Chipmunjs wotch doftor Chipmunjs, also known as chipmunks, are small, cute and furry animals that belong to the squirrel family. These tiny creatures are known for their distinctive stripes, bushy tails, and their ability to store food in their cheek pouches. However, what many people may not know is that chipmunjs also have a habit of watching doctors. It may sound strange, but chipmunjs have been observed observing doctors in various settings. Whether it is in a doctor's office, hospital, or even in the wild, chipmunjs can often be seen perched on a nearby tree branch or hiding in the bushes, watching doctors as they go about their work. Some experts believe that chipmunjs are attracted to the white lab coats that doctors wear.
Some experts believe that chipmunjs are attracted to the white lab coats that doctors wear. The white color may resemble the snowy environment of their natural habitats, making them feel more at ease. Others believe that chipmunjs are simply curious creatures who are intrigued by the human activity and the various sounds and smells associated with medical environments.
Book Review – Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Maire is a baker with an extraordinary gift: she can infuse her treats with emotions and abilities, which are then passed on to those who eat them. She doesn’t know why she can do this and remembers nothing of who she is or where she came from.
When marauders raid her town, Maire is captured and sold to the eccentric Allemas, who enslaves her and demands that she produce sinister confections, including a witch’s gingerbread cottage, a living cookie boy, and size-altering cakes.
During her captivity, Maire is visited by Fyel, a ghostly being who is reluctant to reveal his connection to her. The more often they meet, the more her memories return, and she begins to piece together who and what she really is—as well as past mistakes that yield cosmic consequences.
From the author of The Paper Magician series comes a haunting and otherworldly tale of folly and consequence, forgiveness and redemption.
My Review:
Charlie N. Holmberg’s Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet was a much darker story than I was expecting. I think maybe that pretty cover fooled me into thinking I was heading into a light, fluffy, and whimsical read. While I did find the read to be whimsical, instead of the light and fluffy, however, I found myself immersed in a tale full of weighty themes and relevant life lessons, the dominant one being that you have to take responsibility for choices that you make because actions have consequences.
Maire is a young woman who learns this lesson the hard way. When the story opens, Holmberg grabs the reader’s attention immediately as she begins to describe Maire. Maire is working as a baker and, curiously enough, has the ability to infuse her baked goods with qualities such as hope, strength, generosity, love – basically whatever qualities she chooses. Those qualities are then passed on to those who eat the baked goods. What makes Maire even more interesting is that she has lost her memory – she has no idea who she is, where she came from, and no memories at all prior to the moment that a woman named Arrice found her in the forest a few years earlier and brought her to her own home to live. Although Maire is somewhat curious about who she is and where she came from, overall she is content with the life she is living and so doesn’t dwell on her true identity too much. Right away I found Maire to be an endearing protagonist, both because of her magic, which she seems to use only to help people, and because the memory loss gives her a human and vulnerable quality. I found myself immediately in her corner, cheering her on, as the real action of the story began.
Holmberg then begins to deftly weave in a few plot twists, the first of which being Fyel. Maire is outside one day when she encounters Fyel, a translucent man all dressed in white, who also has wings of some sort. He tells Maire that he is not from this world, but that he knows who she is and that she must try to remember as well. Many of his remarks are cryptic and he refuses to tell her much more because he says she won’t believe his far-fetched tale and that if she denies the truth, she will be lost to his world forever. He says she must piece the story together herself so that she will believe it.
Maire then becomes obsessed with trying to figure out who she is, but soon after this encounter, we have another plot twist – marauders attack Maire’s village and she is sold into slavery. Strangely enough, her new master Allemas seems to already know who she is and even acts as though he has been searching for her, even though Maire is pretty sure they’ve never met.
The story takes a dark turn at this point because Allemas is a cruel and unpredictable master and Maire does not fare well working for him, especially once he realizes that Fyel has also found Maire. By this point, Maire is desperately trying to figure out who she is, what her connection to Allemas is, and especially what her connection to Fyel is. The second half of the book primarily follows Maire on her journey as she discovers her true identity, how she ended up where she is, and most importantly, as she realized that what happened to her was a direct consequence of choices she made in her other life. Maire’s journey is particularly fascinating in the sense that with each new memory she has about her past, her body undergoes a change as she slowly starts to transform back into what she was before she lost her memory and ended up here.
I did notice a few plot holes here and there as I was reading — things that happen that seem a little too coincidental or even the fact that Maire doesn’t seem to think it’s at all strange that she has this unusual magical baking ability, but I still thought overall this was a great read. While, like the magical baking itself, I’m not sure they really added much to the plot of Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet, I thought Holmberg’s whimsical touches, such as weaving various fairy tales such as Alice in Wonderland, Hansel and Gretel, and The Gingerbread Man into her story, made the story an immensely fun read. What I really liked though were the darker threads that ran through it. Offsetting those whimsical fairy tales as Maire discovers her true identity, is a dark tale that is reminiscent of both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Book of Genesis in the Bible. I loved the added weight those elements gave to the overall story.
For me, the main weakness of the story was the ending. I felt like there was this huge build up to the reveal of Maire’s identity and then a rush to wrap things up, with years tacked on in an epilogue. I would have liked a little more explanation as to what specifically happened from Maire’s return home to what we see in the epilogue. That part just felt too abrupt for me. Other than that though, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet is a book I would recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy. I probably wouldn’t recommend it to children, because even though it has those fun shout outs to familiar fairy tales, I think the darker parts of the story, particularly some things that happen to Maire along the way, would make it too violent and frightening for younger readers.
Thanks so much to Netgalley, 47North, and to Charlie N. Holmberg for allowing me the opportunity to preview this book.
Rating: 3.5 stars
About Charlie N. Holmberg
Charlie Nicholes Holmberg was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to two parents who sacrificed a great deal to give their very lazy daughter a good education. As a result, Charlie learned to hate uniforms, memorized all English prepositions in alphabetical order, and mastered the art of Reed-Kellogg diagramming a sentence at age seven. She entered several writing contests in her elementary years and never placed.
Being a nerd, Charlie started writing fan-fiction as a teenager in between episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She became a full-fledged band geek with mediocre talent in high school, where she met her husband. While she strove to win his attention by baking him cookies and throwing ramen noodles at his house, he didn’t actually ask her out until six years later.
Charlie began taking writing seriously during her undergrad at Brigham Young University, where she majored in English and minored in editing. She finally won a few writing contests. She graduated with her BA in 2010 and got hitched three months later. Shortly afterwards, her darling husband dragged her to Moscow, Idaho, where he subsequently impregnated her.
In summer 2013, after collecting many rejection letters and making a quilt out of them, Charlie sold her ninth novel, The Paper Magician, and its sequel to 47North with the help of her wonderful agent, Marlene Stringer. She currently lives with her family in Utah. Someday she will own a dog.
(Did she mention her third book, The Master Magician, totally made the WSJ bestseller list? Because it totally made the WSJ bestseller list.)
During her captivity, Maire is visited by Fyel, a ghostly being who is reluctant to reveal his connection to her. The more often they meet, the more her memories return, and she begins to piece together who and what she really is—as well as past mistakes that yield cosmic consequences.
Regardless of the reason, chipmunjs watching doctors can offer a unique and entertaining sight. It is not uncommon for doctors to notice chipmunjs observing them during their rounds or while performing medical procedures. This has led to some interesting encounters between doctors and chipmunjs, with both parties curiously observing each other. While chipmunjs watching doctors may seem harmless, it is important to remember that these are still wild animals. It is best to observe them from a distance and not attempt to interact with them. Trying to approach or feed chipmunjs can disrupt their natural behavior and may cause them to become aggressive. In conclusion, chipmunjs watching doctors is a fascinating phenomenon. These small creatures, with their keen observation skills, offer a unique perspective on the human world of medicine. While it may be tempting to engage with chipmunjs, it is important to respect their boundaries and enjoy their presence from afar..
Reviews for "Unleashing the Secrets: Chipmunjs' Insights into Doctors"
1. Emma - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with "Chipmunjs wotch doftor". The storyline was confusing and poorly developed, and it just didn't make sense to me. The acting was also subpar, with the characters coming across as flat and uninteresting. Overall, I found the movie to be a waste of time and money.
2. Chris - 1 star - I can't believe I wasted my time watching "Chipmunjs wotch doftor". The entire film was a mess, with the plot jumping all over the place and the dialogue making no sense. The special effects were laughable and the acting was cringe-worthy. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone.
3. Sarah - 2 stars - "Chipmunjs wotch doftor" was a complete disappointment. The plot was thin and predictable, and the characters lacked depth. The comedy elements fell flat, and overall, the film felt like a cheap cash grab with no substance. I was expecting much more from this movie, and I was left feeling unsatisfied.
4. Andrew - 1 star - I found "Chipmunjs wotch doftor" to be a complete waste of time. The movie was poorly made, with amateurish cinematography and editing. The story was slow and unengaging, and I was bored throughout the entire film. The acting was mediocre at best, and the overall production value was abysmal. I regretted spending any money on this movie.
5. Rebecca - 2 stars - "Chipmunjs wotch doftor" had a promising premise, but it failed to deliver. The writing was weak, with cliché jokes and uninspiring dialogue. The characters were one-dimensional, and I couldn't connect with any of them. The film lacked excitement and originality, making it a forgettable experience. Overall, I was unimpressed with this movie.