The Library of Light and Shadow by M.J. Rose

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

When this appeared in my mailbox, I was immediately captivated. The cover is gorgeous and just drips with magic and intrigue. Reading the synopsis got me even more interested. The Library of Light and Shadow by M.J. Rose is a historical fiction intertwined with magic. Taking place after the first Wold War, the story follows Delphine Dupressi, descendant of La Lune, a famous witch and courtesan. After regaining her sight, Delphine can see people's secrets, and she has turned her gift into an almost parlor trick, painting "shadow portraits" for people on commission and at parties. After a shadow portrait goes wrong, Delphine flees New York and returns to her home in France. Here she hopes to find healing, but instead finds herself knee deep in the hunt for the writings of Nicolas Flamel.

It turns out this is actually the third in the Daughters of La Lune series, although it's said that each novel can stand on its own. I found this to be true, at least for this installment, and thought there was plenty of description and explanation that allowed this to be consumed independently of the other two books. I haven't read the other two, but now I'm so interested in the La Lune descendants that I might have to!

The writing in this novel was captivating and beautiful, transporting you right into postwar France and New York. I don't typically like historical fiction, as I simply find them boring, but the magic element completely eliminated that here.

I adored the cast of characters in this story. Delphine was strong but very human in her insecurities. Emma Calve was an outstanding side character, reminding me so much of Carlotta from Phantom of the Opera. I really enjoyed that so many famous individuals from the same era were characters, including Pablo Picasso himself. I thought the plot was good, although a little slow in the middle. 

Interspersed in the book are excerpts from Delphine's Book of Hours, where she has chronicled all her time spent with her former lover Mathieu. These were nice to read but I didn't really find them necessary overall until the last few entries. 

For the most part, the book really lived up to the beauty of the cover. With great writing, strongly developed characters, and a decent plot, I really did enjoy this read.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

A big thanks to Atria Books for sending me a copy of this beautiful read! The Library of Light and Shadow by M.J. Rose is available now in paperback, so be sure to pick up a copy!

The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton is one of those witchy books that just grabs you and pulls you in, enveloping you with both beautiful writing and magic. This story follows Nor Blackburn, a teenage girl living on Anathema Island. Nor seems like your typical teenager: she has a part time job, she has a quirky best friend, and she has a crush on a boy. But what's not so typical about Nor is that she's a witch. In fact, she's ninth in a generation of famous witches, tracing back to Rona Blackburn, the first female to ever inhabit Anathema. While Rona was an all-powerful witch, each of her descendants has been blessed with only one power, or "burden" as they call them...all that is except for Nor, who has all of them, just like Rona. 

Abandoned at a young age by her mother Fern, Nor has been raised by her grandmother Judd and her partner Apothia. She keeps all but the most basic of her powers (being able to understand animals) quiet, since all she wants is a normal life. She works at The Witching Hour, a store for witches famous for its tours of the island. One day a book turns up while she is working called The Price Guide to the Occult...and it's written by her mother. The book contains a multitude of spells and their prices, and Nor doesn't think anything of it until her mother becomes internationally famous for her mail-order magic. But all magic comes at a price, often much steeper than money, and soon they will all find out what that price is.

I absolutely loved this book. Walton's writing was gorgeous and poetic. Nor was a fantastic character, and you were really able to get inside her head and feel her internal struggles. I also loved all the minor characters, including Savvy, Judd and Apothia, and even the little dog Bijou. The magical realism was authentic, plausible, and very well done. My only real complaint with this book was that I wanted more. I wanted more at the climax of the story, and more follow-up at the end. You know that feeling when you finish something amazing but are suddenly let down because it's over? That was me with this book. I became immersed in Anathema and its inhabitants, and really invested in Nor and what happened to her, her family, and her friends. Plus this cover is utterly stunning, and super relevant to the plot as well!

I've heard that Walton's first work, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, is amazing as well, so now I'm going to have to pick that one up!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Candlewick Press for an ARC of this fantastic read. The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton  releases March 13th, so be sure to pick up a copy!

Glass Town by Steven Savile

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Have you ever picked up a book not really knowing what to expect, then were completely blown away? That was me with this book, and since it just came out I didn't have a lot to go on. I honestly didn't even know what genre to call it (and really still don't!) but I think that was part of what made this novel so good. Glass Town by Steven Savile combines urban fantasy, part thriller, part magical realism, and part old Hollywood glamour to create an engaging, unique plot with new and inventive concepts.

This story follows main character Josh Raines as he attempts to piece together a decades-long family obsession. After his grandfather passes away and leaves him a note detailing some of the family history, Josh has to figure out what really happened so long ago and if there's a chance of making it right. You see, Josh's great-grandfather's girlfriend Eleanor Raines mysteriously disappeared, and he believed that a prominent family in town, the Lockwoods, had something to do with it. Throw in an extraordinary feat by a magician and you're left with Glass Town, a realm trapped in time and space, hidden away from the outside world, where Eleanor has been trapped all these years. Josh soon discovers Glass Town and the truth about what happened, but can he outsmart the still-present Lockwoods and make right the mistakes made that caused the men in his family to obsess for so long?

Glass Town really did surprise me in the best of ways. The characters were beautifully written, and the concepts were so unique. It was very refreshing to see that there are still some really good new ideas in fiction out there! It was creepy with a touch of romance, a fair amount of murder, and a lot of magic. The plot was surprisingly easy to understand as well, considering how elaborate the idea behind Glass Town is. I have to mention that the cover is gorgeous as well! I only really had 2 small issues with this book. First, it was a little bit slow and dragged in some places. And second, there were some really graphic and gruesome sex scenes (if you can call it sex since a ghost/monster is involved!) that seemed a little much to me. Otherwise, this is a really unique read that puts some great new twists on the old concepts of magic and corruption. I could see this being an absolutely fantastic movie!


Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for sending me a copy to review!