About Kasey

Reads things. Writes things. Fluent in sarcasm. Willful optimist. Cat companion, chocolate connoisseur, coffee drinker. There are some who call me Mom.

Review: Spell Sweeper by Lee Edward Födi

Spell Sweeper by Lee Edward Fodi

Spell Sweeper
Lee Edward Födi
HarperCollins
Published November 30, 2021

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About Spell Sweeper

Magic is messy. A standalone middle grade fantasy featuring a failed young wizard and her chaotically fun cleanup crew.

Cara Moone is a wizard—and she’s basically flunked out of wizard school. Now she’s in training to be a MOP, a.k.a. Magical Occurrence Purger, a.k.a. it’s Cara’s job to sweep up the hazardous dust a real wizard’s spells leave behind.

A real wizard, that is, like Harlee Wu, the so-called “Chosen One” destined to save the magical world. But when one of Harlee’s spells goes awry and leaves … Continue reading

Review: Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

Rule of Wolves (King of Scars #2)
Leigh Bardugo
Orion Children’s Books
March 30, 2021

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About Rule of Wolves

The Demon King. As Fjerda’s massive army prepares to invade, Nikolai Lantsov will summon every bit of his ingenuity and charm—and even the monster within—to win this fight. But a dark threat looms that cannot be defeated by a young king’s gift for the impossible.

The Stormwitch. Zoya Nazyalensky has lost too much to war. She saw her mentor die and her worst enemy resurrected, and she refuses to bury another friend. Now duty demands she embrace her powers to become the weapon her … Continue reading

Review: The Ballad of Dinah Caldwell by Kate Brauning

The Ballad of Dinah Caldwell by Kate Brauning

The Ballad of Dinah Caldwell
Kate Brauning
Page Street Publishing
Published November 23, 2021

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About The Ballad of Dinah Caldwell

Seventeen-year-old Dinah runs her family’s farm in the Ozarks. When she finds her grief-stricken mother dead in the living room with wealthy rancher Gabriel Gates standing over her, Dinah’s life narrows to a single point: kill Gabriel Gates.

But Gates has built his wealth giving out bad loans and surrounds himself with bodyguards. Dinah’s mountains are now one giant foreclosure, including her own farm. It all belongs to him. Once he puts a ten-thousand-dollar reward on Dinah’s head, everyone … Continue reading

Review: King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

King of Scars (King of Scars #1)
Leigh Bardugo
Imprint
Published on January 29, 2019

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About King of Scars

The dashing young king, Nikolai Lantsov, has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war–and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, Nikolai must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With … Continue reading

Review: Girl, Unstrung by Claire Handscombe

Girl, Unstrung by Claire Handscombe

Girl, Unstrung
Claire Handscombe
Published November 23, 2021

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About Girl, Unstrung

You might think it’s fun to grow up around Hollywood with semi-famous parents.

You’d be wrong, and Clara Cassidy would be the first to tell you so.

She’s fourteen, figuring out life with three siblings and a new stepmom, and navigating her freshman year at a stupid high school where she doesn’t even want to be. She was supposed to be at arts school by now.

It’s fine, though, totally fine: she’s going to practice her viola extra hard and get into LACHSA next year. She’s definitely 100 percent focused and … Continue reading

Review: Tidesong by Wendy Xu

Tidesong by Wendy Xu

Tidesong
Weny Xu
Quiltree Books
Published November 16, 2021

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About Tidesong

Sophie is a young witch whose mother and grandmother pressure her to attend the Royal Magic Academy–the best magic school in the realm–even though her magic is shaky at best. To train for her entrance exams, Sophie is sent to relatives she’s never met.

Cousin Sage and Great-Aunt Lan seem more interested in giving Sophie chores than in teaching her magic. Frustrated, Sophie attempts magic on her own, but the spell goes wrong, and she accidentally entangles her magic with the magic of a young water dragon named Lir.

Lir is trapped … Continue reading