Emily Croy Barker's The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic is full of romance, adventure and, of course, magic...
'Fun, seductive, and utterly engrossing' Deborah Harkness, author of The Discovery of Witches
'A wholly imaginative and witty debut novel that is unlike any I've read' Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants
Nora's life is not quite going as planned. Her career has stalled; the man of her dreams is getting married, but not to her; and there's a mouse in her kitchen... Getting away for the weekend for a friend's wedding seems like perfect timing, especially when she stumbles across the unfeasibly glamorous Ilissa, who is determined to take Nora under her wing.
Through Ilissa, Nora is introduced to a whole new world - a world of unbelievable decadence and riches where time is meaningless and everyone is beautiful. And Nora herself feels different: more attractive; more talented; more popular... Yet something doesn't quite ring true: was she really talking to Oscar Wilde at Ilissa's party last night? Or transported from New York to Paris in the blink of an eye?
It is only when Ilissa's son, Raclin, asks Nora to marry him that the truth about her new friends becomes apparent. By then, though, it's too late, and Nora realises she may never be able to return to the world, and the life, she knew before.
If she is to escape Raclin and Ilissa's clutches, her only hope is the magician Aruendiel. A grim, reclusive figure with a biting tongue and a shrouded past, he might just teach her what she needs to survive and perhaps even make it home: the art of real magic.
For fans of Deborah Harkness's All Souls Trilogy and Lev Grossman's Magicians series, The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker is proof that magic not only exists but - like love - can sweep you off your feet when you least expect it...
Emily Croy Barker lives in New Jersey. This is her first novel.
Glamour Hides Secrets, And Magic Always Comes At a Price
A spellbring fantasy full of wit, romance and magic, perfect for fans of Practical Magic and The Magicians
'A wholly imaginative and witty debut novel that is unlike any I've read' Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants
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First, she fell into a magical portal. Then she fell for him.
Nora Fischer never meant to stumble into another world. Here she finds endless glamour, rivers of fairy wine - and the dangerously charming Raclin.
Only too late does she realise she's been bewitched into a marriage she can't escape. Her only hope lies with Aruendiel, the brooding magician sworn to be her enemy, who offers to teach her real magic.
Torn between two men, one who deceived her, and one who challenges everything she believes, Nora must choose between passion, power, and a way home.
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Readers have fallen for The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic
'I could not put this book down. It is a combination of Harry Potter, Gone With the Wind and Pride and Prejudice, only more' 5* Reader Review
'I loved this book such that my cheeks hurt from smiling' 5* Reader Review
'This book is FANTASTIC' 5* Reader Review
'This is one of the best, most original takes on fantasy I've encountered in a very long while' 5* Reader Review
