Recently I’ve had quite the fixation on books themed around faeries, magic, and all things in between. I justify it by calling it research for my own novel dealing with the same. Regardless, I have always enjoyed the magical and fantastical, and have found inspiration and critiques on many of my recent reads. So, here are my thoughts on five such novels that I’ve read this year, in no particular order.
A quick note about stars given. Many of these books teeter between 3-4 stars. This is not to say that I did not enjoy these books, many of which I did, but rather it’s to say that they were not ones that I found particularly outstanding, or I had some nit-picky thoughts on. It usually has to do with how it sticks the ending. I would still recommend these books to anyone who is a fan of the genre, and would invite you to read them yourselves and join in the discourse.
The Honey Witch – Sydney J. Shields – 4 Stars
This one was enjoyable. An intriguing main character, a queer romance that was decently well done, and a magic system that I found myself intrigued by. While there are some things I could nit-pick about the main character’s curse, the somewhat obvious twist about the love interest, and some of the issues with the scope, I overall liked this book and had fun with it.
Marigold Claude learns of her grandmother’s duty as Honey Witch and protector of the island of Innisfree, and decides to follow in her footsteps, despite the curse that she will inherit: that she will never find love. Marigold begins to practice with her magic, which revolves around protecting the land and using imbued honey as the main ingredient, an interesting premise that tickles that part of me that knows I would want to be a potion crafter if I were whisked away into a world of magic. Early on, Marigold meets Lottie Burke, a magical skeptic, and aims to prove her power, all while beginning to test the constraints of her curse.
The threat looming over the peaceful island is the power hungry Ash witch, a Honey witch’s opposite, who wants to suck the magic from the land and become immortal and all powerful. Some details of the plot and mostly faceless villain were a little bland to me, and I found myself with some questions about the world at large that never got satisfying answers. How many witches are out there? Are there more than just two types? What else can magic do? Is there a spell out there for almost anything, as is implied? And if a Honey Witch can make a spell to allow anyone to find their soulmate, why the hell doesn’t everyone go get one? Clearly I had some questions.
Regardless of my questions and my gripes, there wasn’t anything unforgivable or particularly poignant to bring this book lower, but it wasn’t the most jaw dropping or astonishing read of this list.
The Spellshop – Sarah Beth Durst – 4 Stars
The Spellshop is pure cottage-core bliss. This book won’t knock your socks off, but it will warm your heart and make you want a coastal cottage of your own. It stars Kiela, an anti-social librarian of magical tomes who must flee the city when a revolution sends it up in flames. She and her living spider plant companion escape to her childhood home, along with a few crates of smuggled spell books. In order to make a living, she begins to learn the magic in said books, growing berries for jam and selling “home remedies” to the townsfolk. But as she learns more magic and tries to restore heal the dying nature of the island, she catches the attention of a nosy neighbor, and a few other unwanted stares.
This book is everything it promises to be. A young woman finding her place in the world, a sweet and touching romance, and magic that brings life to the world all around Keila. While I did want to know more about the details of the revolution and the magic system at large, the smaller scope of the book adds to the sequestered, small-town vibes. This is not an epic adventure with life-or-death stakes, but rather a story about home, friends, and magic.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries – Heather Fawcett – 5 Stars
I just recently finished the third and final instalment of this wonderful series, and this would likely be my highest recommended book out of this list. This series follows Emily Wilde, a professor, researcher, and author of Dryiadology, as she conducts her studies and account her dealings with the fae. The writing style of this book is the main selling point, as it’s the personal journal of Emily, but also a scientific account of her travels. She can be meticulous with her accounts, even going so far as to add footnotes, which help to round out the world and give the reader lore in an immersive manner.
The characters themselves are also delightful. Emily is much more comfortable with her books than she is with people, and she can get herself into accidental social predicaments. She is balanced out by fellow professor Wendell Bambleby, who is a bit pretentious, lazy, but charming nonetheless. And not to mention there’s something particularly… fae about him.
I devoured each of these books in just a day or two each, and deeply enjoyed the world built by Fawcett, who seamlessly blended early 20th century Europe with real mythology and folklore. The characters are well done, the romance is fun and fresh, and there are several queer couples that are actually important characters. The fae are appropriately strange, otherworldly, and tricky, checking all of my marks for what makes me a happy reader.
Where the Dark Stands Still – A.B. Poranek – 3.5 Stars
I have some complex feelings about this book that I’ll try to do my best to share without spoiling. It overall was a decent read, and while it may not be my favorite, it was still worth reading. I liked many of the aspects of the book, like the usage of eastern European folklore and the overall journey of the main character. Liska Radost has grown up being told that her magic is dangerous, and she finds herself agreeing. Fleeing to the woods to seek a fabled wish, she stumbles upon the Leszy, the demonic guardian of the woods, who promises to grant her wish if she serves him for a year. She agrees.
Obviously, as readers we know there must be more beneath the surface. The Leszy begins to teach Liska how to defend herself and how to unlock the parts of her magic that she hid away. In order to give up her magic, she must first learn how to wield it. The pair begin to grow closer, but many secrets lie in wait that Liska may regret seeking answers for.
There is some romance between the pair, but it wasn’t super prominent or well developed, in my opinion. Additionally, I felt there was more missing with Liska practicing her magic and growing to accept it. The transition felt slow because of the lack of development, then suddenly came to the point where she was in control and comfortable with it. The final plot reveals also felt a little rushed and not as exciting as the build-up would have you feel. Overall, the ending was fine, and the world was enjoyable to explore and learn about.
The Rose Bargain – Sasha Peyton Smith – 3.5 Stars
Oh man, did this book start off wonderful and then take a turn for me. Again, I’ll try not to spoil too much for those who may be interested. And with a sequel in the works, trust that I’ll be ready to read it and hopefully get some closure for my frustrations.
Firstly, what this book does well, it does really well. It blends regency era England with Fae monarchs, telling the story of a world where a Faery Queen takes over Britain as its monarch. She offers every citizen the chance to have a wish granted, but each wish comes with a price. Acres of land may cost a hand. A face that anyone would fall in love with may cost one’s childhood memories. And for some, the cost may be too much to accept. The novel follows Ivy Benton, a girl who must do well in the upcoming debut season in order to save her family from falling from their status. In a twist, the queen announces that this season, her son will be selecting one of the suitors to be his wife.
Ivy decides to throw her proverbial hat in the ring, subjecting herself to tests, lessons, and trials planned by the queen. Each girl must face their deepest fears and overcome them gracefully if she is to win the princes hand. And if that wasn’t hard enough, Ivy finds herself as they key to overthrow the fae monarchy and put an end to her bargains.
I was thoroughly enjoying this book until about 3/4 of the way through, and then the ending lost me. There’s a secret that you spend the whole book waiting to find out, only for the reveal to fall short and be very confusing. The romance is intriguing, with Ivy dealing with her feelings for one boy, and her sense of duty to another, as well as the other suitors. The climax has one or two too many pieces in my opinion, making it feel cluttered and confusing. This would be an easy 5 star if not for these points, as well as the book’s greatest flaw, in my opinion.
Okay, spoilers in this paragraph. As you can probably tell by now, I love magical folklore and tricky fae dealing. I was really enjoying that from this book, which has bargains, deals, dark secrets, and the knowledge that even though fae can’t lie, you still can’t quite trust them. Only this book decides in the climax to reveal that the fae can lie, even though you’ve been told this whole time that they can’t. The rug is pulled right from under you as it’s revealed the queen thought it would be fun to tell the humans that she can only speak the truth. Wow. It felt cheap, to suddenly now need to rethink every promise and every answer given to the characters. I understand it was likely meant to shake the reader’s trust in the antagonists, but it made me lose some of my trust in the book as a whole. It fell into the same trap that A Court of Thorns and Roses fell into: giving you pieces of folklore to believe in, only to take them away from you as a ‘plot twist’. I’m not here to police how folklore is used in books. Emily Wilde doesn’t mention strict rules about lying and the dangers of iron, but it doesn’t flaunt rules only to say “just kidding” and take them away. I don’t know. Maybe this is just a me thing. But it greatly changed my stance on the overall novel.
In short, check this one out if you’re a fan of Bridgerton or other similar pieces of media. And let me know if you agree with me on my complaints, or if I’m just a little bit particular about my folklore. Like I said, all of the opinions are my own, and every reader is entitled to their own. I’d still say this book is well worth the read, and look forward to checking out the next installment. Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that there’s a queer couple that I was pleasantly surprised by. Just in case you needed another reason to check it out.
To conclude…
Wow, that last one got away from me a little bit. But there are my long-winded thoughts on this selection of books! Again, these are ones that I would recommend any fans of the genre, or those wanting to dip their toes into fae hijinks or magical adventures. For those who have read these books, please share your thoughts! And if you have any similar recommendations, I’d love to hear them. Until my next book review, dear readers!
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