With most schools being online and the weather getting colder, we’re all a little exhausted and in need of a break, and what better way then to cozy up with a good book and transport yourself into a different and magical world? Here is a list of 10 books you absolutely need to read!
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
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Addie LaRue makes a deal with the devil to be immortal, but with immortality comes the curse of being forgotten by everyone. Addie travels all over the world and lives through various times, learning to survive in the world. One day she meets a man in a bookstore that remembers her name, and from here everything suddenly changes. This novel is full of magical moments and dazzling scenes.
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
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A circus arrives with no warning and is only open at night. One day it’s not there, and the next there is a whole circus. Behind the scenes of this circus, a fierce duel between two magicians is taking place. Only one can be left standing from this game, and the circus is the stage. Despite all this, the two fall into a deep magical love, but regardless, the game must go on. This novel was originally written for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) over the course of three competitions.
- The Diviners by Libba Bray
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Exiled from her hometown and sent to live with her uncle in New York City was Evie O’Neill. Her uncle has an unhealthy obsession with the occult, and Evie is worried her darkest secret will be discovered: she has supernatural powers. However, when a girl is murdered and branded with a cryptic symbol and Evie’s uncle is called to the scene, she realizes her powers could help catch the killer. Unbeknownst to everyone, something dark and evil has awakened.
- A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos
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A plain-spoken, headstrong girl named Ophelia has an unmatched ability to read the past of objects and can also travel through mirrors, a skill passed down through generations. Everything is disrupted however, when she is told to be married to a tacturn member of a distant clan. Ophelia is taken away from everything she knows and sent to a cold, icy and dangerous city where she realizes she is only a piece in a political game. For anyone who loves novels like Harry Potter, this one is perfect for you!
- A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
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Unknowingly, a young student, Diana, discovers a bewitched alchemical manuscript deep in a library. Thinking nothing of it as she knew nothing to do with sorcery, she sets it aside. However, her discovery set a fantastical underworld stirring, and very soon daemons, witches and vampires descend upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure and is the only creature who can break the spell. This novel also has a tv show!
- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
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In an international trade hub where anything can be had at the right price, a criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams, but there is only one problem…he can’t pull it off alone. A crew of unique people are gathered, and they are the only thing that stands between the world and destruction, assuming they don’t kill each other first. This trilogy is getting turned into a show on Netflix! Keep an eye out for it.
- Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
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Raised among the tools of sorcery in one of the Great Libraries, Elisabeth hopes to become a warden and protect the kingdom from the evil powers found in these libraries. However, when one of the most dangerous grimoires gets released from the library after an act of sabotage, Elisabeth’s intervention gets her implemented for the crime and she gets sent to the capital to face justice. The only person she finds she can turn to is her sworn enemy. As she grows closer with this sworn enemy, Elisabeth starts to question everything she thought she knew, from what she’s been taught to what she thinks about herself, as she has powers she never even knew and a future she never could have imagined.
- We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Arawiya
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Zafira is a hunter disguised as a man when she braves a cursed forest to get food for her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating anyone who dares to defy his father, the king. Both are legends, and neither wanted to be. Both are sent on a mission to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic and stop all the suffering, but an ancient evil starts to grow, and the lost artifact may pose a greater threat than either of them could imagine.
- A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
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A retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Prince Rhen is cursed to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, and can only be saved if a girl falls in love with him. This would have been easy for him had he not been turned into a vicious beast, hell-bent on destruction. Harper’s family is falling apart, and she’s learned to be tough enough to survive, however, when she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington D.C, she is pulled into a magical world. It is here the two meet, but will it take more than a broken curse to save everyone?
- A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
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Kell is one of the last magicians with a rare and coveted ability to travel between four parallel Londons. Officially serving as an ambassador between Londons, unofficially working as a smuggler, barely escaping an exchange gone bad, Kell escapes to one of the Londons where he meets Delilah Bard. Delilah first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and then finally forces him to take her to another world for a proper adventure.
There is truly nothing better than getting lost in a good book, and I feel like we could all use a good escape from the world right now. Hopefully one of these books will provide a fun and exciting adventure for you to lose yourself in!
HCXO, Hannah