Sorcery and pea shoots

Sorcery and Cecilia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot
by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevemer

My anticipations for this book was unfortunately high and--unfortunately--it didn't live up to them.  It was so very sparse on details!  By golly, when a person makes a witch bag I want to know HOW she makes a witch bag!  What went into it?  What made it special?  What gave it power?  As far as I could tell, she could have taken an old handkerchief, piled on a handful of sage leaves from the garden, and tied it up with a ribbon!  Sewing appeared to be involved, but danged if I know how or where.

And I don't think I ever understood the bad guys' motives.  Were they simply power hungry or were they trying to live forever?

But I ought to apologize to the author and other potential readers--when it failed to "grab" me early on, I found myself rushing through to get to the end.  (And on to better things)  My mistake--some of the missing detail may have been overlooked in my hurry.  I should have simply stopped reading and let other people review it.  Also if I'd know how it was written, I might have liked it better.  Read the afterword first.

So I'll make it two stars for me, but it could very well be four stars for someone else.  Not five, though.


PEA SHOOTS:  

If you can't read the print, let me explain--the little climbing tendrils and the thin stems are INEDIBLE.
The leaves and the large, fat stems are YUMMY.   Just don't use too much butter--it hides the pea taste.