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Geeks and the Holy Grail (Camelot Code #2), by Mari Mancusi, for Timeslip Tuesday

The first book in the Camelot Code series, The Once and Future Geek , mixed time travel between the medieval world of King Arthur and our own, and it is a very entertaining book.  The second book in the series, Geeks and Holy Grail (Hyperion, October 2019), is also entertaining (though not quite as funny; King Arthur as a modern day high school student is hard to beat....). When Morgana, sworn enemy of King Arthur, attacks the druids of Avalon, Nimue, the youngest of them, takes the Holy Grail and runs with it.  King Arthur is dying, and only the Grail can save him.  Desperate to keep it from falling into Morgana's hands, she stumbles into Merlin's Crystal Cave.  But instead of Merlin there to help her (he's on vacation in Los Vegas, in our time), there's only his very inexperienced apprentice, Emrys.  His attempt to hide the grail works, in a sense--as a small, flatulent dragon, it sure doesn't look much like a grail.  But it isn't much use to Arthur as a...
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The Secret

The Secret

A Mixture of Mischief (Love Sugar Magic #3), by Anna Meriano (blog tour)

A Mixture of Mischief (Walden Pond Press, February 4, 2020) is the third and final book of Anna Meriano's Love Sugar Magic series, that tells the story of how Leo, the youngest daughter in a family of magical baking burjas, finds her own gifts for magic and her own place in her family.

Leo, still fed up about her place as the youngest sister (there are four older ones), is chomping at the bit to learn all she can about the magic that makes her family's bakery so successful.  Finally, her mother is starting to teach her, but before she can relax and enjoy being a dependable part of the bakery, dark clouds appear.  A rival bakery is about to open in town, and her family's magical heirlooms, part of what makes their baking magic work, start to go missing.

But most disturbing at all is the appearance in her life of her father's father, who abandoned his family when he found they hadn't inherited his magic.  Her grandfather has discovered that Leo's' magical gifts might make her just what he wants-an heir to his work as slayer of dangerous magical creatures.

Leo's smart enough to realize he's a threat.  Frustrated by the fact that her parents keep acting like everything is under control, she decides to take matters into her hands.  Her developing magic lets her turn invisible, and with the help of her friends Caroline and Brent, and her cousin JP, she sets out to foil her grandfather and set things right.

It's not a smooth path to figuring out just what her grandfather is up to, but Leo rises to the occasion beautifully (after a few steps in the wrong direction).  All the lovely family dynamics that made the first two books such fun are here, and it's a pleasure to see Leo setting of on the path of magic (and increased bakery responsibilities!).  If you loved the first two books (as I did), you'll love this one too!  

GIVEAWAY

Walden Pond Press is kindly offering a giveaway of this book for American readers. Leave a comment  by February 4 for a chance to win!

Here's the full book tour (for more chances to win!)


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anna Meriano is the author of the books in the Love Sugar Magic series, A Dash of Trouble, A Sprinkle of Spirits and A Mixture of Mischief. She grew up in Houston, Texas, and earned her MFA in creative writing with an emphasis in writing for children from the New School in New York. She has taught creative writing and high school English, and she works as a writing tutor. Anna likes reading, knitting, playing full-contact quid- ditch, and singing along to songs in English, Spanish, and ASL. Her favorite baked goods are the kind that open hearts. You can visit her online at www.annameriano.com.

NB for teachers--there's a great educator's guide for the series available from the publisher!

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