Magical creatures great and small
Thrust into the sycophantic limelight of a Byzantine-style elvish court after unexpectedly inheriting the throne in The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, Maia is all of us at thirteen, outcast, awkward and unprepared for facing the world. The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa is a magical adventure featuring two of the genre's primary tropes, books and cats, and the power that both of them hold to save humans from themselves.
Witches and princesses
We're excited to see some Kiwi rep here, with both India Holton's Bridgerton/Peaky Blinders styled The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, and Accidental Magic by Iris Beaglehole, the first book in the Myrtlewood Mysteries series, satisfying our craving homegrown witchy fiction.
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher which won the Hugo Award for best novel flips the classic fairytale trope on its head, having the princess and a posse of quirky characters rescue her sister from the evil King.
Found Family
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna and The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune both feature odd ball families coming together to protect each other from outside forces. Both are charming and full of sweet humour.
And whileA Psalm for the Wild-built by Becky Chambers plays with ideas about gender, humanity, robots and tea, Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree is all about the coffee, with a hefty dose of amazing sounding baking thrown in for good measure. Both books are guaranteed to make you smile.
Perfect for younger readers
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is an iconic middle grade novel (aimed at 8-12 year olds) made into an equally famous movie Studio Ghibli movie and with themes of coming of age and finding yourself, it's the perfect read for all ages. A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Salt, a young adult alchemical romantasy about belonging and loneliness but also deeper concepts like trauma, religion and social inequality. And of course, a creaky old mansion.
