Title: A Spoonful of Spells and Secrets

Series: Enchanted Confections #12 (standalone within the series)

Author: Camille Peters

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review:

Every full moon, the bakery appears somewhere new—bringing with it enchanted sweets and whispered wishes.

Cecelia is an apprentice in a traveling bakery where every confection holds a spell—and every spell demands a price. With each full moon, the shop reappears in a new village, kingdom, or realm, offering sweets that heal, grant wishes, awaken memories…and sometimes alter fate itself. But for Cecelia, the cost is every treat she bakes requires the sacrifice of one of her own emotions, slowly unraveling the very heart she hides behind sugar and spice.

When the bakery arrives in a forest steeped in forgotten magic, Cecelia meets a solemn hunter with a tangled past and secrets of his own. One spell-laced raspberry tart, infused with a feeling she didn’t realize still lingered and a single mistaken ingredient trigger an enchantment neither of them intended.

Now bound by a magic that tightens with every heartbeat, Cecelia and the hunter find themselves pulled into a web of cursed magic, long-buried secrets, and a love that could rewrite both their fates.

But magic never takes without leaving something behind. And the deeper their bond grows, the greater the price becomes… – summary from Goodreads

* I received an ARC from the author, and all opinions are my own.

A Spoonful of Spells and Secrets is an interesting Little Red Riding Hood retelling with a magical bakery, a cursed huntsman, and baked goods!

I greatly enjoyed this book! It was sweet and a really interesting take on Little Red Riding Hood. I loved how this tale was twisted and the magic system of this world is incredibly unique. The way the author incorporated the wolf and huntsman into this story was very well done. I loved that the author was able to include these aspects of the original story into the book.

Cecelia was an interesting character, and I loved her storyline. As part of running the bakery, when she makes magical baked goods, she sacrifices an emotion. It was different having a main character who wasn’t super emotive. She was also working through childhood grief and accepting the hard emotions of life, and I really enjoyed her character growth throughout the book. Cecelia also had a really unique hobby, which I enjoyed. She was a cartographer, and I enjoyed this new hobby. Cecelia was also so kind and caring, willing to help anybody. I loved this positive character representation!

Gabe was a lovely main character as well! I enjoyed his story, and how much he cared for Cecelia. He was cursed, which added some complications to the story, and I enjoyed how everything played out. He was a very sweet, understanding character and I really enjoyed him.

The relationship between Gabe and Cecelia was adorable. They really got to know each other, which I liked, though it was made a little difficult by both of their magical afflictions. I liked how they both cared and tried to understand the other, as well as protect each other. It was just very sweet overall!

A Spoonful of Spells and Secrets is a unique Little Red Riding Hood retelling with magic, romance, and wonderful characters!

A Spoonful of Spells and Secrets released on July 24, 2026.