Synopsis
Ivy Nichols O’Reilly has grown up in a wealthy family full of magic, fantasy creatures, and emotional abuse—but when her narcissistic mother arranges an unwanted marriage for her, the young witch reaches her breaking point. She drops out of college, changes her name to Georgette, and flees across the country with her best friend, a Wood Nymph named Mei-Xing.
Georgette is determined to build a new identity and a new life. But her journey leads her to cross paths with a number of magical characters—a Werehyena searching for his kidnapped wife; a Vampire who runs a unique magical business; a curandero , a shamanistic practitioner of traditional medicine; and a Valkyrie who, along with her raven partner, wants to make a risky deal—who make it clear to her that the past is not so easily left behind. In order to grow into her new identity, help her new friends, and develop a healthy relationship with a man she’s beginning to care for, Georgette will have to confront the privileges that have shielded her from the pain and ugliness of the magic community in which she was raised—and find the strength to overcome the trauma of her childhood.
Review
I really enjoyed Magic by Any Other Name. It was a bit of a cozy/feel-good read although there are themes of abuse, neglect, and cheating. Even the heavy topics felt lighter with the found family and friendship themes layered on. I found myself looking at the family tree a lot at the beginning of the story, but once I got the hang of who everyone was, the story flowed nicely. Each chapter is from a different character's perspective, so that can take you out of the zone, but it didn't bother me too much.
I really loved Georgette and Mei-Jing. There almost wasn't enough of the characters to get attached, but the whole cast was pretty great. It was nice to see each character's struggles show through their actions and to see them each grow and change throughout the story. That isn't easy to do with multiple POVs.
If you like found family stories or need a little magic in your life, I recommend this book! Thank you, SparkPress and LibraryThing, for an ARC of this magical novel.
Dates read: Nov 11, 2023 - Nov 16, 2023