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

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.

Good Reads Summary

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 customer, Elly is under inspection and worrying.  Rory, the unfortunate customer, develops an almost comical love for Elly.  Elly attempts to right this wrong before it goes to far.  This novel is super fast-paced and the reader will truly enjoy it.  The novel is light and fun.  The characters add depth and help to keep the readers' interest.  The plot is imaginative and fun to read about.  This novel is terrific for young adults/adults who enjoy romance novels with a touch of magic (no explicit sexual scenes). 

4 Stars