Book Reviews
8/6/2025
‘Lessons in Magic and Disaster’
This may be marketed as a fantasy book, but just like real people, there is far more to this sparkling gem than meets the eye. Defying genres like a teenager defies logic, this book is a witch’s coming-of-age story wrapped in a historical mystery in an exploration of grief unlike any I have ever read. This is one of my favorite books of the decade.
Jamie is a grad student studying 18th-century literature while trying to help her mother, Serena, grieve the loss of her wife, Mae. Desperate to help, Jamie teaches her mother about magic, a secret she has carried for years and is reluctant to fully explain. That reluctance proves prescient when previously reliable spells go awry and everything in Jamie’s life starts going wrong.
Told in alternate viewpoints from different points in history, this is a truly gorgeous story of love and heartbreak and owning who you are in the face of both internal and external demons. I loved every minute of this story, even when it hurt. Charlie Jane Anders must be magic, and I am completely under her spell. ♦
— Review by Julie Goodrich
‘Lucky Day’
I have a deep and abiding love for everything Chuck Tingle does, so it is not a big surprise that I shouted with glee when I received a copy of his newest masterpiece. And it is, in fact, a masterpiece. These days, I shy away from bleak stories, as there is enough of that in the newspapers, but there is something about the absurd and gloriously weird horror of Dr. Tingle that warms me to the core.
Vera is about to achieve a beautiful moment of professional success when something so unexplainably horrible happens and she is suddenly paralyzed by grief. For no reason anyone can uncover, 8 million people die in the most wacky and unbelievable ways, all at once. This apocalyptic moment becomes known as the Low Probability Event, and Vera’s former career as a statistician ropes her into the hunt for answers.
Fast-paced, gory, hilarious and deeply visceral, this story has more depth than anything with such an odd premise should. If anything about the description or the fantastic cover intrigues you, even a little, pick it up as soon as possible. It’s a wild and worthy ride. ♦
— Review by Julie Goodrich
