No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells (Mystic Cafe, #1) by Rose Pressey

Dec 04, 2011 Paula Phillips rated it 4 of 5 stars

Are you into nice, light-hearted tales ? Did you grow up watching shows like Bewitched or Sabrina the Teenage Witch ? Movies like The Witches of Eastwick , Pratical Magic , Hocus Pocus ? In ways , reading Rose's book No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spell was similar to Janet Evanovich's Wicked Appetite and PC Cast's series The Goddess Summoning series.
In No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells we meet Elly Blair, desperate to restart her life after an horrible relationship with her now ex-fiance and the job from...more Are you into nice, light-hearted tales ? Did you grow up watching shows like Bewitched or Sabrina the Teenage Witch ? Movies like The Witches of Eastwick , Pratical Magic , Hocus Pocus ? In ways , reading Rose's book No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spell was similar to Janet Evanovich's Wicked Appetite and PC Cast's series The Goddess Summoning series.
In No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells we meet Elly Blair, desperate to restart her life after an horrible relationship with her now ex-fiance and the job from hell recieves what at the time she thought was a nice idea - a relaxation holiday to stay with her Grandmother Imelda in Florida. However, Grandma has an alternate agenda up her sleeves - as the owner of Mystic Cafe , she is finding herself getting too old to cope with everything - spells and recipes etc. She has realised that it is time to pass on the torch and since Elly's mother is more interested in cleaning than cooking it's Elly's turn. This would have been all fine and dandy but Elly has never been very good at either cooking and especially not controlling her magic and spells. When on one occasion , a handsome customer takes a bite of a burger meant for somebody else - containing a sexy love charm it seems that Rory has soon captivated the hearts of all the females in the town - Elly being one of them , though of course she must decide whether the feelings of love are true love or a result of magical forces ? Now Elly must try and come up with a spell to reverse the love charm before it's too late and Rory finds himself snatched up by another townswomen . If this wasn't bad enough , her spell and it's results have captured the eyes and ears of the National Organisation of Magic and if Elly can't reverse the spell then it's bye-bye to the Mystic Cafe and her Grandmother's legacy. Can Elly save the Mystic Cafe as well as reverse the spell and find true love with Rory ?
Perfect for readers of the Accidental series by Dakota Cassidy and The Accidental Witch by Annette Blair.(less)

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Sep 03, 2012 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Book One of the Mystic Cafe series finds Elly's world pretty much turned upside down. So when Grandma Imelda calls her to come home to take over for her at the Mystic Cafe so she can retire, Elly decides that anything must be better than where she is at. Time to go home. How hard can it be anyway, it's just a cafe and she does like to cook. To bad she's just about to find out that everything at the Mystic is served with a side order of magic!

Armed with Grandma's spellbook, magic spices and best...more

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May 18, 2012 Mishael rated it 3 of 5 stars

I started out liking this book - really, really liking it. It was going to be a four-star book at least. I was laughing in all the right places. And, although I thought it was kind of odd that Elly's grandmother would run off and leave her at the café by herself that quickly, I went along with it for the sake of the story. There is such a thing as "suspension of disbelief."

From that almost stellar beginning, though, things went downhill very quickly. The friend - her best friend - who gets so fl...more I started out liking this book - really, really liking it. It was going to be a four-star book at least. I was laughing in all the right places. And, although I thought it was kind of odd that Elly's grandmother would run off and leave her at the café by herself that quickly, I went along with it for the sake of the story. There is such a thing as "suspension of disbelief."

From that almost stellar beginning, though, things went downhill very quickly. The friend - her best friend - who gets so flustered by a handsome guy (who she sees every day, just looks at as a brother, and tries to fix up with Elly) that she gives him another customer's food (which just happens to be doused with a major love potion).

And, of course, Elly and the dreamboat start dating, but when they're on their first date, she tells him, "Tell me about yourself. I don't know anything." And he says he owns a farm - which is fine, except for the fact that they've already talked about his farm - eight pages earlier. They treat it like it's completely new information, but it's not. And the same sort of thing happens in Elly's conversations with Tom, the magic authority. I just don't understand. It seems that the author couldn't remember what she'd written from one day to the next (which, admittedly, does happen), but she didn't go back to read through it? A better editor would have been able to catch that and fix it.

And then there was that intriguing conversation with the weird drunk guy mumbling about "bad people in town" in the middle of the book. Sadly, it never really seemed to go anywhere - unless he was just referring to Rory's ex, Kim, but she wasn't all that bad, and the way he said it made me expect more. ... Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part. It was a strange bit of "foreshadowing" that, in my opinion, didn't really work.

Okay, and let's not leave out the absolutely ridiculous ending! Who's Elly going to end up with? The dreamboat she's been obsessed with since Day One and with whom she doesn't really have that much in common, or the magic inspector that she flirts with (and kisses) right in front of dreamboat and shares much more of substance? Guess.

There were some great bits toward the end (as there were in the beginning) that made me smile for all the right reasons, but there were many more parts that had me rolling my eyes and screaming at the computer screen (yes, I did say screaming). So did I like this book? I'm not sure. Yes and no, with a little more emphasis on the "No." If I could give this book two and half stars, I would, but I can't, so I'll just round up for the sake of generosity.
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Nov 21, 2011 Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: humor, paranormal, romance

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Spells is the first in Rose Pressey’s Mystic Café series, and a pleasingly light-hearted introduction. Think Bewitched, but in Elly’s café you sprinkle magical spices rather than wrinkling your nose. She’s a thoroughly modern girl who left her small-town home for the big city. But now, betrayed by big-city and love, she’s home taking over her grandmother’s magical café. It might have helped if she’d known there’d be more than everyday kitchen skills involved in those great...more

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Sep 01, 2011 Nikki rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I’m going to start making up random genres, because some books just don’t fit into the ones already established. I know there’s a whole genre called “cozy” mysteries, and perhaps one called “cozy paranormal mysteries,” but No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells really doesn’t fit the whole cozy theme, because cozy makes me think of quaint, and quaint makes me think of New Englanders wearing sweater vests while sipping tea by a lighthouse. Rose Pressey’s first book in the Mystic Cafe series is more perky...more I’m going to start making up random genres, because some books just don’t fit into the ones already established. I know there’s a whole genre called “cozy” mysteries, and perhaps one called “cozy paranormal mysteries,” but No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells really doesn’t fit the whole cozy theme, because cozy makes me think of quaint, and quaint makes me think of New Englanders wearing sweater vests while sipping tea by a lighthouse. Rose Pressey’s first book in the Mystic Cafe series is more perky than cozy. So there you go, it’s a perky paranormal light romance. That’s my random genre of the week.

In No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells, Elly Blair is thrown into the role of magical cafe keeper after her grandmother decides to retire. This would all be fine and dandy if Elly had any inkling that she could do magic, but that knowledge is thrust upon her at the same time as her new role of chef/owner/manager of Mystic Cafe. Still, she’s nothing if not adaptable, and so she tries to figure out all the magic stuff and make her grandmother proud. Of course, within the first few hours of her new career, things start to go terribly wrong. A magical meal makes it to the wrong customer, and despite an embarrassing attempt on Elly’s part to prevent him from eating it, Rory Covington still manages to get just one bite in, which is all it takes. Suddenly, all the women in town are swooning over him, his ex-girlfriend is stalking him, and even Elly finds herself having feelings for him. Unfortunately, she can’t be sure those feelings aren’t the result of the spell.Meanwhile, Elly’s magical blunder alerts the magical authorities, who swoop in and make her life slightly miserable. Elly has to fix the damage as soon as possible or risk having the cafe shut down forever.

The overall plot was, as I said, pretty perky and cheery, even though things go terribly wrong for Elly several times. It’s a fun read with some light romance, and it did a good job of holding my attention. That said, I did have some issues with the character development. First, there were many times when I actually wanted Elly to suffer some consequences because she just doesn’t listen. She’s told to stop using magic, but goes right ahead and does more anyway. She frets about disappointing her grandmother, but then turns around and does more things that jeopardize everything the famous Imelda worked for. She’s also entirely too understanding. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’m sorry, if what happened to her at the end happened to me, you can bet I would have reacted much differently. I also felt like other characters could have been fleshed out a bit more, especially Elly’s best friend.

The story has good bones though, and Pressey has an easy-going, fun writing style. I think if the subsequent books carry character development a little further, it will be an entertaining series.(less)

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Jul 28, 2011 Literal Addiction rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literal-addiction-book, for-review, guest-reviewer

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells – Mystic Café series Book #1

Author: Rose Pressey

Synopsis:

Elly Blair welcomes the chance to escape her ex-fiance and job from hell when Grandma Imelda, ready to retire to sunny Florida, calls for her to take over her little southern cafe.
Elly has no idea her grandmother has baked up magic for the unsuspecting townsfolk for thirty years-and now Grandma Imelda insists that Elly use her own hitherto unsuspected magical powers to carry on the family tradition.
But Elly's...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Krystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Elly is a girl in a muddle. The first thing that will capture the readers' attention is Elly's ability to make everything seem a bit humorous and real. The characters in this novel feel like people you would walk up to in the street and say hi. The men are caring, diligent, and strong. The women funny, quirky, and crafty. Elly helps out in her grandma's restaurant...and soon she may take over. When one little error occurs, her best friend puts down a dish with a love spell in front of the wrong...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-series

Elly's not sure she can run her grandma's cafe, and that's before she learns about the magic ingredients. That's magic as in spells, and newbie Elly is suddenly in charge of giving the townspeople a helping hand. An order gone wrong,and hottie customer Rory is suddenly every woman's dream come true...but he only has eyes for Elly.

Magical mistakes don't go unnoticed, and soon Elly's got trouble. If she can't fix the spell in 48 hours, the cafe will be closed for good. Now she's got Tom to worry...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Holjo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Elly has returned to her hometown of Mystic Hollow at the request of her Grandma Imelda. Imelda is ready to retire, but she can’t make her move until Elly is ready to take over the family business; a homey restaurant serving traditional southern dishes called the Mystic Cafe. Her timing couldn’t have been better, because Elly has recently ended her engagement to her cheating fiance Ray and is ready to make a fresh start.

Although Elly had grown up in and around the Cafe, she never knew that her...more Elly has returned to her hometown of Mystic Hollow at the request of her Grandma Imelda. Imelda is ready to retire, but she can’t make her move until Elly is ready to take over the family business; a homey restaurant serving traditional southern dishes called the Mystic Cafe. Her timing couldn’t have been better, because Elly has recently ended her engagement to her cheating fiance Ray and is ready to make a fresh start.

Although Elly had grown up in and around the Cafe, she never knew that her Grandma’s cooking had a little something special inside. Grandma Imelda had been adding magic to her dishes for the thirty years since the Cafe opened. Elly also didn’t know that she possessed the ability to perform the same magic herself. She only needed to learn how to use it.

In the first days of running the Cafe on her own, Elly’s best friend and employee Mary Jane makes a mistake with one of the magical dishes – she gives a love spell to the wrong customer. The recipient is a handsome man named Rory on whom Elly already has a crush. When Rory starts showing interest in her, she isn’t sure if the butterflies in her stomach are coming from true feelings or the mistaken magic. It won’t be easy to find out for sure with Rory’s jealous ex-girlfriend Kim constantly interfering.

To complicate matters further, an investigator named Tom shows up from the National Organization of Magic. Tom informs Elly that she has to correct the mistake within 48 hours or risk losing the Cafe forever. Elly seems to find bad luck at every turn, but she has quickly grown attached to her new life and isn’t willing to give it up. Will she be able to solve all of her problems in time?

I usually choose books that are more gritty either in their danger or romance than this one. But for what this book lacked in intensity, it made up for with charm, humor, and a fun cast of misfit characters. I enjoyed this story, probably because it was a departure from the darker books I read every other day of the week. It was sweet and fun and left me with a warm, homey feeling. This was a small town that I’d like to visit, so I have no doubt I’ll be back for the next two installments in this series.

Although this is an adult book, it is definitely appropriate for young adult readers as well. There is no violence or sexual content at all. I don’t really have another series to compare this to, but if you enjoyed movies like Simply Irresistable (Sarah Michelle Gellar 1999) and Practical Magic (Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman 1998), you will probably enjoy this series as well.

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Jul 02, 2011 Destiny Philipose rated it 5 of 5 stars

Rose Pressey delivers another dose of her quirky sense of humor with this new series! From the beginning of the book, I was laughing out loud! Main character Elly Blair not only inherits a cafe from her grandma Imelda, but a large helping of chaos when she discovers the cafe come with a side order of magic!

Grandma Imelda has been helping the local townspeople by serving their food spiced with a splash of her special magic. Most are general spells, the feel better-no arthritis pain-spell or maybe...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: rose-pressey, read-july-2011

Elly Blair welcomes the chance to escape her ex-fiance and job from hell when Grandma Imelda, ready to retire to sunny Florida, calls for her to take over her little southern cafe.

Elly has no idea her grandmother has baked up magic for the unsuspecting townsfolk for thirty years-and now Grandma Imelda insists that Elly use her own hitherto unsuspected magical powers to carry on the family tradition.

But Elly's new at this stuff. Her dishes don't turn out as full of smidgens of enchantment and da...more Elly Blair welcomes the chance to escape her ex-fiance and job from hell when Grandma Imelda, ready to retire to sunny Florida, calls for her to take over her little southern cafe.

Elly has no idea her grandmother has baked up magic for the unsuspecting townsfolk for thirty years-and now Grandma Imelda insists that Elly use her own hitherto unsuspected magical powers to carry on the family tradition.

But Elly's new at this stuff. Her dishes don't turn out as full of smidgens of enchantment and dashes of wishes come true as she'd hoped. When handsome customer Rory Covington takes a bite of the wrong burger, he ends up capturing the attention of every woman in town. Elly doesn't know if her feelings for Rory are true or based on her magic gone awry.

Tom Owenton is an investigator the National Organization for Magic sent to look into the magical mishap. Unless Elly can reverse the spell, the cafe will be closed permanently. Tom is more than willing to help Elly out of this magical pickle, but she's not sure she should accept his offer.

Elly only has forty-eight hours to find a way to reverse the spell, or she'll lose the cafe and never discover if her feelings for Rory are real.

My Review

Elly is called back to her home town by her Grandmother and is surprised by what she learns when she gets there. Grandma Imelda is a witch and has been weaving magic into her dishes for decades to aid unsuspecting customers with their aches, pains and broken hearts. Elly has a quick lesson and is then left to 'sink or swim'. It doesn't take long for things to go awry, a spell meant for a heartbroken customer is accidentally given to someone else and highjinks ensue. Tom, an investigator from the National Organisation for Magic turns up to police the situation and make sure Elly is able to fix the mess. Unfortunately Elly is drawn to Rory but the spell makes every woman drawn to Rory. Can she trust her own reactions?

Elly welcomes the move after her own messy break up, so when given the chance to mend someone else's heart she jumps at it. Reeling from her own experience she adds a line in the spell to make his ex jealous and when the spell is given to the unsuspecting Rory trouble comes in the from of a very sophisticated woman named Kim. Elly tries hard to fix her mistakes while fighting her growing attraction to Rory. It's like being back at high school again at times in the book with all the emotions being heightened by the spell, jealous girls following them round, woman throwing themselves at Rory and Rory being clueless! Elly makes a lot of mistakes throughout the book and her reactions are quirky & comical. Rory is a genuinely nice guy, maybe a little too nice for me. I prefered the more flirty Tom, he had a touch of mischief about him, I'd like to see more of him in future books.

This is definitely a light hearted paranormal romance, suitable for both adults and older teenagers. If your looking for light & quirky you've found it!

4 out of 5 Skulls(less)

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Jul 22, 2011 Courtney rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: clean-romance

Elly decides to return to her hometown of Mystic Hollow to take over the cafe' that her grandmother owns so her grandma can retire. Once she gets home to take over the cafe' she soon realizes her grandmother uses magic in her food and expects Elly to continue that tradition. Elly has no idea she has magical abilities but soon finds out that she does!

Grandma leaves her alone with the cafe' to run without ever giving her much information on how the magic works or what happens when you mess up. Ell...more Elly decides to return to her hometown of Mystic Hollow to take over the cafe' that her grandmother owns so her grandma can retire. Once she gets home to take over the cafe' she soon realizes her grandmother uses magic in her food and expects Elly to continue that tradition. Elly has no idea she has magical abilities but soon finds out that she does!

Grandma leaves her alone with the cafe' to run without ever giving her much information on how the magic works or what happens when you mess up. Elly soon finds out what the consequences are of accidently giving the wrong spell to the wrong person when Tom, an agent from the National Organization of Magic, shows up to reprimand her. To make matters worse, the guy she accidently gave the wrong magic food to is the guy that she has been dying to ask out!!

This was a very simple, fun and enjoyable read!! I really enjoyed the quirky fun paranormal story. It was a nice break from the normal dark and dreary paranormal stories out there! There was some mystery involved but none of it was done in a creepy way.

I loved the small town feeling of Mystic Hollow. This was a town where everyone new everyone’s stories and cared for one another. Everyone enjoyed going to the local cafe' for a piece of the famous cherry pie!

The romance behind the story was very entertaining. I enjoyed all the problems that came Rory's way because of the wrong magic. I was also intrigued by Tom and I really hope we see more of him in the second and third book of the series!

Content: This is an adult book and I don't really think it's appropriate for young adults, unless they are at least 16. There were some minor references to previous sexual relationships. Some passionate kissing and some flirting!! The sexual content of this book did not bother or make me blush; it was all done sweet yet flirty!

If you are looking for a fun, charming story about witches and a spell gone wrong, this is a great book for you!

I received a free copy of this book from the author for my personal opinion and review. All opinions are my own!(less)

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Jun 10, 2011 Cristina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned, paranormal, favorites

A little magic doesn't hurt...right?
Unless the spell goes to a hunky guy it wasn't intended to. Then all bets are off. There are actually two hunky guys, a crazy ex, and a girlfriend anybody would want to be friends with.
Elly had moved off to New York to be with her boyfriend. Her grandma called her home to take over the cafe so she could retire. An offer that she wasn't sure of but that was better than staying in New York with the boyfriend. What grandma left out until the last minute was the...more

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May 10, 2012 Itsjustme-wendy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a very cute, fun book to read! This was not one of those dark, scary, serious witch books. This was a quick easy flowing read.
I loved the setting - a cafe', can't get much better than that! For some reason I loved stories set in cafe's. You have "small town America", the cafe', the kitchen where all the spells are cooked up, the park - everything is presented very nicely so you get a good picture in your head.
It has nice character development. I really liked Elly. I loved that she wasn'...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Tammy rated it 5 of 5 stars

FANTASTIC!! That's a one word review for this book. I really enjoyed this story.It was fun , quirky and sweet. I lost count of the times I laughed out loud. This book was full of well rounded interesting characters. The irony with this book..... I was looking for a cheap book to add to my kindle in order to finish up a gift card I received for my birthday. This one caught my attention. I have to say I enjoyed this much more than the last book I read that I paid twice as much for. If you are look...more

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May 16, 2013 Rachel rated it 2 of 5 stars

I should preface by saying that I absolutely loved Rose Pressey's book Me & My Ghoulfriends. This book is only the second book I've read by Ms. Pressey, but it did not measure up. The heroine in Me & My Ghoulfriends was smart, funny and very real. The main character (I can't call her a heroine) in No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells is not a good problem solver, and she doesn't seem to think smart. And, I usually love modern-day-magic-romantic-comedy books. I have a special collection for them...more I should preface by saying that I absolutely loved Rose Pressey's book Me & My Ghoulfriends. This book is only the second book I've read by Ms. Pressey, but it did not measure up. The heroine in Me & My Ghoulfriends was smart, funny and very real. The main character (I can't call her a heroine) in No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells is not a good problem solver, and she doesn't seem to think smart. And, I usually love modern-day-magic-romantic-comedy books. I have a special collection for them on my Kindle labeled Practical Magic because I have so many. But in this book there are just too many problems with the magic. The rules about how it works are kind of set out in the beginning, but the rules keep changing as the story goes on. Without spoiling too much, Grandma Imelda tells Elly at the beginning that there are spells in the book, but that a lot of times you just create your own spells. You work the magic and the words you need will just come to you. But when Elly runs into problems, she doesn't really try to fix them. If it's not in the spellbook she has no idea what to do, and then a large portion of the middle of the story is Elly in a "woe is me, however can I possibly fix this" state of mind but she's kind of running around like chicken little instead of being the heroine you hope she'll be. Finally - the characters in this book constantly "quirked a brow". I lost count of how many times that exact phrase was used. Eventually the phrase "wiggled "my/his/her" eyebrows" came into play, but I got to point I thought if anyone else "quirked a brow" I'd scream.

I also noticed some plot holes in the story that the writer tries to fix retroactively.

For example: Elly's Grandma tells her about the magic and how secret it is and how nobody can know, but as soon as Grandma leaves Mary Jayne comes in and starts asking Elly questions about how she's going to do the magic and how she knows Elly will get the hang of it, and Elly doesn't act the least bit surprised that Mary Jayne knows... then a few pages later Elly asks Mary Jayne "so how did you know about the magic..." It's like someone realized the reader would wonder the same thing, but instead of re-writing they just added in a fix.

Then: Elly gets asked out on a date, she says sure I'll go, Mary Jayne can close up the cafe and clean up for me. The very next chapter begins with Elly talking about how sore and tired she is from mopping the cafe floors and closing up while she's waiting on her date. Then, it's like the writer realized the problem, so she creates a conversation between Elly and her date where she tells him that they closed the cafe early so she cleaned up instead of Mary Jayne.

Also, Elly's cafe is broken into and her spellbook is stolen - when the police come and ask if anything is missing, she lies and says no because she can't tell them about the magic. Like the only choices were tell them the whole story or lie. Why can't she just tell them there's an antique book or a family heirloom missing? She didn't have to say "my magic spellbook is missing". It's like Elly just doesn't think.

Sorry to say it was ultimately disappointing. Even the conflict resolution at the end was flat. It kinda just worked out, Elly didn't really do that much. (less)

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Nov 29, 2011 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, fantasy-sci-fi, fiction

Such a fun story! I ate this one right up. Elly is surprised when she learns that she has magical powers and is thrown off guard when her beloved grandmother leaves her the Mystic Cafe and tells her how to use her magic powers to help the regular customers.

Elly is a great character. She's young and wants to make sure she does the right thing. She's heartbroken when she returns to her small hometown but she's ready to take on running the Mystic Cafe. We get to see her grow a little bit. This is...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, july-2011

What a fun, fun, fun read this was. I was pleasantly surprised by this one!

Elly Blair is this sweet girl who I immediately fell in love with. She is funny and snarky all while trying to keep her southern charm in check. The town of Mystic Hollow is filled with quirky characters - this is my kind of town! Elly's best friend, Mary Jane, had me laughing throughout. The two of them together are very funny and perfect best friends. They differ in many ways yet blend together so well.

Not only is there...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Redd rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Elly charmed me from the beginning of the book with her southern Granny and cafe. No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells reminded me of the Southern Witch series by Kimberly Frost but atmosphere was the only thing they had in common. Besides the witchery thang.

Elly moves back to the small town of Mystic Hollow at the call of her sweet granny to take over the family business, magic making in the family cafe. Why? Granny wants to retire and live in FL. *chuckles* Elly jumps in at the confidence of her Gran...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Anita Clay rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book in the Mystic Café series. Elly Blair gets talked into taking over her grandmothers Mystic Café after she decides to retire. What she doesn’t know is that for years her grandmother had been practicing magic by putting healing spells in all the food she serves. Elly gets a crash course on how to bake the magic into her food. She is left on her own with only a waitress to help her.

A mistake is made with the magical meal being given to the wrong customer and Elly comes under...more

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May 07, 2013 Lisa Crane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Elly Blair has no idea the café her Grandma Imelda is leaving her to run serves up magical spells right along with the yummy southern food! With little explanation, and even less training, the hapless heroine watches as her best friend (and server) delivers the wrong order, complete with a spell for love, to the wrong customer. A magic investigator shows up, and Elly has 48 hours to fix things -- or they'll close the café forever!

The premise of this story was so cute, and I thoroughly enjoyed th...more

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Aug 09, 2011 K. Kellee rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was one of those books that once you started reading, you had to finish. I really enjoyed the author’s voice and style of writing. I was a little thrown off at first at the use of bold type setting, but the more I read, I saw that it was intentional and I liked the quirkiness of it. The lead character, Elly, was funny and inviting and we got to grow with her through her learning experiences life and magic threw at her. I can’t wait to read the next installment in this series and I am equall...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Selenis rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle, free-ebook

Ok, so this is a 2,5 stars.
I did enjoy the book, the characters, the plot... up to a point, that is.
First, Elly is a bit of a wimp, and I don't really like that on a leading character. I could have lived with it and not even complain, nonetheless the episode with her kidnapping is outright ridiculous... You could have bought it if it was written in a way that seemed she was just tagging along not out of fear (come on, not even a weapon there!) but to get her book and back at the first opportunit...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Elaine Cristina rated it 2 of 5 stars

It was not exactly bad, more like an OK read, but not half as good as it sounds.

For one, the plot was not even a little original. I can point out better ones with the same premisse of a magical bakery, particularly Bliss - even though it is supposed to be for young adults.

Secondly, I felt that the development had lots of jumps on it, as though Pressey was too much in a hurry to write and some ideas were not clearly expressed. What was not confusing, was of an immediate occurance and/or consequ...more

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Sep 21, 2011 Englishrose rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fun, sweet and light romance mixed with a little magic! Who could ask for more? With the magical slant you get a paranormal romance that isn't as dark as vampires and witches are. Elly is an adorable character, slightly clumsy but with a good heart. Rory is a great "white-knight" hero. I loved the side characters - especially Tom. The light mixture of a slightly magical world along with fairly realistic reactions made this a great read. The romance was super sweet and made me smile and curled my...more

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Jan 26, 2013 steffi Justice rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-27-challenge

I really disliked the frenetic nature of this book. I wasn't sure where I was at times. I like the concept of the book, and with a bit more editing and cleaner writing I think this author would have a better book for me.

It is a non-stop whirl wind of action and commotion. We are never given a moment to breath and sort things out. The main character feels incredibly sophomoric along with her side kick. Everyone feels to immature to be adults in this town.

This was based on a very good idea and I...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Kat rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: review, paranormal, romance, read-2011

Originally posted on Joyfully Reviewed: http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/new-r...

When Elly Blair moves to Mystic Hollow to take over running her grandmother’s café, she never expects that her grandmother wants her to use magic as well – Elly didn’t know she was even capable of using magic! Elly hopes that a little luck and a lot of hard work will ensure that she doesn’t let her grandmother down. But that luck she hopes for turns out to be bad luck – her friend and waitress serves up a bespelled b...more Originally posted on Joyfully Reviewed: http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/new-r...

When Elly Blair moves to Mystic Hollow to take over running her grandmother’s café, she never expects that her grandmother wants her to use magic as well – Elly didn’t know she was even capable of using magic! Elly hopes that a little luck and a lot of hard work will ensure that she doesn’t let her grandmother down. But that luck she hopes for turns out to be bad luck – her friend and waitress serves up a bespelled burger to the wrong customer. It’s a problem that gorgeous Rory Covington is now being chased by all the women in town – and his equally beautiful ex-girlfriend. It’s a bigger problem when handsome National Organization of Magic investigator Tom Owenton shows up to look into Elly’s magical mistake. If Elly can’t fix the spell, Mystic Café will be closed down…and Elly will never know if her desire for Rory is real.

Witches, magic, and mayhem are the name of the game in No Shirt, No Shoes, No Spells. The first installment of the Mystic Café series starts off as a lighthearted, enjoyable romp filled with pratfalls and magical mishaps. Unfortunately, the longer the book went on, the less entertaining I found Elly’s problems to be. The problem for me lies with Elly and her increasing woe-is-me attitude and her irritation with Rory’s ex. For a while I sympathized with her. But as Rose Pressey made Kim, Rory’s ex, increasingly persistent in winning Rory over, I found that I pitied Kim more than Elly, as it was Elly’s spell that sends Kim over the edge. Ms. Pressey attempting to explain away Elly’s guilt just didn’t jive for me; it’s a personal preference, but I’d rather have a heroine who will admit just how badly she screws up than one who passes blame.

The romance is in the background of No Shirts, No Shoes, No Spells and it includes the potential (that doesn’t really pan out) for a love triangle. When Ms. Pressey first introduces Tom and Rory, I found one of them incredibly interesting and ripe with potential and the other I thought was handsome but completely cardboard otherwise. Naturally, this made me root for Elly to end up with the interesting man…and sadly for my reading experience, she didn’t. I really, really wanted to like No Shirts, No Shoes, No Spells, but ultimately the story just wasn’t for me.(less)

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Sep 22, 2011 Evelyn Amaro rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: PNR, UF, Witch and Magic Lovers.

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This book has it all! It is laugh-out-loud funny, with a dreamy romance, a "who done it" mystery, uncontrollable magic and a cast of insanely unique character that will hook you and keep you turning the pages until the very end. If you like Practical Magic, Bewitched and Hocus Pocus, then you will love this book!

Clumsy, down-on her-luck Elly Blair has been stepped on and disappointed long enough. She escapes her cheating fiance and her horrid job to return to her hometown ...more

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May 17, 2013 Alex Owens rated it 4 of 5 stars

Having read a few other books by Pressey, I knew that I was going to like this book if it was anything like her others. I'd classify this one as more a light-chick lit/ paranormal/ sweet book, as opposed to some of Pressey's more gritty, action-packed novels.

Overall, an interesting premise, original quirky characters and a swoon-worthy romance (with a dash of mystery and suspense). And it's very well-written, which further cements Pressey into my "authors I must read everything they've written"...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars

Cute and easy read. I would have liked more character development though. You are just thrust into the story, and everything happens very quickly. There's no background to really help you ease into the main problem in the story. With that being said, it was a fun, light story, it was only $2 on Amazon, and I will read the next book in the series as well. Sometimes a light, fun read is what is needed, even if it lacks some of the meat you find in other novels.

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title link	preview: No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11534460-no-shoes-no-shirt-no-spells?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328202448l/11534460.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11534460-no-shoes-no-shirt-no-spells?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells by Rose Pressey[/url]

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells (Mystic Cafe #1)

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