Magic for Liars

From Goodreads:

Sharp, mainstream fantasy meets compelling thrills of investigative noir in this fantasy debut by rising star Sarah Gailey.

Ivy Gamble has never wanted to be magic. She is perfectly happy with her life—she has an almost-sustainable career as a private investigator, and an empty apartment, and a slight drinking problem. It's a great life and she doesn't wish she was like her estranged sister, the magically gifted professor Tabitha.

But when Ivy is hired to investigate the gruesome murder of a faculty member at Tabitha’s private academy, the stalwart detective starts to lose herself in the case, the life she could have had, and the answer to the mystery that seems just out of her reach.

General Questions:
— On a scale of 1-10, how predictable did you find the "who" in the "whodunnit"?
— What did you like/dislike about the portrayal of magic in this universe?
— What made you want to read this book in the first place?
— Ayyy representation! Do you think there was too little, too much, or the perfect amount?

Spoilery Questions:

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— What did you think about the resolution of the "Chosen One" plot thread?
— Tabitha: relatable and sympathetic of egomaniac? Discuss.

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This is a discussion thread for people who have read or are reading the book in question. With that in mind, there are likely to be spoilers throughout. However, in the event of major twists or “how it ends”, please wrap content in spoiler tags.

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[spoiler]Surprise!content here[/spoiler]

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

Finished this last night—the library has a BRUTAL 7-day loan period for books with a waitlist of more than like, 5 so I had to turn it around quickly, but it was not a difficult read! Will answer the questions in more detail later, but for now, I give you my Goodreads review!

4.5, rounded up for fun...ness


This was an incredibly enjoyable read that made me think of Veronica Mars meets the Magicians—an excellent pairing if I do say so myself! I absolutely loved the science behind the magic (even if it was diluted through Ivy, our narrator, so we don’t really get the full picture), and thoroughly enjoyed some of the characters (especially Rahul!).

The writing itself was engaging and made for a quick read, even though Ivy wasn’t always particularly endearing.

I also loved that the...

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Chosen One thread was a red herring—prophecy is so often a fixture in stories like this that it was delightful and comical to see it, through Ms Webb, being largely unimportant in the end.

Would recommend to anyone who’s watched an episode of Veronica Mars and thought, “Yeah, but what if there were WIZARDS?” or to aging Harry Potter fans who have reached the point in their lives where they are thoroughly disillusioned with adulthood and need relatable nostalgia (if that is a Venn diagram, the middle is where I shall build my house).

Posted on Idunn because of all my characters, she is the one who would translate best to Osthorne xD

  

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— Graphics by MJ ♡ —

— On a scale of 1-10, how predictable did you find the "who" in the "whodunnit"?

Not at all at first, because (like in most of my favourite mystery stuff!) I didn't have all the pieces I needed. Around about the time their connection was made clear, though, I became pretty sure of who it would be.

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Though I was terrified I had become too attached to Rahul so it would have to be him XP

— What did you like/dislike about the portrayal of magic in this universe?

I LOVED THE SCIENCEY MAGIC SO MUCH GUYS. SO MUCH.

— What made you want to read this book in the first place?

I love magic. I love mystery. It seemed like a no brainer. Also I follow the publisher on Insta and it kept popping up in my feed ADVERTISING WORKS GUYS.

#bbl

  

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— graphics by MJ ♥ —