Jefferz

Cozy fantasy, comforting romance, zany humor all wrapped up in cottagecore whimsy, Sangu Mandanna’s A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping is a light-hearted and feel-good fantasy romance book that’s easy to enjoy. A perfect example of the cozy fantasy genre, this book is incredibly charming and like its US cover, paints the world and in a lovely rose-tinted hue. Featuring a mix of great themes and a predictable yet pleasant plot, this is a great pick for cozy-seeking readers, with the potential to be a bit underwhelming and dry for those that prefer more intense narratives. Set at the charmingly rough around the edges cottage tucked away in the Lancashire countryside, the story follows Sera Swan’s never boring days maintaining and running the enchanted inn. Cloaked in a spell, the Batty Hole Inn is a magical place that can only be found by those in need of help or a safe place to call home. After casting a powerful spell to save her beloved Aunt Jasmine, Sera has lost her powers, is banished to exile from the Witch’s Guild, and has been making do with faint whispers of her original magic for the last fifteen years. With the help of…

Set in a gothic and snowy city where its citizens put their trust in the church to protect them from dark forces held at bay, their faith is put to the test when a series of mysterious murders occurs. As the holy wards and seal appear to weaken, murder victims are found, and unrest within the city grows, the head inquisitor, a blessed izir, and a selfless church caregiver without a soul work to discover who is to blame for these seemingly unrelated disturbances. The first book of a planned duology also serving as Cate Baumer’s full length traditional published novel debut, the Faithful Dark is a tense and atmospheric dark fantasy book that features highly relevant themes that touch on faith, heresy, testing one’s loyalties, and what it really means to be blessed. Two of the most important elements when it comes to dark fantasy stories for me are the book’s sense of tone and sufficient world-building to ensure the stakes are set high. When it comes to ambiance and style, the Faithful Dark is a beast of a novel. Baumer’s fictional walled city of Silgard appears to be loosely inspired by a more urbanized version of the Vatican…

Mock dates, work-related forced proximity, a second chance romance, and collab between a self-improvement podcast and a B-list celebrity interview show called the Sausage Talk, Mazey Eddings’s Well, Actually is a romcom novel that mixes slapstick hilarity with great character writing. Marketed as a black cat/golden retriever pairing that explores personal growth, success, self-worth, and viral engagement, this is a book that’s flirty, fun, self-aware and hopeful. Its base premise and character dynamics is a contentious sticking point that has led to very polarizing opinions of its FMC, but I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this which was a big surprise! “Hot girl is an armor you put on. An impenetrable fortress of makeup or dyed hair or fake nails or killer clothes or expensive perfume or any other bodily adornment that makes you feel f*cking good. Powerful.” For better or for worse, the most notable and crucial factor when it comes to enjoying Well, Actually comes down to whether one can get behind the bitter, savage, and cold Eva Kitt, an aspiring journalist and host of the freeform interview show Sausage Talk. As the host of B-list celebrity gossip show consuming hot dogs that is obviously not…

A modern dark academia urban fantasy story with mysterious hauntings evoked by unsettling moments of déjà vu, Kamilah Cole’s An Arcane Inheritance is a high-concept book that pulls an impressive sleight of hand with its ambitious ideas. A perfect example of a slow burn mystery that is as twisty as it is intelligent, this is a fascinating fantasy book that reads and feels quite different from what its listed genres would suggest. Creative, immersive, and beautifully written, the purposely slow pacing isn’t for everyone nor is its sometimes directionless narrative, but the payoff for those that stick with Cole’s strong storytelling are in for a unique experience and one whose ending suggests a quick re-read on details and clues easily missed. An Arcane Inheritance is a tricky book to talk about and review due to how crucial its major plot twist developments near the end of the story are, requiring the reader to almost fall into its intended sense of familiarity. In a sense, about three quarters of the book is that of its main character Ellory Morgan’s on-campus collegiate school life mixed with mysterious and foreboding paranormal-like occurrences involving familiarity, unknown visions, or conversations that may or may not…

This review is based on a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy provided by Wednesday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press. A necromancer priestess in foreign territory, a mysterious corpse that isn’t as dead as they should be, and the quest for qi energy across a tense Kingdom under authoritarian control, Deathly Fates has a lot of strong narrative elements in a story inspired by Chinese Taoist mythology. Featuring strong themes such as familial responsibilities, grief/loss, and the corruption of power, Tesia Tsai’s debut novel is a fast-paced and accessible YA fantasy story that has a good mix of adventure, action, age-appropriate spooks and mild horrors involving the dead carried by a very compelling premise. Well-plotted and generally appealing, I personally found this book to be an underwhelming and juvenile in its execution, but is a book with lots of good ideas that is well-suited for young pre-teen readers. The story follows Kang Siying, a young but skilled ganshi priestess who uses talismans to reanimate the dead to return their corpses to their loved ones or to release their spirits from this world. Given the book’s likely intended YA and younger readership, the book follows its summarized blurb and throws the…