Genre: Fantasy

Review – A Magical Girl Retires

Posted October 19, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – A Magical Girl Retires

A Magical Girl Retires

by Park Seolyeon

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 176
Rating: two-stars
Synopsis:

A millennial turned magical girl must combat climate change and credit card debt in this delightful, witty, and wildly imaginative ode to magical girl manga.

Twenty-nine, depressed, and drowning in credit card debt after losing her job during the pandemic, a millennial woman decides to end her troubles by jumping off Seoul’s Mapo Bridge.

But her suicide attempt is interrupted by a girl dressed all in white—her guardian angel. Ah Roa is a clairvoyant magical girl on a mission to find the greatest magical girl of all time. And our protagonist just may be that special someone.

But the young woman’s initial excitement turns to frustration when she learns being a magical girl in real life is much different than how it’s portrayed in stories. It isn’t just destiny—it’s work. Magical girls go to job fairs, join trade unions, attend classes. And for this magical girl there are no special powers and no great perks, and despite being magical, she still battles with low self-esteem. Her magic wand . . . is a credit card—which she must use to defeat a terrifying threat that isn’t a monster or an intergalactic war. It’s global climate change. Because magical girls need to think about sustainability, too.

Park Seolyeon reimagines classic fantasy tropes in a novel that explores real-world challenges that are both deeply personal and universal: the search for meaning and the desire to do good in a world that feels like it’s ending. A fun, fast-paced, and enchanting narrative that sparkles thanks to award-nominated translator Anton Hur, A Magical Girl Retires reminds us that we are all magical girls—that fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight can be anyone's game.

I’d been curious about Park Seolyeon’s A Magical Girl Retires for a while, since magical girl stories are fun and the cover art very much calls up that aesthetic and genre. It was available on Kobo Plus, and looked like a quick read, so I snagged it and tore through it: it really is a quick read, very breezily written (despite some dark themes, e.g. the whole first chapter involves the main character considering suicide, and her depression is clear throughout) and with fun art that livens things up.

Unfortunately it felt like it was too much of a quick read — everything happened so fast, each chapter was so short, and I could’ve done with more build-up of the relationship between the main character and Ah Roa (which could’ve been really cute). There’s a lot of fun stuff in the detail of how being a magical girl works, the fact that there’s a magical girl union, etc etc, it just… skips by so fast that it’s difficult to get invested.

Someone else mentioned this was a case where a short story should be expanded into a novel rather than vice versa, and yeah, that’s the feeling I had. The main character is well-drawn as far as it goes (though it’s mostly the depression!) but everything else feels sketched in, and the stakes are so high that that doesn’t seem right. There are definitely neat ideas here, just. Hmmm. It didn’t quite work.

Rating: 2/5 (“it was okay”)

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Review – Solo Leveling, vol 6

Posted October 19, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Solo Leveling, vol 6

Solo Leveling

by Dubu, Chugong

Genres: Fantasy, Manga
Pages: 304
Series: Solo Leveling #6
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Jinwoo continues to progress rapidly through the Demon's 6 Castle, climbing toward the top floor with the help of a demon noble who has agreed to escort the intruder if it means not having to fight him herself! Preoccupied with his personal quest, Jinwoo is unaware of the escalating threat outside the dungeon. The ant magic beasts that laid waste to Jeju Island are looking to relocate, and if they reach the mainland, all of Korea could fall. Will the combined S-ranks of Japan and Korea be enough to quell the swarm—and will Jinwoo be joining them?!

Volume 6 of the Solo Leveling manhua is a lot of fun, though it feels a bit weirdly paced, or like the volumes are weirdly split up. The first half is basically all about Jinwoo’s ascent of the Demon’s Castle, with lots of action and fighting that involves Jinwoo being… still clever, but mostly also way overpowered.

The second half is largely about the Jeju Island plot, with Japanese and Korean high-ranked hunters joining up, testing each other, and then starting the raid… and Jinwoo isn’t a super important part of that plot, since he chooses not to get involved due to his mother’s recovery. It feels really weird that he’s not involved, narratively, but I’m guessing he’ll be getting stuck in soon enough. I can’t imagine the system’s super interested in him no longer hunting…

The art and colours continue to be lovely, and while I don’t follow the action scenes well, eh, I never do — just not a visual person. I’m very curious where it’s all going, and also probably curious enough to start reading the light novel.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Paladin’s Strength

Posted October 13, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Review – Paladin’s Strength

Paladin's Strength

by T. Kingfisher

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
Pages: 426
Series: The Saint of Steel #2
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

From two-time Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Paladin's Strength, the perfect blend of cosy fantasy romance and classic fantasy adventure featuring an order of secretive nuns, a swashbuckling paladin and a strange hive of rabbits.

He's a paladin of a dead god, tracking a supernatural killer across a continent. She's a nun from a secretive order on the trail of the raiders who burned her convent and kidnapped her sisters.

When their paths cross at the point of a sword, Istvhan and Clara will be pitched headlong into each other's quests, facing off against enemies both living and dead. But Clara has a secret that could jeopardise the growing trust between them, a secret that will lead them to the gladiatorial pits of a corrupt city, and beyond...

I really enjoyed T. Kingfisher’s Paladin’s Strength, even though at times I think it could’ve used being a bit shorter — a few pages less here and there. I think I had the same thought about The Wonder Engine, so I suspect it’s partly a matter of style, and I do enjoy T. Kingfisher’s writing quite a bit. She has a thing about paladins, and Istvhan is a fun example of the breed: a little less absolutely subsumed by being a paladin than Stephen, a bit less haunted than Galen, but still profoundly bound by requiring himself to be decent.

So decent that he can’t see that Clara’s a perfectly capable, willing women who would like to go to bed with him. The will they/won’t they is pretty frustrating given we see both sides of the potential relationship and thus know that they’re just totally failing to communicate, and I think it’s here that some pages could’ve been cut profitably. It all feels like it drags out a bit too long, though on the other hand, they’re both so stubborn that I guess it’s not super surprising that they have to be dragged slowly to a conclusion.

The discovery of the origins of the smooth men is fascinating — and definitely surprised me, since I figured it was going to be a bigger plot running through all four books, and it seems kinda… wrapped up? And it was fascinating to explore more of the world too, learning about St Ursa, the Aral, Morstone…

Looking forward to the next book, which looks quite short compared to this one!

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association

Posted October 2, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Review – The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association

by Caitlin Rozakis

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 365
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Two parents and their recently-bitten-werewolf daughter try to fit into a privileged New England society of magic aristocracy. But deadly terrors await them – ancient prophecies, remorseless magical trials, hidden conspiracies and the PTA bake sale.

When Vivian’s kindergartner, Aria, gets bitten by a werewolf, she is rapidly inducted into the hidden community of magical schools. Reeling from their sudden move, Vivian finds herself having to pick the right sacrificial dagger for Aria, keep stocked up on chew toys and play PTA politics with sirens and chthonic nymphs and people who literally can set her hair on fire.

As Vivian careens from hellhounds in the school corridors and demons at the talent show, she races to keep up with all the arcane secrets of her new society – shops only accessible by magic portal, the brutal Trials to enter high school, and the eternal inferno that is the parents’ WhatsApp group.

And looming over everything is a prophecy of doom that sounds suspiciously like it’s about Aria. Vivian might be facing the end of days, just as soon as she can get her daughter dressed and out of the door…

Caitlin Rozakis’ The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association is a pretty fun book about parenting a werewolf kid, learning to fit into a whole new community, and the fact that there’s always the mean clique, wherever you go.

I’ve seen it touted as cosy, so I would point out that the main character has childhood trauma (which isn’t discussed in great detail, but is obvious from the way she blames herself for every single thing) and adulthood trauma from seeing her child’s throat bitten out by a werewolf right in front of her. There’s a lot of drama, and though there’s fun worldbuilding and amusing references and all of that, there’s also a lot of emotional stuff going on.

Speaking of which, Vivian honestly gets a bit frustrating at times because of this: she tries to blame everything on herself, she shuts her husband out (though he’s not blameless either, to be clear), she sees things in black and white, and is quite prepared to repeat her parents’ mistakes. There’s some ambiguity about some of the people she’s choosing to suck up to, but Cecily is an obvious awful snob the entire time, and Vivian herself blindly ignores all the warning bells because this will be “best for Aria” (when it clearly isn’t). She is trying very hard, buuut at times her behaviour and wilful ignorance is annoying.

For those wary of anything mentioning Harry Potter, this book doesn’t mention it by name, but references it a couple of times (not super positively). So that’s worth knowing, and it’s definitely unavoidably influenced by it (though personally I’d have skipped mentioning it at all). It’s not just Hogwarts with the serial numbers filed off, to be clear: it deals with younger children, and feels very American.

It did get to a point near the end where I kinda went, c’mon, we’ve figured it out already, let’s wrap this up, and certain aspects of it were pretty predictable… but mostly I enjoyed the wrap-up, even if I could’ve done with a bit less of Vivian kicking herself first. Overall, worked pretty well, and I had fun.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The Wonder Engine

Posted September 28, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Wonder Engine

The Wonder Engine

by T. Kingfisher

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 366
Series: Clocktaur War #2
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

In the sequel to Clockwork Boys, Slate, Brenner, Caliban and Learned Edmund have arrived in Anuket City, the source of the mysterious Clockwork Boys. They even managed to build some trust in each other's skills. That trust is built on quicksand as the risks continue to escalate. But the secrets they're keeping could well destroy them, before the city even gets the chance...
Old foes and consequences of past decisions lurk in the shadows. Every team member's skills are required to succeed--even more so if they hope to survive.

I found T. Kingfisher’s The Wonder Engine a touch less well-paced then Clockwork Boys: it’s a bit chunkier, and it’s not entirely clear to me that all of it is needed. I don’t mean any major events should be cut, I think, but some of the will-they-won’t-they could’ve been condensed, at least, and maybe some of the events around the reason why Slate didn’t want to return to Anuket City. (I’m trying to avoid spoilers here.)

All of which is not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did, it’s just that Clockwork Boys felt a bit more streamlined, and I began to lose patience with Caliban and Slate’s inability to communicate properly. Grimehug is right, of course, they can’t smell each other, but a gnole could wish humans would manage to speak with words, allegedly their strong point!

I enjoy this world and seeing a bit more of it, and I enjoyed the characters for the most part — even Learned Edmund, to my surprise, now that he’s understood a bit more of the real world. There was a “twist” that shouldn’t have surprised me but sort of did (I’d been expecting something to happen, but not that specifically), and the way everything wrapped up definitely had punch, with room for healing and a happy ending for some of the characters.

I’ll definitely grab the UK edition when it comes out, to match Clockwork Boys; it’s a series I want to keep around, and I was surprised by how quickly I wanted to go on and read The Wonder Engine right away, because normally I space out a series by at least an unrelated book or two.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Solo Leveling, vol. 5

Posted September 27, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Solo Leveling, vol. 5

Solo Leveling

by Dubu, Chugong

Genres: Fantasy, Manga
Pages: 314
Series: Solo Leveling #5
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

Jinwoo knows it won't be long before his true power fully comes to light and the guilds and Hunter's Association of Korea descend, seeking his allegiance. Since his training has thus far been a solo endeavor, Jinwoo decides he ought to at least see what an A-rank raid is really like. Joining the Hunters' excavation team is the perfect opportunity to assess a high-level guild in action, even if his role is limited to hauling and mining. That is, until a particularly nasty dungeon boss requires the luggage carrier to step up to carry the team as well!!

Volume five of Solo Leveling feels a bit… like filler? Jinwoo hitches himself a ride with a guild on the “excavation” team, and we get to see a bit more about how the guilds make money by totally stripping out the dungeons, so it’s not bad for worldbuilding, but it felt like the bit about the re-evaluation was kinda stretched out.

Still, we meet Cha Hae-In, who seems pretty cool, and it was kinda nice to tone down the darkness a touch and have Jinwoo spend some time reminding himself what it used to be like when he went on raids with other people. Despite thinking he’s not going to rely on other people etc etc, Jinwoo’s still actually protecting the innocent, which is good to see.

He is getting super overpowered though, like me overlevelling in the first dungeon of a game. I’m thinking the ants are gonna be a good opponent for him; it’d be pretty disappointing if that doesn’t even challenge him either.

Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)

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Review – Reignclowd Palace

Posted September 23, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Reignclowd Palace

Reignclowd Palace

by Philippa Rice

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 400
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Evnie Treedle makes magical things and for the last few years she has been selling them in magical knickknacks shop, the Magpie Nest.

But everything changes when one day Evnie's crafting abilities catch the attention of the nearby Reignclowd Palace. She is asked to become their resident spellsmith... the original spellsmith suddenly ill under mysterious circumstances.

Evnie is soon put to work making and mending magical objects. Yet, problems start to appear when she realises there's much more at stake than friendship or romance; a dragon looms over the kingdom looking for a soul to devour, and it's eyes are set on their princess.

I picked up Philippa Rice’s Reignclowd Palace on an absolute whim — more accurately, I spotted it in a bookshop, was curious about the colourful cover, and ended up putting it on my wishlist. I hadn’t seen anyone else talk about it or review it, which is pretty unusual for me at this point: a lot of my reading decisions are based on seeing other people’s thoughts about the books first.

Aaand I really enjoyed it: it kinda had Howl’s Moving Castle vibes to me in many ways (which is not to say it was a rip-off of Howl’s Moving Castle, just that something about the world and relationships felt adjacent). Evnie is a pretty good protagonist, new to the palace and thus open-eyed to its wonders and quirks, giving us a good chance to explore alongside her but making it make sense that she doesn’t know what’s going on all the time or figure out the intricacies of it.

I feel like there were maybe one or two inconsistencies that I’d have to flick through the book to check back on (why would Fantacci go and get Evnie if the Oracle is so blind to her and what she’s going to do?), and there were a couple of notes that felt off (what happens to the youngest prince in the end makes sense, but felt abrupt) or things that were just a tad weird but never came to anything much (Ren’s crush on Hadriana really seemed a bit creepy/obsessive).

I loved the way dragons work in this world, though, and the chaos of the palace, the nature of Evnie’s magic, the way that it slowly becomes clear what dragons are and what happened to Evnie’s village… And I liked that it works as a standalone: I’ve no idea if there’s other stuff planned in this world, there would certainly be space for it, but there doesn’t need to be.

Overall, a gamble that paid off. It was a nice semi-cosy book for my mood — by which I mean there’s a cosiness to the fact that Evnie’s spellwork happens through knitting and sewing at times, in the friendships growing up around the palace, the light romance, etc, but there is also peril and trauma. There’s a warmth to it that I appreciated a lot.

Rating; 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Clockwork Boys

Posted September 21, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Review – Clockwork Boys

Clockwork Boys

by T. Kingfisher

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 282
Series: Clocktaur War #1
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

In the first book of this touching and darkly comic duology, a paladin, a forger, an assassin and a scholar ride out of town on an espionage mission with deadly serious stakes. When forger Slate is convicted of treason, she faces a death sentence. But her unique gift for sniffing out magic (literally) earns her a reprieve-of sorts. Along with a paladin, Caliban, possessed by a demon, her murderous ex-lover, and an irritating misogynist scholar, Slate sets off on a mission to learn about the Clockwork Boys, deadly mechanical soldiers from a neighbouring kingdom who have been terrorising their lands. If they succeed, rewards and pardons await, but they must survive a long journey through enemy territory to reach Anuket City. And Slate has her own reasons to dread returning to her former home. Slate and her crew aren't the first to be sent on this mission. None of their predecessors have returned, and Slate can't help but feel they've exchanged one death sentence for another. Her increasing closeness to Caliban isn't helping matters: for the first time in a long time, Slate might actually care about surviving.

T. Kingfisher’s Clockwork Boys has been issued in a new UK print edition, which finally spurred me to get round to reading it — and now I’m glad that I have the sequel in ebook already, because the UK print edition isn’t out, but the duology is really the same story just split between two books. It doesn’t end in this volume by any means.

I found it all very enjoyable: quintessentially Kingfisher-ish, of course, from her physically nondescript female lead to her magic system to her paladin character and his particular hangups. It’s your classic fantasy journey to solve a problem, a biiiig ol’ problem, with a mismatched group consisting of one volunteer and three felons being compelled by a tattoo that’ll eat them if they betray the mission (fascinating concept). It all has her usual humour and warmth, along with truly terrifying ideas (see also: the tattoo that can eat you).

Of course I’ve read Paladin’s Grace, in the same world but (IIRC) written later, so I had some prior grounding on the world, which means I was also trying to slot it into what I know of that book.

It’s very fun and goes by pretty quickly, even if occasionally I want to whack Caliban upside the head, and I’m eager for the next book.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga), vol 3

Posted September 14, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga), vol 3

The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga)

by Kazuki Irodori, Yatsuki Wakutsu

Genres: Fantasy, Manga, Romance
Pages: 178
Series: The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga) #3
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

Just the other day, an office worker was dragged through a portal to a fantasy world in a different dimension. He requests only one thing — a job. So began Kondou’s career as an accountant for the Romany Kingdom. However, when Aresh finds said bean counter in dire straits, the dashing knight captain takes it upon himself to care for Kondou. Soon after, Kondou catches the attention of the prime minister, resulting in his promotion to a middle management position. With his new title, Kondou finds his workload increasing along with the dangers associated with him. As a consequence, Aresh faces an entirely new obstacle — how to protect his bean counter from not only himself but the outside world as well…

NB: this review is actually from before I read the light novels, since I try to space out my reviews and provide some diversity! So now I know how the plot all turns out… but I didn’t bother editing this review, and it remains my first impressions.

The third volume of The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter certainly goes places! I found it a bit less light-hearted than the other volumes, since Seiichirou is violently beaten and left for dead, and then dragged into very certain danger for political reasons.

Aresh’s devotion to him continues to be somewhat sweet, though still rather controlling. And yeah, it’s to save his life — and yeah, Seiichirou is annoyingly careless and in fact actively endangering himself to no real purpose — but there has to be a place where it stops, and I’m not certain I believe Aresh knows that (and sometimes he crosses the line). It’s really clear that they need to have a conversation about Aresh’s feelings, though Seiichirou is pretty unreadable on that front, only seeming to think about what he owes Aresh.

I find it disappointing that the Holy Maiden is kind of oblivious. I wonder if she’ll become more of an ally to Seiichirou now, or whether there’s something deliberate and malicious under the girlishness. Her interest in Aresh is pretty annoying, but I find it uncomfortable that I’m annoyed about it — it seems like she’s set up to be hated for being interested in one of the (gay) male leads, a pattern I always hated in fic as a teen and actively avoid now.

Overall, curious where the plot is going, and where Aresh and Seiichirou’s relationship will end up, but I definitely need them to communicate and examine their own feelings (preferably in the reverse of that order).

Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)

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Review – Gwen and Art Are Not In Love

Posted September 10, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Review – Gwen and Art Are Not In Love

Gwen and Art Are Not In Love

by Lex Croucher

Genres: Arthuriana, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 419
Rating: two-stars
Synopsis:

Gwen, the quick-witted Princess of England, and Arthur, future duke and general gadabout, have been betrothed since birth. Unfortunately, the only thing they can agree on is that they hate each other.

When Gwen catches Art kissing a boy and Art discovers where Gwen hides her diary (complete with racy entries about Bridget Leclair, the kingdom's only female knight), they become reluctant allies. By pretending to fall for each other, their mutual protection will be assured.

But how long can they keep up the ruse? With Gwen growing closer to Bridget, and Art becoming unaccountably fond of Gabriel, Gwen's infuriatingly serious, bookish brother, the path to true love is looking far from straight...

I found Lex Croucher’s Gwen & Art Are Not In Love a bit… frustrating. The Arthurian references are a bit all over the place, and how it fits into a post-Arthurian world is very non-obvious (any explanation of the Catholics vs cultists thing takes forever, and also makes no real sense with most versions of the Arthurian legends). Gwen and Arthur are not that Gwen and Arthur, they’ve just been saddled with being named after them and engaged from a very young age to get married. Why you’d do that and not think about the mixed messages of naming a child very obviously after a very famously unfaithful wife, I don’t know.

There are aspects of the story I enjoyed, with Gwen and Arthur’s slowly evolving dynamic (and also Arthur’s friendship with Sidney), but I felt the actual romances were a little undercooked (particularly Arthur’s) compared to that friendship, and actual communication would really have benefitted everyone a very great deal, which… is always a frustrating read for me, personally.

It’s not that I’m a purist about Arthuriana, or at least I try not  to be, but I like to understand what an author is doing, and, well, this really wasn’t clear. It sort of relied on “ambient knowledge that King Arthur is a thing, but I hope you don’t care about details”, and well, I do.

Rating: 2/5 (“it was okay”)

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