magic – Page 2 – BookBunnies

Marshmallow reviews Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B.B. Alston

Marshmallow had already reviewed Amari and the Night Brothers and Amari and the Great Game, the first two books of the Supernatural Investigations series by B.B. Alston. Today she reviews the third book, Amari and the Despicable Wonders, which was published in 2024.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about family, friends, and magic with a strong, smart female protagonist, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): The supernatural world is on the brink of war with their risk of being revealed to the human world increasing by the minute. The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, which functions as this world’s government and has been responsible for keeping the supernatural unseen by humans, has recently been taken over by Elaine Harlowe. Harlowe is a faun who has the ability to control others with her voice and now is the Director of the Bureau. The previous head of the Bureau was the one and only Merlin; unfortunately, he had to freeze himself along with all of the other leaders of the magical world in order to protect them from an unseen attack. Amari Peters, a Junior Agent training to work in the Bureau who is our protagonist, discovered this in the last book. However, the world’s leaders are still stuck in this time freeze, leaving Harlowe in charge. Unfortunately, Harlowe is very biased against magicians, which is not a great perspective to have during a time of great tension between the Bureau and the League of Magicians. The Bureau is the government of the supernatural world, but in this world, magicians and all their creations are viewed as UnWanteds. Unlike in the world of Harry Potter, being told “You’re a wizard, Harry” is something that would cause different reactions: first, self-loathing and fear of being discovered, and second, confusion at being called Harry.

Amari is a magician, but so far, she’s been sort of viewed as a good one, in comparison to the evil Night Brothers or Dylan Van Helsing. Unfortunately, the League of Magicians has been corrupted by Dylan, who wants to use foul magic to make magicians respected through fear and intimidation. Amari and her friends (Elsie, Jayden, and Lara) have been fighting against Dylan’s magician movement, but they also need to worry about what the Bureau is doing too. Magician-hating Harlowe fears that Amari will reveal to the public how she rose to power so quickly (with her mind-controlling powers), so Harlowe declares Amari an enemy of the Bureau which many believe because she is a magician.

In this book, Amari, Elsie (who is extraordinarily smart and can transform partly into a dragon), Jayden (a boy who can talk to animals, though I predict he will be talking to Amari a lot more soon 😉), Lara (Dylan’s non-magician sister who has recently allied herself with Amari), and Quinton (Amari’s famous Bureau Agent brother) are now working against the clock to prevent the Bureau and the League from going to full-on war—especially since the stakes have never been higher.

Amari learns that Dylan plans to use anti-magick to fight the Bureau and all those who oppose magicians. Just like anti-matter, anti-magick destroys all things with magic, which includes just about everything and everyone in the supernatural world. In order to utilize and then control this power, Dylan must find the Despicable Wonders: eight ancient items made long ago by the first magician. The only thing that can save the supernatural world from complete ruin is if Amari, her family, and friends can find the Wonders first and stop Dylan. The clock is ticking though, and he has a head start.

Can Amari catch up and should she? Perhaps this is all according to his plan… dun dun dun!!!

Marshmallow is reading Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B.B. Alston. — Marshmallow is reading *Amari and the Despicable Wonders* by B.B. Alston.

Marshmallow’s Review: This was a very good book. I will say there are a lot of parallels to be drawn between Amari’s world and that of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Throughout this series, I definitely felt a lot of nostalgia because of the similarities to previous fantasy books for young adults and children. However, I would like to focus on what makes this series unique.

The world is definitely Alston’s own and it is not in any means identical. The premise starts off similarly, with a young child being told they are part of a magical world, and that they are exceptional even there. But this story evolves in a different direction. It focuses a lot more on equality, and fighting bias and hate. Amari is a magician, a group of supernaturals who are looked down upon. There is a lot of mistrust towards all magicians, and most live in hiding their whole lives. Amari’s perspective sheds light on the inequities in both the supernatural and natural world. This is clearly a statement, shown by the not-so-stark contrast between our world and theirs. This makes the story of Amari a lot more compelling and connects the reader more to her magical world.

That said, the characters are also very compelling. They develop in very human ways, even though not all of them are human. Even the enemy is clearly a thinking, breathing, feeling person and doesn’t start off as the embodiment of evil. The progression of the plot is both calculated and unexpected. It never feels slow though it is always very thoughtful. B.B. Alston is definitely, undoubtedly a very good author.

I really enjoyed reading Amari and the Despicable Wonders, and I am waiting excitedly for the fourth book to come out. The ending was bittersweet (because all the characters were so well-developed!), and while there was not really a defined cliffhanger, there are still unanswered questions.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B.B. Alston 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Amari and the Despicable Wonders* by B.B. Alston 100%.

Caramel reviews Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell

Today Caramel reviews Impossible Creatures, a 2024 book by Katherine Rundell. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, this is your last review for the year!

Caramel: Yep, and I am very happy about that!

S: Hmm, I thought you liked reading books.

C: I do! And I even like talking about them. But when the year is over, we always take a month-long break, and who doesn’t like breaks?

S: Okay, I totally get that! So let us do our review and wrap up the year then.

C: Actually we won’t be done completely, because on Saturday we will do a joint review with Marshmallow and go over all the books we talked about this year.

S: True. But you will be done with talking about new books. So tell us, what is this book about?

C: It is about this one girl named Mal and an archipelago where mythical creatures are real. The girl finds a baby griffin, and then meets a boy named Christopher and asks him to help her save all of the creatures in the archipelago from a great danger.

S: So is the girl a keeper of these magical creatures?

C: Yes and no, the griffin is her friend, not her pet.

S: Okay, so is this like, there is this magical world of magical animals that us mere mortals do not know about, kind of like in The Menagerie?

C: Yeah, kind of.

S: I see. So I am assuming the impossible creatures in the title of the book are these magical creatures?

C: Yep, definitely. However they are not as kind as the ones in The Menagerie.

S: Oh, are they more like wild animals?

C: No, they are more intelligent creatures, but still kind of angry.

S: I read that somehow the magic is running out?

C: Yep, some evil thing is stealing the magic from the source.

S: Oh, and so Mal and Christopher have to figure out what is going on and save the magic?

C: Yep, and they will have to kill the evil one.

S: That sounds like it could be an exciting read!

C: Yep. It was.

S: And does it all end up nice and tidy? I heard there might be a sequel.

C: Yeah, I would like to read it if there is a sequel. This one ended a little sad.

S: Oh no! I don’t want to ask.

C: Okay, don’t ask then.

Caramel is reading Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell. — Caramel is reading *Impossible Creatures* by Katherine Rundell.

S: Alright. I will change the topic. Though we could not call this book a graphic novel or a picture book, there are still quite a lot of images here and there, right?

C: Yep. Maybe sixty or more!

S: They were apparently the work of the artist named Ashley MacKenzie. What did you think of them?

C: I liked them! But I felt like the book could have used even more images. I mean, there were some things that I felt could need some images.

S: That is interesting! You do know quite a few different kinds of magical creatures already, so I am guessing this book had some that you had not heard of before?

C: No, but I want to see them just the same. But you know, the map at the beginning, that was pretty cool! It showed the archipelago where the magical creatures live. And then there is an illustrated Bestiary, which was also neat.

S: Hmm, so I think you liked the illustrations, just wanted a lot more, because they were pretty good!

C: Yep, having more would have been really good.

S: Okay, I think it is clear that you enjoyed this book. So we can wrap this up now. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell and recommends it to other little bunnies who enjoy reading about magical creatures. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Impossible Creatures* by Katherine Rundell and recommends it to other little bunnies who enjoy reading about magical creatures.

Marshmallow reviews Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

Today Marshmallow is talking to Sprinkles about Thornhedge, a 2023 book by T. Kingfisher that won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 2024.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, I know you love retellings of fairy tales, so I thought you would appreciate this book. Was I right?

Marshmallow: Yes.

S: Yay! I liked it too. So tell us a bit about the book.

M: This is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story. I had already read and reviewed Thornwood, another retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and that was pretty good too, but this one turns things even more upside down.

S: What do you mean?

M: Well, first of all, the narrator is a timid creature who calls herself Toadling, and we eventually learn that she is the fairy godmother who was the one to put the princess to sleep. But nothing is as we think we knew it to be.

S: You are being quite cryptic Marshmallow.

M: Yes, I am a very cryptic bunny.

S: That might not be optimal for one who is reviewing a book!

M: Well, I do not want to spill all the beans!

S: Okay, yes, you do have a point, but maybe then let us give the readers just a bit more.

M: So as I said, the book tells the story of the fairy godmother of Sleeping Beauty. It turns out that she was a human child, and she was kidnapped from the castle of her parents, a king and a queen, by evil fairies who replaced her with a changeling. Changelings are powerful creatures that seek to cause mischief or even worse. There is a deeper reason for why they cause mischief, but maybe this is enough for the time being.

S: Okay, so changelings in the sense of European folk stories.

M: Yes, not like the changelings of Star Trek Deep Space Nine.

S: Okay, I see.

M: When Toadling was replaced by a changeling, she was taken to the fairy world and was raised there by some frog-like fairy creatures called greenteeth. Then she is then somewhere else by a hare goddess and trained to be a fairy godmother.

S: Ooh, I like it when there are bunnies in the story!

M: Well, I am not sure this hare goddess is a very nice bunny. Anyways, time passes differently in the fairy world and the regular world. So by the time Toadling has spent nine years with the greenteeth and one year in training, the changeling named Fayette has just been “born”. So Toadling goes and becomes her doppelganger’s godmother.

S: That is interesting. Do her parents recognize her?

M: No. The nine years she spent with the greenteeth underwater have changed her and morphed her into a toadlike creature. She can look humanlike, but also can transform into a toad when she wants.

S: I see. So why is Fayette sleeping though?

M: Well, she is not, when Toadling comes by, but Toadling is supposed to do some magic and make her not harm anyone but she is sidetracked somehow and misses the opportunity to do her magic fully. So she ends up trying to stay around the child to make sure she will not harm anyone. But as the child grows up, she becomes more and more unruly, and at some point even starts torturing animals and shows no remorse or pity. So Toadling decides to put her to sleep.

S: That is awful! So these changelings are pure evil?

M: Well, in some sense yes, they are evil. But there is actually a reason for this. The changelings who are placed in human families are also babies when the switch occurs. However, these changelings belong to another plane of existence (the fairy world, I think), so nothing feels real to them. They grow up never really feeling anything, never being able to taste any food, and having metallic things burn them upon touch. The changelings grow up in a world without their kind, knowing in the back of their mind that this was not where they were supposed to be. Ultimately, they grow up confused and alone, and to them, human life is insignificant in this fake, foreign world.

S: Yes, but so was Toadling taken and placed in a totally different world. And she did not become wantonly cruel. She wants to help she wants to diminish people’s pains.

M: You have a point, so maybe the changelings have some tinge of evil in them from the start. But then again, Toadling was in some sense lucky. The greenteeth were kind to her and loved her.

S: But a family whose baby has been replaced by a changeling would also love that changeling, not knowing that it is not their original baby.

M: Yeah, I guess. But I kind of want to believe that nothing is born evil.

S: I can totally understand that and sympathize.

Marshmallow is reading Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher. — Marshmallow is reading *Thornhedge* by T. Kingfisher.

S: Okay back to the story though. So Toadling put the changeling to sleep and then what happens?

M: Well, lots of time passes. Centuries. And Toadling stays around the castle and grows a thorn hedge around it to keep people out. She hopes that people will eventually forget the castle, the story of the princess who fell asleep and so on. Unfortunately people do spread the story, and even though she hides things so well that most do forget, there comes a knight one day who wants to save the princess. But maybe it is not the princess who needs saving but Toadling herself!

S: Ooh, that is a great way to wrap up your summary and keep things still open!

M: Thank you.

S: Okay, so now tell me a bit about the book in terms of style.

M: I liked how the author used a very simple voice but still managed to capture a fairy-tale atmosphere for the story. And she created this character, a timid human-fairy child, that is very likeable. She was only ten when she became this fairy godmother, but then she lived outside the castle for centuries, determined to keep the world safe from the changeling-princess. So she grows up and maybe more mature but she still has this childlike innocence.

S: I agree.

M: I also like how the author develops two themes throughout the book; these were the two I caught: first magic being intertwined and represented and talked about as water. And second how beauty is not surface-level, that beauty is not what you see on the outside, but something else entirely. The changeling looks like a beautiful child, but she is evil and to Toadling she looks terrifying. The greenteeth would look ugly to us probably but to Toadling they are strong, and they define beauty for her. It is somehow related to their strength and skills.

S: But she likes them, they are kind to her, and they are her family.

M: Yes, but it goes beyond that I think. Toadling is raised in this other world based on scavenging and surviving, so she learns to appreciate totally different things, not superficial beauty but something beyond. She values traits like skilled hunting over things like soft smooth skin.

S: That makes sense to me Marshmallow. So this short little book was worth reading then?

M: Yes, 100%. Which is also, coincidentally, how I’d rate it.

S: I was just going to ask that!

M: Well, now you don’t have to!

S: Yes, thank you. Okay, let us wrap this review then. What would you like to tell our readers?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing reviews from the book bunnies!

Marshmallow rates Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Thornhedge* by T. Kingfisher 100%.

Caramel reviews Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer

Caramel has been going through the Artemis Fowl books one by one. He has already read and reviewed the first seven books: Artemis Fowl, Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident, Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code, Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception, Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox, and Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex. Today he is finally ready to talk about book eight: Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian, originally published in 2012. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: Okay, Sprinkles, we are finally talking about the last book in the series. And it is perhaps coincidentally called The Last Guardian.

Caramel: Why do you think it is coincidental?

S: Well, I thought it was a coincidence that the title of the last book has the word “last” in it. But are you implying that this is not at all a coincidence? Like this is also the end of Artemis Fowl and the last we will see of him?

C: Well, that is kind of what I am implying. Artemis Fowl does die-

S: What, really?

C: Yes, really. But of course he comes back!

S: Hmm, you got me worried for a bit there.

C: Yay! Mission accomplished!

S: Hmm, I am not terribly happy you got me worried intentionally there. But okay, let us get back to the book. Who is the last guardian? What is happening in this book? And how does Artemis Fowl die and then come back?

C: I am not sure, but I think it might be Artemis because he sacrifices himself, to defend the fairies and their world as well as the human world. The evil character Opal Koboi is once again the villain and causes both the fairy and the human worlds to lose most of their technological tools and systems. And Artemis does come back but he forgets everything. Almost everything, and then the book ends in a strange way.

S: I feel like we are approaching serious spoiler territory here.

C: Yes. I guess I should stop.

Caramel is reading Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer. — Caramel is reading *Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian* by Eoin Colfer.

S: Okay, so the book is done, and the series with it, too. Tell me, what is your overall opinion of the series?

C: Can I give a percent rating like Marshmallow does?

S: Okay, let us see.

C: Yay! I would rate the series 99%!

S: Hmm, so you love the series but you are still holding on to that one percent.

C: Yes, remember you told me that when you were in high school, your English teacher would never assign a grade of 10 out of 10 for anybody.

S: Well, yes, she said 10 was reserved for Shakespeare only.

C: So I am reserving 100% for a new Wings of Fire book. If it is good.

S: So out of all the series you have read till now, Wings of Fire is still your favorite?

C: Yes. But Artemis Fowl is a close second. The main character is pretty cool. And the books are always action-packed and fast-paced and have all sorts of weird things, like magic, time travel, and a no-longer-evil boy genius! What is not to like!

S: So would you recommend that I read them too then?

C: Yes, I think you would like them, Sprinkles.

S: Hmm, I think I will give them a go then. While we are at it, I wanted to check. You know there are more Artemis Fowl mysteries, right? They have his twin brothers as the central characters. Are you interested in checking those books out too?

C: Yes, of course. That’s kind of a silly question, Sprinkles. Kind of like you are asking me if I want more ice cream.

S: I get it, okay. Maybe we will find those books then. So let us wrap up this review then. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer and is now a bit sad that the series is all over. So he will probably go back to the beginning and reread it all over again. — Caramel loved reading *Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian* by Eoin Colfer and is now a bit sad that the series is all over. So he will probably go back to the beginning and reread it all over again.