Haley and the Miraculous Potion

Haley and Nana #5

by M.C.A. Hogarth

Two Girls, One Kitchen, and a Ton of Self-Control

After months of assigning them to other people, Haley finally lands an exciting quest for herself: to make her first potion! But her concentration is shattered when Billy Bernard's older sister shows up at the inn to apply for a job. Haley thinks of herself as a fairly forgiving person, but Jennifer is enough to test a saint's patience, much less one harried questgiver's. With the holidays approaching, can Haley juggle her questline, her Christmas preparations, and one grumpy teen baker without disaster? It might take a miracle!

Genres: Fantasy

84 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 13, 2022

About the author

Daughter of two Cuban political exiles, M.C.A. Hogarth was born a foreigner in the American melting pot and has had a fascination for the gaps in cultures and the bridges that span them ever since. She has been many things—-web database architect, product manager, technical writer and massage therapist—-but is currently a full-time parent, artist, writer and anthropologist to aliens, both human and otherwise.

Her fiction has variously been recommended for a Nebula, a finalist for the Spectrum, placed on the secondary Tiptree reading list and chosen for two best-of anthologies; her art has appeared in RPGs, magazines and on book covers.

Reviews

[Melissa McShane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one best of all the series so far. I'm fond of enemies-turning-friends stories, and Haley and Jennifer's antagonistic relationship promised some excellent character moments on the way to (possibly) becoming friends. But what happened was so much better, since Jennifer, who has opted out of the system's requirements on religious grounds, actually has some good arguments that make Haley question some of what she's been doing, but in the best way. I particularly liked Jennifer's true reasons for her reaction, that she was angry and resentful of losing things she'd worked hard to gain. That reaction made her seem very human.

And, of course, it's a Christmas story, and an excellent one. These stories get better with every installment.

[Chris]

Weakest of the series so far mostly coz the Christianity felt like it was drummed into my skull and I was so bewildered by the anti-prophecy thing.

I found myself arguing against the character and against the book. Like I can understand being against the idea of prophecy because that goes against your concept of free will. In that position I might have an existential crisis about what I can and can’t change. But she doesn’t like it because it’s not from God? But she was perfectly fine with her magical skills thus far coming from the aliens.

The story does try to wade through the contradictions of that, but it was a slog to get through. It felt like a belated attempt to reconcile the Christian parts and the magic parts through another character. I persisted because I still love the world and the enchanting part. But I think this story made me reluctant to recommend the series to people…

Edited to add: not familiar with Methodist faith or maybe it wouldn’t have bewildered me so much, being raised a Catholic who was encouraged to think for myself rather than rely on scripture. I do enjoy fantasy religion—including ones Hogarth has invented—so it’s just when it intersects with my own but doesn’t behave the same that I am confused.

[Jon Svenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the fifth installment, Haley and Nana are preparing for the holidays. A new character shows up, and she's unhappy.

For a book coming in at 84 pages, that's as much as I can say about the plot.

I still love this series. It's fun, lighthearted, and doesn't try to be anything that it's not. The magic, the warmth, the cookies, and everything else are all there as the year approaches the end. I'm guessing book 6 will be about New Year's Eve.

The editing is excellent, and while the aliens are much chattier than they had been in the early books, I found I didn't care. A great series. 5/5*

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 5. Read them in order. And Merry Christmas!

Having gotten through Halloween and Thanksgiving, our Questgiver is thinking of Christmas preparations. Such as gifts.

Billy's sister Jennifer asks for a job. Sullenly, reluctantly, with great contempt for their baking, and obvious repulsion to all the magic, but she can bake amazingly.

It goes on with clocks, issues of morality of magic, the inn's last guard, Haley's getting a Quest of her own (a Professional one!), a colleague from somewhere else, and more.

[Rita · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found Jennifer extremely hard to take. And this book was more religious than any of the others although they all show that Haley and Nana are strong in their faith. As an agnostic I found this one a bit much in my face. YMMV

[Henry Reidel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haley and Nana book 5

This book is as good as the other ones. I have enjoyed thoughly. I can't wait for the next one to come out.

[Jannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a cosy series there wasn't a huge amount of bad characters so it was a nice change to have someone who was abrasive lol
Again what can I say this series is lovely

[A.A.B · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one didn't work for me as well as the others did. The characters in this series have always been very Christian (the *only* book they read willingly on their own accord is the Bible!). However in previous stories this was not hammered into the reader's head, it was just the characters' life. This story is Christmassy in the peachy, dogmatic and overly simplistic way - cheap Hallmark movie style. That was a sad disappointment.