Good Reads & Views

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by Victoria Schwab
Fiction

What it’s about: Never pray to the gods who answer after dark. Desperate to escape an unwanted marriage and life in a small town, Adeline LaRue forgets this advice and makes a deal for her soul in exchange for her freedom for as long as she wishes to live. She soon realizes she is cursed to live forever but never remembered by anyone she meets. Three hundred years later in New York City, she meets a man who remembers her. 

Why you should read it: Victoria Schwab has written numerous fantasy stories with unusual plots, but this one does not feel like a historical novel or a fantasy or a typical romance. The prose is spare and haunting. Especially recommended on audio.

What to read next: For another book about an immortal denizen of New York, try Forever by Pete Hamill.

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Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman
Fiction

What’s it about: The prequel to Practical Magic and Rules of Magic, this tells the story of Maria Owens who invokes the curse that will haunt her family for generations to come. The locations range from 17^th century England to Dutch Curaçao to Salem, Massachusetts, and New York City.

Want a taste? “Some people grow weak when they are victimized, others grow stronger, and still others combine those two attributes to become dangerous”; “No one knows where time goes, all the same it disappears.”

Reviewers say: “Maria's page-turning adventure is thoroughly enjoyable. Hoffman's redemptive story of a fiercely independent woman adds an engrossing, worthwhile chapter to the series” (Publishers Weekly).

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A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Fiction

What it’s about: Galadriel, or El to her friends (if she had any) is in the Scholomance, a giant school constructed in the void to trap evil magical creatures that want to snack on the students within, who are constantly in peril. El hates Orion Lake, who has everything going for him and who keeps saving her, though she wishes he wouldn’t, and hanging around, though she gives him nothing but grief about it.

Why you might like it: Hogwarts was a picnic compared to the Scholomance. El is sassy and sarcastic, scheming hard to survive the worst test of all, Graduation, where the seniors are dumped into the Graduation Hall at the base of the school and have to fight their way out.

For fans of: Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Battle Royale

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The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Fiction 

If you like: Stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, found families, and quirky fantasies, read this now!

What it’s about: Offbeat and heartwarming, this tale is set in a highly bureaucratic dystopian society where magical beings exist under the strict scrutiny of the bureaucracy. Linus Baker is a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth whose life is changed forever when he is given a classified assignment to observe an island orphanage housing dangerous magical children. When he opens the top-secret case file and learns the secret of the first of these children, Linus faints with fear. But under the guidance of Arthur, their caretaker, these little monsters have the potential to become their best selves; as Linus learns, a case file can’t tell the whole story. A whimsical and surprisingly delightful story about celebrating differences.

You might also like: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire, The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, and Warlight by Michael Ondaatje.

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The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher
Fiction

What it’s about: In a fantasy world where humans have retreated to Spires far above the deadly surface, Merchant Captain Grimm flies his merchant ship Predator for Spire Albion until he is tapped to lead a team of agents on a secret mission.

Why you might like it: The cast of characters is large yet  nonetheless fully realized. Humor is mixed equally with suspense. The main characters are fundamentally good people caught up in an epic battle. It is the first in a series, and a lot of the world is yet to be explored by the characters.

You might also like: The Guns Above by Robyn Bennis another steampunk world with airships.

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False Value by Ben Aaronovitch 
Fiction

What it’s about: In the eighth book in the Rivers of London series, a book stuffed with Douglas Adams references, Peter Grant is tasked with catching a possible spy in the office, but he uncovers something far more sinister. Yet what he finds may require his skills as a wizard after all…

Why you should read it: Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series packs so much into each book, and they are well written. I especially like to listen to the audiobooks, for Kobna Holdbrook-Smith does a wonderful job of capturing all of the voices of the diverse characters.

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Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama
YA Fiction

What it’s about: Coco dreams of using magic, and by drawing a picture out of a mysterious forbidden book, she accidentally unleashes a spell that hurts her mother. She is taken under the wing of Qifrey, the leader of the Witch Hat Atelier, who hopes to protect her from a masked witch with unknown intentions.

Why you should read it: This is one of the most lusciously illustrated manga series I have ever seen, and Shirahama has created a gorgeous fantasy kingdom with an unusual magic system. Coco and the three other apprentices, each of whom has their own strengths, must use their talents to solve problems, save each other, and (sometimes) work together.

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Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
Fiction

What it’s about: S.T., a domesticated crow, realizes something is wrong with his owner Big Jim when Big Jim’s eyeball falls out and then the guy tries to eat him. S.T., along with his good buddy Dennis, a sweet but dim-witted bloodhound, abandon the only life they’ve ever known to discover that the malady affecting Big Jim has struck all the humans of Seattle--they've become the raging undead, seeking only flesh and the bright glow of digital objects. S.T. and Dennis are in the fight of their lives as they struggle to survive and find purpose among the ruins of humanity. Fortunately, S.T. has acquired plenty of smarts from watching documentaries on the Discovery Channel.

Why you might like it: This quirky fantasy blends dark humor and horror, and features a sassy, plucky hero resulting in an exuberant read that’s full of heart.

Want a taste? Despite the snark, there are some surprisingly poignant and moving passages, like this: “Trust it turned out, was a very beautiful and fragile thing with a taste like wild raspberries and experienced only by the very brave.” And this: “Watching the sunrise.... what an act of beauty, of unwavering faith, something to look forward to each and every day.”

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Burn For Me: A Hidden Legacy Novel by Ilona Andrews
Fiction

What it’s about: Nevada Baylor, a private investigator and truthseeker mage, has to track down a powerful fire mage. Connor “Mad Dog” Rogan, a powerful telekinetic mage, wants to find the same guy. After bumping into each other and sparring a few times, they join forces and uncover more than they bargained for, including a conspiracy and romance.

Why you should read it: Ilona Andrews is a husband and wife writing team who have some really cool fantasy series. This series features a sizzling romance and an alternate history Houston in which powerful mages called Primes clash outside the law. I just finished book four and can’t wait for the next installment!

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Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
Fiction

What it’s about: Gifted with an extraordinary sense of smell, lone wolf Tracker is hired to join a motley band of magically gifted mercenaries in a far-ranging search for a mysterious kidnapped boy. The book opens with the story of Tracker’s youth, when he learns to use his gift and begins his complex relationship with the shape-shifting Leopard. This is a hallucinatory, nightmarish trek across a richly-detailed landscape peopled with witches, magical children, mermaids, vampires, and trolls, and it also is funny, violent, heartbreaking, and romantic. The first of a trilogy.

Is it for you? If you miss Game of Thrones, and are looking for a sweeping, brutal, yet lush and compelling Afrofantasy that blends genres and tells stories within stories within stories, this book is for you. It’s about the power of storytelling, political pawns, chosen families, and love and hate in all forms.

Reviewers say: “Reading Black Leopard, Red Wolf was like being slowly eaten by a bear, one inviting me to feel every pressure of tooth and claw tearing into me…. But I can't deny that having finished it, I went back to the beginning to find things I now better understood, felt better able to withstand — as if in hollowing me out the book had made space for itself, had given me something in exchange for everything it put me through.” Amal El-Mohtar for NPR

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