{
  "id": 15830390,
  "title": "Cooking Up Magick Book Review",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/cooking-up-magick-book-review",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-21T00:01:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IGN",
    "slug": "ign",
    "url": "https://www.ign.com/articles/cooking-up-magick-book-review"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Cooking Up Magick, the debut installment of HL Bernabe's new series, The Dell Chronicles, aims to be a heartwarming fantasy parallel to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Paisley, a halfling, embarks on a fantastical journey with a duo of dwarves, unaware that an ancient evil has returned and that she holds the key to thwarting it. While the story shares similarities with The Hobbit and LOTR, it lacks sufficient detail to fully flesh out its alternate Middle-earth.\n\nPaisley, the protagonist, is a captivating and compassionate character who forms an intriguing cast of friends and lovers. Her adventures revolve around cooking, magic, and the concept of found family. Her desire for new recipes and a taste of the world's diverse culinary cultures propels her to explore beyond her home and family inn. However, as the story progresses and larger events arise, Paisley's initial cooking-centric motivation wanes.\n\nDescribing Paisley's cooking skills is emphasized more than showcasing them, resulting in a slight disappointment for the author who enjoys cooking. Nonetheless, Paisley's magical abilities serve as a more effective conduit for character development. When her powers manifest, she demonstrates her compassion through healing, protecting, and connecting with her friends on a deeper level. As a new sorcerer in centuries, her emergence is crucial for the story's progression.\n\nThe antagonist, Verzod, is a malevolent sorcerer who incites war in a previously peaceful land. Although we learn about his perspective in multiple chapters, he remains a one-dimensional character, primarily defined by his pure evil nature. His soft spot for his lost talking cat, Whipclaw, offers a brief glimpse of complexity but fails to provide a more extensive character analysis. A later exploration of Whipclaw's role in Verzod's life would have been more engaging.\n\nAlthough the book primarily focuses on Paisley and her friends, Verzod's actions drive much of the narrative. His presence as the primary antagonist effectively sets the stage for the story's conflict.",
  "summary": "The first book in a new series called The Dell Chronicles, HL Bernabe’s Cooking Up Magick sets out to be a cozier fantasy version of The Lord of the Rings . And in many ways, it does pull directly from J.R.R. Tolkien’s world. The main character, Paisley, is a halfling who gets swept up on an adventure with a pair of dwarves, but unbeknownst to her, there’s also an evil overlord that has just…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}