I was a big fan of Mafi’s narrative style in Furthermore, and I am so pleased that Whichwood follows a similar style, with a narrator retelling the story of these children almost like an omniscient reporter. It’s such a fun, and whimsical voice that I love seeing in her middle grade books. And while you don’t necessarily HAVE to read Furthermore before Whichwood, I would highly recommend you do as many of the characters from Furthermore make an appearance in Whichwood, making this book, often times, feel like a continuation of Alice’s story, just as much as Laylee’s. That being said, Laylee’s story is dark and tragic. When your main character is a thirteen year old girl, alone, washing the dead in all manner of decay, you have to expect this to be a darker story than Furthermore, even if that book also had its moments of fear and sadness. But Laylee’s story is… different, and that’s why I don’t think it’s truly a middle grade book.

This is the third and final book in the Roxanne Fosch Files series, so just a heads up that this review may contain mild spoilers for those previous books. But really, this is an excellent urban fantasy, new adult supernatural and paranormal series so you should definitely check out the first two books. “Heir of Fury” picks up about three years where the last book left off, though only about three weeks have passed back in the “real world”. In that time, Roxanne has become Remo’s most valuable asset, and as his familiar, Roxanne is powerless to go against his orders, bringing him person after person to become a vessel for his evil schemes toward world domination and destruction of the Seelie lands. Roxanne has to figure out what Remo’s plans to achieve his goals are, and how to thwart them, without telling anyone because the second Remo even suspects that she is going against him, he’ll force her to turn against her friends and the few people she holds dear. Roxanne has always been a tragic hero, and this final book really punishes poor Roxanne, a unique shifter even amongst her people, all the way to the bitter sweet end.

Well, that’s it, I finally finished this trilogy. I’ve loved this trilogy from the start. I loved the idea of the angels fabricating an apocalypse just because one of them wants to be the Messenger and was tired of waiting around. I loved the constant struggle Raffe has with wanting to be with Penryn, but also yearning to be back with his brothers, his kind. I love that Penryn is so aware of his struggle, that she doesn’t hold these desires against Raffe and takes the time to stop and think, if our positions were switched, wouldn’t I do the same? This final book had a lot of loose ends to tie up, between Raffe still needing his wings back, Paige starving because she refuses to eat her new food source due to the barbaric experiments done on her, and you know, saving mankind along the way. But for all the new, creepy and action filled areas and new locations Ee takes us to in this book, it took a while to get going, and then ended all too quickly.

“Sorcery of Thorns” is one of those ultra-hyped books that I am always leery of reading, especially early on when all the book press is still going strong, but then my friends were doing a read along and, well, here we are. It’s been quite a while since I’ve read a standalone fantasy book, honestly I prefer series because then you get a better sense of the world and the characters the author has crafted populating such a world. But Rogerson has done a lovely job bringing Elisabeth, Nathaniel and Silas to life. Crafting a world where sorcery is tied to the necessary evil of binding yourself to a demon, and magical grimoires are living, breathing things with as peculiar of personalities as any other flesh and blood character. Rogerson leans hard into the metaphor of knowledge being power, and it being dangerous in the wrong hands—I loved that. The book is full of witty banter as well as these incredibly heart breaking moments… I really did enjoy this book! But was it worth all the hype? Mostly…

I don’t think I’ve read a true reverse harem book before, so “Hidden Magic” was a first for me. Set in a small town, Willow has always considered herself to be a freak, having to grow up too fast because of a mother who talks to herself and swears she’s a witch and their family is cursed. Willow is desperate to have some kind of normal life as she starts college at the local school, but Willow finds out very quickly that nothing will ever be “normal” for her. “Hidden Magic” is an incredibly fast read (maybe too fast?) and just as one question gets answered, a new and devastating mystery takes its place.