Practical Magic

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, 1995 Penguin

     Two strange little girls live in a strange house in Massachusetts where strange women have always lived. Sally and Gillian Owens are orphans who grow up as outsiders whose family is known for strange magic. Their guardians, the Aunts, help the people of their small town when asked. But only in the darkness where the townsfolk have deniability. 

     The two girls cannot be more different: Sally is dark-haired, does her schoolwork, and is skeptical of the aunts unusual work. Gillian is red-headed, beautiful and chased by men from the time she realizes what the attention could get her. Sally is self-less, Gillian selfish. Sally chooses to live a normal life - fall in love, have children, experience heartbreak. Gillian runs as soon as she can and doesn't turn back, she's the one causing the heartbreak. 

     For fifteen years. 

     Gillian shows up on her sister's doorstep one late night in June with a dead body and the man's stolen car. Sally helps bury the problem and the sisters re-connect as the summer wears on. But some problems don't stay buried. Sally's girls are old enough to experience some of the gifts their family has harbored for centuries.

     The girls call in backup. The Aunts show the young women their gifts are based in the bond with each other and their family legacy. Magic isn't always flash and bang, but a practical way of moving through the world. 

     Practical Magic is a cozy story of sisters. Jet and Franny, Sally and Gillian, Antonia and Kylie are all heir to a legacy of magic as they move through the world seeking love. Murder, paranormal activity, and a dose of reality make for a low-stakes journey back to family. Readers who enjoyed A Discovery of Witches, In the Company of Witches, and Spells for Forgetting will also enjoy Hoffman's tale. 

Deep End

 Deep End by Ali Hazelwood, 2025 Berkley Books

     Scarlett is a NCAA Diver at Stanford University fighting her way back from a life-altering injury in her Junior year of college. She has few friends, is recently single, and struggles to get back to diving. 

     When her teammate and somewhat-friend Penelope - the darling of college diving - brings up the spicy side of her relationship with her boyfriend at a girls' outing, Scarlett is stunned to learn more about the sexy Olympian swimmer Lukas Blomqvist than she expected. Pen has no qualms against sharing her boyfriend's proclivities with the girls on the team and even pushes Scarlett and Lukas together at a team event. 

     Scarlett's academics throw them together outside the pool and the two do allow themselves to discuss the potential to let off some steam. Scarlett is surprised that Lukas's preferences are nearly perfect for her own. What starts as a purely physical relationship soon becomes more than either expected. Dealing with Lukas, her friendships, her schoolwork, and her diving becomes more and more difficult as the season continues and Scarlett has a chance at the podium at nationals, then at the Olympic Trials. 

     Drama enters the scene the further along in her competition and her relationship with Lukas Scarlett moves. Though she's stayed mostly out of the drama, when it strikes it leads to questioning all of her choices over the last year. 

     The relationship between Scarlett and Lukas takes a turn from Hazelwood's typical portrayal. The mature themes and power exchange are inappropriate for young readers making this book an adult novel. 

The Blood of Hercules

 The Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas, 2024 HarperVoyager

     In the late 21st century the Gods of old mythology have returned to the spotlight. They call themselves Spartans and have become the overlords in a world where Titans - immortal monsters bent on devouring humanity - are a daily risk for the everyday human. There are twelve houses in two factions: Olympian and Chthonic. The Olympians are 'good' while the Chthonic houses are 'evil' and punished for their powers which can hurt others by being forced to fight the Titans. 
     Alexis Hert grew up in a protected zone in rural Montana. Her foster parents are abusive, but she has her best friend Nyx (an invisible snake who she talks to) and her younger foster-brother Charlie. When monsters break into the protected zone their foster-mother is killed, foster-father is jailed, and their run-down trailer-home is towed away by the authorities. Alexis and Charlie are homeless at 12- and 11-years-old. Years later, both are some of the smartest children at the local high school, but Alexis's dream is to test into the top 0.0001% get into college where she can earn a job to support them. 
     The Spartan Aptitude Test (which was only supposed to get her into a secondary school) shows that Alexis is a Spartan. From the moment she signs her test her life is thrown into chaos. 
     Alexis is jerked from her home to Italy where she is the only girl among 50 participants in the gruesome Massacre and earns one of 10 places in the Crucible. She is assigned Achilles and Patros as her mentors. They're powerful Chthonic warriors who look upon their assignment with contempt for the half-human Olympian "mutt". 
     But Alexis persists. Despite wanting to die at every turn, despite being starved and sleep-deprived, despite thinking she has no god-like powers, despite being held to an impossible standard, despite the mysterious voices which follow her every moment and make her question her sanity, Alexis persists. She has Nyx to get her through the endless days and remembers Charlie is waiting for her to come home to make life a little less terrible. 
    Getting to the end of the Crucible is Alexis's only hope: she doesn't care what happens afterward. But there are others in Sparta who have plans for the young woman. After years of living on nothing but the scraps she can scrounge for their small family, the goal is to make a better life for Charlie. When she does survive, not only the Crucible, but also an attack on her life Alexis discovers she has more than just her power on her side. 

     Mas tells a fascinating story with a sarcastic and nihilistic main character whose reaction to the hedonism is affront and realism, rather than entitlement. Alexis's fantasy is enough food to survive and a warm place to sleep through the winter; her classmates were raised to believe they are better than their peers and certainly better than mere humans. Identity and power dynamics weave throughout the story told by a teenager who just can't wait to die a death she'll never receive making for a fast-paced read. This book is classified as young adult but leans toward adult. Please read the trigger warnings.