magic – Page 38 – Cannonball Read 17

An Old Favorite

Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones

May 16, 2022 by Ale 1 Comment

I don’t know how many times I’ve read Howl’s Moving Castle. At least three, but probably more. If books were comfort food, this one would be creamy mac-n-cheese in a ceramic bowl on a cold winter’s day. It never gets old, it never gets dated. It is always exactly what it needs to be; which is a romping good time. For those who’ve not yet indulged in this delight, Howl’s Moving Castle follows Sophie, a young woman who inadvertently angers Ingary’s resident bad-witch and gets herself […]

Old School Hollywood with Demon Deals

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

May 10, 2022 by LB Leave a Comment

Holy crap, I want more! Siren Queen is the story of Luli Wei, a star who stole her sister’s name to become famous and became the monster in many films, but also managed to find love and friendship outside the monstrous side of Hollywood. There are elements of this that remind me of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, mainly the narration style and the old Hollywood setting. But do not go into Siren Queen expecting the same story or same kinds of characters. Luli […]

Superheroes, family, friendship, and Aerialists. Oh My.

The Lost Carnival by Michael Moreci

March 28, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I have wanted to read The Lost Carnival for a while now. It was not because it was about Dick Grayson or DC Comics or about a (future) superhero. It was not because Michael Moreci wrote it, or Sas Milledge and Phil Hester illustrated. No, it was because I wanted to know why the character was upside down and in a flower on the cover. That was the draw. Okay, maybe superficial, but that crazy, busy, simple coloring of yellow, blue, and gray just called […]

A teenage wizard girl and her somewhat sentient cookie and sourdough do big stuff

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

February 27, 2022 by CoffeeShopReader Leave a Comment

I was a little late to the A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, but I’m glad I finally got it; this one is both fun and a little inventive. The basic story is plucky heroine with limited resources faces off against unknown and then known end-of-the-world kind of badness, and triumphs with the help of some friends. Said heroine is 14-year-old Mona, who lives as a magic user in a world mostly suspicious of magic. Mona’s magic only works on baked goods, which is just […]

Meh Valentine’s Reading

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

February 14, 2022 by CoffeeShopReader Leave a Comment

I decided to do some Valentine’s Day reading; I figured A Marvellous Light might be a safer bet than usual (I’m not a romance person) because a writer of a romantic novel that I did like had a positive blurb on the back. The basic premise has a lot of familiar elements: two people are forced to work together, don’t exactly get along, are forced into an investigation (how to cure Robin’s curse, and what happened to Robin’s predecessor who seems to have gone missing), […]

“Never mix vodka and witchcraft.”

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

February 12, 2022 by faintingviolet 1 Comment

When I started reading this book it wasn’t very far in before I was thinking to myself “hmm… I’m not sure he’s such a bad guy, ladies” as Vivienne is (accidentally) drunkenly hexing her ex, Rhys. This could be a function of any number of things including my age, my own romantic history, the fact that I waited three months on my library’s hold list to get a copy, or the general state of the world. But it did affect my enjoyment because the thing […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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