3/5 stars The Everlasting , by Alix Harrow (2025) If you like the Arthurian legend then you'll either love this, because it's an homage, or you'll hate this, because it's derivative. The Everlasting is a time travel fantasy novel. Owen Mallory is a historian living in the nation of Dominion. His field of study is the legend of Una Everlasting, the Lady Knight (or the Red Knight), whose valiant stories of conquest in the name of the Queen form the very bedrock of the nation.

5/5 stars The Tainted Cup and A Drop of Corruption , by Robert Jackson Bennett (2024 & 2025) These books really deliver when it comes to a well-developed fantasy world, intriguing murder mysteries, and quirky, compelling characters! If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes stories, but also would like that to be happening in a place where people have magical powers grafted to their bodies using the blood of sea leviathans who lumber ashore and try to destroy the kingdom... you'r

1/5 star The Book of Love , by Kelly Link (2024) This should have been a short story. Instead it was SIX HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE PAGES. I enjoyed Link's quirky book of short stories, Magic for Beginners - creative little dramas about witches and zombies, and a lot of interesting interactions between the world of the living and the world of the dead. I was curious to see what her first full length novel would bring. It did bring a lot more of that fuzzy line between life and

4/5 stars The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches , by Sangu Mandanna (2022) Delightful! "A warm & witchy hug of a book" is right! Reminded me a lot of The House in the Cerulean Sea , but with female witches (kids and adults) instead of the motley crew of various "magical youths." Mika Moon is witch, but has been taught all her life that she must not only hide her magic, but stay away from all other witches, save for once a year when a group of about 10 get together for

2/5 stars The Staircase in the Woods , by Chuck Wendig (2025) I cannot recommend this book because of all the needlessly disturbing content. Honestly, if there's a trigger, this book has it. TW: Blood & gore, Extreme violence, Sexual abuse, Pedophilia, Self-harm, Drug & alcohol abuse, Death of a child/parents, Torture, Rape, Incest, Addiction, Domestic abuse .... you can view them ALL here: Storygraph - Content Warnings . With that in mind, it's hard to review this book beca

2/5 stars Somewhere Beyond the Sea , by T.J. Klune (2024) I wanted this to be great, because The House in the Cerulean Sea was great. In the end, though, we really did not need this sequel. I'll just say at the top here - if you loved Cerulean Sea , don't bother with this one. Just treasure your happy memories of the first book! Here, we return to Marsyas island to rejoin Arthur and Linus and their ragtag gaggle of magical children, who are all up to the same old antics. A

3/5 stars My Best Friend's Exorcism , by Grady Hendrix (2016) TW: The one part I actually had to skip was the torture of a dog. You can fully skip over those pages and not miss anything. The second there's a dog in a bathroom - flip forward a few pages! "Like Beaches meets The Exorcist , only it's set in the Eighties." This book was recommended to me by a local librarian, and I had a lot of fun reading it. It's a quick read. Kind of spoofy and silly with a dark sense of hum

4/5 stars The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales & Dangerous Magic , by Leigh Bardugo (2017) Illustrated by Sara Kipin I guess I'm...

3/5 stars Magic for Liars , by Sarah Gailey (2019) Private investigator Ivy Gamble's meat-and-potatoes work is mostly following cheating...

4/5 stars Green Frog: Stories , by Gina Chung (2024) Short story collections can be tough for me. Often I feel like some are great while...

5/5 stars The Girl in Red (2019), and Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook (2017) , by Christina Henry Trigger Warnings (both...

3/5 stars Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery , by Brom (2021) A fun read for lovers of witch &/or Puritanical witch-hunt era stories. Abitha...

4/5 stars The Crane Husband , by Kelly Barnhill (2023) Barnhill does magical realism very well. I've read two other novels by her - The...

4/5 stars Witchmark and Stormsong , by C.L. Polk (2018 and 2020) A great one-sentence summary from a post on Goodreads:...

4 & 3 out of 5 stars What Moves the Dead and What Feasts at Night , by T. Kingfisher (2022 & 2024) 4/5 stars What Moves the Dead A...

3/5 stars We Need No Wings , by Ann D á vila Cardinal (2024) Magical realism done quite well. Tere (short for Teresa), a Puerto...

5/5 stars The Book of Doors , by Gareth Brown (2024) Fantastic book for book-lovers! Cassie works at a bookstore in New York City. She...

4/5 stars Woodworm , by Layla Martínez (2021) Translated by Sophie Hughes & Annie McDermott I got this in a book swap at my book club's...

4/5 stars A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking , by T. Kingfisher (2020) “Death by sourdough starter. Not a good way to go.” This book...

3/5 stars Every Heart a Doorway , Down Among the Sticks & Bones , and Come Tumbling Down , by Seannan McGuire (2016, 2017, 2020) There...