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Willow Stokes has been running her father’s shop of “magical curiosities” for two years since he died. While he had sought and stocked items that supposedly had some kind of magical connection or power, none of them had ever proved to be such. So Willow is now an orphan and the owner of a shop that sells fakes (well, STOCKS them; sells, not so much). And everyone in town either ignores her or looks down on her.
Since she’s barely scraping by, Willow’s interest is piqued when a new girl in town comes into the shop and a taxidermied creature talks — twice. It’s purported to be magical, but like everything else in the store, it’s never shown magical inclinations before. So what did this girl do?
At the local hotel, Willow tracks down Brianna, who’s just come into town from another country. The young lady says she’s looking for a grimoire that could tell her more about her family. Willow comes up with a plan: she’ll help Brianna find the grimoire, and Brianna can help her with the items in her shop. Because as it turns out, items that truly do have magical properties start working at her touch. Suddenly, income is in sight!
The two young women are helped by Finlay, a printer’s assistant who has been the most of a friend Willow has ever had. Life is finally looking up. But it gets complicated again when a wealthy and ruthless collector forces Willow to attempt to steal an extremely rare and valuable magical object.
With all that happens, Willow learns about what’s truly most valuable in life, how to let love of all kinds past her walls, and how to embrace a little magic.
A Curious Kind of Magic is a charming story, a cozy fantasy that celebrates friendship, love and magic. I got a kick out of Willow and her personality, and it was cute to watch her slowly embrace friendship and romance. And Finlay, well, he’s hard to resist (only Willow was able to for a while.) This book was a refreshing read during a hectic time of year, one I could settle into and relax with. I haven’t read a lot of cozy fantasy yet, but so far I’m certainly appreciating it! I’ll be checking out some other titles by Mara Rutherford.
Rated: Mild. Profanity includes fewer than 20 instances of moderate profanity, about 25 uses of mild language, and 5 uses of British (bl-) profanity. Sexual content includes only kissing and quick but completely vague thoughts about more. Violence involves some peril and threats by bad guys.
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*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
