magic

The Incredible Kindness of Paper

by Evelyn Skye

coming August 12, 2025

(4.5 / 5)

Thank you to Atria Books, Emily Bestler Books, and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book! All opinions are completely my own.

This was such a heartwarming story! I loved the idea of Chloe’s origami roses, a random act of kindness that ended up bringing so many people together who were struggling or lonely. Everything was interconnected so intricately, and I enjoyed Chloe and Oliver’s story. Some aspects of the book are a bit magical, with flowers mysteriously appearing for certain people, but it worked well the way it was written. It had this feeling of fate, like an invisible string holding things together. This was a story that just left me feeling happy and hopeful. I really enjoyed reading it and would love to read it again in the future!

A Dragon Rider’s Guide to Retirement

by Julia Huni

coming August 5, 2025

(3.5 / 5)

A special “thank you” to author Julia Huni for providing a free review copy of this book! All opinions are completely my own.

This was a cozy fantasy with a quaint small-town setting. It also had a sweet, spice-free romance that developed. I liked how descriptive the story was, allowing me to easily visualize this world. It almost felt like a fairy tale the way it was written, with a variety of magical beings. I especially liked the water dragons! There wasn’t necessarily anything that was shocking or surprising in the story, but sometimes it’s nice to have something that doesn’t bring a ton of drama. And there were still some exciting scenes to keep things interesting! It was fun to meet William and Cala, who were both likable characters. I liked to see how they each adapted to “normal” life after fighting in a war for many years. Some of the side characters were a lot of fun too!

July 23, 2025 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Romance 0

Soul of Shadow

by Emma Noyes

coming July 29, 2025

(4 / 5)

Review updated: February 16, 2026

*Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners, and NetGalley for the free review copies of this book and audiobook. All opinions are completely my own.*

Soul of Shadow is the first book in a new series that brings us to a town in Michigan where teens are mysteriously disappearing. Our main character, Charlie finds herself drawn to a new boy in town who has some very dark secrets.

This book drew me in right from the start with its mysterious, eerie feel and detailed descriptions. It ends up diving into a lot of Norse mythology, which I was only somewhat familiar with before. I enjoyed the magical beings and hidden world that were revealed. Elias, the new boy, was an intriguing character with a magnetic pull, especially when it came to him and Charlie. He was one of those characters who you wanted to love and hate at the same time. The story took some unexpected turns a few times. Sometimes I started to piece things together a bit before they were revealed, but other times I didn’t see it coming at all. I enjoy it when things are unpredictable. The book ends without feeling completely finished, or at least with a feeling that there are mysteries that we can dive deeper into. It definitely left me wanting to continue with the series – I look forward to continuing when the next book becomes available.

For my 2nd time reading the book, I was able to listen to the audiobook version. I really enjoyed the audiobook and think that the narrator did a fantastic job. I’m really happy that the next book will have the same narrator!

July 9, 2025 by danimae1981 Audiobook Fantasy Fiction Kindle Romance Young Adult 0

The Last Wizards’ Ball

Gunnie Rose #6

by Charlaine Harris

coming July 22, 2025

(3.5 / 5)

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

The Last Wizards’ Ball is the 6th (and I believe final) book in the Gunnie Rose series, so you’ll want to be sure to read the previous books before this one. I’ve generally loved this series, though the last two books seem to be my least favorite.

This book kept my interest well enough. Like the other books in the series, there’s plenty of drama and mystery, though it felt less adventurous than some of the other books. Since the story centers around the Wizards’ Ball, a lot of new characters from around the world are introduced, and sometimes I had a little trouble keeping track of who was who. We get to see many returning characters as well, though I felt much less of a connection to Felicia than I had before. A major plot-point of this story was the lead-up to World War II. In some ways it was interesting to see how those events might play out in this alternate history, but sometimes it also felt a bit forced. Honestly I wasn’t thrilled with how things ended after the long journey with these characters, but I also wasn’t completely surprised. All in all I’m glad to have followed this series all the way through.

June 18, 2025 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle 0

A Longer Fall

Gunnie Rose #2

by Charlaine Harris

Review originally written in 2020.

(5 / 5)

A Longer Fall is the 2nd book in the Gunnie Rose series and continues to build on the alternate history world that the first book started. I highly recommend reading the books in order, as a lot of character/world building and background was established in An Easy Death.

A Longer Fall begins shortly after the first book leaves off. Lizbeth has found a new crew, and is on her first job since the events in An Easy Death. They are traveling by train, transporting a crate to Dixie, a nation made up of the southern states of the former United States. It doesn’t take long for things to take a turn for the worse, and soon there is a trainwreck and the cargo disappears. The story is filled with action and mystery as we follow Lizbeth on her quest to track down the cargo.

I was thrilled to see that the character Eli, a wizard from the Holy Russian Empire, returned in the story. He was one of my favorite characters from the first book, and I liked the relationship that had started to build between Eli and Lizbeth. Their relationship is complicated for sure, and neither seems to know where they stand with each other, but there’s lots of hints of how they each really feel. The romance isn’t the main theme of the story, but there are some non-graphic descriptions of adult relations.

While the book takes place in a fictional world, the racism and sexism that are portrayed aren’t so different from actual events, especially in that part of the country. It gives a lot of insight about how those people were treated and must have felt.

This series feels like a wonderful blend of many genres: alternate history, fantasy, romance, western, adventure, thriller. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I would like this series since I don’t usually read some of those genres, but it’s done well and I love it. I literally devoured these books, especially A Longer Fall. A few things are left unresolved at the end of the book, so I’m really looking forward to seeing where this series takes us next!

June 8, 2025 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle 0

Verse Book 1: The Broken Half

by Sam Beck

(4.5 / 5)

The art in this comic is just gorgeous. It really sets an atmosphere that gives it a magical feel. I thought that the Verse, which is their magical language, was especially cool. While at first it looks mysterious, it actually is close enough to English letters that I don’t even need to look at the reference to be able to translate it most of the time. You don’t need to read the Verse if you don’t want to, but I found it fun to look for the hidden messages within it. The story is intriguing, and I enjoyed following the characters’ journeys. We’re already starting to see them grow from where they started, but there’s obviously much more this can go from here. This was my second time reading this comic, but I could see myself reading it again.

May 28, 2025 by danimae1981 Comics/Graphic Novels Fantasy Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

The Demon and the Light

The Floating World #2

by Axie Oh

coming October 21, 2025

(4.5 / 5)

Thank you to MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book. All opinions are completely my own.

The Demon and the Light is the 2nd book in The Floating World duology and picks up shortly after the first book ends. I really enjoyed reading this book and continuing the story. Our main characters had some tough challenges to overcome, and I liked how they grew and evolved through it all. Ren and Sunho felt very relatable, and I loved the dynamic between them. It was great to see the return of many of the side characters, and I think I especially enjoyed getting to know Wook better. The story had a lot of action and excitement throughout it. I managed to find myself pretty surprised about things a few times too. My only complaint is that the ending seemed to happen very quickly and maybe not quite as dramatically as I thought it would. I think I would have liked to know a little more about what happens to the characters in the epilogue, but I’m happy enough with the way things ended and feel like most of my questions were answered. Maybe I just wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to these characters after enjoying the series so much. I really like the author’s writing and vivid descriptions, and I look forward to reading more of her books!

April 27, 2025 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

The Floating World

by Axie Oh

coming April 29, 2025

(4.5 / 5)

The Floating World is the first book in a new young adult fantasy series. It brings us to a unique world where a land mass is floating above an entire city that is left in darkness.

At first I was a little unsure about this book. There’s a lot going on in the beginning, with getting introduced to this strange world and learning about various characters. But the more I read, the more invested I became in the story. It was amazing how many things ended up being interconnected, almost like pieces of a puzzle coming together. This world definitely had some dystopian vibes to it too.

Our main characters are Ren and Sunho, who each have something they are searching for and end up finding each other. I loved these characters and felt like they had a lot of depth to them. Their interactions with each other were something I really enjoyed. Some chapters also follow a 3rd character, which gave us another angle to see things.

The book brings up a variety emotions. There’s action and excitement, friendships built, and some really sad parts too. I especially enjoyed the mysterious feel it had. The book ends a bit dramatically with some questions still left unanswered and issues unresolved. I’m looking forward to the next book coming later this year, because I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, and NetGalley for the free ARC copy of The Floating World! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

February 21, 2025 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

The Encanto’s Curse

The Encanto’s Daughter #2

By Melissa de la Cruz

Coming March 4, 2025

(4 / 5)

The Encanto’s Curse is the 2nd book in the The Encanto’s Daughter duology and takes place a few months after the first book left off. I found this story had a similar feel to the first one, though it had more romance involved. I’m not sure if I was completely a fan of the love triangle aspect, but it added a bit of mystery about how who she would end up with (though I had a pretty good idea of how that would go). I thought the ties to Filipino folklore were interesting, with the manananggal sounding downright terrifying. The book definitely didn’t lack in action and excitement, so it kept me engaged and interested in the story. I was happy with how this series ended and liked that there were some directions the plot went that I didn’t see coming.

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, and NetGalley for the free review copy of The Encanto’s Curse! All opinions are completely my own and voluntary.

February 7, 2025 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

His Mortal Demise

The Last Bloodcarver #2

By Vanessa Le

Coming March 18, 2025

(5 / 5)

His Mortal Demise is the 2nd book in The Last Bloodcarver duology, and you definitely want to read these books in order. I’ll apologize in advance that my review will be a bit on the vague side, but I want to avoid spoilers for those who haven’t read the first book yet.

This book follows the perspectives of two different characters in different points in time. From the start we know that something miraculous has happened, and while one character tries to figure out what happened, we follow the other character through the months leading up to it. This all gave the story a mysterious feel, and it sometimes took directions that I wasn’t expecting at all. I’m not going to lie, there could be a very dark feel to this story at times, with grief, war, sacrifice, and questioning morals along the way. But there was also substantial character growth that was beautiful to watch. I’m glad that we were able to see many of the characters from the first book again and explore even more of this interesting fictional world. The last chunk of the book was especially packed with action and almost had a cinematic feel to it. And let’s not forget the absolute rollercoaster of emotions I experienced along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed both books in this duology, and I look forward to seeing more from author Vanessa Le in the future.

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Roaring Brook Press, and NetGalley for the free review copy of His Mortal Demise! All opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.