The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic

By: Emily Croy Barker

Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan

Length: 26 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Emily Croy Barker’s riveting debut novel is a must-read for fans of Lev Grossman and Deborah Harkness. The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic follows grad student Nora Fischer as she stumbles through a portal into a magical world.

Having been transformed from drab to beautiful, Nora finds herself surrounded by glamorous friends. Life seems perfect. But then things take a terrible turn, and Nora must learn magic from a reclusive ally if she is to have any hope of survival...

©2013 Emily Croy Barker (P)2013 Recorded Books

Thoroughly enjoyed

While still in the same isekai genre that I prefer, I realized this story was different when hours into the book, I had yet to hear the same-old, stumbled, handwaved, lazy writing of the main character shrugging off the phycological impact of unintentional interdimensional travel. I feel that Nora's actions and demeanor are realistic for someone in a mild state of shock, just trying to hold it together and survive. A lack of the dramatic trappings I've grown numb to in other similar stories is a breath of fresh air. I'm very much looking forward to listening to the next book in the series.

Quietly Addictive

This story was a little too fantasy over the top at first, but soon I found myself addicted to the characters and the story.
Book 2 gets mixed reviews but I’ll give it a try. Seems to be an “all in” or an “all out”. No middle ground.

Loved it!!

I can’t begin to tell you what a joy. It was to listen to such wonderful writing such a great imagination and great storytelling. I am so excited to read the next book.

Fantasy for Adults

I really loved this book. It is grown up fantasy (without sex), wherein the characters are all adults who act and speak rationally, interact with each other as adults, and think before they act. It's really very refreshing. Oh, and did I mention there is magic?

Nora takes a walk up an unfamiliar mountain path and accidentally crosses over into another world. She is immediately taken in by a group of Fae and their queen. The magic they use enchants her, making her feel calm and happy and more beautiful, but all is not as it seems. She ends up having to escape their clutches, and the person who helps her, ends up becoming her protector and teacher in the ways of magic.

This is Nora's story as she learns to survive in a totally new world. It is also about her discovering her own magical abilities, and about her concern for her family left behind. It's also about love.

And I loved every minute of it.

Where's My Ending!(SPOILERS)

I really liked the book. Nora, Aruendiel, Raclin and Illissa are good characters. I was very drawn in by the end but oh that end!!! No reunion!!! No declaration of love!!! Looong book to have no ending at all. Seemed like a set up for a sequel but it's been 5 years and I see no sequel in sight....

Good book but...

This book started out very promising. I enjoyed the characters and the story. However, I do agree with other reviewers that this book was too long. More importantly, it totally left unaddressed the conclusion of the main point of the story with Anisa and Raclan..... I'm left wondering why that wasn't addressed...

Awesome Book - I loved it!

I could not put this audio down! It took me three days to finish it and I cannot wait for the next book in this series. I hope it comes soon! Wow! What a story!

Egregiously Mis-titled Book

This is only a “Thinking” woman’s guide if the woman thinking is exceptionally stupid. The main character’s breathtaking lack of agency becomes even more acute as the author finds increasingly odious ways to write her into victimhood. After the nth time of the nearly illiterate housekeeper being quicker on the uptake than our thoroughly modern protagonist, one begins to feel that the author is taking the piss. The characters might as well be color coded. Raclin sounds sort of reptilian and evil, but is not so on the nose as Aruendiel, a moniker worthy of the 8th archangel, in case there was any doubt at all that he was our hero. Nora, our 21st century girl, is rendered still more blah as Audible thrusts this book upon anyone who has read Deborah Harkness. As a follow up to Harkness’s Diana - who is at times overly controlled and determined, this book reads as the fairytale adventures of the ultimate Hufflepuff. In the story, Nora feels camaraderie with the legendary Elizabeth Bennet as she too feels limited by her gender. As a reader, Nora seems much more limited by her in inexhaustible humanity - self pity, pride, irrationality -she succumbs to all. Perhaps the most important takeaway is that 4/5 of a PhD, I suspect even a whole PhD, does not a thinking woman make. Which sort of makes one wonder - how many idiots are wandering through the world(s) calling themselves Dr.?

Incredible then slow, frusting book. Good but....

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Smack the editor for not forcing the author to fix the book?

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The ending, for shame, so broken and rushed, unfinished. Incredible weak.

What about Alyssa Bresnahan’s performance did you like?

She did fine, kept me into a story I found very frustrating.

Do you think The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I think so to fix loose ends but I pray the author matures in her focus.

Any additional comments?

I am not an author so I feel bad writing this. It almost seems like the author is a newbie, the story seemed disjointed. The first part of the book was incredibly slow then once she gets rolling its great right up to the end and then its like a last minute term paper for an ending. Rushed.

Very entertaining!

Would you listen to The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic again? Why?

I would listen again. So much going on. I'm sure I missed something. I enjoyed the difference in time. Between our world and the world of the past.

Any additional comments?

It ends with you wanting to get the next book, but there isn't one! I want to find out how Nora goes back!