Tag Archives: fantasy

Magic Academia: The Entanglement of Rival Wizards and Lessons in Magic and Disaster

27 Aug

The Entanglement of Rival Wizards
by Sara Raasch
If you are a fan of STEM Romance novels and Fantasy set at Wizarding Schools then The Entanglement of Rival Wizards, that merges the two should be a delight. This is the first in the Magic and Romance Series. The story follows two wizards, a human-Sebastian and a half-elf Thio. Sebastian has trained in Evocation magic which creates new objects from spell components. Thio on the other hand does Conjuration magic which brings forth already existing objects. Both think their brand of magic is superior so are displeased when the Mageus Research Grant is announced as not going to one of them but both of them to work on a joint project. Although not as whimsical as Raasch previous adult series there is still humor derived from both the academic field and magic world (I loved the fun little between chapter announcements about magic chaos going on around the campus like an escaped basilisk on magical creature adoption day). The rivals to lover romance between Sebastian and Thio is steamy, but what I really enjoyed is how they helped each other work through previous traumas; love can’t heal all but a loving partner can help you navigate healing. Also notable is the strong friendship between Sebastian and his best friend Orok and how they negotiate supporting each other without fostering a level of codependency that would stop their own personal growth. I’m already looking forward to the next novel in the series which follows Orok’s love story and merges sports romance with fantasy.

Lessons in Magic and Disaster
by Charlie Jane Anders
I enjoyed Charlie Jane Anders adult novel, All the Birds in the Sky, and Unstoppable, her Young Adult Space Opera Series, so was excited to read her newly released novel, Lessons in Magic and Disaster. In this novel Jamie is not studying magic, but literature, but she uses magic to help her with her research and teaching her classes in subtle ways by making offerings of food at places where the human and the natural world have met such as a former road being overtaken by grass. In this way much of the story has less a fantasy and more a magical realism feel to it since it is not completely clear how much is real and how much is the characters perception of reality towards the beginning of the novel. Those who enjoy Sarah Addison Allen and Alice Hoffman will enjoy both the magical realism elements as well as the strong female characters depicted in the novel. When Jamie attempts to teach her mother, despite her mother seeming to have a natural talent for magic, things unfortunately do not always go as planned when her mother’s desires are often cloudy and unconcise leading to unexpected consequences. As with The Entanglement of Wizards there is strong LGBTQ representation in Lessons in Magic and Disaster with Jamie’s moms being lesbians, her partner is nonbinary, and she herself is a transwoman. It explores the complex and sometimes heartbreaking relationship between both married partners and mothers and their children.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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A World War II Fantasy: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

1 May

In the last decade or so, fantasy has taken on many forms. Before, many thought of those with a medieval like setting as falling into the genre of fantasy. Now, however, fantasy can have a multitude of time era inspired settings from modern day to Ancient Greece, and in the case of Divine Rivals, a World War II inspired setting.

Iris Winnow is desperately trying to keep the scraps of family together. Her mother suffers from addiction and her older brother, Forest, is missing from the front lines. The only hope to improve her situation is to win a promotion as a columnist at the prestigious Oath Gazette, a title she and her rival, Roman Kitt are competing for.

The setting takes place in the fictional world off Cambria with a World War II inspired setting with fictional gods that wage war over who will rule.

Rebecca Ross’ writing style is quite a sophisticated one, the tone and speech of the characters matching the era in which the story is set, but still easy enough to understand for readers without being over the top.

One of the more interesting aspects of this novel is why there is a war in the first place. Rather than a battle between countries or governments, it is instead a war of gods who had laid dormant for thousands of years before awakening and seeking dominance over the world. It’s an interesting idea that gets some exploration within the novel. However, there are two main focuses within the book itself. The first one is with Iris and her relationship with her brother, Forest. It is clear that they both have a strong sibling bond and that his going off to war has affected her deeply. The letters they write to each other are touching and make the reader root for them to be reunited.

The second focus point is on Iris’ relationship with Roman Kitt, her journalistic rival and love interest throughout the book. Roman is also quite the interesting character to read, haughty, but it’s clear he cares for Iris and the plight regarding her brother. While their relationship does technically fall into the category of enemies to lovers (a trope that has become quite popular) it’s done in a way where it doesn’t come off as them being cruel to each other and to go with the title of the book, they are more rivals than they are enemies.

The plot doesn’t race through its beats, nor does it slow down to a crawl, but instead it carries the reader right along as we join these two on their adventure. The ending will leave readers desperate to get their hands on the second book, Ruthless Vows, as soon as possible!

Written by:
Lauren Lapinski
Information and Digital Services Assistant

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