So, I think writing cozy fantasy–fantasy with a low stakes plot focused on domesticity and interpersonal relationships up to and including romance–is probably pretty hard to write. I say this because a lot of the cozy fantasy I’ve seen is cute and kind of fluffy. The worldbuilding is light, airy and sugary. This is not a negative assessment, sometimes light and airy is just the thing you need.
Babs & Aggie is cozy fantasy, but the fluffy pastry conceals dark chocolate mousse. Our protagonists are Aggie, an immortal witch who used to be known as Black Aggie. She currently owns a cafe and is having to deal with a “Vegan” who has been causing trouble for her business, as well as causing trouble for other businesses in the same marketplace. After the death of her familiar Misty, she ends up contacting her friend Babs (who is better known as “Baba Yaga”) to ask for help.
Together, Babs and Aggie get to work finding out what the Vegan (who is not a Vegan at all) is up to, and foiling his various attempts to ruin Aggie’s business and the businesses of her neighbors. There are some interesting twists and turns of plot, and revelations about Aggie’s past and a deadly mistake she made. The pacing is a little loose due to the cozy nature of the story, but the eventual revelation of what the Vegan is up to and the escalating series of events that leads to said fake-Vegan’s defeat successfully builds tension and suspense. Then there are several cool down chapters where it’s clear that things have turned out for the better despite everything.
This was an engaging book, with fun interpretations of characters from mythology and fairy tales. Hitchins writes both witch characters sympathetically–re-spinning backstories, while not taking out any of the ‘scary fairytale witch’ out of the equation– and creates a fascinating “old girl’s club” of immortal witches having complicated lives and relationships.
This review was based on a galley copy received from NetGalley.
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