Off the Bookshelf: CALLING, by Molly Harper

 

Sorcery and Society, Book 3

Amanda Ronconi, narrator 

The third, and seemingly final book in the YA fantasy/alternate history series with a dash of steampunk.

Sarah and her friends come up against a lot of discouragement and disappointment and near-misses, as they come closer to either changing their world or watching it be destroyed by the evil Miss Morton's nasty revenge plot.

And oh, yeah, zombies show up. Again. Several times.

Fun, with a snarky undertone. (And just how does the narrator hold onto that English accent, with all its variations and keep all the different character voices straight? I have a hard enough time holding onto one or two recurring characters' voices when I narrate! Kudos to her.)

Sarah needs to recreate the Mother Book, which Miss Morton destroyed at the end of the previous book. She needs to get some control over all the Changeling children she and her friends rescued. They need to learn to combine their magic, and find a mysterious, barely mentioned, probably nothing more than legend magical instrument to stop the zombies next time they attack. She especially needs to keep from destroying Mrs. Winter's country home -- starting with getting the jam off the ceiling. And oh, yeah, a reunion with Gavin would be nice.

Do Sarah and her friends prevail? Listen and find out. And schedule large blocks of time, because you really don't want to have to keep stopping and starting again, when life gets in the way.

Off the Bookshelf: FLEDGLING, by Molly Harper

Audiobook, Audible exclusive

Narrated by Amanda Ronconi

Sequel to CHANGELING

 Our heroine, Cassandra, formerly known as Sara, is close to the end of her first year of magical finishing school when things start going wrong. Starting with a murderous unicorn-like creature attacking her dance class. While the boy she likes returns her affection, his mother is getting in the way, and the usual schoolgirl feuds are only enhanced with nasty magic, and the magical Mother Book isn't talking to Cassandra. That's a problem because a committee of demanding, sour old men isn't above locking her up somewhere to make her focus on the book instead of things like school and boys and summer holidays.

Cassandra has a quest: to find other Changeling children and ensure they are free to learn to use their magic, without being locked up or destroyed by the leaders of the Guardian society. Easier said than done, of course. Even with the help and scheming of her good friends, Alicia and Ivy, Cassandra's quest could destroy them all, not just Guardian society. Who would have thought magic would just make life even more complicated?

Another engrossing adventure in the world of Sorcery and Society! (Excuse me, but why do we have to wait so long for the next book to come out? Not fair!)

Off The Bookshelf: CHANGELING, by Molly Harper

Audiobook, Audible Exclusive

Narrated by Amanda Ronconi

A book of Sorcery and Society, according to the cover art.

Mix Jane Austen with Harry Potter, sorta ... Lovely, fun, slightly scary book, with a snarky heroine who is very unsure of herself and walking a tightrope.

Sara is a Snipe -- a non-magical person. In her world, the magical folk are fed up with the Industrial Revolution, and slap the Snipes down to make sure they don't destroy the whole world, and establish themselves as Guardians. Meaning the magical folk rule, the non-magical are in perpetual indentured servitude ... and if a Snipe child is born with magic, there's bound to be trouble.

Which is what happens when Sara discovers the vitamins her parents make her take aren't vitamins, but to suppress her magical abilities, so they don't get in trouble and ruin the Winters, the Guardian family their family has been serving for generations. Sara hates the awful pills, doesn't take them for a while and ... you guessed it, one day she does magic.

Fortunately, Mrs. Winter is a fast thinker, clever, and determined to maneuver the new situation to benefit her family instead of threatening them. Sara's death is faked and she scrambles to become someone new: Cassandra Reed, distant relative of the Winters, newly orphaned, and possessed of what might be an extraordinary magical talent. IF she can survive her first year at a magical girls' finishing school full of infighting and political games and traps everywhere she turns.

Fun book. Highly recommended.