I don’t normally enjoy fantasy — but there was something about this book that kept me going.

The pace at the beginning was encouragingly quick.

It’s set currently with mobile phones and apps. Less world building than typical for the genre.

Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain.

Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild.

Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps Jasmine run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests’ shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her. …

Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera Swan is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone…and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping (2025) by Sangu Mandanna

Very original. A terrific plot.

Kate Wilhelm is the author of the Hugo Award–winning Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang. Excellent.

Welcome, Chaos (1983) is the second of her books I’ve read.

Though it’s a bit dated, I found the story intriguing.

Disillusioned and sorrowful history professor Lyle Taney retreats to the Oregon mountains to study eagles but becomes entangled with her neighbors, kindly polymath Saul Werther and his assistant Carmen, and a manipulative CIA agent, Lasater.

She discovers Werther and Carmen are part of a secret organization guarding a dangerous immortality serum from Nazi Germany. A serum that grants immortality but can also kill half its recipients and cause infertility.

When Russia independently obtains the serum and unleashes it as a flu epidemic, Lyle must choose sides in a struggle that could lead to global destruction or the start of a new civilization

AI summary

Sure you can argue the writing is not great.

BUT the 4 main characters are really well developed.

It’s a thought provoking read.

Interesting.

Not a great dystopian novel as it didn’t have enough to say about our current pre-dystopian present.

But still worth reading.

All the Water in the World is told in the voice of a girl gifted with a deep feeling for water.

In the years after the glaciers melt, Nonie, her older sister and her parents and their researcher friends have stayed behind in an almost deserted New York City, creating a settlement on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History.

The rule: Take from the exhibits only in dire need.

They hunt and grow their food in Central Park as they work to save the collections of human history and science.

When a superstorm breaches the city’s flood walls, Nonie and her family must escape north on the Hudson.

They carry with them a book that holds their records of the lost collections.

Racing on the swollen river towards what may be safety, they encounter communities that have adapted in very different and sometimes frightening ways to the new reality. But they are determined to find a way to make a new world that honors all they’ve saved.

Amazon

A quirky, charming coming-of-age story.

Now Is Not the Time to Panic (2022) is an original and entertaining read.

Sixteen-year-old Frankie Budge—aspiring writer, indifferent student, offbeat loner—is determined to make it through yet another sad summer in Coalfield, Tennessee, when she meets Zeke, a talented artist who has just moved into his grandmother’s unhappy house and who is as lonely and awkward as Frankie.

… when the two jointly make an unsigned poster, shot through with an enigmatic phrase, it becomes unforgettable to anyone who sees it. 

The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.

The Intruder (2025) by Freida McFadden is another of her stand alone psychological thrillers.

The twists and surprises in this one are pretty good.

Casey’s cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she’s a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window.

She’s young. She’s alone. And she’s covered in blood.

The girl won’t explain where she came from, or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. And when Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse.

The girl has a dark secret. One she’ll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.

A great murder mystery.

The Suspect by Michael Robotham.

And even better psychological insight into Dr. JOSEPH O’LOUGHLIN diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

A beautiful wife, a loving daughter and a successful career as a clinical psychologist. …

When an unknown young woman is found dead with multiple stab wounds – all of them self-inflicted – the police ask Joe to help them understand the crime. Are they dealing with a murder or a suicide?

Reluctantly, he agrees to help and the brutalised body he views at the mortuary turns out to be someone he knows: Catherine Mary McBride, a nurse and former colleague.

At the same time, Joe is grappling with a troubled young patient, Bobby Moran, whose violent dreams are becoming more real.

As Bobby’s behaviour grows increasingly erratic, Joe begins to ponder what he’s done in the past and what he might do next. Is there a link between his terrible dreams and Catherine McBride?

It’s been adapted and streams on BritBox.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.