“Sometimes it feels like I’m in a staring contest with failure, and if I blink, I’ll die.”
Ivy is not magic but her twin sister Tabitha, is magic. We know from the beginning of this story that there is strong estrangement in their relationship because of this. Tabitha works at a Magic School as a teacher and Ivy is a private investigator, who investigates cheating spouses and other small time cases. Because of her awareness of magic's exsistence, Ivy is asked to solve a murder case at the very Magic School her sister Tabitha, teaches for.
Nothing makes me feel more ready for fall than a book that takes place on a campus and anything mystery-ish. The added magical elements reminded me of the fall I spent reading Harry Potter for the first time in my twenties. So, I blame my reading of this book for the reason our fall decor suddenly appeared in the house... magically 🔮
The thing about Magic For Liars is it scratched two Bookish elements I always have an itch for. I always want to read books with magical realism that doesn't take itself too seriously and good characterization. I have found a lot of books that have done these two things really well, but few that have executed both of these things at the same time.
I loved Ivy's self awareness. The pain that came from living an ordinary life was so sordid and personal. The scenes where Ivy and her twin sister, Tabitha talked were so laden with tension. Not a lot had to be said between the characters for the reader to see how messy their relationship had gotten. The author laid so much groundwork for her characters and I loved watching the leading sisters unravel and recoil as they navigated their relationship. That felt like magic.
The actual magic was fun and funny and didn't have the distraction of a complicated system to keep up with. I love how easily I believed in the magic, while not feeling the need to answer why or how it worked the way it did.
Gailey made such smart writing choices in this novel. I really enjoyed this and I think it would make an awesome fall read! The audiobook was really well narrated and I really enjoyed listening to it.
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⭐⭐⭐⭐.💫 4.5 stars
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