Witches Academy Books in Order

Witches Academy is a little different from Anna Celeste Burke's other entries, because it is part of a shared paranormal world rather than one of her long-running California mystery series. Burke's contribution, Kitchen Magic, works well as a standalone, so you do not need a deep knowledge of the wider project to enjoy it. What matters most is the setup, graduates of a magical academy moving through ordinary life while trying to keep darker forces in check.

In Burke's book, the focus is Muriel Bright, a healer and cooking-show star whose public life looks polished and perfectly ordinary. Behind that public image, though, Muriel is a graduate of the Witches Academy of Sorcery in New Orleans and someone who knows that magic can be used for comfort, protection, and truth, or for something much worse. That split between ordinary work and hidden power gives the story its spark.

Muriel is not alone. Her longtime friend and co-host Ophelia Cheval helps keep the tone lively, and the food-world setting gives the book a cozy feel even before the murder arrives. When someone is killed behind the scenes of Muriel's successful cooking show, the case becomes more than a standard whodunit. Muriel can tell that something darker is moving beneath the obvious clues, which means she has to investigate carefully while hiding the full extent of what she can do. Detective Harper Maddox adds the law-and-order side of the story, along with a touch of romantic tension.

What readers should expect here is not a school story with classroom scenes and magical training exercises. The academy matters because it shaped Muriel, taught her what her powers mean, and connected her to a larger magical world. The actual plot is an adult paranormal cozy, grounded in work, friendship, attraction, and the problem of using magic without exposing yourself to people who are not ready for it.

It is witchy, but it stays readable and warm.

If you like your mysteries with practical magic, food, a light romantic thread, and just enough darkness to raise the stakes, this is an inviting place to visit. Start with Kitchen Magic and treat it as both a Burke mystery and a doorway into a broader shared-world series.