time when they act out of character, partly because the author straight-up tells the audience that they're acting out of character and partly because the audience doesn't get to enjoy that realization of "Wait, I know what to expect from this character, and something is clearly different/wrong."Similarly, the action scenes (which become more common in books 2 and 3) feel like they lack impact or energy because they're mostly just listing what happened. This character threw a fireball, the bushes caught fire, that character almost fell off their mount, etc. If the author did go back and revise the trilogy, the books would probably be 20% shorter with all the telling (and unnecessary adverbs) were cut out.Overall the books are still good, serviceable if not great. The characters are good and have interesting arcs, and the dialogue may be the author's strongest point. Maybe I just bounced off the writing style; the series is very highly reviewed, even if I disagree. I hope that the author's later books are better and that their craft has improved with practice and experience. I'm not convinced at this time that I want to put time and money into trying, however.

The House Witch was interesting and fun. Fin is a fascinating character who's not quite ready to be the hero. I can't wait to see where the story takes us (and Annual and Fin).

Fin is an incredibly good cook. Dare we even say magically good? It turns out he's a house witch, which isn't a "real" witch, according to the witch registry, since Fin doesn't have an affinity with one type of magic. But he loves cooking and the way his magic can make those he cares about feel safe and comfy. This is important because upon arriving at the castle, Fin faces everything from sexist knights to a witch forced into sobriety, and although the folks around him begin to see how precious Fin is, until he accepts it for himself, it doesn't seem like he can truly be happy and safe.This book is quite episodic and reads a little like a webseries. Did it start that way? I don't really care. I do know that I enjoyed all of it, from the beautiful cover, the excellent descriptions of food, the ways that the characters grow, and the constant adventure. I particularly loved watching the knights transform from sexist pigs to woke friends. It was beautiful. This is a great cozy read, although it does deal with topics of abuse and assault. It's refreshing to find myself in a fantasy world where most of the characters are truly trying to do what's right.

I adored this book. It is incredibly funny and the characters are well written. I was laughing out loud through chunks of this book and had a difficult time setting it down to return to reality.

Apesar de ter humor no título, não achei o livro extremamente engraçado. Ainda assim é uma leitura boa, suave, sem muita angústia nem muito suspense. A história é bem contada e cativante, e achei o enredo bem original. No geral é um livro bom para relaxar.

Over the years I have read a lot of fantasy. This "cosy" fantasy story is something different. It is quite humorous at times with a dark streak that keeps it from being simply comedic. It is a real tonic compared to the dark stories that populate the fantasy genre. The plot moves at lightning speed with so many twists and turns it left me dizzy. I marvelled how the writer managed to do this. So, once started, you'll want to read this in one sitting even if it means staying up all night.Can't recommend it enough.And once you start reading this, you'll want to read the sequels!

It had been a long time since I read such a good book. The story is imaginative, and one gets attached to the characters immediately- even to the cat!!

Fans of Ilona Andrews will love this. The main character feels like a male version of Kate Daniels with the way he tends to put his foot in his mouth and grates on everybody's nerves with powers that are reminiscient of the Innkeepers (being limited to the house and all). But instead of a dystopian or contemporary setting everything is mediaval.The narration is rather slow progressing but there are many heartwarming scenes and a lot of loveable characters as well as funny moments. I especially loved Kraken's perspective (yes, the cat) and all the shennanigans going on there.So, if you are looking for a light read, with adorable characters and a good portion of hilarious moments, this is for you.