Three fantasy audiobook reviews from Corinne at Kyogle Library. She discusses ‘Ill Fated Fortune’ by Jennifer J. Chow, ‘Fallible Justice’ by Laura Laakso, and ‘The Paper Magician’ by Charlie N. Holmberg.
Ill Fated Fortune – written by Jennifer J. Chow, read by Catherine Ho
Felicity Jin grew up literally hanging onto Mom’s apron strings in their magical bakery in the quaint town of Pixie, California. Her mother’s enchanted baked goods, including puffy pineapple buns and creamy egg tarts, bring instant joy to all who consume them. Felicity has always been hesitant in the kitchen herself after many failed attempts, but a takeout meal gone wrong inspires her to craft some handmade fortune cookies. They become so popular that Felicity runs out of generic fortunes and starts making her own personalized predictions. When one customer’s ill-fated fortune results in his murder, Felicity’s suspiciously specific fortune has the police focusing on her as the main culprit. Now Felicity must find a way to turn her luck around and get cleared from suspicion.
Fallible Justice – written by Laura Laakso, read by Tamsin Kennard
When those who pronounce judgment are omniscient, can a verdict ever be overturned? In Old London, where paranormal races co-exist with ordinary humans, criminal verdicts delivered by the all-seeing Heralds of Justice are faultless. After a man is declared guilty of murder and sentenced to death, his daughter turns to private investigator Yannia Wilde to do the impossible and prove the Heralds wrong. Yannia escaped a restrictive life in the Wild Folk conclave where she was raised, but her background marks her as an outsider in the city. Her origins lend her the sensory abilities of all of nature, yet Yannia is lonely and struggling to adapt to life in the city. The case could be the break she needs. She enlists the help of her only friend, a Bird Shaman named Karrion, and together they accept the challenge of proving a guilty man innocent. So begins a breathless race against time against all conceivable odds. Can Yannia and Karrion save a man who has been infallibly judged guilty?
The Paper Magician – written by Charlie N. Holmberg, read by Amy McFadden
Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic, forever. Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined, animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic. An Excisioner, a practitioner of dark, flesh magic, invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart, and reveal the very soul of the man.