Tag Archives: Magic

Review: Greenwild: The Forest in the Sky by Pari Thomson

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Grenwild: The Forest in the Sky by Pari Thomson

Greenwild: The Forest in the Sky (Greenwild #3)
Pari Thomson
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Published June 3, 2025

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About Greenwild: The Forest in the Sky

The Secret Garden meets A Wrinkle in Time in the spellbinding final book of the New York Times-bestselling Greenwild series.

Daisy and her friends may have defeated the Grim Reapers in Iffenwild, but it’s clear that the battle for the Greenwild is only just beginning…

With the support of the Iffenwilders and their mighty water magic, Daisy and her friends are finally setting off to rescue the Botanists held prisoner in the heart of the Amazon rainforest – including Daisy’s ma and the Prof’s grandfather.

But when an unexpected attack sends the rescue mission spinning off course, Daisy, Indigo, and the Prof find themselves in the Amazon alone – where they must draw on every ounce of their courage, magic, and ingenuity to survive. This is a battle that can’t be won single-handedly, and Daisy will need the support of her new friend Max, a strange Grayside girl called Fen, and the massed might of the Amazerians, guardians of the biggest and most magical pocket in the Greenwild – if she is to take on the Reapers once and for all.

Readers will not want to miss this thrilling conclusion to the Greenwild series.

My Review

I’ve been eagerly following this series from the very beginning. Reading the last book in a series is always bittersweet, because it means the characters’ journeys end, but it also means we know how the story plays out. I saved reading this one for the perfect moment in my recovery, when I’d be able to read far past bedtime and get completely lost in the pages.

The story follows two groups of characters. First, there’s Daisy, Indigo, and Prof, who head off to the Amazon to find the Greenwild pocket of Amazeria. Then, there’s Max and Acorn, who try to follow them and end up on a separate adventure. The chapters alternate between Daisy and Max’s points of view. I think the chapters from Max’s perspective had a sweet tenderness to them as he discovered things about his family members that he never knew and had the space to grow into his magic and his identity.

I also liked the way that magic is used through the course of the book. Daisy can talk to plants and do some plant magic. Indigo can talk to animals. Max has water magic. These abilities come in handy in sometimes unexpected ways. I liked that all of them had value and limits, so no one ability was outsized.

The ending of the book unfolds so quickly. (Or maybe I just read it quickly because I was so eager??) There were a couple of moments in which the identity of some characters is revealed, and I found myself wishing we’d lingered in that realization a little bit more. It was totally okay as is. I don’t think any of those reveals were shortchanged. Possibly, I just wanted longer to revel in the ending of the book and to spend a little more time in this rich story world.

I think readers who enjoy rich, magical fantasy stories will really enjoy getting lost in this botanical series. The story explores family relationships and found family as well as finding courage and bravery within oneself. It’s got strong positive messages and a powerful, hopeful message.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Vague references to a possible crush between characters.

Spiritual Content
Some characters can do magic. There’s green magic, or magic involving plants and blue magic, or magic involving water.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief battles between Reapers and Botanists. In one scene, Caimans chase the characters. One bites a character (happens off-scene). Reference to a quarrel that ends in murder (happens off-scene). Someone offers themselves to an enemy in place of another character. In one scene, a falling tree lands on a cat.

Drug Content
Plants cause dreams, remedy illnesses, and cause confusion, depending on the type and use.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Heir of Storms by Lauryn Hamilton Murray

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Heir of Storms (Storm Weaver #1)
Lauryn Hamilton Murray
Roaring Brook Press
Published June 3, 2025

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About Heir of Storms

Red Queen meets Shadow and Bone in this explosive start to a YA romantasy trilogy about dangerous magic, forbidden love, and a cut-throat competition for the throne in an empire where crowns are not inherited — they’re won.

The very day Blaze came into the world, she almost drowned it. A Rain Singer born into one of the most powerful fire-wielding families in the empire, Blaze’s birth summoned a devastating storm that left thousands dead. She’s been hidden away ever since with a dark secret: the same torrential power that branded her an outcast disappeared that fateful day. And she’s not sure she wants it back.

When an unexpected invitation arrives for Blaze and her twin brother, Flint, to compete as future rulers of the empire, she’s suddenly thrust into the limelight again — and into battle. Threats abound at the Golden Palace, where intrigue and romance await with not one but two handsome suitors: the enchanting Crown Prince and a dangerously alluring newcomer at court.

As Blaze explores her untapped power, she discovers the throne may be within her grasp. But in order to take it, she’ll have to leave behind the stories that others have told about her, and find the courage to write her own.

My Review

Wow. Okay. I am having a hard time organizing my thoughts about this one. It was super easy to read. I just had surgery, so I was struggling to get back into reading, having a hard time focusing, stuff like that. And when I picked up this book, the story immediately drew me in.

Blaze has a lot of guilt. She’s a twin child in a family with powerful fire magic, but she somehow has water magic. And not just water magic, but water magic that killed a ton of people on the day she was born.

I thought it was interesting that the book created this moment to focus on what might happen when babies are born with magic power. She had no understanding of what she was doing to anyone else. She was literally a baby. And yet, people died. It’s one of those things that maybe other magic-based fantasies skim past or overlook. It was interesting for this book to highlight that and make it a critical moment in Blaze’s life.

I loved the magic competition. Basically, the gods of the story world determine when it’s time to pass the crown to the next generation. When this happens, there’s an eclipse. Competitors with different types of magic fight for the top positions serving the emperor as kings or queens. They remain rulers of their own magic users and serve as advisors to the emperor. So that process begins and Blaze, of course, must compete.

The competition brings up some interesting magic rules and political intrigue. Blaze herself feels caught between the attention of two powerful guys. I wasn’t the biggest fan of either one of them, but I’m intrigued to see where the story goes. The conclusion of the book kind of makes it clear who the true love interest is, and I think I’m willing to see if he’s actually worthy of her.

Conclusion

Overall, I definitely see the comparisons to Red Queen and Shadow and Bone. There’s a lot of politics and magic, as well as at least one possible love interest who might turn out to be the villain? I will absolutely follow this series into the second book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Some characters are born with the ability to do certain kinds of magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Bullying. Battle scenes. One character is enslaved.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol at social functions. One character gets very drunk on a painful anniversary.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: These Vengeful Gods by Gabe Cole Novoa

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These Vengeful Gods
Gabe Cole Novoa
Random House Children’s
Published May 27, 2025

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About These Vengeful Gods

ALL GODS MUST DIE in this searingly relevant YA from award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Bargain and Most Ardently. In a world bound by violence, a teen descended from the god of Death must keep their true identity a secret as they fight their way through a gladiator-style competition towards victory and rebellion against the gods who murdered their family.

Years ago, the descendants of the god of Death were murdered. The few that remain are in hiding, including Crow, a teen who survived the genocide and hides their magic to stay alive. After fleeing their village, Crow now lives with their uncles in the lowest part of the the Shallows.

Life in the Shallows is tough, but Crow’s even tougher. Hiding their magic has made Crow resourceful, cunning, and unbeatable — which comes in handy as a fighter in the city’s lucrative underground fighting ring.

Then, Crow’s uncles are arrested for harboring Deathchildren.  

With fists tightly clenched, Crow vows to set their uncles free. But to do that, they’re going to need to enter a world that threatens Crow’s very existence. Carefully navigating the politics of the wealthy and powerful, they enter the Tournament of the Gods — a gladiator-style competition where the winner is granted a favor. As they battle their way towards the winner’s circle, Crow plans to ask the gods for their uncles’ freedom as their reward.

But in a city of gods and magic, you don’t ask for what you want.

You take it.

My Review

I absolutely devoured this book. When I first opened it, I wanted to read the opening line, and I think I literally didn’t look up from the pages until twelve chapters later. So, yeah, this one is pretty immediately engrossing.

The story world is rich. A class system divides the people in Crow’s world, with levels ranging from literal gods to the poor barely scraping by in the Shallows. Crow’s one chance to escape the Shallows and rescue his family from prison comes in the form of a game in which competitors battle, often to the death. This part has a little bit of a Hunger Games vibe. Crow and the other fighters are signed up to compete in this tournament, and there’s all this pageantry surrounding them. And yet, essentially, their potential deaths are part of the entertainment.

Crow becomes part of a team who help each other within the competition. I enjoyed the way those relationships developed and the balance it brought to the story. Crow is the kind of character that gets pretty lost in his own head, so it worked well for there to be allies that drew him out.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced, tournament-focused fantasy novel, I highly recommend this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used periodically.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. In one scene, a couple fall into bed kissing.

Spiritual Content
Some characters are literal gods with certain kinds of magic. Runemagic also allows people to cast spells.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to genocide. Battle scenes. Also, spiders appear in multiple scenes.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Floating World by Axie Oh

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The Floating World (The Floating World #1)
Axie Oh
Feiwel & Friends
Published April 29, 2025

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About The Floating World

From Axie Oh, the New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in this romantic fantasy reimagining the Korean legend of Celestial Maidens.

Sunho lives in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness. An ex-soldier, he can remember little of his life from before two years ago, when he woke up alone with only his name and his sword. Now he does odd-jobs to scrape by, until he comes across the score of a lifetime—a chest of coins for any mercenary who can hunt down a girl who wields silver light.

Meanwhile, far to the east, Ren is a cheerful and spirited acrobat traveling with her adoptive family and performing at villages. But everything changes during one of their festival performances when the village is attacked by a horrific humanlike demon. In a moment of fear and rage, Ren releases a blast of silver light—a power she has kept hidden since childhood—and kills the monster. But her efforts are not in time to prevent her adoptive family from suffering a devastating loss, or to save her beloved uncle from being grievously wounded.

Determined to save him from succumbing to the poisoned wound, Ren sets off over the mountains, where the creature came from—and from where Ren herself fled ten years ago. Her path sets her on a collision course with Sunho, but he doesn’t realize she’s the girl that he—and a hundred other swords-for-hire—is looking for. As the two grow closer through their travels, they come to realize that their pasts—and destinies—are far more entwined than either of them could have imagined…

My Review

I’m not going to lie; this book had me at Final Fantasy. I may have been waiting my whole life for a book that gave Final Fantasy VII vibes so strongly, and in all the best ways. I may have hummed the Sephiroth theme out loud more than once while reading.

The story mainly alternates between Ren and Sunho’s perspectives. I loved both of them as characters. Sunho has memory gaps that add to the intrigue surrounding him. Ren remembers her past, but she actively avoids thinking about it. A third point of view appears now and then, and his scenes both raise new questions and tie things together.

The story world feels like something straight out of Final Fantasy. It has a clearly defined class system with a shadowy power structure. I loved piecing together what was happening in the mythril mines and figuring out the memories Sunho had lost.

I think this is the first part of a duology. The second part comes out in October and is called The Demon and the Light. I will definitely be reading that!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Profanity used rarely.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
One character has the ability to use magic. The story explores a myth about a goddess who lost her wings. Strange creatures referred to as demons attack and kill people.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle scenes. A girl witnesses a murder.

Drug Content
Someone injects others with an experimental substance, sometimes without their consent.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Love at Second Sight by F. T. Lukens

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Love at Second Sight
F. T. Lukens
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published April 29, 2025

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About Love at Second Sight

When a teen has an unexpected vision about a future murder, he must juggle newfound interest from the supernatural community with trying to prevent the murder from happening in this new romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author F.T. Lukens.

Tired of being known as the artsy oddball, fifteen-year-old Cam Reynolds hopes to fly under the radar when he changes high schools as a sophomore. It shouldn’t be too hard, considering he’s a human going to school with kids who have super-cool paranormal powers, like his best friend and witch, Al, and longtime werewolf crush, Miguel.

Then Cam has a psychic glimpse of the future in front of most of the student body, seeing a gruesomely murdered teen girl from the point of view of the killer. When Cam comes to, he knows two things: someone he goes to school with is a future murderer and his life is about to change. No longer a mere human but a clairvoyant, one of the rarest of supernatural beings, Cam finds himself at the center of attention for the first time.

As the most powerful supernatural factions in the city court Cam and his gift, he’ll have to work with his friends, both old and new, to figure out who he can trust. Because the clock is ticking, and Cam and his friends must identify the girl in the vision, find her potential killer, and prevent the murder from happening. Or the next murder Cam sees might be his own.

My Review

This is the third novel by F. T. Lukens I’ve read. I went into this book with them as a favorite author, and that distinction remains. This is probably not the kind of story that I would normally pick up– paranormal isn’t my usual go-to, but for an author I really enjoy (also looking at you, Kalynn Bayron), I’ll give vampires or werewolves a chance.

So one of the really fascinating things in this book is the cultural feelings surrounding people with supernatural abilities in the story world. For example, Cam’s parents are super against any involvement with or participation in the supernatural. They’ve long been against Cam hanging out with his best friend because they’re a witch.

Incidentally, Cam’s parents don’t bat an eye at him being gay or his best friend being nonbinary, so the story world is very queernormative. Instead, some characters fixate on whether someone is a human with no supernatural abilities versus someone with abilities.

Whether someone has an ability isn’t a choice. Cam’s gift manifests in a moment of distress and remains undeniable throughout the rest of the book. Yet his parents act as though erasing this part of his identity would be better for him and for them. It’s a pretty powerful metaphor, and it’s used well.

The characters, especially Cam, are engaging and easy to root for. I think Lukens has always written standalone novels, but I found myself really hoping this one would be the start of a series. I would absolutely return to this story world for more hijinks and investigations with Cam’s crew at the helm.

If you like a good murder mystery, especially one with a clever social commentary woven in, you won’t want to miss Love at Second Sight.

Content Notes for Love at Second Sight

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have supernatural/paranormal abilities. Some characters are werewolves, sprites, witches, or fae. Cam sees visions of the future. Another character sees and can interact with ghosts.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Cam sees visions of a girl who has been attacked and is close to dying. Boys get into a fight in a hallway at school. References to a car accident and near car accident.

Some characters react hatefully toward people with paranormal gifts or identities.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Vanya and the Wild Hunt by Sangu Mandanna

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Vanya and the Wild Hunt
Sangu Mandanna
Roaring Brook Press
Published March 11, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Vanya and the Wild Hunt

Amari and the Night Brothers meets Nevermoor in this enchanting middle grade fantasy, inspired by Indian mythology and British folklore, about a neurodivergent heroine, a mysterious school, and a world of magical creatures.

Eleven-year-old Vanya Vallen has always felt like she doesn’t fit in. She’s British-Indian in a mostly white town in England, her parents won’t talk about their pasts, and she has ADHD.

Oh, and she talks to books. More importantly, the books talk back.

When her family is attacked by a monster she believed only existed in fairytales, Vanya discovers that her parents have secrets, and that there are a lot more monsters out there. Overnight, she’s whisked off to the enchanted library and school of Auramere, where she joins the ranks of archwitches and archivists.

Life at Auramere is unexpected, exciting and wonderful. But even here, there’s no escaping monsters. The mysterious, powerful Wild Hunt is on the prowl, and Vanya will need all her creativity and courage to unmask its leader and stop them before they destroy the only place she’s ever truly belonged.

From the critically-acclaimed author of the Kiki Kallira series and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches comes an action-packed and magical middle grade fantasy, perfect for fans of J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan.

My Review

The week that Vanya and the Wild Hunt was released, I got to attend a Zoom event with Sangu Mandanna and Stephanie Burgis, which was a lot of fun. At that point, I hadn’t yet read the book, but hearing about the magical world and some of the inspiration behind Vanya’s character was so intriguing. I immediately added this book to the top of my reading list, and I’m so glad I did.

This has a lot of great elements that will appeal to middle grade readers. Vanya attends a magical school and learns about magical creatures. Books talk to her. She is keenly aware of the differences between herself and her peers in how she thinks and behaves, but she finds her people.

I had thought when I picked up the book that it was a standalone, but the way that this one ends definitely leaves room for a follow-up story. I think fans of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief will love getting to discover this new fantasy world.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Contains elements inspired by Indian mythology and British folklore. Powerful monsters called Old Ones threaten the lives and safety of those who can experience magic. Some magical books talk to Vanya and to each other.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Someone close to Vanya is critically injured. Vanya witnesses a brief battle scene and people running from a sinkhole-like event.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.