Cooking Up Magick, the first book in HL Bernabe‘s new series The Dell Chronicles, sets out to be a cozier fantasy version of The Lord of the Rings. According to IGN’s review by Jacob Kienlen, the cozy fantasy debut serves up a lovable heroine and a charming found-family ensemble — but doesn’t quite bring its full story to life.
Cooking Up Magick Cover (Credits: Publisher)
A Hobbit-Sized Adventure With a Culinary Twist
The setup pulls directly from J.R.R. Tolkien’s playbook: the main character, Paisley, is a halfling who leaves her family’s inn to discover new and exciting recipes, only to get swept up on an adventure with a pair of dwarves. Meanwhile, an evil overlord has returned after centuries — and Paisley is the world’s only hope of stopping him.
But the Tolkien parallels end there. The review finds that the first book offers nowhere near enough detail to flesh out its alternate Middle-earth, and the world and its villain stay too lightly sketched to support the story’s epic-fantasy ambitions.
Characters Are the Main Course
Where Cooking Up Magick shines is its cast. Paisley is a “bubbly bright spot,” brimming with courage and compassion, and her chemistry with her newfound friends — including a half-orc love interest — grounds the story’s found-family heart. The review praises how her conversations with the crew illuminate each character’s personality, and notes that the book’s magical moments deliver some of its best character development.
There’s just one catch: the title’s promise doesn’t quite hold. Despite cooking being Paisley’s entire motivation for leaving home, food quickly fades into the background once the larger adventure unfolds. As the review puts it, there is cooking, magic and “a bit of romantasy thrown in here,” but the book doesn’t serve up enough of any of it to fully realize its potential.
The Verdict
Cooking Up Magick works best when it stays small — focusing on Paisley’s warmth, her growing friendships and her emotionally grounded magic. The broader quest, though, could use deeper worldbuilding and a clearer identity for its fantasy setting. As an opening chapter, it establishes enough promise to make the future of The Dell Chronicles worth watching — provided future installments let the cooking matter to the plot and give the antagonist more than pure evil to chew on.
Source: IGN — read the full story there.
