Sorcery and Small Magics

De: Maiga Doocy

Narrado por: Ciaran Saward

From debut author Maiga Doocy comes the charming tale of an impulsive sorcerer and his curmudgeonly rival as they venture deep into a magical forest in search of a counterspell that can break the curse between them—only to discover that magic might not be the only thing pulling them together.

Leovander Loveage is a master of small magics. He can summon butterflies with a song or turn someone’s hair pink by snapping his fingers. Though such minor charms don’t earn him much respect, anything more elaborate always blows up in his face, and so Leo vowed long ago never to use powerful magic again.

That is, until a mishap with a forbidden spell binds Leo to obey the commands of his longtime rival, Sebastian Grimm. Grimm is Leo’s complete opposite—respected, exceptionally talented, and absolutely insufferable. The only thing they can agree on is that revealing the curse between them would mean the end of their respective magical careers. They need a counterspell, and fast.

Chasing rumors of a powerful sorcerer with a knack for undoing curses, Leo and Grimm enter the Unquiet Wood, a forest infested with murderous monsters and dangerous outlaws alike. To break the curse, they will have to uncover the true depths of Leo’s magic, set aside their long-standing rivalry, and—much to their horror—work together.

Even as an odd spark of attraction flares between them.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"With a vibrantly imagined world and characters that leap off the page, Sorcery and Small Magics positively sparkles with wit and charm. It's a light-hearted tale of friendship, forgiveness, magic and love. Much like Doocy's opposites-attract heroes, Leo and Grimm, this book sings, leaving you spellbound and wanting more."—Julie Leong, author of The Teller of Small Fortunes

"Sorcery and Small Magics smoulders like spell-paper, set aflame by its singular enchanted setting, a spirited violin soundtrack and plenty of charming chaos. The hesitant care that Leo and Grimm show each other as they work to dispel a genuinely terrifying curse is heart-warming."—Sylvie Cathrall, author of A Letter to the Luminous Deep

"As sparkling and delicious as enchanted champagne, Sorcery and Small Magics is full of wit, joy and real heart. I loved it!"—Stephanie Burgis, author of Scales and Sensibility

“Sorcery and Small Magics is nothing short of masterful. Leo Lovage could read me the phone book and I’d be delighted, and I would gladly take an arrow for either Leo or Grimm.”—Megan Bannen, author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

"Charming, cheeky and utterly magical."—Davinia Evans, author of Notorious Sorcerer

"Reading Sorcery and Small Magics feels like stepping into the world of the ultimate comfort story. Packed with humor and heart, Doocy's debut had me grinning from ear to ear and giggling the whole way through. This is a cozy, whimsical spin on academia that will give you all the warm fuzzy feels!"
—Sydney Shields, author of The Honey Witch

11/10

This is the best narrator of any book I’ve ever heard. The story was so cozy and magical and so easily brought to life by how the narrator read it. Literally cannot wait for the next one !!

Nice pallet cleanser

This book is a nice, humorous and sweet book. I read romance mostly and read the reviews and read that this was a slow burn (which it is) romance, but at the end (spoiler) it sort of leaves it open ended. Did Grimm fall in love with Loveage or didnt he? Pretty sure he had but they don't say for sure. This is not an intense adventure story which is nice after just reading a dark or heavy war/violence filled book. I look forward to more books in this series and author.

Very creative

The book is engaging, well-written, and imaginative. The narration is pleasant and clear. Cairan performs a variety of distinct voices that fit the characters. I hope that other books will follow.

Wonderful!

The story is weaved like a dance, never quiet landing where you think it will. I can’t wait for the second book!

A Second Chance

This story has stuck with me since I finished it last week. I stand behind my initial review (see below) and believe the lack of concrete romance is an issue for the book. However, after a re-read I’ve been able to enjoy the book more for the story that it does tell. It’s a coming of age tale where a young man grows in his understanding of the world and others while accepting the parts of himself that he is afraid of.

What did I like. The book cover is awesome, yes, I did buy the physical book too. Ciaran Saward gives a dynamic performance and unique voices to all the characters. Maiga’s writing is clean and really lets her character voices shine. I wish the side characters like Agnes and Cassius were more in the book. The story feels like there is more under the surface. Maiga was able to give depth to pretty much everyone. I did enjoy all the tropes used. The forced together and the sunshine/grumpy were the main reasons I bought the book. The magic system has a whimsical quality and has room to be explored.

As I said in my initial review, there is a lot of potential in this story. I wish it was more of a stand-alone, but it doesn’t end on a cliff hanger and does wrap up Leo’s growth arch. Maybe the second book will be Grimm coming more into his own.
Things I would like to see in the rest of the series are, obviously romance, more mystery and more of Agnes and Cassius. Maybe they all get stuck together in the next book, lol.

I think if this trope interests you, but you want a little more heat in the romance initially I would recommend “Carry On” and The Darkness Outside Us. I’m looking forward to more books from Maiga Doocy and still think romance is coming. I can see it now, “how did you guys meet? Well, we got stuck together and went into the woods.”

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A lot of Potential

I’ve thought about this book since I finished it. I did enjoy it while I read it, but it didn’t deliver what I was wanting from it, which was romance. It’s upsetting, because the ingredients are there. The world building is great, the characters are great, all the tropes one could want. But everything is held back. There is romantic tension, but no romance. It’s like watching Pride & Prejudice, but you never get to the proposal scene. I felt like I was picking up the hints, and signs. I was waiting to see how the spell would be twisted, but nope. Just fixed with a McGuffin. S&SM isn’t a bad book, but I’m not sure who’s it for. If it leaned into the romantic potential of the premise, it could have been amazing. Maybe this would be explored in the rest of the series, but there is only one book published. I’ll definitely give Maigo Doocy another try. I did enjoy her writing style, and I do have hope this series will be great when finished.

Spoiler Speculation Warning:


I felt the book lost its focus at the end. The spell which bound Leo and Grimm together just fell away and was fixed off page with the McGuffin. It’s discovered halfway through the book that the spell is actually a love spell. And it’s hinted that there might be another way to break the spell. I wonder how a love spell could be broken, maybe with true love? Could two characters who are obviously obsessed with each other mistake their love for hate, but realize they love each other after being forced together? I was expecting that the Mcguffin would fail at the end, and Grimm to confess his love for Leo and break the spell, because a love spell shouldn’t work on people already in love. But this doesn’t happen. The only thing I can compare it too is Captain America and Bucky, all the tensions, no action.

I'll give this book a re-read. I think I probably will enjoy it more knowing what it is.