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. 

A Deadly Education

 A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik, 2020 

     Magically gifted children around the world who are coming into their magic are tempting little treats for Maleficarum, the creatures who want to eat them for the manna which is both their life-force and their magic. To try and protect their children, as well as teach them how to use their magic, the adult witches and wizards running the Enclaves (safe communities hidden from the Mals) around the world send their children to the Scholomance. 

     Four years of learning magic and fighting off the monsters which try to eat them help the magically gifted children develop their skills. The school has no teachers, no holidays, nothing more than the assignments each student receives and the monsters who prowl the halls day and night. Survival depends on creating an alliance to fight their way through the graduation hall full of the biggest and baddest Mals who cannot squeeze their way into the safety of the school. 

     El believes in the concept of balance and, when Orion Lake saves more children in their generation than have ever made it out of the school before, the balance is upset. Magic demands the balance be restored, but at what cost. 

     Novik's new world follows a misfit who has been plagued by her differences her entire life. But she finds those differences fuel her ability to make changes in their world. 

The Boyfriend

 The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden, 2024 Penguin

     Online dating is not how any young woman dreams of meeting Mr. Right, especially Sydney Shaw. When her latest potential conquest is a flop of the highest caliber - including expecting favors in return for investing his time in their dinner plans - Sydney doesn't think life could get any worse. 

     Tom is a teenager struggling with his attraction to the beautiful Daisy Driscoll. As a sixteen-year-old he knows dating the police chief's daughter isn't in line with his dark desires to cause her harm. When one of their classmates goes missing, Daisy looks to Tom for protection even though his best friend, Slug, is a little bit creepy. Tom worships the ground that beautiful girl walks on. 
     She is proven wrong when she discovers her best friend Bonnie's mutilated and murdered body in her apartment. The murder drives the thirty-four-year-old to be ever more cautious of her surroundings and back to her police officer ex-boyfriend. Jake is investigating a serial murder and keeping tabs on Sydney when she meets and begins dating Dr. Thomas Brewer. Thomas had saved Sydney from her disastrous foray into online dating, but what is his connection to the 16-year-old Tom who is in love with Daisy. 

     As Sydney's and Tom's relationships grow and develop, the parallel investigations into so many deaths around both of them lead to some shocking conclusions. Whether those conclusions are truth, only time will tell. 

     The Boyfriend is a contemporary murder-mystery suspense told from two points of view in two timelines. Sydney surviving Bonnie's murder with her friend Gretchen, ex-boyfriend Jake, and new boyfriend Thomas are in the present day. But how are they linked to Tom in the past with his friend Slug, the murdered teenage girls, and the love of his life: Daisy? McFadden's signature twist is sharp and unexpected. The novel is intended for mature readers with graphic violence and risqué content. 

Ten Rules for Faking It

 Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan, 2020 St. Martin's Griffin

     Everly enjoys her position as a producer at a mid-level radio station. She works with her best friend who drives her to try getting out of her own comfort zone. Stacy is the voice of their radio program and opens the story by trying to make her best friend's thirtieth birthday special. Chris Jensen is the son of the station's new owner and put in charge as a single hoop in a series. Mr. Jensen sees the station as another toy to make him more money, but Chris sees the people. He sees the opportunity to grow the station and create a business which is more than just profit. 

     Unfortunately, Everly had just discovered her boyfriend in bed with his personal assistant and it was the frosting on the top of a series of terrible birthdays. When her explosion hits the airwaves Everly receives both an outpouring of support and the most terrifying series of events in her life. 

     When the owner sees Everly's on-air tirade as a reason to raise the system and sell it off piecemeal Chris tries to keep the crew together by offering the listeners a version of the Bachelorette. Everly agrees, with Stacy's help and support, and the station is able to leverage the success and listener engagement into a bond that ties the crew together and Chris to the crew. 

     Everly challenges her social anxiety to grow closer to the rest of the station's employees, including Chris. But the connection with her boss is more than just co-workers, or even friendship. The growing attraction between Chris and Everly forces each of them to question everything they've ever believed about their futures. But will it be enough? 

     The contemporary romance is the first in a series about the Jensen brothers as they find themselves and their partners. The first is a workplace romance dealing with parental expectations, mental health, and creating the future. Chris and Everly's story is a new adult contemporary romance. 

The Midnight Library

 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, 2020 Viking

     Nora Seed wants to die. She doesn't feel like her mediocre life is worth living anymore after her cat dies, she loses her job, and she doesn't have a clear way to achieve any of her dreams. Late on that fateful Tuesday night, Nora takes too many pills and finds herself in the Midnight Library. 

     In the midnight library it is always midnight: it is a place between life and death, a sort of Schrodinger's Cat in the plurality of worlds where the Librarian helps Nora chose a book--a life--to try out while she's in between. Nora begins with lives where she made the other choice: stayed with swimming and became an Olympic champion; continued on to study glaciers and join a research team in the Arctic; stayed with her ex, got married, and lived out his dream of owning a pub; or joined her best friend on an adventure in Australia. 

     Each life shows her a new way she could have lived, but there's always a sense of displacement - as if she's joined the race partway through. When she becomes disappointed in her life Nora returns to the Midnight Library and the Librarian. With each new life comes the possibility of perfection, but each life is shown to have it's own disappointments. When Nora experiences motherhood in one of her lives she discovers she does want to live. 

     But is the desire to live enough to keep her alive? Haig's thought experiment about what happens after death is a poignant look into regret, despair, and hope. With suicide at the center of the tale this story is appropriate for adults and mature readers. 

Uprooted

 Uprooted by Naomi Novik, 2015 Del Rey

     In the tower at the end of the valley lives the Dragon. He is a cold and powerful wizard who keeps the people of Dvernik safe from the Wood and its corrupted magic. Every ten years the Dragon takes the most beautiful and talented young woman from the village to be his servant. Kasia is that young woman this decade. Agnieszka is afraid for what will happen to her best friend, but she needn't worry: it isn't Kasia the dragon takes, but talentless and clumsy Agnieszka. 
     The young woman discovers the stories of what the Dragon will do to her are highly exaggerated and he simply needs someone to help keep his home and keep him company. He chose Agnieszka because she has some magic of her own and begins to teach her spells. When the Dragon is away serving Polnya's royal family Dvernik is attacked by the Wood; Agnieszka discovers the magic she's learned from the notes left by previous taken girls is different than what the Dragon teaches, and it allows her to save her people and heal the Dragon when he's injured. 

     The sally from the wood results in Kasia's capture, Agnieszka and the Dragon fight to rescue her, and Polnya's Prince Marek comes to investigate rumors that someone has been rescued from the Wood. The prince demands the Dragon and his witch rescue the queen who fled into the enchanted forest twenty years before, but the drama which ensues is entirely unexpected. 

     Based on Polish folktales Uprooted examines the high-fantasy genre in a new light. The main character is not the beauty of the town, nor does she become a great beauty through some magic, but the strength of her character and the fierceness with which she fights for what she believes to be right are at the core of her story. The wizard in the tower doesn't solve all of the world's problems with a magic spell, nor does the prince save the day in this young adult novel of self-discovery with a touch of romance. 

The Love Hypothesis

 The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, 2021 Berkley Books

     Stanford University is the dream, and Olive Smith is a third year Ph.D. student living that dream. Until her friend Anh starts to put up a fuss about Olive's lack of long-term relationship. She lies to her best friend, a lie of convenience and one intended to keep Anh from pushing her into a blind date. But that lie requires some quick acting to keep it going. 

     To keep from getting caught in her lie Olive kisses the first man she sees - the grumpy professor Adam Carlsen. Olive thinks her lie is going to be caught out and Anh will keep up with her matchmaking attempts only for Dr. Carlsen to agree to be her fake-boyfriend. 

     Their charade feels unusually real to both Olive and Adam and spending time together isn't the terrible and terrifying ordeal Olive thinks it will be. Adam is clever, he supports her in her work and personal life, and he stands by her when a scientific convention goes crazy. 

     Olive doesn't think this fake relationship will make it because of her background and how she experiences attraction.  It takes Adam revealing what she never knew for them to give it a real chance at love. 

      The setting in STEM is novel with a female scientist as the lead character who wants to earn her way, but is stopped by systemic prejudices. The relationship between professor and student is scrutinized by the university while Adam and Olive's connection is closely inspected by her friends. Their story follows the traditional fake-dating trope featuring scientists with adult themes. 

Never Too Late

Never Too Late by RaeAnne Thayne, 2005 Silhouette

    Kate Spencer recently discovered that the life she lived was a direct result of being kidnapped from her family home at the age of three. Her newly discovered family includes two older brothers, a loving mother, and a generous father. When her brother and best friend have married the bride, Taylor's, older brother comes back into Kate's life. 

     Hunter was a former cop who was falsely convicted of his pregnant girlfriend and her terminally ill mother's murders. Three years in prison have made Hunter believe that he is no longer worthy of compassion or care. 

     Kate and Hunter decide to seek out the woman who kidnapped and raised her in a series of motel rooms across the state of Florida. When Kate was taken from the only mother she had known and placed in a series of foster homes at seven years old she bounced around until the Spencers form a strong bond and the only thing stopping her adoption was her "mother's" refusal. 

     Kate and Hunter drive from Utah to Florida to search for the woman. Along the way, the doctor-in-training and her former-cop escort help a young woman deliver her child, save a blind man from a couple of street thugs then deliver him to his granddaughter's dance recital, and stop a couple of drunk frat boys harassing young women. 

     The two fight their attraction until they decide to give a relationship a try. Their story follows the traditional romance trope for a quick and easy read. 

The Gates of Sleep

 

The Gates of Sleep by Mercedes Lackey, 2002 DAW Books

     Hugh and Alanna Rosewood are happily married and happy to be celebrating the birth of their first child: a daughter named Marina. The two Earth Masters are surprised that their child has water-magic, but their close friend and powerful water-mage, Elizabeth Henstridge, confirms the baby will be a powerful mage. 
     Upon the child's christening, Hugh Rosewood's estranged sister surprises the family. With a thinly-veiled familial connection, Arachne invades her family home, but the schism makes Hugh and Alanna suspicious of her motives. Their fears are founded when Arachne tries to steal away the baby's powers. 
     The Rosewoods' friends, and little Marina's godparents, immediately recognize the curse but are unable to remove it. One of her godmothers' talents as a water-mage allows the Elemental Masters present to subvert Arachne's curse - putting it to sleep. Fearing Arachne will reactivate the curse Hugh and Alanna send Marina with three of her godparents to be raised in secret. 

     Even the Rosewoods have no idea their beloved daughter is raised in Cornwall with pre-Raphaelite artists. Marina loves her aunt and uncles and respects the magic they teach her, but as she nears her eighteenth birthday and the looming deadline of the curse her education in water magic requires additional support. Her fourth godparent--a respected lady--comes to Cornwall under the pretense of research to train the young mage. 

     Although her studies are incomplete Marina is forced to return to her parent's home when they die mysteriously abroad: Arachne has managed to arrange her brother's estate in order to take control of Marina's life. With her aunt and cousin managing the Rosewood heir's every move, Marina has little ability to continue her studies. Their intent becomes more clear and more sinister Marina is unable to contact her godparents and must face alone her new guardian and the curse she still doesn't understand. 

     Marina's story in The Gates of Sleep is a creative retelling of the "Sleeping Beauty" fairy tale. Set in the world of Lackey's Elemental Masters magic abounds and those who are gifted with magic are both good and evil. This story is more mature than the popular tellings of Sleeping Beauty and includes elements of Satanism and intentional harm to disadvantaged populations. 

Flunked

Flunked by Jen Calonita, 2015 Sourcebooks for Young Readers
 
     Gillian Cobbler lives with her mother, father, and five siblings in a large drafty boot. After Cinderella’s Godmother rips off the glass slipper design (made famous by the princess) all of the kingdom’s orders go her way and Gilly’s father’s shop suffers. To help feed her younger siblings Gilly begins stealing from minor royals.
     When Snow White’s dwarf squad catches Gilly for her third offence it’s off to Fairy Tale Reform School to be taught how to stop her law-breaking ways. Gilly is completely removed from her family for at least three months –and every moment away she worries for their survival.
     At FTRS Gilly meets some fellow students: a fairy locked away for using magic underage and without a license, a young man who seems to hate the royals just as much as Gilly does, and an Ogre with a predilection for jewelry. At Fairy Tale Reform School the teachers are the villains of the fairy tales. The Sea Witch teaches deportment; the Evil Queen teaches psychology and runs therapy sessions; Flora is Cinderella’s step-mother and headmistress; and the Big Bad Wolf – of Little Red Riding Hood fame – teaches history.
     Gilly finds herself making friends as she worries about her family. When the Evil Queen sends her home early, just before the Royal Ball celebrating FTRS’s fifth anniversary all of Gilly’s dreams have come true. But she can’t leave: something about the events leading up to the ball have made Gillian Cobbler suspicious and she is going to figure it out.

     Fairy Tale Reform School’s motto is “Turning villains into heroes” and Gilly, with her friends, is going to make it happen in this introduction for middle-grade readers. Similar stories include Ella Enchanted and the Pennyroyal Academy series.

The Serpent's Shadow

The Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey, 2001 DAW Books

     England is monumentally different than India and Maya Witherspoon finds it both a blessing and a challenge when she flees her mother's homeland for her father's. Something is chasing the young woman and her Indian household across continents. Maya hopes that hiding among the working poor in London will keep her hidden from the unknown pursuer. 

     Peter Scott is an Elemental Master of Water. His club is a center for the men who protect England from magical threats. He is assigned to find the new and mysterious source of Earth Magic in the depths of London. He discovers the female doctor and her entourage hiding behind a unique shield set by an obvious novice. Peter and his fellow masters are surprised by the shield itself, but the stodgy old men have no inclination to help Maya learn how to manage her power. 

     Better to ask forgiveness than permission--Peter takes it upon himself to teach Maya the basics of western magic and the mastery of Elements. She is powerful but faces opposition at every step as she pursues her goal to be independent and help those who otherwise wouldn't be helped, and to create a home for her little family. It is Peter and his connections who support her and her dream when Maya discovers who and what have been hunting her. 

     The Serpent's Shadow sets a modern young woman in Edwardian England. Her race, gender, and professional occupation are all challenges to the status quo and Maya's passion for helping others earns her just as many friends as her vocation earns enemies. Magic cannot solve all of her problems or grant her wishes, yet Maya knows it will help her as a doctor. 

     Lackey creates a complex mirror of Edwardian England enriched with regional magics as elaborate as the cultures across the world. This is the first of an extensive series exploring retellings of classic stories. 

Shadow of Night

 

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness, 2012 Viking Adult

     As an alchemical historian, Elizabethan England is a dream destination for Diana Bishop. When the present is too dangerous for a witch with no control over her power and who has fallen in love with a vampire Diana and her husband, Matthew de Clairmont escape into his past. Fitting into history when Matthew and his family are powerful forces both politically and martially is difficult for modern woman Diana. 

     Matthew is Matthew Roydon in 1590. Advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, spy, and member of the Creatures' Congregation, he is responsible for ensuring the creatures of Europe refrain from meddling in human affairs. Diana discovers her husband is a powerful man in his own right, but the weight behind his family name is an additional level of protection over their forbidden relationship. Their travel in time displaces the original Matthew Roydon and requires that the pair scramble to reassure his family when Philippe de Clairmont receives word of his missing son. Matthew is hesitant to meet his relatively recently deceased father and concerned the vampire lord will take issue with his choice of wife and Diana's witchy magic. 

     Philippe knows something is changed in his son, and the pair are forced to reveal some of the future to the vampire. Matthew's family accepts Diana and, with Philippe's support, the two have a second, public wedding. More characters come into play as Diana meets more of the de Clairmont clan, including Matthew's sister Louisa, son Benjamin, and nephews. Not every member of the ancient and powerful clan is happy with the new witchy member, but Matthew and Philippe stand behind Diana to set events in motion which will ripple down the timeline. 

     While her personal life revolves around how the vampires of the de Clairmont clan handle Matthew's marriage, her magic and the focus of their journey depends on Diana making strong relationships with a nearby coven. With their help she discovers the key to her unmanageable magic is to try not to manage it - Diana is a spell-weaver and writes her own laws of magic. 

      Circumstances require that Diana and Matthew cut short their journey into 1590. Their travel home is just as fraught with concern as the trip backwards in time. They return home months after leaving and to surprises they couldn't have imagined. 

     The second All Souls installment sees a new, more transparent side of the categorically secretive Matthew de Clairmont. Diana learns how to use her power and the power of community. Readers who enjoyed Nora Roberts' Chronicles of the One will find similar themes in Harkness's story. 

The Merchant's Daughter

The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson, 2011 Zondervan

     The youngest daughter of a rich merchant is expected to make an advantageous match or enter a convent in medieval England. Annabel Chapman is no exception--dreaming of entering a convent where she can avoid the lurking Bailiff Tom atte Water and study the Bible--until her father's ships sink and her father is killed by a nation-wide pestilence. Poor and fatherless, Annabel is not a preferred candidate for the convent. 
     Three years after her father's death the lord of the manse, the elder Lord leWyse dies and her family's fortunes shift again. Her mother and older brothers refused to do their fair share of the work or pay the censum - a fee in place of their work. The local jury rules that the Chapmans will immediately do their share and pay the three years' censum owed. When their penury cannot allow them to pay, the jury's alternate punishment is for a member of the family to serve their new lord for three years. 
     Lord Ranulf leWyse is considered a beast: he is cruel-tempered, scarred, and his changes are abrupt. Though his goal is to make life better for his villeins, change is difficult. Though ensuring the baker doesn't steal grain or the butcher doesn't overcharge for meat creates animosity with those who take advantage of their power, it ultimately is for the betterment of the community as a whole. Annabel's older brothers and mother cannot pay the past-due censum and refuse to be indentured to the new lord, so she takes matters into her own hands and goes to the manor. 
     Despite his reputation as a difficult master, life under the roof of Lord leWyse seems to be a better deal than the life her brothers have planned for Annabel. They plan to marry her off to Tom atte Water in exchange for the censum payment - what they don't realize is that Tom has worded the agreement to his benefit. At the manse, Annabel learns how to work for her new lord and develops a fragile friendship with him. Her dream to join a convent and study the Bible looks like it could become more than just a dream. Ranulf provides a copy of the holy writ when their local priest refuses to teach the girl--insisting women are temptation and evil. The lord disagrees and doesn't stop at allowing Annabel to read the book, but also discusses theology with her leading to a deeper relationship. 
     Ranulf leWyse is intrigued by the young woman who is afraid of something she cannot, or will not, reveal. He is an honorable man and believes - insists that the people of his domain are treated fairly and with respect. His insistence leads to dissatisfied members of the community who challenge his rule. 
     Annabel and Ranulf are attracted to each other, however, their beliefs about their individual roles in the community, and society in general, prevent any relationship between them. It takes courage for the pair to put to rest the discord in the community and to maintain their separation from each other. 
     Ranulf and Annabel are unrelated to the characters of the first Hagenheim story, becoming interwoven with their story as the series continues. Set in the era of the Holy Roman Empire the characters' Christian faith is a key theme especially how it directs their actions. The Merchant's Daughter is a retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast tale with elements of the Cinderella story thrown in. Teen and young adult readers who enjoyed The Healer's Apprentice will enjoy the second tale set in Dickerson's Hagenheim. 

Shadow & Flame

Shadow & Flame by Mindee Arentt - 2019 Balzer & Bray

     Kate lost her brother and love during a failed rescue attempt in Rime's neighboring country, Seva. She fears her hesitation in using her Sway was what caused her losses, but she had to return to Rime and the fight to survive the inquisition of Wilders. 

     A year after her return to Rime, Kate and her wilder supporters have carved out a place on the edges of their homeland. Edwin has declared himself king in Corwin's absence and the shaky armistice protects them in the wilder city. Kate is swamped in self-doubt but holds up for her followers. 

     In the prison mines of Seva a young man called Clash has a secret even he doesn't remember. High Prince Corwin has retreated into his own mind to survive the brutal reality of the mine. A personal rebellion on behalf of his only friend leads to a traitor from Rime who shares Kate's power of Sway discovering his identity. 

     Lord Gavril introduces Corwin to Seva's Godking and his children. Using the man's power the Godking forces Corwin's marriage to his only daughter. The ploy is a bid for Rime and the riches--the magic--it harbors. Corwin refuses to allow a relationship to grow with his farcical wife, Eravis. And she schemes with the captive prince to hide from her father and his lackey. 

     The announcement of Corwin's marriage stuns Kate--not only is he alive but married to their greatest enemy's only daughter. This doesn't sound like the Corwin Kate has known for most of her life. 

     Lord Gavril has kept Corwin under his thumb through a mixture of his power and a drug made from magical deposits found in Seva's mines. The prince is unable to prevent himself from becoming complicit in the Godking's plans to destroy Rime. 

     Captured wilders and Sevan forces attack a war-torn Rime. Still reeling from a civil war between wilder and mages the invading army has little difficulty subduing the country. Their attempts to escape leads Corwin and the captured wilders to Kate and the wilder leaders captured by Edwin. 

     The invasion reveals more to the story than Kate or Corwin imagined when their old enemy Rendborne appears on the scene. Kate questions everything she believed of the Rimish conflict and magic in Rime. Corwin questions his own ability to lead and his right to the throne amid problems his people face. 

     Kate and Corwin repeatedly face tragic losses as the war for Rime rages between various forces. They hope to find each other in the end, but it appears the Goddess Noralah has her own requirements of the two aim to lead her chosen country. 

     Shadow & Flame is intended for older teen and young adult readers with graphic violence and complex manipulation. The classic struggle of good versus evil is mirrored in the question of control against free will. Kate is a flawed character who readers can identify with while Corwin is a respectable character fighting for something larger than himself. 

A Discovery of Witches

 A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, 2011 Viking Penguin

     Hiding from her family history by becoming a leading scholar of Elizabethan science has served Diana Bishop well. She is on track to become one of the youngest scholars to obtain tenure at a top United States University. She is working on a research project in Oxford's Bodleian library when she meets Matthew de Clairmont. 

     The suave Monsieur de Clairmont is a vampire, older than the institution Diana has tied her future to. He immediately recognizes her as a witch - one who rarely uses her magic - and it is by her rarely used magic that she draws the attention of Witches, Vampires, and Daemons. The Ashmole Manuscript she calls for her research has been missing for decades when Diana recalls it from the stacks. 

     Rumor has it the missing manuscript tells the origin of Creatures. Diana's interest is only in the alchemical message of the text. But the fact that she can find Ashmole draws even more attention and ire when she refuses to hand over the document despite pressure from every creature of significant political power. 

     Matthew's interest starts with the manuscript but he finds Diana more and more compelling. When her own kind turns against Diana for refusing to provide the much-coveted Ashmole Manuscript, Matthew de Clairmont is her rescuer. The two remove from Oxford for her safety despite the Covenant of Creatures. 

     As they become more enraptured with one another Matthew and Diana seek to understand why the manuscript comes to Diana despite stronger magic's failure to call it forth. At the de Clairmont fortress in France Diana also discovers more about her magic and her personal history. 

     When the Congregation kidnaps Diana from the property - violating the de Clairmont sovereignty in their own lands - Matthew realizes how his life and that of the witch mirror her observations of the missing manuscript. He will violate his own laws to find and protect her and their growing relationship. 

     The more she learns about the Creatures' world the more Diana wishes she could return to the safety of her American ignorance. Her aunts--powerful witches in their magic-- do not have the political strength to protect her and her parents' magic - both rare and powerful - has been absent most of Diana's life. 

     Diana and Matthew risk more than just censure from the Congregation for an interspecies relationship. Something in the Ashmole manuscript has drawn the attention of the most powerful elements of their world and their ire. At heart, this is a romance with elements of The DaVinci Code and Charlaine Harris' Snookie Stackhouse series meant for mature readers with vivid violence. 

The Invisible Library

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman, 2015 Roc

     As a Librarian sworn to the Library, Irene deals with everything from magic to science-fiction-become-reality. Her latest assignment has her taking an apprentice on a journey into a chaos-infested world much like nineteenth-century London. 

     Kai has his own history, but it's been five years in the library studying and preparing for his practical, and Kai is ready to take the next step. Irene has been told their mission is a simple retrieval, but elements of the story don't match up with what she's experienced. 

     Irene and Kai enter the alternate world in search of a unique copy of a dangerous book, but it's already been stolen. To top it off the world seems to have too much chaos for the level of the alternate. Irene questions the information the Library has provided as the danger escalates. 

     Chaos-infested worlds risk the appearance of Dragons who have the ability to restore order to chaos-ridden alternates. Irene doesn't necessarily want to meet the dragons and the job of the Library is to keep the balance. An unexpected, and relatively drastic, warning from the Library itself seems to indicate there's more to the chaos than Irene was briefed. 

     Kai has his own secrets, but the trust and partnership between the two help Irene and Kai move forward together to solve the mystery of their assignment. As they chase the unique book they were sent for, Irene and Kai make connections in this alternate world. 

     Irene is offered the chance to join a movement that counters the solid and rigid Library in a way that still allows her the joy of discovery and exploration. The temptation is strong, but the offer comes from a man feared and vilified for his counter-societal ideas. 

     The first of her Invisible Library series, this tale weaves together a new universe of worlds where the amount of chaos energy determines how closely it aligns with the world of the reader. Older teens and adults will be better able to unravel the new laws of time and space as Irene and Kai develop their partnership and decide their individual paths forward. 

Emerald Green

Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier, 2010 Square Fish

     The final installment of Gwen's story follows directly on the heels of Sapphire Blue. Gwenyth and Gideon have spoken with Lucy and Paul leading the pair even further from trusting the Saint-Germain Society. 

     Gwenyth and Gideon discover the answer ot their riddle of teh chronograph--Gwen is immortal and the Count Saint-Germain craves her immortality enough to forcer to take her own life. 

     The two time-travelers are on the outs after Gwen misunderstands (with her cousin's vehement insinuation) the relationship between Gideon and Charlotte. With Gideon as her only quasi-reliable ally at the society Gwen grudginly allows him to help. Raphael (Gideon's brother), Leslie, and Xemerius try to piece everything together before Gwen has her meeting with the count. 

     The Saint-Germain Society insists that Gwen adn Gideon complete the circle of the chronograph at the count' behest. But their conversations with Lucy and Paul have set Gwen on a parallel path: they direct her to the stolen chronograph in present time. 

     Gweneth and Gideon close the original Chronograph's circle with Gideon's blood and find the Philosopher's Stone. The society force the meeting with the Count while Gwen's cousin Charlotte believes she is hiding something--which she is--and tries to bring the full weight of the society down. Her repeated attempts to discredit Gwen backfire when Charlotte spills secrets of the society and Gwenyth appears to follow all of the society's dictates. 

     It all comes to a head when secrets are revealed and the count isn't just some figure in history. Gwen and ideon have choices that will affect not just their futures and teh society, but all of humanity. 

     This conclusion to the Gemstone Trilogy ties up the loose ends and allows for the future. Emerald Green is aimed at teen readers with elements of romance and time travel. 

The Sword of Summer

The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan, 2015 Disney-Hyperion Books

     On the streets of Boston, Magnus Chase and his two companions, Hearthstone and Blitzen, survive on their wits. After Magnus's mother mysteriously dies chased by otherworldly wolves, he fled from a questionable uncle, Randolph, and has survived two itinerant years. 

     On his sixteenth birthday, Magnus discovers his Uncle Randolph has set his cousin Annabeth and her father, Uncle Frederick, after him. Randolph catches his nephew and cryptically sends Magnus on a mission to find the Sword of Summer--a mythical and magical sword belonging to the Norse god Frey. A fire giant, Surt, arrives and demands the newly obtained sword from the young man. 

     Magnus awakens after his fight with Surt in Valhalla: the realm of heroes. Memories of wolves and fire seem to herald the end of days--the Norse Ragnarök. Magnus learns he is the son of the god Frey and the Sword of Summer is his birthright. The Valkyrie who brought Magnus to Valhalla, Sam, introduces him to his hall-mates: X, Thomas Jefferson Jr, and Halfborn. His friends Blitzen and Hearthstone reveal themselves to be a dwarf and elf, respectively. 

     While Magnus is happy to see his old friends his frustration rises as the various authorities threaten and cajole him, trying to get the Sword. Magnus, Blitz, and Hearth go searching for the sword--missing after the fight with Surt--and are joined by Sam whose participation hinges on obtaining the sword to regain her Valkyrie status, lost when she chose to bring Magnus into Valhalla. 

     The quartet travels through the realms as they gather item after item to trade in their quest for the Sword and to re-secure the Fenris Wolf. Loki and those who would encourage Ragnarök try to bargain with Magnus, but the young warrior has an over-developed sense of justice and will not back down from his plan to save the world. 

     Despite the ever-growing to-do list Magnus, Blitz, Hearth, and Sam continue to fight to prevent the end of the world. Readers who enjoyed Riordan's Percy Jackson series or the Blackwell Pages will enjoy this new look at the Norse myths. The story is written for middle-grade readers, with an eye toward modern social conventions and considerations.  The Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy ties back to Percy's adventures through his cousin, Annabeth Chase.